Why hire a local planner.

Many of the couples and companies we work with arrive with a planner of their own, and we are glad to work alongside them. More than 200 international planners and agencies do. But whoever holds the overall vision, someone on the ground needs to know the islands. This is what that person does.

The islands are the logistics

The Maldives is 99 per cent sea. Every guest, every flower and every chair moves by seaplane, speedboat or cargo dhoni from Velana International Airport or Malé. Seaplanes fly only in daylight. Cargo goes on a schedule the resort sets, not the one you would like.

A local planner knows those schedules, holds the relationships with the resort’s events and logistics teams, and has moved sets across atolls hundreds of times. That is the difference between decor that arrives the morning of the ceremony and decor that arrives the morning after.

Import is slow, local is fast

Shipping a production from overseas means customs, duty and delay. We hold our own rental inventory in Malé, from arch structures to LED candles and event chairs, and we work with more than 20 curated local vendors: florists, photographers, videographers, sound, lighting, musicians and DJs. What can be sourced here is sourced here. What must be flown in is flown in early, cleared and stored until it is needed.

Resort access

We have worked at more than 150 resorts across 35 brands. That means we know which beach faces the sunset, which restaurant can be closed for a private dinner, which villa deck takes a ceremony for 20, and how each resort’s rules on sound, fire and set-up times differ. Those rules are real and they are enforced. Knowing them before the proposal is written saves money and disappointment.

Culture and the law

The Maldives is a Muslim country. Foreign couples cannot legally marry here, so a Maldives wedding is a symbolic ceremony, with the legal registration done at home before or after. We explain this at the first conversation and design the ceremony around it.

Local knowledge also opens doors. Boduberu drummers on the beach, fresh coconut and mango for the welcome, a Maldivian chef’s table for a corporate dinner. These are arranged through people we know and paid at local rates.

Someone is always on site

On the day, your planner and our production team are on the island, not on a call. We run the set-up, cue the vendors, walk the couple or the client through the rundown and stay until the last table is cleared. If something changes, and something always changes, the decision is made in minutes by someone standing on the sand.

How we work with your planner

If you already have a planner, we become their local production partner. They keep the client relationship and the creative direction. We handle venue, permits, logistics, local vendors, set-up and on-site management, and report back daily. Most of our international colleagues have worked with us this way for years.

Either way, the first step is the same. Tell us the resort, the date and the size of the group, and we will tell you honestly what is possible.