Rising Stars: Meet Anita Casano Kanellis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anita Casano Kanellis.

Hi Anita, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always loved entertaining, tabletop decor, etiquette, and especially weddings so after being a stay at home mommy and when my two boys started school, I looked into doing wedding invitations. That was fun for a few years but what I really loved doing was talking to the brides about all the visions they had, the vendors they were talking to, ideas about their dream wedding and it got me thinking about wedding planning.

So after joining the Association of Bridal Consultants and getting a little bit of education under my belt, I took the plunge and started AK Brides. I did my first paid wedding in 1999 and never looked back. I also very quickly realized that experience was everything in this business and on the job training was key! After 20+ years of planning weddings, I still learn something new at every single wedding I produce from celebrity and high profile weddings to micro weddings with a handful of guests, there is always so much to learn and grow from. (I think I got an equivalent to a 4-year college education from doing a celebrity wedding honestly!) In 2005, I had a little bit of a setback when my Father passed away very suddenly and unexpectantly. I grieved so deep I took a year and a half off of planning weddings to focus on getting my mind and heart back to a new normal. I learned so much about myself spiritually, physically, and mentally after experiencing such an emotional and devastating season of life and what coping mechanisms I needed to help me along the way.

After some time off, I came back stronger and more armed to manage any situation on any wedding day from a production standpoint to a family crisis. I had new eyes for the wedding day now and know this is such an emotional day for my clients and sometimes they are so stressed out and so immersed in the little things that they are missing the big things – family, love, time spent together, and lasting moments that slip by so quickly. I became driven to make sure my brides soaked in these precious memories in the making and appreciate all the moments they were living in at that present time. They have me to take care of the little things they are stressing about so they are able to focus on all the joy of the day. I always tell my girls, if I am doing my job right and anything happens to go wrong, they will never know it. We will have lunch after the wedding and I’ll tell them everything that happened but that wedding day will be absolutely flawless as far as they know! I and my team have got this! Moving through a difficult season of life, I also discovered a love for tea and didn’t really realize it at the time but this was my way of giving myself peace, taking a moment to breathe, pray and meditate on being grateful. The experience I gave myself of having tea every single day was a gift to allow me to come back to a new normal and realize life was going to still be good and there are joy and good times in the present moments.

From that year forward, I always have a cup of tea in my hand when I meet with my brides, meet with vendors, loading in for productions, executing the wedding days, and absolutely the day after a wedding when I finally have my feet up. My gift to my brides is a box of the tea experience for Mom and bride to either enjoy the morning of the wedding or even the day after the wedding when they re-live all those wonderful moments. I became known to all my brides and in the wedding industry as the planner with tea and people started asking me about my tea blends and where they can buy some. I actually have a distributor who blends my own teas and when I realized people had an interest in purchasing my teas, I went to work packaging and designing a line of tea blends and the tea experience boxes creating a sister company called Tea and Time. My tea business has surprised me in so many ways but now I am able to send the tea experience to people all over the country and bring a sense of calm to anyone who wants a little taste of peace! Both of my businesses have brought me so many blessings beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Running a business always has its challenges while building and growing. I think my biggest challenge has been keeping up with marketing strategies. When I first started AK Brides, I networked with vendors, I was featured in magazines and met brides through bridal shows. Networking is always the most beneficial to growing my business but now the marketing has all changed to social media and online presence. I had to change my approach in reaching my audience and had to adapt to the changing times and technology. Continually learning and growing through the wedding industry leaders is a key component.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
A lot of what I do is listen. I listen to the bride and groom and understand their visions completely and thoroughly so I can gather the necessary talented professionals to bring this vision to life. Many times the bride and/or groom have no idea what their visions might be and it’s my job to listen very intently to what they describe as their likes and dislikes, colors and textures, and watch their Pinterest boards to really get an understanding of the designs they are drawn to. Then I collect all of these thoughts and visions and create a vision board. This is usually several pages of florals, textures, colors, tablescapes, vibes, and moods and really brings a vision to the design concept. Now we have a starting point and can scale up or down, change design points, etc. until we have the exact wedding dream the couple desires. Now I go to work putting together the team of vendors, build-out floor plans and timelines of logistics and concepts, and follow through all the way to execution of the wedding day. I have been told time and time again in testimonials from my couples that I bring a sense of calm to the wedding day and this makes me so happy to hear.

I want this day to be completely seamless for my couples and their families and if I can bring them the calming force to move through their wedding day without stress, then I will have accomplished so much. I will attribute my calming sense to always having my tea in hand and, although I do have a lot of energy and adrenaline running through me on the wedding day, my personality also tends to be calm as can be. I think my reassuring and calm personality and presence are what make me stand out from other planners. My passion to make my client’s visions come to life beyond their expectations is definitely what I strive to do. It is also extremely important to me that my clients enjoy the process of planning their wedding day as well as enjoying their wedding day to the fullest soaking in each and every moment possible. The day goes by fast enough and if they can stop every so often and just take in the moments, then I know they have really had the wonderful experience we have been planning for several months leading up to that day. I definitely think I am most known for that calm sense of presence and making sure my clients enjoy the moments of their day…. and my wedding day teas 🙂

I am often asked what my biggest wedding has been and I am never sure how to answer this. I have had weddings with 1,000 guests on a 700-acre farm and I have had huge production weddings with only 50 guests so the word “biggest” always throws me. I do know the most difficult wedding and probably the one I am most proud of is a celebrity wedding. The strange thing about this wedding is that it wasn’t my largest and most beautiful production I have ever done… it was, however the most difficult wedding I have ever planned and executed with the amount of design involved, production, logistics, security, talent, transportation, transition, and so many more elements. This wedding made me the proudest because it was such a success with the help of my exceptional team who walked through it with me the entire way. Every single wedding where I see my clients’ faces and reaction when they walk into their reception is priceless… those are by far, my proudest moments. Building a business from nothing, growing it over years of hard work, and having this business as the source of income that provides for my family is what makes me the proudest as well.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Honestly, the wedding industry is built on relationships. Relationships with clients and vendors. I will speak for myself as a planner but I know it is also true for other vendors when I say these relationships are strong and run deep over the years. That is why I believe experience is key as a wedding planner. My mentors, supporters, cheerleaders, and advocates have all been my colleagues within the industry….even fellow wedding planners! We are competitors but we are also friends, refer to each other, and bounce ideas off each other. There is plenty of business for us all and it’s so much better to be a community rather than competition. My clients have also been my supporters and cheerleaders. By the time a wedding day has arrived, I will have gotten to know that family so well I feel like they are my own family and I care so much that they have a wonderful wedding day.

The notes I receive afterward are so heartfelt and truly bring me to tears as I read their loving thoughts. I truly have the happiest job! Wedding days are long and every single vendor on a wedding team works hard. After a wedding has ended and it is late, we are extremely tired but we finish out the day sometimes working silently, sometimes laughing because we are so exhausted but always joyful and grateful that the day was a success and we all made a dream come true. These are my cheerleaders and supporters. We get each other through the days. I also could never get through 20 years in business without my wonderful family and my two sons who always believe in me, sometimes more than I believe in myself. My sons are my “why” and as long as I have those two sweet faces in my head and in my heart, I keep building, climbing, and striving to be better.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.akbrides.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/akbrides
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/akbrides
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/akbrides
• Other: www.teaandtime.com

Image Credits
Pipervine Photography (first two images) Eric and Jamie Photography (second row of images Arden Upton Photography (bridal party image) Angel Sheree Photography (pink tablescape image) Photos by Heart (bride with bouquet) Eric and Jamie Photography (bride and groom together) Kelli and Daniel Taylor Photography (tea and cake image and pink and white tablescape with grey linen) Eric and Jamie Photography (ceremony image – pink draping with greenery) Kelli and Daniel Taylor Photography (both images of myself working and holding a teacup) Alisha Crossley Photography (image of the invitation suite)