Wendy Markum, Lead Planner
Wendy Markum, Lead Planner
Meet the Team
Wendy Markum
Owner & Lead Wedding Planner, Lead Florist
Add a little Color to your planning journey
Hi there, my name is Wendy, the owner and lead planner of The Savvy Bride.
I have been planning large-scale events and theatre productions for over twenty years and for the past eight years, have been exclusively planning awesome weddings for some really amazing brides.
I function on coffee, share my office with three high-maintenance furry critters, do late-night design research in a bubble bath, and celebrate the end of the day with red wine. I ugly sing in the car on my way to client meetings and geek out to Harry Potter and emoji banter with my brides. Don't adjust your monitor, my hair is purple and it isn't changing anytime soon; my brides won't allow it! <3
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I created The Savvy Bride nine years ago because I wanted to offer couples some levity during the planning process. It is so easy to feel the pressure of creating perfection, and that can lead to unnecessary stress and frustration. My focus on planning requires developing a personal relationship with my client allowing me to translate their unique personalities into a wedding celebration that is authentic to the couple's love and life together. I tell my couples that a successful wedding is when your guests walk away and say, "That was so them!" I would love the opportunity to help you create YOUR perfect wedding celebration.
Matt and Wendy have known each other since childhood and grew up doing theatre together. As a 20+ year professional carpenter, this guy is our own McGyver. You might see Matt assisting with the setup of complex weddings or upstaging Wendy as the Wedding Party's and vendor favorite "DAD." When it comes time to play good cop/bad cop, Matt always gets to be the "good cop."
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Matt is the father of two teens and a college student. When he is not working as a carpenter or a pack-mule with the Bridesmaids' makeup bags or Groomsmen's coolers, Matt enjoys hiking in nature or working on house projects.
Wedding Coordinator, Florist
Matt
Andrea
Lead Wedding Day Coordinator
Andrea has been in the hospitality industry since 2009 in hotel management, assisting in planning and coordinating weddings. In 2020, Andrea started her own Planning Business and has had the opportunity to work with many amazing couples. Andrea is also one of three team members who have been ordained as an officiant and has officiated multiple weddings.
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Andrea started with The Savvy Bride in Spring 2022, and since her first day, Wendy has been trying to get her to take a lead role. Andrea is a huge asset to any wedding team and is warm, extremely efficient, and a wonderful problem solver. Plus, she always has the tissue on the ready for the ceremony.
Liz
Assistant Wedding Coordinator/
Rehearsal Dinner Manager
Liz is a graduate of Christopher Newport University with a degree in Communications and has always had a passion for wedding planning and events. After living overseas with her husband for 4 years and gaining experience working
international events, she is back in the states and ready to focus on planning your dream wedding! Nothing makes her happier than seeing two people in love and starting their next lives together.
She is a mom to two daughters and two fur-babies. She absolutely loves coffee and anything to do with Disney or Harry Potter. In her spare time, Liz loves spending time adventuring in new places with her husband and spending time with her friends! She can’t wait to assist with making your dream wedding come to life! Love conquers all.
Wedding Assistant
Mandy has been with The Savvy Bride since 2016 and deserves an award for putting up with Wendy for that long. :-) Mandy is soft-spoken, but don't let that fool you; she has a wicked sense of humor and is very efficient and focused on her wedding tasks. When not working on weddings, Mandy is a small-business owner of Bitty&Bean and loves spending time with her family, including her husband Donny and daughter Meredith.