How to Become a Go-To Wedding Professional for International Couples with Alida Szilfai

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Join us as we embark on a captivating journey into the world of destination weddings with the remarkable Alida Silify C., a distinguished wedding planner from Eastern Europe. Ever wondered what it takes to plan an international wedding and why Hungary is becoming a hotspot for such events? Get ready to uncover Alida's fascinating path into the industry, her expert strategies for navigating cultural nuances, and how she bridges the gap in language and time zones with international clients. This episode promises an exhilarating look into becoming a trusted expert in the destination wedding market, filled with Alida's firsthand insights and anecdotes that will leave you inspired and informed.

As we explore further, Alida graciously shares her treasure trove of resources for planning weddings in Hungary. Whether you're an aspiring wedding planner or a curious couple, discover the wealth of knowledge available through her educational website, alidawedding.com, and the valuable connections offered by the Wedding Academy. My co-host, Ben, and I are thrilled to showcase Alida’s invaluable contributions to the industry, making this episode a must-listen for anyone eager to expand their horizons in wedding planning. From practical advice to potential collaborations, immerse yourself in this rich tapestry of knowledge that Alida so generously provides.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And welcome back to episode one of season four
Wedding Empires.
How exciting and I can'tbelieve it, it's still here.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
I know and I'm coming to.
You live from the big brotherhouse Apparently.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
That's literally what it looks like what it looks
like no, it's great to be back.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
I'm looking forward to season four and we've got a
very special guest.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
We do Now hopefully I can say her surname correctly.
I've been practicing.
I know it's sort of like csithe show kind of, but don't kill
me.
Alita, alita, cf alina silify c.
Yes, it's like all right, look,she's Hungarian, she's got a

(00:46):
beautiful name.
I just am really terrible atpronouncing how are you darling
Fine and I'm honored to be herewith you today, so thank you.
Today we're going to be divinginto how to become the go-to
wedding professional forinternational couples.
Alida's going to share her topstrategies, challenges and

(01:07):
success stories from her journeyas an Eastern European wedding
planner, working with clientsworldwide.
She's also going to give ussome insider tips on building
trust with couples fromdifferent cultures, managing
logistics from afar andpositioning yourself as the
sought after expert in thedestination wedding market.
So, alida, I know that you'reone of our students at the

(01:31):
Wedding Academy, so I'm quitefamiliar with your work and
you've absolutely establishedyourself in your market in
Hungary.
Can you share with Ben and Iyour journey, sort of how you
got into wedding planning and, Iguess, what inspired you to
focus on international weddingsFantastic and what makes Hungary

(01:56):
and Eastern Europe a uniquedestination for weddings?
I've never been to Hungary,have you, ben?

Speaker 2 (02:05):
No, I haven't.
No, I've previously skydivedwith a few people that were from
Hungary and I've beenintroduced to the cuisine a
little bit, but I haven'tactually been there.
But it's being in Europe likethat.
Everything is so close and youcan obviously go all different
places in Europe.
It's interesting, the pricingis so different between,
obviously, hungary and the UK,so it's really handy, I guess,

(02:29):
to be able to just jump overinto another country and have a
totally different take on thewedding and totally different
cuisine and totally differentexperience, which is really cool
.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
So I guess so, being a destination planner, a lot of
your dealing with your clientsis not face-to-face, it's remote
.
How do you find that?
I'm sure that's got its ownchallenges.
Yeah, I got used to it.
When I had my business I diddestination weddings in New
Caledonia, which is about twohours well, depending on where

(02:57):
you are in Australia, about twoto three hours flight and I was
very familiar with the locations.
And I was very familiar withthe locations and I think it's
handy Like I went and not onlydid my research in all the
venues and things like that, butI went to all the hotels.
I saw all the different roomtypes.
I saw you know places wherethey can go and eat dinner at a

(03:20):
restaurant.
There's so much more to thinkabout.
I think when everybody's comingin from another place, you've
really got to think about allthe elements of the holiday,
really isn't it?
Yeah, wow, and buying a housewith a virtual inspection.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
So, Alita, working with couples from all over the
world, has that changed yourapproach to how you plan
weddings and the differentcultures and that sort of thing?
Yeah, I have a friend who's aphotographer in Budapest and
some of the photos that I seethat he creates really strange
angles and really close to thecouple and in the middle of the
ceremony and that sort of thing,and it's something as a

(04:01):
photographer here I wouldn't beable to get away with because
the priest or the minister wouldtell me to move.
So it's obviously verydifferent what the ceremonies
and how everything is plannedand executed over there.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
I was just going to say.
So what would be some tips onhow you were able to establish
yourself as a trusted plannerfor people looking at getting
married in Hungary?
How did you build thatreputation for yourself?

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Ben, you had that look, you could see I had that
look in my eyes For weddingprofessionals now.
So, shifting from the clientsbrides and grooms to wedding
professionals, what advice wouldyou give a wedding professional
who was looking to expand intothat destination market?
And how does that weddingprofessional like?

(04:52):
What advice would you givesomeone who wants to build that
market and step into that genre?

Speaker 1 (04:57):
I love that.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Jack, I could see a collaboration with you and Alita
with a two-day event in Hungary.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
No, I was thinking that, alita, have you seen on my
spam about my two-day weddingplanning certification?
Are we going to bring it toHungary?
Oh, okay, so we might see youthere.
I'm just looking for an excuseto visit Budapest and have you
show me around.
Really, it looks amazing,because I'm always interested in

(05:28):
this, the geeky stuff.
What systems do you use?
Give me your top five softwareor systems that you use in your
business all the time.
I agree, yes, everything's onmy screen.
I'm different.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
I love that.
Alita, I love that.
I do that too.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
I do.
I'm all about automation.
I love R Planner but I look Ihad to do a lot of customizing
in terms of you know, theirchecklists and their run sheets
and things like that.
I absolutely made our own andwe just reused that template so
you can customize that.
What do you reckon Alida is themost common concerns that

(06:07):
international couples have whenthey're planning a destination
wedding?
Why did they choose Hungary?
What was the connection?

Speaker 2 (06:13):
That leads to a really good question as well.
Obviously, you've got differentlanguages to deal with as a
destination wedding planner, buthow do you navigate language
barriers and also timedifferences and different time
zones and stuff like that?
I always get confused when itcomes to time zones because I'm

(06:34):
doing Zoom calls with Japan orthe US or something like that.
What's your favorite website,software or whatever to help you
navigate time zones?

Speaker 1 (06:44):
I just wanted to add something that also, I think is
really specific to destinationwedding planners is you're
almost like the local tour guideas well, in that your knowledge
is you need to know.
Your knowledge is you need toknow.

(07:05):
You need to have a Rolodex ofeverything, of not just your
supplies and all of that.
But who's a good hairdresser?
Where can I get my pantsaltered?
Where can I?
You know?
How can I get a minibus for 10people?
You know those kind ofquestions that get flung at you.
You really have to be that.
I guess, if there's people thatwant to move from being a
wedding planner into adestination wedding planner, you
really have to be that.
I guess, if there's people thatwant to move from being a
wedding planner into adestination wedding planner, you
really have to spend the timeto get to know that destination

(07:27):
and build your Rolodex of amillion different services and
contacts.
Would you agree?
I think it's great advice.
Ben, have you got your famousquestion.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
I do.
I do, alita.
If you walked outside today andran into an 18-year-old version
of yourself, what advice wouldyou give yourself to ensure your
success, knowing what you knownow?

Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah, I love that, thank you.

Speaker 2 (07:55):
I love that.
I agree with that too.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
So Ben back yourself.

Speaker 2 (07:59):
Yes, I will.
I will, I'll take Alida'sadvice and I will back myself.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
Alida, it's been a pleasure spending this time with
you.
If anyone's got clients thatwant to get married in Hungary
or, you know, would like someadvice on being a destination
wedding planner, go and look upAlida.
She does teach wedding planning.
Go and look up Alida.
She does teach wedding planning.

(08:25):
Her website is alidaweddingcom.
Forward.
Slash en for English.
I will put the links in theshow notes so you can also find
her on Instagram, Facebook andLinkedIn.
Now the students at the WeddingAcademy get to see this video
nice and early and live.
So if you are keen to see Benin his floral shirt and me in my

(08:45):
pink Gorman metallic shirt moreoften, then you need to come
and join us at the WeddingAcademy, and the website for
that is weddingacademyglobalcom.
Ben.
Anything to add?

Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes, no, I'm just going to sit here and nod and
smile.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Yeah, I usually cut him off.
Thanks, alita.
It was wonderful, alita.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Thank you, alita, it was a pleasure to meet you.