Anna-Jill Gierhards
Founder
Kiss from Fleur
IG: @kissfromfleur
About Anna-Jill
After studying fashion design at the Akademie Mode & Design in Germany and working for an international fashion brand for ten years, Anna-Jill decided she wanted to bring her sense of style to the next level. Leaning on her background in fashion and intuition for pure aesthetics, Anna-Jill developed Kiss from Fleur. She now offers luxury wedding styling and boutique event planning services for clients looking to celebrate their milestones in European destinations.
Anna-Jill is passionate about reimagining weddings and boutique events to create an extraordinary visual journey for her clients and their guests. She predicts trends before they hit the market, modifies them, and gives them her own unique design spin. Employing the highest standards for excellence in design, Anna-Jill produces events that are personalized and curated for her clients’ needs and preferences.
Throughout her career, Anna-Jill has procured a network of high-quality vendors, which now extends beyond German borders. Her rolodex of partners and numerous projects in Greece enables Anna-Jill to specialize in Greek destination weddings and fulfill modern brides’ dreams of an exclusive and intimate wedding experience. Whether Anna-Jill is generating concepts for editorial shoots, producing weddings, or styling boutique events in Germany or Europe, her unexpected approach to visual imagery evokes sentimental moods that create unforgettable shared experiences.
As a destination wedding stylist with recognition from major publications like Vogue UK, you offer unique, luxury wedding styling services for couples that envision something extraordinary. How do you begin the design process with your clients?
We start the design process with a very unromantic yet important conversation, the budget 😉
With over 15 years of experience in design and set styling, my goal is to create an enchanting visual journey for the bridal couple and their guests. I design unforgettable atmospheres that reflect the personality of my couples, but do not distract from the significance of the moment itself.
Using my clients’ answers from their couples questionnaire, I begin scouting the venue. As a designer, when I see the location as well as the style of the bride’s dress, these two main factors provide the most design inspiration for the wedding.
Then, I begin designing. My goal is always to create an authentic environment, and to achieve this, it is very important to have a specific concept in mind. Together with my clients, we determine the design highlights, which are often the major focal points of the event, bearing in mind that less is more. Stylistically, the design scheme is often a nod to the beauty found in nature, with personal touches, and timeless decor that doesn’t lean too heavily into what’s trending.
Your wedding design style has a bespoke signature look. What advice would you give to couples that want to achieve a similar wedding aesthetic?
I am always on the hunt for newness and inspiration. Many years ago before the times of Pinterest while I was working in the fashion industry, I started an “inspiration bible.” I always return to it for visual language that inspires the signature look of my clients’ weddings.
I combine many different influences of inspiration and aesthetics into my wedding designs that I started collecting years ago. Though, I never want a wedding to feel like it depicts the work of a specific designer, because at the end of the day, the wedding design is truly about representing the couple.
As my background is in fashion design, I am trained to detect trends before they emerge. In order to develop an eye for the aesthetic you’re drawn to, and find the right feel for your big day, I suggest collecting as much inspiration as possible from different influences, which can be found on your vacation, from a movie or a song, and of course from Instagram and Pinterest, as well as fashion and architectural magazines.
Then, there needs to be some braveness to decide on the one direction that you want to proceed with. If you feel a bit unsure about that direction, or if you aren’t sure about how you should bring all of your inspiration to realization, this would be the right time to consider working with a wedding stylist 😉
Many of your weddings take place throughout Greece in hotspots like Mykonos and Santorini. How do you maintain the integrity and authenticity of these locations while curating personalized design concepts for your wedding clients?
That is exactly my mission. It’s a delicate process to find the right venue that reflects the couples’ personality, and to find a style concept which emphasizes its natural beauty without overloading it. I strive to give each location its own unique look, by playing to factors like lighting and the flow of the day to inspire the desired mood we want to have!
You’ve introduced a spin on boudoir shoots that captures wedding details while telling a bride’s personal story. What is your philosophy behind this fresh take on bridal boudoir, and how does it come to life?
Boudoir shoots are an empowering gift to yourself, or to your fiancé, especially if you want to build anticipation before your wedding day.
For years I was thinking about how to create a new kind of boudoir shoot that would balance bespoke aesthetics and authenticity. Last July, I found this beautiful new hotel, and I knew this space would make my vision a reality. I’ve always had plenty of ideas in my head about these unique boudoir shoots, but bold ideas require some patience until you find all of the right ingredients to make your vision come to life.
Also, I needed the right photography and videography techniques to bring my ideas to life! The photo & video team are essential to the vision. They’re invisible observers that capture our brides in these special moments of celebrating themselves without judgement. We can see their confidence and comfort levels by the visual language told in the pictures.
For me, it is very important that this artistic storytelling is captured in the photo or video techniques. I want to seduce on all levels, in an authentic style, that tells my brides’ stories.
What are your top five tips for planning a destination wedding in Greece?
Tip No. One: Choose a venue that you have visited before. You want to fall deeper in love each time you visit, and also be sure that this is really the place you want to celebrate your big day. Also, try to spend a full day there, so that you can see all the lighting and sunset on that venue!
Tip No. Two: Be relaxed on your wedding day. Try not to put the responsibilities on family members or friends, because you want the people around you to also be stress-free and enjoy your day. What does this mean? Hire a wedding planner; somebody who can fulfill all of your wishes for the wedding day, and take the stress away from you, your family, and friends, so you can all live this day to the fullest. A wedding planner will let you concentrate on what really matters – your future partner!
Tip No. Three: Trust the local vendors! Especially for destination events, your vendors live in this location and know the environment best! They know how to act and who to call if something goes wrong or something unexpected happens. They have the insider tips to get the items you want, and don’t outsource them from far away, which can save you money.
Tip No. Four: Choose the vendors that you feel the most connected to. It’s extremely important to me that I develop close relationships with my clients, and ensure that we have the same mindset and values. When you speak with your vendors for the first time on the phone, it should give that same “zsa zsa zsu” feeling, like when you met the love of your live for the first time.
Tip No. Five: Embrace every moment! Give your partner a hot kiss and enjoy the most amazing day that you have ever imagined!
Before entering the wedding industry, you worked in fashion, advertising, and e-commerce. Do you draw inspiration from your prior work experience while designing and planning weddings?
Yes, with every single project! My background gives me a unique perspective, and the ability to understand the style and personality of my couples and translate this into their look for the big day.
I also appreciate the work of every vendor who is working in corporate business. Workflow, team spirit and professionalism is something that I really value, next to the design and planning process.
If you were to leave us with something to think about, what would it be?
What I often see, is that many couples come into the planning process feeling confused about what they want for their wedding. Some want a celebration of love, some want an intimate event with their closest family, and some want a very perfect and highly organized party, like a corporate event! To find the right vendors, it is most important to know how you want to experience your big day.
Every couple’s story is unique. My wish, is to narrate your special moments in my visual language 😉
To learn more about Kiss from Fleur, click here.
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