Started in Dubai seven years ago by businesswomen Zainab Alsalih and Leena Alsulaiman, Carousel began as a corporate event-planning agency with renowned clients such as Italian premium furniture group Poltrona Frau, Trump Towers in the Palm Jumeirah and the Architectural Association of the UAE. Two years ago, however, the founders decided to take a more creative trajectory and turned their attention to weddings; The Wedding they haven’t turned back ever since!

The Carousel Girls’ mission is to help their brides enjoy the ride as they embark on this special journey the road to the Big Day! So however you want to celebrate your special occasion, Carousel has the resources and the know how to help you realize it. Services include planning and event management, where both Zainab and Leena are always available to help understand a brides’ thoughts and vision, and focus on the big picture as they choose their theme, – which can range from anything such as a Beach Fantasy, a Midnight Rendezvous or even a traditional Middle Eastern affair. In addition to planning and event management, Carousel’s services include design and execution. Once the concepts and themes are properly developed, the design team will put together images and floor plans to help conceptualize your perfect wedding. Carousel is also able to design and build everything from stages to catwalks and also source lighting specialists to create the perfect ambience to compliment the design.

Three qualities of the successful wedding planner?
A successful wedding planner must have impeccable people Skills, be extremely organized and passionate about what they do.

What is the main advantage of hiring a wedding planner?
You can save a great deal of money and time! Wedding planners enjoy industry discounts and special rates from wedding vendors.

How do you manage trust from your clients, after all it is the most important day of their life?
Testimonials from previous brides and vendors are very important. We always ask our brides and vendors we work with to give a testimonial summing up their experience with Carousel. We are very happy for our new brides to speak to our previous ones for assurance. In addition to that, our portfolio speaks for itself!

How did you get into wedding planning?
We have a passion for all things beautiful and a desire to make people happy, and what better career than making dream weddings come true.

What not to do as a Bride?
Plan your own wedding! Planning an wedding can be a very daunting and hectic task which can take away from the joy of the whole experience.

What is the most special location that hosted one of your weddings?
A marquee on the beach.

Tell us a difficult situation you have faced and how you got out of it?
We have been blessed with amazing bride and luckily have not had a difficult situation to date!

At what point in the process do you usually get involved?
Most brides get in touch with us once they have set a date while others get in touch once they have finalized venue. The wedding day survival kit should include List of wedding day phone numbers, Advil or Tylenol, Iron/Steamer (if the hotel or place you’re getting ready doesn’t have one available for you), breath mints, Cell phone and charger, bottled water and your Ipod.

Do you adopt any practice to make your weddings environmentally friendly?
We try and use eco-friendly tree free or 100% recycled paper whenever possible for wedding stationary. We are also looking into using soy based candle wax.

What advice do you have for couples who are determined to plan everything themselves?  
Delegate! You will need all the help you can get so get your family and close friends involved whenever possible.

By: Nira Abada