Testimonials

Cate took the time to understand our daughters’ visions for her wedding. Cate happily tailored her services to meet our daughters’ individual preferences and personality at every stage. This fulfilled our daughters’ visions, tastes and wanted vibe for the day.  Cate was willing to go above and beyond and jump in anywhere else that needed extra support. We are very happy to recommend Cate and her wonderful wedding planning services.

Sue and Pete (Parents of the bride)

Planning a wedding with over 170 guests on a remote and inaccessible hilltop property sounded like a recipe for disaster. But this had always been my daughter’s dream and with Cate’s assistance, (Mother of Weddings) she not only made it happen, but far exceeded our expectations. 

Cate didn’t just plan our wedding; she orchestrated it. Her ability to take charge immediately put us at ease. We knew with her at the helm, we wouldn’t be drowning in stress on the big day and that is really what I wanted. But Cate went beyond mere organisation, she seemed to instinctively understand our vision and what would make our wedding truly special.

Her meticulous attention to detail ensured every single element, from the ceremony to the remotest corner of the venue, was flawless. No stone was left unturned, and every guest’s experience was considered. Speaking of guests, each and every person said it was one of the most beautiful weddings they had attended.

Logistics were challenging – how to get 170 guests on and off the mountain was the major concern for us. Cate handled it with aplomb and it was a flawless exercise. The buses all ran to a strict time table but were flexible when they needed to be – people were very grateful to have had this service.

Also, I had not considered getting a marquee as we have a large property that is well designed for entertaining but Cate reassured us that we would need it and she was right…it was the perfect spot to pull everyone together for speeches, dancing and connecting. It was the right decision.

She also recommended top-notch caterers and bar staff. Her experience and sheer enthusiasm instilled confidence in us to go with her suggestions and we were not disappointed. I can guarantee you that with Cate, you will have a beautiful wedding without all the stress. There were so many little things she and Chris did on the day that I actually felt like a guest.  

In closing, all I can say is that Cate is simply exceptional. She’s not just a wedding planner; she’s a magician who somehow seamlessly transforms dreams into unforgettable memories. 

Julie Verner Mackay (Mother of the bride)

Cate you were invaluable during the whole process and on the day – thank you so much – we could not recommend you more.

We wanted to have our wedding at a private venue which we initially thought would be less maintenance but in reality meant we needed to think about every detail, from the food down to the glassware and waiters.

Luckily we had Cate! She made it so easy to plan this wedding, bringing us choices for flowers, music, photography, food and suppliers to make the decisions quick and easy. She also kept us updated with costs throughout so we could keep within budget. However, we simply could not have done without her on the day of the day of the wedding.

Every detail was overseen by Cate from liaising with the food staff, photographer and DJ to calling cabs for our guests.

During the process she was always available to meet up and discuss and share tips over a cup of tea (or bubbles) and a laugh – we couldn’t have pulled off our dream wedding without her.

Samantha Bax

Dear Cate

We wanted to thank you for the wonderful job you did in making Paula and Shannon’s wedding such a great success.  When Paula told us she had engaged a wedding planner we were a little sceptical.  Surely we could do this ourselves. How wrong we were. Right from the first day we realised you were an essential investment in the success of the wedding day.

Your experience helped to predict all the possible problems we might face and find solutions before they arose. The level of detail you provided was amazing and made our job of selecting what we required very simple. You were always conscious of the budget and gave lots of alternatives. Your work in assisting and coordinating the flower arrangements, table arrangements, marquee and equipment hire, hall decoration and bar set up meant everything came together seamlessly and we were able to approach the day stress free. Your experience with understanding the quantities of goods required for hire meant we didn’t over commit or under order.

On the day itself you worked tirelessly in the background making sure everyone from the chef to the band were performing. The whole day went without a hitch and we were able to enjoy it without worrying about a thing, knowing you were in full control.

In short, you are a wedding angel who magically makes the whole journey from start to finish a very pleasurable experience we will always cherish.

Yours gratefully

Jim and Rosey Dootson

Cate, you are every bride’s dream!

Not only did you make planning our wedding a breeze, you made it stress free and fun every step of the way! Your incredible creative concepts and attention to detail for everything from locations and styling to the father daughter dance, made our wedding uniquely us.

You were always on hand to provide us with support or guidance when we needed it and always made sure we celebrated the important moments! Your preparation and coordination of everything on our actual wedding day was perfect and made it stress free for everyone involved.

I can truly say, I would not change a thing about our wedding day and it is all because of you! Thank you for making our day perfect!

Genevieve Wills

Cate – Thank you for stepping in at the last minute to help with Kate and Richard’s wedding. Your organisational skills and knowledge of the wedding business were exemplary. The running order for the day was fantastic and just made everything go so smoothly. A wonderful day thanks to you.

Tom and Jaci Stevenson

Cate, thank you for the way you helped to coordinate the most wonderful wedding I could have ever hoped for our daughter.

From the minute you started working with Mandy and Genevieve, the stress disappeared and the fun began. The little ideas you added really helped make the day. We loved your idea of the father-daughter dance as it gave Genevieve and I an opportunity to share something special together.

All the guests commented it was the best wedding they had ever been to!

You are the best wedding planner ever.

Thank you.

Andrew Molloy (Father of the bride)

We highly recommend Cate Allen-Ducat from Mother of Weddings to anyone getting married. When we got engaged, we weren’t planning on having a wedding planner. We didn’t think we needed one. But as we started making plans, we realised how expensive anything wedding related can be and how important it is to compare quotes.

When we first spoke with Cate, she was initially just going to help us source our quotes, but as time went on we realised we couldn’t do without her! She has a wealth of knowledge and contacts and was able to save us a lot of money as she knew who to contact for what we wanted.

We were very hands on with our wedding making a lot of things ourselves. Cate was a great support and always helped us with ideas immediately understanding exactly the look we were going for.

Cate helped us so much by providing a detailed event plan in the early stages followed by to-do checklists and detailed runsheets for our suppliers and wedding party. Cate doesn’t miss anything and thinks of things we never would have. I know these are things we could have taken on ourselves but there is no way everything would have run as smoothly as it did.

On the day, Cate was an incredible support to our families. They and us enjoyed the day without having to worry about a thing.  Cate made sure our guests were well looked after and everything went to plan. We had no idea about any of the little things that popped up because Cate took care of it. Our Mum’s couldn’t thank her enough!

We thought we couldn’t afford a wedding planner but Cate is very reasonable and she saved us money. Overall our day was perfect and a lot of that is due to Cate. She did over and above what we ever could have expected.

Thank you Cate.

Jamie and Lesa De Re

Where do I start, Cate Allen-Ducat, you are amazing!!! We had a wonderful stress free time leading up to and including wedding day. Nothing was ever a problem. Your ability to work with both families and all the suppliers ensured that everyone was happy and everyone felt valued.

Your attention to detail meant that not only were the pre drinks venue, reception venue, the Chapel, food selection, flowers and music from the five piece band and DJ perfect – but the small things: the gifts for the guests, food at home for wedding morning and coordination of the speeches was wonderful.

We could not imagine planning a wedding without you, you thought of everything. You even took care of the Sunday recovery party!

Thank you, it was Genevieve’s dream wedding xx

Amanda Molloy (Mother of the bride)

Cate thank you doesn’t seem enough to show our appreciation for the amount of time, advice and assistance you gave Aaron and Jaclyn’s wedding preparations. The many aspects of the wedding day from beachside ceremony to river cruise to tipi/restaurant reception and your anticipation of the needs of such an event with timetables and scheduling demonstrated your incredible professionalism and event management experience. Personally to have your calm and relaxed manner and your constant availability for counselling on a myriad of wedding decisions that arose was invaluable and gave me great confidence that on the day everything would run smoothly – which it did. It was amazing! Thank you for everything.

Christine Gregg (Mother of the bride)

You would be forgiven for thinking that it might have been a stressful experience planning a wedding in 79 days.

Our short engagement was a wonderful time in our lives and pulling off our surprise wedding was a dream with Cate’s planning, insight and execution. From the little things; going to the effort of bringing in pot plants from her home on the day of the wedding to pull off a wet weather option in style to the big things; knowing exactly which catering and lighting companies to use; Cate’s advice was invaluable.

My husband and I would have no hesitation in recommending ‘Mother of Weddings’ especially given that our special day exceeded all our expectations. I honestly don’t know why you would consider planning a wedding without the help of at least “on the day coordination”, the peace of mind, planning and support that Cate & Chris provide should not be underestimated.

Anna and Tim Dunsdon