Soirée was founded in 1998 and has developed an outstanding reputation within the industry among clients and industry professionals. By hiring Soirée you can rest assured you are in good hands.

Is the coordination company you are interviewing well established? Do they have the experience to support their words and beautiful photographs?

So often people start a coordination company because they had such a great time planning their own wedding or helping a friend with their special occasion, that they decide to coordinate events for a living. While it is admirable to pursue a passion you have found, often these individuals launch their business before they have gained the experience or expertise to effectively run their own company and they have yet to discover how to successfully manage multiple special events.

Some coordinators have event planning businesses on the side in addition to a regular full time job. While many are successful at this, you want to make sure that your coordinator has adequate time and resources to attend to and follow through on your event details. If they are pressed for time because of other commitments, will they have the time to give your details the attention they deserve?

Soirée has been in business for over 15 years and successfully coordinated numerous weddings. They have the experience and tools needed to bring your vision to life.

They also have two full time coordinators who run the office so you do not need to worry that they will not be able to properly focus on your special event. By working closely together, Soirée makes sure that every detail of your event is attended to. Should one of the coordinators be out of the office running errands or attending a meeting, you know there will be someone available who is knowledgeable and up to date with your details to answer any questions.

Does your potential coordinator accept kickbacks?

While rare, there are some coordinators who accept special deals from vendors in order to make a profit at your expense. This is generally looked down upon in the industry and thought of as poor business ethics. When interviewing coordinators, ask if they get referral kickbacks from the vendors they recommend. If they do, be sure to weigh this information and think about how it may affect the planning process. You want a coordination company that is going to recommend vendors to you because they offer quality products and services, not because they may offer you or your coordinator a discount as you may not be getting recommended to the best in their field. Also, do not be afraid to ask other vendors within the industry about the reputation and business practices of the coordination companies you are considering. Soirée does not accept kickbacks of any kind and informs the vendors they recommend that what matters most is offering their client exceptional service and/or product. If a vendor does offer Soirée a discount, that savings is passed on to you.

Make sure the coordination company you hire has a back-up plan if circumstances prevent them from performing the contracted services.

While uncommon, life happens and there is a possibility your coordinator may not be able to attend to your event as promised if illness or a death in the family for example, should occur. You would not want to entrust all of your details to one person who does not have support from others who can take over if needed.

Soirée has a team of coordinators working on your behalf. You are assigned a lead coordinator so you know who will oversee details on your wedding day, but with other professional coordinators working for the company, you know your details will be covered and taken care of no mater what. Even for something as simple as your lead coordinator being out of the office, with a team working behind Soirée, you know your questions will be answered promptly.

How does your coordinator handle a special event with multiple locations?

Soirée provides a minimum of two coordinators with every coordination package. They work together to handle all details leading up to the special day and are both present the day of to ensure that everything happens without a hitch. Having two professionals attending to your details is always better than one, especially if your special event is at two different locations. Furthermore, Soirée will determine if your particular event needs additional staffing and has the resources to provide the necessary professional assistance.

Not all site coordinators are equal.

The services that Soirée provides for their clients, whether it is Day of Coordination services or Full Coordination, are vast and specialized. They work with your “site coordinator” just like they would coordinate details with your florist or caterer. Be careful if your wedding location tells you that they can act as your wedding planner. The services a site coordinator can perform are very important and they do vary from site to site. However, typically the services they will offer you are not the same as what an independent coordination company like Soirée will provide. Your site coordinator may not even be familiar with all the many details and services that an independent planner offers. So make sure that if your site coordinator offers you some planning assistance that you carefully compare the details of those services against the details of the services provided by an independent professional planning company like Soirée.

You should also compare the details of the services being offered between two different independent planning companies. All coordinators offer different services and package their services differently. You really can’t compare one coordination company’s day of services to another by just comparing the package prices. Really compare the details of what is included in those packages to compare equal services.

Founded by Molli Barss in 1998, Soirée is a full-service special event coordination and management company. We offer exceptional event planning and creative design for local and destination weddings, private celebrations, fundraisers, and corporate events.

Soirée is able to produce superior events with our attention to every last detail and dedication to bringing each client's vision to life with quality and style. We firmly believe that effectively managing all aspects of every event is essential for ensuring it is a success. Whether your occasion is an elaborate wedding weekend or your child’s first birthday party, Soirée will give you our full attention so you feel like you are our only client.

Soirée offers each of our prospective clients a complimentary consultation in which we provide detailed information about our services, an opportunity to browse through our portfolios, and answer any questions you may have about how Soirée can assist you with your special event.

Soirée's team is like a family. Each coordinator has their own individual personality and style, but they all complement the Soirée vision and add to the team with their dedication to the industry, professionalism and expertise.

A little about the owner, Molli Barss ~

Molli graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Finance in 1994. She moved to Portland that summer and fell into the special event industry when she was hired as the Marketing Coordinator for a telecommunications company and organized events for their sales and marketing department. Molli then entered the Sports Marketing area when she was hired as the Business Development Coordinator for Peter Jacobsen Productions, where she was asked to assist in the production of the Greg Norman Shark Shootout in California. Next, she accepted a position at West Coast Event Productions as a Project Manager. It was at West Coast that she realized she wanted to start her own special event planning company. She was hired to work for Uptown Casino Events and Raphael House running their events part-time as she established Soirée in 1998. Although Soirée still continues to produce all types of events, the company grew to specialize in weddings and along with it, Molli's enjoyment of the relationships she establishes with her clients. In 2002 Molli got married herself to a photographer and lives in Portland with him and their two children. In what little spare time she has, she enjoys spending it with her family and friends.