What Tara Guerard Soiree does

Tara Guérard Soirée is a full-service luxury event planning and design firm founded in 1997 by Tara Guérard and headquartered at 70 Queen Street in Charleston, South Carolina, with a second office opened in 2009 at 307 7th Avenue in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. The firm delivers end-to-end wedding planning, design, vendor coordination, and on-site execution for affluent couples, with a portfolio spanning the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest United States, and Italy. Service breadth includes design-making, floral design, custom stationery via the wholly-owned sister brand Lettered Olive (proprietary letterpress printing on 100% cotton paper from Italy's oldest paper mill), in-house furniture, lighting, and décor inventory, plus a construction team led by a long-tenured coordinator with live-entertainment rigging and carpentry credentials. The team's named core includes Owner & Creative Director Tara Guérard, Lead Event Planner, Lead Graphic Designer, Logistics and Planning Coordinator, Travel Concierge, Production Lead and Floral Designer, and Construction Coordinator.

The business is privately held by founder Tara Guérard with no external institutional investment, funding rounds, or parent company, operating as a professional services firm with bespoke, non-public pricing quoted per engagement. Distribution is direct-to-client via consultations from the Charleston and New York offices, with inbound demand generated through earned media (Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Brides, Martha Stewart Weddings, Food & Wine, InStyle, Southern Living), national TV appearances, speaking engagements at venues such as the Mint Museum and New Orleans Museum of Art, and an active owned-media blog. Beyond the core planning business, the founder has extended the brand into a furniture design line and the wholly-owned handmade bicycle basket brand May Cabas, while pursuing a third book and broadcast development. There is no technology platform, app, API, or AI capability; competitive differentiation rests entirely on personal brand, editorial reputation, specialized craft talent, and vertically integrated design inventory.

Name

Tara Guerard Soiree

Legal name

Tara Guérard Soirée

Website

https://taraguerardsoiree.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tara Guérard Soirée is a privately held, full-service luxury wedding planning and design firm founded in 1997, serving affluent couples from offices in Charleston, SC and New York City, with wholly-owned sister brand Lettered Olive for proprietary letterpress stationery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wedding & Event Planning Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Wedding Planning (HSACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wedding Design, Decor & Floral Planning (HSACABAH), Vendor Sourcing & Management (Venues, Catering, Photo/Video, Music) (HSACABAG), Wedding & Bridal Floral (Bouquets, Boutonnieres, Corsages) (HSACAOAJ), Bridal & Wedding Party Styling (Attire, Hair/Makeup Coordination) (HSACABAF)

Keywords

• Luxury wedding planning
• Event design services
• Wedding coordination
• Custom stationery design
• Destination weddings

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Event Planning and Design Services: Full-service wedding and event planning services including design, coordination, vendor management, and execution for high-end clientele
2. Letterpress Printing (Lettered Olive): Sister company Lettered Olive provides custom letterpress printing services for wedding stationery, operating as a separate but affiliated business
3. Furniture Design: Tara has expanded her brand to include furniture design alongside the event planning business

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Tara Guerard Soiree is a full-service event planning and design company that creates and executes luxury weddings and related celebrations, including design conception, vendor coordination, floral design, production logistics, and travel concierge services. The company also operates Lettered Olive, a sister company providing custom letterpress-printed wedding stationery on 100% cotton paper.

Product overview

Tara Guerard Soiree is a full-service event planning and design company offering comprehensive wedding and event services. The core offering includes event design-making, vendor coordination, and full-service planning, supplemented by the company's sister brand Lettered Olive for custom letterpress printing and stationery. The company operates from two primary locations (Charleston and New York) and has been in operation since 1997, serving clients across the United States and abroad.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lettered Olive: Sister company specializing in exquisite letterpress printing for wedding stationery, including save-the-dates, invitations, and custom paper designs. Uses 100% cotton paper produced in Italy's oldest paper mill.
• May Cabas

Products and services

• Tara Guerard Soiree Event Planning and Design Services Full-service luxury wedding and event planning and design for affluent couples, covering design conception, vendor coordination, floral design, production, and timeline management. Services weddings, rehearsal dinners, welcome parties, and destination events across the U.S. and internationally.
• Lettered Olive Letterpress Printing and Custom Stationery Custom letterpress-printed wedding stationery including save-the-dates, invitations, envelope liners, and bespoke paper pieces, using 100% cotton paper from Italy's oldest paper mill. Operates as a sister brand to the core planning business.
• Tara Guerard Furniture Design Furniture design line created by founder Tara Guérard as a brand extension of the event planning company.
• May Cabas Handmade Bicycle Baskets Handmade bicycle basket business launched by founder Tara Guérard as an ancillary project to the wedding planning brand.

Quantifiable outcome

• Recognized as top wedding planner by Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Brides, and Martha Stewart

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lettered OlivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLettered Olive is Tara Guerard Soiree's sister company specializing in exquisite letterpress printing. The companies work together to create customized designs for wedding stationery, including save-the-dates, invitations, and paper pieces. Lettered Olive produces 100% cotton paper from Italy's oldest paper mill and offers custom-designed, heirloom quality printed materials.
• SDCO PartnersminorOthersSDCO Partners designed the Tara Guerard Soirée website, providing digital design and development services.
• May CabasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTara has launched May Cabas, a handmade bicycle basket business, as one of several new projects alongside her wedding planning brand.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Marcy Blum: Long-tenured luxury wedding planner with a national reputation and full-service design offering. Comparable to Soirée in target customer (affluent couples), service scope, and editorial visibility in Brides and Vogue-style outlets.
• David Tutera: Celebrity event and wedding planner with a national brand and television presence. Comparable to Soirée in targeting affluent couples, providing design and full-service planning, and leveraging personal brand for client acquisition.
• Bryan Rafanelli: Boutique luxury event firm known for high-touch weddings and private events with a strong design-driven aesthetic. Directly comparable on premium positioning, end-to-end planning, and East Coast/Hamptons clientele.
• Jove Meyer Events: Brooklyn/NYC luxury wedding planner known for editorial-grade design and full-service planning. Comparable on affluent-couple target, design-forward aesthetic, and editorial/media-driven lead generation.
• Michelle Rago Events: New York-based luxury wedding and event planner with a similarly high-end client base and end-to-end design execution. Directly comparable on premium positioning and East Coast/NYC market overlap with Soirée's Manhattan office.
• Mindy Weiss: One of the most recognized luxury wedding and event planners in the United States, with a similarly high-end clientele and full-service design-and-execution model. Directly comparable to Tara Guerard Soiree on tier, service breadth, and celebrity/editorial brand presence.
• House of Rebecca Gardner: Designer-founded event and wedding studio with an in-house prop inventory model, closely analogous to Soirée's owned furniture and accessories library. Comparable on design-led boutique positioning and premium client base.
• Colin Cowie: Celebrity event designer and luxury wedding planner with a brand-led, full-service model. Directly comparable on premium positioning, large-scale design production, and founder-driven media presence.
• Aimee Monahan: NYC luxury wedding planner operating with a small, design-forward team for high-end clientele. Comparable on team size, premium positioning, and full-service planning model.

Others

• Bella Figura: Custom letterpress and fine stationery printer serving luxury weddings and events. Adjacent peer for Soirée's subsidiary Lettered Olive; comparable on premium paper, letterpress technique, and wedding-stationery customer overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/taraguerard
• Facebookfacebook.com/taraguerardsoiree
• Instagraminstagram.com/taraguerard
• Pinterestpinterest.com/taraguerard
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tara-guerard-soiree

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tara Guerard Soiree