Caroline Gardiner
Caroline’s journey, preceding the running of one of Ireland’s most successful party planning companies, started in 2003 when she was appointed Sales & Marketing Director of Europe’s largest party store.
Her next related role was running a busy events team in one of Dublin’s most established restaurants. During this period, she gained great insight into her customer’s needs, the logistics and timings of events, budget control and making sure that each event or wedding went perfectly as planned.
Having developed an expert eye in events and parties coupled with a passion to always deliver what the client needs and wants, she founded The Party Professionals in 2008.
“Having started as the Celtic Tiger was dying, I learned how to strategically negotiate on behalf of my clients and to organise an event or party within an allocated budget. Even though we are out of the dark times, I still demand the best prices whilst never compromising on the quality of the service or product.
We are unique in the way that we operate: we don’t have preferred suppliers; we receive at least 3 quotes per event; and we choose our suppliers based on reputation and price. We do background checks on each supplier and will only use a supplier that we know we can depend on. Our customer is king and we work hard to make sure that each and every client receives the highest customer care, before, during and after each event.”
Suzy Cousins
Suzy brings over 12 years of experience to The Party Professionals team. Suzy’s customer service experience spans over 25 years, having started her long career as cabin crew for Ireland’s most well-known airline. In this role she learnt the key skills of always putting the customer first while keeping health and safety at the forefront of her daily duties.
For The Party Professionals, she is key in implementing event plans and concepts, working under very tight deadlines and pressure. She ensures a perfectly executed event every time in an assertive and professional manner.
“Working closely with clients and ensuring their comfort in the knowledge that we have everything under control is what we are here for. Organising events can be challenging and stressful for most people and our service takes all of that stress away, delivering the concept from start to finish, no matter the size of event. Managing expectations and conveying to suppliers exactly what the client wants is a large part of what we do. Working under pressure is what we all thrive on in The Party Professionals and managing stress from time to time too. However our confident approach always shines through to our clients and suppliers.”
Síle Nolan
With over 25 years’ experience running top restaurants and bars in Dublin, Cape Town and London, Síle brings a keen focus on service and operations to the team.
Having a held a role as Director of Sales and Marketing for a private members club, a Head of Events role for a leading bar group in the UK, and more recently running the events department in a local Dublin hotel, Síle has a wide range of knowledge when it comes to running and organising weddings and events.
“My focus is always on the guest – anticipated their needs and ensuring they have the best possible experience. I have a passion for what I do and love the buzz and excitement of running an event; watching all the elements come together as seamlessly as possible. It can be stressful, but at the same time, so rewarding knowing your clients can completely relax and enjoy their event because you have everything under control.”
Hollie Lawford
Hospitality is home for Hollie and during her time with one of Dublin’s hottest bars, she gained a wealth of knowledge in executing private parties for clients in-house. Hollie has had the pleasure of immersing herself in the customer service and events industry for over a decade. Learning from the ground up, she has the added experience from serving customers to fully managing entire events in unique surroundings. She is used to being the first point of contact to the very last with clients and is only too happy to offer a hand-holding experience with clients whilst sharing her experience and advice.
Hollie is enthusiastic and loves the human to human contact with clients. Her forte is to really get to know clients to execute the most perfect day or evening for them.
“There is no better feeling for me than delivering a client’s vision on the day of their party or event. I thrive on the planning, the execution of the event and the attention to detail for all parties, big and small. From the initial consultation through to the event date, I love being a part of this vision”.
Nicole Bowman
Nicole is a highly creative and enthusiastic team member. With a background in management, fine art and photography, her attention to the smaller details adds the perfect touch to her creative endeavours. Event production is her passion.
Nicole coordinates all our event services such as marquees, transportation and food service. With more than twenty years working in the hospitality sector, she has a strong insight into how food and drinks should be presented and timed correctly. She excels at sourcing the right catering and bar staff for each private party and event. And having studied fine art, she is full of inspirational ideas for converting any location or space into the clients perfect party venue.
“Having a beautiful and well-oiled event is important but it is deeper than that. Having the right staff at your event and making sure that the hosts do not need to lift a finger all evening is also always at the forefront of our minds and choosing the right people to fit each event is paramount as the staff working an event are responsible for the back-end work which holds an event together and keeps it a well-run event all evening”.