Verger has offices in Milan and Rome, making her destination
weddings more accessible. “It’s similar to being an architect;
designing from scratch, assembling my team along the way. For
the Tuscany wedding, I called the florist and told them what
was needed, had my offices in Italy handle the couple’s
amenities for their arrival, I had custom tablecloths made here
in New York and carried them in my suitcase. I have the design
and vision, but the end result comes with teamwork.”
When asked about any upcoming projects, “I’m currently
planning a wedding for a client that’s a model, at Essex House.
She loves being a model, so I’m building a runway in the
middle of the room. She’ll have her very own catwalk.”
And if you’re from a small town, don’t worry, Verger’s got you
covered. “Oh, I can transform anything,” she jokes. “I’ll make
them walk in and say, ‘Oh wow, this is Cleveland?’”
Her idea of the perfect wedding isn’t about $150,000
custom-made chandeliers, or serving hors d’oeuvres you can’t
pronounce, it’s about the everlasting memories created at the
start of a couple’s married life. “We all focus on the wedding,
but not the marriage. Everything else is extra.”
She tells me Cristina Verger Event Planning and Production
doesn’t focus on superstar personalities, “we don’t really do
‘celebrity’ couples, I enjoy working with young professionals.”
Perhaps that’s what sets her apart from other sought after
planners in New York; for Cristina it’s about getting to know
her clients on a personal level, and creating the perfect event
and environment collaboratively.
“What is this, ‘what do you do’ question as soon as you meet
someone here in New York?” she asks, genuinely confused, “in
Italy, we do not do this. It’s rude. What difference does it make
what you do? Italians can look at you and get a sense of who
you are, that’s how I am able to read my clients so well.”