Authority map
Identify who approves, who advises, who should be informed, and which matters must reach the principal.
14 / Family-office operating guideMaeve Kelly Atelier
A wedding as
a special project.
A private family wedding can be structured as a defined project within the family’s existing office, with clear authority, reporting, specialist roles, information boundaries, and one accountable planning lead.
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The specialist wedding function should reduce the office’s burden, not become another function to manage.
AUTHORITY / REPORTING / INTEGRATION
01The mandate
Define what the office retains.
The family office may retain approval authority, budget oversight, contracting protocols, counsel, security, travel relationships, and principal communication. The wedding planner can own the integrated brief, creative and operational recommendations, partner coordination, decision calendar, production plan, and guest experience.
The right model is not total delegation. It is a clear division of responsibility with named owners, escalation routes, and appropriate access.
02The workflow
Make every update decision-ready.
A principal should not have to read the planning team’s entire search history. A useful recommendation explains what is proposed, why it fits, what it costs, what it changes, when a decision is needed, and who is authorized to make it.
Reporting rhythm
Agree concise updates, budget views, decision registers, and meeting cadence with the office.
Specialist lanes
Keep counsel, security, household, travel, communications, and technical advisers in the roles they are appointed to lead.
Escalation
Create a direct route for time-sensitive, privacy-sensitive, and cross-functional decisions.
03The partner team
One operating plan across many experts.
The wedding may involve household staff, an estate manager, security professionals, private aviation or travel advisers, counsel, publicists, hospitality teams, and event suppliers. The planning lead should integrate their requirements without confusing expertise or authority.
Maeve Kelly Atelier acts as the specialist wedding-planning function within that structure. It does not replace the family office or claim legal, protective, financial, or technical authority.
04The lifecycle
Begin with less. Close out deliberately.
A representative can begin with a limited brief before disclosing the principals. During planning, information can be separated by role. Afterward, the office and planning team can review files, permissions, portals, printed documents, images, and temporary access.
This complete lifecycle is what turns confidentiality from a promise into an operating model.
DIRECT ANSWERS
What people ask first.
Can a family office appoint Maeve Kelly Atelier directly?
Yes. The office or another authorized representative may initiate the engagement and remain the central client-side contact, subject to the family’s chosen contracting and decision structure.
Will the office still need to manage every vendor?
The atelier can centralize the wedding vendor team and present coordinated recommendations, while the office retains the approvals, controls, and specialist relationships it chooses to hold.
How is principal attention protected?
Decision rights and reporting are agreed at the beginning. Routine work stays within the authorized team, while matters requiring principal judgment are prepared clearly and escalated through the right person.