NEED TO KNOW
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Influencer Natalie Marshall, known to her millions of social media followers as “Corporate Natalie,” shared exclusive details of her wedding planning with PEOPLE
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The couple first revealed their engagement in May
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Marshall says she’s “most excited” for her bachelorette, for which she’s planning as a “brand trip” for her bridesmaids
Corporate Natalie has officially swapped spreadsheets for seating charts.
After announcing her engagement to her fiancé Matt Mahowald back in May, the content creator — whose real name is Natalie Marshall — has officially entered the “planning” phase of wedding preparations.
Marshall, who rose to fame on social media for her satirical takes on corporate life, spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about taking a break — from both work and wedding planning — during a recent trip to Aruba, part of a new “voluntourism” initiative by the island’s Tourism Authority called “Aruba VTO.”
“It was actually perfect timing,” she says of the trip, where she spent time volunteering on the island. “Right after we got engaged, I went to Aruba with my best friend and maid of honor, Maddie. And we spent so much of our time by the pool just planning and talking bachelorette and all these things.”
While the trip was a welcome breather from the hustle and bustle of planning for the upcoming nuptials, Marshall admits that the wedding planning itself hasn’t necessarily been as “glamorous and fun” as initially expected.
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“You really dream about your wedding, you’re so excited and then you get into the throes of wedding planning and you’re like, ‘Wait, actually this is not as fun and glamorous as I was hoping.’ I just have to pay vendors giant checks to be able to exist on their property or get, I don’t know, a flower included on the tables,'” she tells PEOPLE jokingly.
Fortunately, she’s not tackling it solo.
“My fiancé is fabulous and we’re doing it as a team, so it’s great,” Marshall says.
The social media star only recently introduced her partner to her millions of followers, though their relationship seems to span longer than her online content suggests. In 2023, Marshall and Mahowald were photographed together at a Taylor Swift Eras tour concert, but it wasn’t until this spring that she gave fans a soft launch.
Natalie Marshall/Instagram
Natalie Marshall and Matt Mahowald.
On April 5, she asked followers to help her pick out a wedding guest dress. When she later revealed which option she chose, she posted a clip spinning beside a man whose face was just out of the frame, with the caption “Dress (and BF) reveal…?”
“We’re both aligned that our relationship is super sacred and not something we want to blast to everyone,” Marshall explains. “He’s very offline, and I like that about us. I think it’s less stressful having to report to millions of people on the status of something so personal.”
“So, I think even with the wedding, we’re being pretty careful about what we do, what we post, what we share,” she continues. “I feel like we only have one time to get all of our family and friends together and have this really special intimate moment.”
Despite the emphasis on keeping her relationship private, not everything about the wedding planning will be offline.
“I think my bachelorette, right now, I’m most excited about, because it’s like I have to plan with nine women how to find a way to get to a fun, beachy destination,” Marshall says. “And I think that just even talking about that has been very exciting with my friends, because I want it to be a little brand trip kind of vibe for my besties.”
With two of her bridesmaids being influencers themselves — Victoria Garrick Browne and Aubrey Gavello — Marshall won’t be the only one in charge of capturing content.
Manny Carabel/Getty
Natalie Marshall.
“We did it for Aubrey’s, we did it for Vic’s and now we’re doing it for mine, so it’s fun. They’ll lead the charge on content and videography.”
Content strategies aren’t the only thing she’s outsourcing. As the queen of corporate, Marshall knows her wedding planning strengths, but also when to delegate.
“I’m like a full team of accounting, finance, strategy design, creative, all in one,” she jokes to PEOPLE about her wedding management skills. “And also outsourcing things that aren’t your core competencies, which is why we have a fantastic planner who we’re using.”
Read the original article on People
