Your Mom Is Not A Wedding Planner: Part 1

I have been debating whether or not to write this blog post for quite some time... a year or more honestly... and each time I go to write it I debate whether or not people will understand the importance, the thought behind it and this simple fact: I am not writing this article so that you automatically come and ask me about my services (while yes I would love that...this was not my thought process)...but so that you hire a licensed, insured planner, at least on your day (if not as a full service option). OK, so now that I am done with the disclaimer I will continue...

I hear "NO" alot in my profession. Point Blank, "NO." Which is fine, except for one thing. I think every woman deserves the day she has always dreamt of...this might be the romantic, daydreaming 5 year old in me...but nonetheless the way I feel. I have heard many friends, sorority sisters, former co-workers and even present clients say that they would just have their friend coordinate their wedding day (or their mom, or their sister, or their cousin...you get the point). So, I thought I'd explain one simple thing when it comes to event planning: You can absolutely plan your wedding by yourself, with the help of loved ones and recommendations from random friends, but when it comes to your wedding day you want all that hard work to play out as you have planned. You want your well choreographed performance to be just as well directed...and while your friends have been there throughout the planning process they are only ready to direct a performance where nothing goes wrong, where "Plan A" is all that you need...but what happens when you get to Act 2 (or the reception) and the power is off at the reception venue, your wedding cake is molded and your caterer doesn't bring enough staff to serve 50 people let alone 250 people (all things that have happend this past wedding season)... then your poor misguided "mistress of ceremonies" is to take the blame, for everything that has gone wrong...only because she was stuck in a position where she was ill-prepared. She was ready to go with Plan A, but unfortunately, she needed plans A, B, C & D.

While we are on the subject of misconceptions and overwhelming your friends, let's talk about your caterer or "on site wedding coordinator"....Please don't be fooled when your beautiful venue tells you that they offer a full service or "on site coordinator", "YES, this is too good to be true!". This person is great for things like making sure your food is served warm or possibly setting your already created centerpeices on the table, but they will not help you with the above "situations" that might occur. Now I know you are thinking that these are extreme sitatuions, but these were all situations at weddings where the bride decided at the last minute (within 3 weeks of the wedding) to book a "month of coordination" package...and each of them stated how truly glad they were that there was someone other than a loved one to handle these nearly disasterous situations.