Being a Guest

As you may have noticed, I was a guest at the wedding I just coordinated. My older brother was the best man, and the groom has been like a son to my parents who were of course there and were there to help me through the whole process. . I have attended more weddings than I can count as a guest, and I have worked at many others. It was a bit of an awkward dynamic because I wasn’t really sure how to act. I knew the majority of the guests so it was impossible to avoid socializing. I kept questioning my own professionalism, as the bride demanded I join her on the dance floor. I wondered what the other vendors thought, but then I realized, I have done so much prep work, and I could see that everyone was doing their job, which allowed for the autonomy. Someone kept asking me when I was going to put my clipboard down and have fun, and my initial reaction was: Are you kidding? This is a blast! It’s what I live for!!

I realized that in coming to this small town, in which I was born and raised, I will be doing dozens of weddings in which I am either a guest or I will know a ton of guests there. I thought this was going to make me nervous at the last wedding, but it was actually comforting because everyone was so incredibly encouraging and supportive. Leading up to the event, I ran into numerous people who were beyond excited for me to reveal my work. The fact that I will always be surrounded by friends, families, and acquaintances is comforting. I feel like if I stayed in the "I'm at work" mode and can't socialize with you, then I wouldn't really be doing my best job to make guests feel comfortable. As long as I can show that there is no stress and I am not under a lot of pressure and have met and exceeded my clients' expectations, then I am showing I am doing and have done my job! 

My Brother, the Best Man, Giving His Speech

Naturally, it’s going to be hard for me to attend any weddings solely as a guest without wanting to step in and help, but I try not to force my help onto my friends. This last weekend I attended one of my best friend’s wedding, and it was hard for me not to jump up and start directing. It was also difficult leading up to it not to drill her with never ending questions to make sure she had everything done. She didn’t need me at all because her wedding was beautiful, and she was radiant as ever. It was held an hour outside of Tucson in the little art colony of Tubac at a BEAUTIFUL resort. Seriously, if you are ever in that area, visiting this town is a must! The town has the neatest atmosphere with friendly people, and the resort is so perfect for a weekend getaway. 

Beautiful Bride and Groom

 I have a broken camera so I am stealing Facebook pictures from everyone!

That brings me back to the questions: Is it okay to be a guest at my own wedding considering I don’t check out and ignore my responsibilities? Will I lose credibility and that sense of professionalism or will it enhance my job and my future in that field with the ability to mingle and market myself? 

Thanks for stopping by and I promise that as soon as I get pictures, I will show off the wedding! Feel free to follow me on Twitter 

New Planner in Town!

I did it! I planned and coordinated my first wedding! Ladies and Gentlemen, I am now officially a wedding planner!

I Do What It Takes to Make it Beautiful! 

Can I just say that despite a few minor things that I probably only noticed, the wedding went so incredibly well. I have a new found confidence and am ready to take this career by the horns or I guess bouquets? HA! I will say that I plan on demanding constructive criticism from the other vendors, the bride and groom, and their families. I need as much as I can get!

My favorite thing so far about this job? The relationship building! I have gotten to know and grown closer to so many people just through this one wedding! I am also rekindling a friendship of a girl I knew through elementary school when I was in preschool as I am planning her wedding for April. It's been so fun getting to know her all over again!

The bride and groom of Saturday's wedding are two of my brother's best friends. The groom Lance lived with us in college and Laura was always here cooking for him and taking care of him. I've been around these two as the little sister for almost 10 years, and through this project they've become fabulous friends of mine. I even joined them for the bachelorrette/bachelor party which is not common for the wedding planner. I was nervous about the perceived professionalism of the whole thing, but I rekindled friendships, met some great people, and had a wonderful time!

Another funny thing is that the Lance and Laura got a beach house in Laguna for their honeymoon, about 20 minutes from my house in Orange County. She kept telling me she wanted to BBQ with everyone despite the fact that it's her honeymoon. I missed the BBQ but she begged me to stop by on my way to town so I did, and we sat by the beach and fire and chatted about the wedding. I loved that Lance wanted to talk about it with us too and had some really insightful input.

I assumed she was never going to want to hear from me again for a while, but Laura's already planning on doing a styled one-year anniversary shoot, and we have plans to start a supper club beginning with a Halloween party.

I am eagerly waiting for the pictures from the photographer, and then I will do an official re-cap of the whole thing. I have a lot I want to share with you such as being a guest at the wedding you plan, how I set myself up for success, having my family on board...again, things I still need to work on, a re-cap of the wedding and vendors, and others but I want to keep it this short! I will leave you with a little sneak peak....I was bad and brought an uncharged camera so only got a few shots, but I stole some from Facebook :)

For now I am off to another wedding of a very close friend from junior high and high school in the little art town Tubac outside of Tucson. It's going to be such a beautiful wedding! It has definitely been the season of wedding festivities!

I love the signs we made for the flower girls. These girls were extremely proud of their jobs!

The Cigar Lounge..My Favorite Part! I Didn't love that the banner kept falling despite my glue dots, tape, and pins! 

BEAUTIFUL, Happy Bride!!