With every wedding I’ve planned in my young career, I’ve had
some sort of personal connection with each one; and I can’t fail to mention
that burlap made a debut in each one thus far. I think rustic may be a huge part of my brand image!
This last wedding will always have a special place in my
heart for so many reasons. When I met with the bride, who is a childhood friend,
I was second-guessing this career. I wanted to go back to school and study my
other passion…nutrition. I prayed that she wouldn’t hire me. At the same time,
I was praying that I would find new friends, as moving home after graduation
was slightly lonely. God ignored the career change request and answered the
friend prayer because this bride, Amy has become one of my best friends and a
true gift from God. And through her, I’ve gained a handful of friendships
including her now- husband, and we’ve all created memories that will last a
lifetime.
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| Amy and I in Monterey |
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| Me with Amy, Steve, and a really great group of friends! |
Planning Amy and Steve’s wedding never felt like work
because I had so much fun with it, and as the days counted down, I was
literally sad that it was almost over! We’d bake for Steve while decorating
votives with pearls, bling, and burlap or we’d all sit around together and work
on song lists while listening to the outdoor channel in the background. We even
had an impromptu dance party in their living room one night to teach the bride
and groom to dance.
As the week drew near, I began to get excited that all our planning
was about to showcase itself. I was also aware that I knew a majority of the
guests so I anticipated being a part of the celebration. The wedding took place
in a local family’s beautiful backyard surrounded by date trees. We began
set-up on Wednesday, and my family was highly involved as my dad decided to
create a temporary catering service and cater the wedding because Amy is like a
daughter to him.
We worked through the week, and by mid-Friday morning, things
were coming together beautifully. I will never forget the paralyzing phone call
I got while standing on a ladder zip-tying twinkle lights to a swing set
frame. The maid-of-honor called me
in a panic informing me that Amy had called everything off because Steve’s
grandfather had a heart attack while golfing with Steve and his dad and was en
route to the hospital. My dad and
I commanded our crews to slow down but keep moving, and we rushed to the
hospital. As the whole family from
different parts of the country huddled together and held each other, they were
informed that their father, husband, grandpa, uncle, and hometown legacy had
passed.
The entire tone of the weekend shifted and Amy and Steve had
a decision to make. Are we going to have
this wedding? They could not
have had a stronger support system. The timing of everything seems so
unfortunate, but then again, it was an absolute blessing in disguise. How often
is an entire family all together in one location at a time like this? Everyone
was either on their way or already there, and the majority of the family had
each other to lean into, and with full support and encouragement, Steve and Amy
decided to have their wedding as planned because they knew that Grandpa Jim was
going to be there celebrating with them.
Now from a wedding planner’s perspective, it was officially
time to kick it into high gear. With having a wedding in a backyard that
includes a makeshift catering company, there is a lot of work to be done-- from
setting up extra electricity, to bathrooms on a trailer, hauling 220 chairs, preparing
a guesthouse kitchen to feed 200+ people, and of course all the knick knacks
that I deem necessary in any wedding I plan and so much more. We lost a whole
day and went into overdrive to catch up, but I wasn’t nervous because first of
all, proper planning set us up for success, and secondly, all those things
suddenly were not as important, and I had faith that everything that needed to
be done would be done. Now, since
this post has gotten lengthy, stay tuned for the recap on how we pulled off a
gorgeous wedding without a rehearsal and in the midst of a tragedy. Pictures to come too!!
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| The Sign We Built Could Not Have Been More Appropriate! |
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| Stephen and his Grandparents |
