It's tricky being in this biz as time goes on...especially in a small town where you have many friends, lots of interns and hundreds of former students. Why? Because when one of them gets married I'm tempted to utter the words..."pro bono." And, frankly, I've made promises to several of my earliest interns (Angie, Emily and Rachel) who I fell madly in-love with like little sisters that I would ABSOLUTELY do their weddings as a gift to them when they got married.
It's hard to be both a friend and a planner on the day of the wedding but I managed to do just this for my friend Kate Fleming's wedding last summer. She insisted that I be "a guest" at some point during the day and I love her for this.
This got me thinking about all of the relatives and friends that get called on each weekend to be "the planner" or to take care of the details for the bride. It's tough, really tough to do both. Many times I have seen brides (who have not hired a planner), and their families setting-up the reception or tearing it down, managing the details of the ceremony, or stressing about place cards and unexpected guests. Each time I see this I want to step in and tell them that that's not what they are supposed to be doing on their wedding day...but, guess what? I was that bride! I was my own planner and I started my business many years ago with the notion that I would be the planner that I never had.
Splurge. Give your relatives, your friends and yourself a big break and hire a planner to take care of all of the little details for you...you deserve it!
