A Wedding Planning Tale

Valerie Gower, WPICC,  of the Occasion Sensation shares a wedding planning story with us:

In June 2011, I was contacted by a bride-to-be regarding my wedding planning services.  We arranged to meet at her parents’ house the following Saturday and I began preparing for this initial meeting.  The wedding was scheduled for May 2012, so we had lots of time to plan and organize, which is perfect!

I arrived rather early, so sat in my vehicle for 20 minutes (better 20 minutes early than one minute late, I always think), and reviewed my notes and questions for this potential client.  It’s during this wait time that I wonder what the bride and groom will be like, what their vision of a perfect wedding day is, what style and colours they’ve decided on, how much of my help will they need, and, most importantly, will we all get along?

Well, no need to worry about this client!  Sarah greeted me at the door, along with the family dog, Rocky, and I felt immediately welcomed like I was a long lost relative.  I was introduced to Sarah’s fiancé Luke, and her Mom & Dad and we all sat at the table in the beautiful big kitchen and talked for over two hours like a family should when discussing a major life-altering event like a wedding.

They seemed to like everything I was telling them and asked me lots of important questions.  Then Sarah’s brother came home from work and he sat down for a short while with us to hear the plans being made.

I felt very attached to this family very quickly, and knew that we would all get along during the planning stages and that I could help them create a wedding day that would be very romantic and beautiful.  And they obviously felt the same way, because they hired me right then and there!  I even got hugs from Sarah and her Mom on the front porch as I was leaving, and I could tell they were both relieved and excited that a professional planner was now going to help them with all the wedding details.

During the months of planning, we always enjoyed our time together, and even though I knew I could be very good friends with this bride and her Mom, I tried my best to keep this relationship on a professional client-planner basis.  I have heard from other planners that getting too friendly with a client while you’re still providing a service to them can be a very rocky road (with no ice cream in site!)

I was invited to attend the Rehearsal Dinner with both families the night before the wedding and was of two minds about going.  I really wanted to, but how was I going to stay a professional at this close-knit family event?  I knew I would be ‘on the job’ at this dinner, but would still have to circulate and be social – rather a double-edged sword that had me more than a tad worried.

But, as it turns out, I needn’t have worried, and it was a very good thing that I did attend!  As we enjoyed our Chinese food buffet and waited for the officiant to turn up to conduct the rehearsal, she called and said she was stuck in downtown Toronto at another wedding and probably wouldn’t make it back to Mississauga at a reasonable hour.  So, Sarah asked me if I would step in and conduct the rehearsal, which I did.  I was told later that because we ran through it a number of times, the wedding party felt a lot more comfortable and less nervous on the wedding day (which is always so nice to hear).

Sarah & Luke’s wedding was held at the Glenerin Inn on a warm sunny Sunday, and it was lovely.  I am very honoured to have been a part of it.  And now I’m considered a friend of their families.  Yes, families–both Sarah’s and Luke’s families!   We keep in touch and get together whenever possible, and always have a fabulous time.  In early December, I hosted a Christmas Afternoon Tea for Sarah, her Mom and Luke’s Mom…and we had a wonderful time chatting about everything under the sun and enjoying sandwiches, scones and sweet treats!  We plan to meet up again soon, probably in the Summer, for a barbeque (Sarah’s Dad is apparently a Master Q’er) and we’ve also talked about a Rhubarb Pie get-together (Sarah’s Mom’s specialty) sometime soon…can’t wait!

What’s the old saying…”Make new friends and treasure the old, because one is silver and the other is gold.”   I certainly treasure my new friends because I know that having this type of relationship with my clients won’t happen very often, and it is priceless!