I didn’t NEED a pedicure, but…

by Guest Blogger, Tammy Ouellet, WPICC, Creative Director and Lead Wedding Planner for Divine Weddings in Winnipeg, MB.

Every once in a while I get faced with someone who asks "What do you do?" as in – what do you do for a living?  When I answer "I’m a wedding planner."   I either get "Oh, that must be so fun!" or "Oh, really – people actually pay you to do that?"  I have to chuckle sometimes – although it is my passion and it can be fun at times, it is a lot of work!  

Despite the day to day operations of running a business, the actual day of the wedding (and the months of planning before) can be very demanding.  And yes – people do pay me to plan their weddings.  One, because they are too busy to plan it themselves – the average wedding takes a bride 250 hours to plan on her own.  Two, because I know the ins and outs of weddings and can save them costly mistakes and save them money.  Three, because I know the best vendors in the industry and can build a ‘wedding team’ for them that already know each other and will work together to create an amazing wedding.  And four, because I design a wedding for them with special details and dà©cor that they may not have thought of on their own.

The latest was last weekend – my best friend took me out for a pedicure.  As we were getting our toe nails done, we were talking about my wedding planning.  The girl, while removing the ugly chipped nail polish I had put on myself, asked "Well what do you do exactly on the wedding day? Really, I didn’t have a wedding planner when I got married and I was fine."  Now what was really funny is this girl is a great friend of mine – and I was in her bridal party.  So of course she didn’t need a wedding planner – she had me!  I was a little taken aback and didn’t give the answer I really would have liked to.  I’ve thought about it a little, and came up with this – sure I can probably cut my own toe nails myself, and paint them up really nicely.  I don’t NEED to go to a spa to get my toe nails done, but it sure is nice to sit back and relax and have someone else do it – and they do a much better job at it then I would do at home!  It’s like that with everything.  There are a lot of things we don’t NEED – but if you want a beautiful result and don’t want the hassle of doing it yourself – you go to a professional. 

So no, you don’t need a wedding planner to plan your wedding for you – but wouldn’t it be nice to know there is a professional taking care of it all?  You can go to work, and then come home and enjoy your evenings and your weekends, and not have to sit in front of your computer for endless hours researching wedding vendors and dà©cor ideas.  You won’t waste your time calling vendors to get pricing and information so you can decide which one is right for you, because your wedding planner has already found someone who fits your budget and style perfectly.  And on your wedding day, you just sit back and relax, and enjoy all the details while someone else deals with the cranky banquet manager and makes sure every detail is in place. 

I was extremely happy with my pedicure – and kept looking at my shiny purple toe nails, smiling. I didn’t NEED to go to a spa – but I sure am happy I did!