Wow, I can hardly believe that 2011 has passed by so quickly. I've been blessed so much by God with a wonderful family, amazing clients, even more amazing wedding vendors and I can't wait for 2012 to start!
I'm looking forward to putting together the next Free Bridal Show in January and have to finalize some details before I get the go ahead. I plan for 2012 is to do FOUR bridal shows, coordinate 25-30 weddings and do six mini-bridal shows that showcase Rehearsal Dinner Venues for brides. I'm so glad I've hired my sister, Ashley, as my personal assistant. She's even more organized than I am!
I had several memorable brides this year and wanted to share bits of their stories with you:
My Tasteful Bride - Everything she designed was done elegantly and tastefully. She understood the value of enjoying her wedding day and let the DJ and I handle certain guests when they showed up uninvited. They loved movies and had mini-movie posters at guests tables of different love stories. It was all very cool! She and her hubby were super tired at the end, but attended the after party at night and lived happily ever after.
My Crying Bride - She cried almost on a daily basis. She tried being a DIY bride and couldn't handle the pressure. I dried her tears, we planned together and she danced with joy on her wedding day. If she'd had another 1-2 months to mentally prepare for everything she wouldn't have cried so much, but I'm glad she hired me. I was able to get her the decorations/discounts she needed to pull off her wedding AND I made a good friend in the process. :)
My Diabolical Genius Bride - This thrifty gal took my advice and didn't pay full price for her wedding gown or anything else. She pulled from all of her resources, ordered her $1,200 designer gown from China and paid $150 for it (including shipping!), and she and her handsome groom lived happily ever after.
My Perfect Bride - Her wedding was a fairy tale come true. Literally. She married prince charming, wore a princess gown, had nearly 300 guests and danced the night away in wedded bliss. She was the happiest bride I've ever seen; even when a bird crapped on her head she still kept smiling and saying, "I'm so happy, everything is perfect, it's my wedding day!" This bride and groom are actually famous and are part of a famous local family. I won't show any pictures or reveal names to give away who they are, but their wedding was a fairy tale come true!
Jessica & Joe - I have to mention this couple by name because they are my good friends from college. I happened to introduce them when we were in the UTA Library one day and we started our Spanish study group together. Jessica and I never knew she'd marry the cute guy we'd giggle about and call, "Hot Spanish Guy Joe." They then began a friendship that lasted for years. They later fell in love, got married and lived happily ever after...and I got to witness their love from the beginning. It was an extra special wedding for me. :)
My Vintage Couple - This bride designed a vintage themed wedding, circa 1940's Hollywood with lace decorations, homemade plum jam, antique decorations, wildflowers & candle light everywhere! This wedding was fun, delicious and exhausting because I had to do double duty by clamping down linens to the tables due to strong winds, (it was an outdoor wedding), and I had to help clean up after the reception was over. (Her people on the "Responsibility List" all got drunk and left the family there with a HUGE mess to clean up as thunderclouds hovered overhead.)
FYI Brides, make sure the people you put on your "Responsibility List" are actually going to stay for the night and do what they say they are going to do.
My Stressed Out Bride - This sweet bride was put through a lot of crap. A LOT! Venue backed out on them 8 weeks before the big day, (yeah, talk about stress. The bride is as detail oriented as I am and would call me on a daily basis to find out what was going on. Venues were SLOW as hell to respond and her stress fed into mine and vise versa. We were both in hell not knowing what would happen next!)
Let's see, what else happened: Room blocks were sold out from under her. Cake vendor brought the wrong cake. Caterer ran out of food early. Hair & Makeup artist arrived an 1.5 hours late and threw off the entire pre-ceremony schedule. Supplemental florist arrived late in delivering flowers. On site coordinator yelled at my already stressed-beyond-belief bride on her wedding day and limo driver didn't know where he was going.
The only folks who pulled through for this gal were her family, husband (thank you Jason!), the
DJ (thank you Glenn Roush!), the photographer (thank you Darrell Knight), and myself (yay me!) This wedding was definitely one to remember. At least she had a happy ceremony, a fun 6 hour reception that included LOTS of dancing and wine, and they drove off in their horse & carriage ride in happy wedded bliss.
My Cool Bride - My last wedding of the year. This bride was a breath of fresh air. She was very laid back and cool the entire day, even when the lady at the church yelled at her and the wedding party 5
minutes before the start time saying, "Hurry up, we're running out of time!" Thankfully that woman was the only stressed out person there, I could not have handled another stressed out person. What my happy clients did not know was that I was sick as a dog that morning (nothing that would contaminate anyone of course), but I pulled through and they got married, had a fun party and even more fun after party.
I am on unofficial vacation for now, which means I am not running any weddings until January 21st, and I have free time to meet with my vendor friends for lunch, spend more time with my son and begin preparations for The Free Bridal Show.
Looking back on 2011 has made me so thankful for the blessings God has given me: my wonderful, rambunctious son, great family to work with, fun and interesting clients, great vendors who I plan on working with more in the future, and I finally joined the AWP (Association of Wedding Professionals). I'm definitely looking forward to the AWP Christmas Party and getting to dance and actually enjoy myself at a party instead of working one.
If any of you have any questions or would like to comment please do so below. Thank you again for taking the time to read by blog and have a wonderful day!
Happy Planning and Lotsa Luv,
Krystal :)