Photo Credit: Robin Oatts
So this week we are diving right into the Wedding Planning series we announced last week with an obvious question. Who is going to plan your wedding?
For me, hiring a professional Wedding Planner just was not an option. We didn't have the type of budget for that and I really wanted to do it myself and enjoyed it enormously. After all I was the kind of girl who had been dreaming this day all my life. I enjoy planning things down to the most miniscule detail, scheduling, researching, sourcing, shopping and organizing. I poured over my favorite wedding blogs for inspiration and ideas, looked at countless magazines and even listened to wedding podcasts. If all this makes you tired just thinking about it, you might want to keep it simple or enlist the help of a friend or professional.
However, when it came down to the BIG DAY itself I knew I couldn't do it all by myself. I also wanted to be able to be in the moment without rushing around. I wanted my Mom to just enjoy the day as well. So I asked one of my now best friends to be my wedding day coordinator. I knew she would understand and be sympathetic to my love of quirky details that could get overlooked otherwise. We met several times before the big day to plan and go over the schedule in great detail. It was a gift of love from her to us to undertake such a task. I knew that she was the only one I trusted and told her if the day came and the cake fell apart or got dropped what to do. She had the tools needed to get it done. She brought along her teenage sister as a junior assistant and they both carried everything off perfectly. Sure a couple things didn't go exactly as planned (they never do) but she improvised and problem solved and it all worked out.
I told myself countless times before hand that something surely would go wrong and mentally prepared myself. That was a good idea since one of the groomsmen got bumped off of a flight from Germany back here to Columbus and barely made in time for the reception. No problem, we just moved one of my brothers from Usher to Groomsman. It was a bummer but at least he was there for the reception. Flowers for the centerpieces not opening up so they could float on water? My Friend/Coordinator used the petals instead. Everything worked out and I was able to relax and enjoy this once in a life time day knowing someone was there to take care of every last thing. My friend was someone I wanted to be included in the wedding party in a special way and she enjoys doing this sort of thing so it worked out perfectly.
I was very fortunate. Normally you have to pay someone to care and be generous enough to provide that kind of coordination and attention to detail. If you don't have someone you trust to step up to the bat for you in that way I suggest you consider a Wedding Planner. Wedding Planners can provide service that ranges from just coordinating your day like my friend did for me to planning everything so you don't have to worry about a thing to somewhere in between. It doesn't mean you don't get to plan your own wedding or have a say, it just means you have much more help and resources you might not have otherwise. Columbus has many qualified Planners and while I don't have any personal experience with any of these, I'm listing a round up of just some of the ones that come reccomended.
Emilie Duncan Event Planning
Something Blue Wedding And Events
Devoted To Details
Joie de Vivre Columbus
The BridalSmiths
Professional Organizations for Bridal Consultants/Wedding Planners in Columbus with extensive lists of consultants in Columbus.
Columbus Bridal Consultants
Wedding Professionals Of Columbus
