Archive for January, 2011

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In the last two months two Orlando Wedding Team coordinators have tied the knot. As a non-bride (at the time) watching my colleagues and friends morph into brides, I was enlightened.

Working in the wedding industry the pressure that my two lovely coworkers put on themselves was intense. We are all detail oriented to begin with and most brides become very detail oriented as they go through the planning process. The combination of already being detail oriented and becoming more detail oriented can be lethal. Fortunately, our brides were surrounded by trusted wedding professionals who regularly reminded them that every little thing was going to be ok.

I always imagined that the career bride (let’s just coin that term for brides who work in the wedding industry) would be a bit more resilient to the stresses that go along with planning the big day. As a generalization, this is true Knowing exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it and who to contact in order to get it accomplished alleviates a great deal of stress. However, nothing can alleviate the stress of the wedding day and the week that comes before it.

Our Orlando Wedding Team career brides wore their nervousness on their faces during wedding week. They shed tears on the wedding day and they partook in the majority of the normal bride behaviors. (It’s nice to know that we are “normal” brides…as contradictory as that sounds.)

Also, like all brides, they were breathtaking when they came walking down the isle. I may be a bit bias (or A LOT), but I have so say I was more awestruck than I normally am when they came walking down the isle. (It probably adds to the surprise factor that I did not see them in their dresses prior to show time.)

So there you have it…my version of when Wedding Coordinators Wed. Do you have some questions for the recently married (and soon to be married) coordinators? Post them in the comments!

I’m on a bit of a destination wedding kick right now, because a destination wedding is my plan. I came across this article on a 10 Best Places to get married. I love how this article segments the location based on personality/preferences of the couple. As Orlando-Based wedding planners, we have a ton of destination clients. Some come for the weather, some for the beaches and some for the theme parks. (It seems like there’s a little something for everyone here in Central Florida.)

I’m two weeks into my engagement. I know I want a destination wedding. I’m leaning towards a vineyard, but there are so many more things to consider.

• What about the people who can’t afford to pay their way? You may choose to pay for all or some of the travel/accommodations for those people who are close to you, if you think they may not be able to come. But beware, this can drive costs up and it can create tension between other family/friends. I certainly do not want to be the one explaining why we helped Aunt Betty, but not Uncle Joe.  (See step two for how to avoid having to pay for anyone!)
• When should you send your save-the-dates? AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you give guests 9 months to a year notice, that means they have that much time to save. As soon as you book your location, get those save the dates in the mail. Make sure that they explain it will be a destination wedding so start pinching those pennies. No one can say you didn’t warn them!
• Should you have a full reception? Destination weddings are usually more intimate. Depending on the venue you choose and the number of guests (and the age of your guests), it may not make sense to have 4 hours of dancing and drinking. Feel out the situation and have a couple of ideas of what would work.

With destination weddings on my mind, this is not the last you will hear of them. Stay tuned!