Weddingbee PRO

I know, I know… laugh all you want at my cheese-tacular title. I thought it would be fun and informational to write a mini-series on how I first got into the wedding planning biz, as this is one of my most frequently asked questions. I receive 2-3 resumes per week from people who want to enter the industry, as well as numerous inquiries about how I came to become a planner in the first place. Needless to say, it is pretty flattering, but I take it with a grain of salt. I do not see myself as any sort of figurehead in the industry, but I do consider myself an open person who is more than willing to answer questions when asked. So, without further ado, here is my story!

I never, EVER intended to become a wedding planner. Sure, like many young teens, I fantasized about becoming a wedding planner à la J.Lo in the Wedding Planner. But, I had my sights set on a very different career path. At Cal I double-majored in political science and history (early modern Italian, if you're interested). My goal was to move on to law school and then move to Washington D.C. to work as a congressional staffer. Seriously. I had worked with my local Rep in the district office and on Capitol Hill (where I lived in a brownstone near the Supreme Court with a CSPAN producer — amazing!) and was a total political junkie. I eventually hoped to run for elected office. Isn't that wild?

I look at my life now and really can't believe that I was so set on politics for soo long. Senator Swanson. It has a nice ring to it, right? Haha I have some great memories from my time in D.C., from being in an elevator with Hillary Clinton (who commented on my necklace!) to asking a direct question of Colin Powell from the House floor.

Here it is… the Tarina Tarantino necklace that caught the eye of our future Secretary of State.

Well in 2003 I met Erik (my now husband) and everything changed. It didn't all have to do with him, but meeting him was definitely a milestone in my life. My priorities and interests shifted. I began to have second thoughts about my political aspirations and became less and less excited about law school. Nonetheless, I took the LSAT, did well, and decided to apply for law school anyway. Everything I was doing seemed forced. Erik and I were engaged during our senior year at Cal (amazing proposal story for another time!) and I knew that his job would move us home to soCal. So, I only applied to 3 law schools. I got in and decided to go to the one that offered me a full scholarship. About 1 month into the semester I dropped out.

Was it pressure? Nope. Was it competition? Nope. It was boredom and lack of passion. I loved being a student and I loved the law, so I think I easily could have stayed, finished, graduated… excelled even. But I wasn't happy there. I no longer wanted to be there, and I had never wanted to practice law in the first place. I dropped out despite my lack of ANY type of back-up plan, much to the chagrin of my dear mother. I am thankful every single day that I made that choice.

Erik had a great job as an engineer at the time so I had no pressure to seek employment or even figure things out immediately. I spent a good month just nesting (we were newlyweds) and thinking and praying about it. Little did I know that a new career was right around the corner for me…

I will continue sharing my journey next time; work calls! I'm currently finishing up some final items for the last wedding of my 2008 season! I cannot wait for the culmination of another sure-to-be-gorgeous event. I will definitely keep you posted. As always, feel free to leave any questions or suggestions for future topics in the comments section. Hope you all are having an incredible week!

xoxo, angel