Weddingbee PRO

Thank you for your incredible response to my posts thus far! I am glad that so many of you are interested in my story and that my sharing may even help some of you make some key career moves in the future. Let me pick up my narrative where I left off last time. I had dropped out of law school and had no prospects for the future. Sounds encouraging, right?

I had just gotten married myself (August 2005) and thoroughly enjoyed the planning process. I only planned for 7 months, most of it long-distance while I was still finishing up at Berkeley. But, I savored every task and every detail. Since law school had been on the horizon, I never made a connection between what I was enjoying and the potential for a future career. In fact, none of the next part of my story was intentional at all! This is why I tell everyone that my path to planner-hood is characterized by serendipity.

A friend of mine was getting married in November and asked me to assist her with tying up some final details. I happily obliged, as I was more than willing to share my experience with her. I made some calls, created a timeline, and helped her check off a list of final tasks to complete. Meanwhile, this friend was chatting with her engaged friend. One day I received a phone call. The bride-to-be on the other line was the friend of my friend. “Hi, is this Angel? I heard you're *blank's* wedding planner! Would you be available to help me with mine next year?” Yep, I was bamboozled. Hahaha My dear friend had, without asking, passed my name and info on to her friend. She'd even given me a job title! And with that, my career was born. Actually it was more akin to adoption. This perfect, pre-packaged opportunity was placed in my lap by God.

After I got over the initial shock of hearing someone put my name and the words “wedding planner” together, I got to work assisting this girl on her 2006 event. At this point it was early fall 2005. Word spread like wildfire, and soon I was receiving inquiry after inquiry. No advertising. No intention. Just an incredible word-of-mouth campaign driven by people who had faith in me: an inexperienced, law school drop out, fresh-outta-college young'un. But you see, despite the fact that I was all of those things… that's not what they saw. They saw burgeoning potential.

Although I entered this career without any volition of my own, I quickly realized it was the PERFECT fit for me. This job marries (pun soo intended!) my skills to my passion. Everyday I am utilizing key skills that I have always considered my strengths: interpersonal communication (written and verbal), leadership, administration, organization, and attention to detail. I love chatting with clients and vendors and pulling ideas together to create a cohesive vision. I'm comfortable being a negotiator, a mediator, a friend. I am invigorated when I check off a massive list of to-do's and am genuinely THRILLED for each of my events. I knew I could excel at my job because it entails everything I have always been good at. On top of this, I get to indulge so many of my passions! From art, history and culture to fashion, food and florals, I get to wear so many different hats with my job. I am a food critic at a menu tasting. I'm an interior designer during a walk through. I'm a fashion stylist when I help a client pick the perfect veil and shoes to go with her gown. I'm a floral visionary when we meet with floral designers. I'm an art connoisseur when I help clients evaluate the work of various photographers. In this one career, all of my loves are brought together. It is incredible!! I always had a very strong sense of style, and I think my clients pick up on that. They want to work with someone who will really add to their event by creating and conceiving fabulous ideas for them.

Well that was that. Before 2005 had come to a close, I had booked 8 weddings for 2006. In 2006 I completed 15 weddings, in 2007 I did 21, and this year I will have completed a whopping 26 (eeek! I made an exception to my 25-wedding cap for my mom's wedding) fabulous, creative, unique weddings. I still don't advertise. I never joined any groups or associations. This is just me riding on the wave of support of my previous clients. Nothing is more powerful than enthusiastic word-of-mouth referrals! I also think my success was driven by the opportunities I was given in my first year. I worked with some INCREDIBLE clients and vendors in my first year, which immediately built up my portfolio. Instead of having to work my way up to a place where I could really flex my creative muscle, I initially booked a handful of creative, stylish brides who really trusted my aesthetic vision. I was able to work on amazing events right out of the gate, and I attribute that all to the kind blessings of God!

Next time I will answer some questions about what I actually *do* on a day-to-day basis. It's not all glitz and glamour, I'm afraid.

Have a delightful weekend! I'm overjoyed that this weekend's wedding (#26 of the year!) will see clear skies and 75 degrees. You've gotta love “winter” in southern California!

xoxo, angel