Biography

Why I decided to become a Wedding Consultant / Coordinator

You probably think you don’t need to hire a wedding consultant, and you’ve certainly asked yourself, “What can a wedding consultant do for me that I can’t do for myself?”

That’s what I thought when I decided to plan and coordinate my own wedding, which almost ended in a divorce that very day!

I have now been professionally trained to plan and coordinate weddings by the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants (ACPWC), based in San Jose, California.

The Story

Take a good look at this groom’s face. Does he look happy? A groom is supposed to be ecstatic as his bride enters the church. As I entered the church, I looked anxiously for my fiancé. I wanted to see the look of surprise and astonishment on his face when he saw how beautiful I looked in my wedding gown. I had hidden it from him for four months. I wanted to see the formation of the word “WOW” on his lips as I walked in.

Instead, I saw bewilderment. He was tired of waiting. Everyone was tired of waiting. My wedding ceremony was scheduled to start at 3:00 pm. Some guests who lived far away arrived at the church as early as 1:30 pm. I arrived at 4:15 pm.

The oohs and ahs were replaced by sighs of relief. This was a complete disaster. I did not hire a Wedding Coordinator. I thought, “What can they do for me that I cannot do for myself?”

On the morning of my wedding my best friend and I decided to check on the reception site. To our utter astonishment and disappointment, no one had shown up to decorate the hall. It was 11:45 am. Panic stricken, we decided to decorate the hall ourselves. Everything had been meticulously planned and now, all of a sudden, it was all unravelling right before my eyes. By the grace of God we managed to finish decorating the hall around 2:00 pm. Next, it was off to the church.

The person assigned to decorate the church could not figure out how to fasten the pew bows, so he just sat them down on the pew. I tried to find a way to make the church look as if there was going to be a wedding.

I arrived home at 2:50 pm. My bridesmaids were not dressed. Everyone was waiting for me. As I was getting dressed, someone asked me “What happened to your nails, why didn’t you get a manicure?” At that moment I realized that in my rush to decorate the reception hall and church, I had completely forgotten to get my nails done. My teenage daughter found some press-on nails which she quickly applied and tried to polish. Everyone was screaming for pantyhose, bouquets, perfume, and the flowergirls could not find their baskets. My meticulously planned wedding was turning into a nightmare.

At 4:15 pm I climbed out of the limo. I never stopped to take that final look in the mirror. My headpiece was crooked and my dress decided to take on a shape of its own, but I couldn't care less. I was at the church. I was getting married.

After the ceremony I realized that in my haste to get to the church, I had forgotten to put on my garters. I also forgot to carry money for the limo drivers, the servers at the reception and the DJ.

Then it finally dawned on me. I was so busy trying to save money; so busy trying to be Superwoman; I almost ruined my own wedding and reception, but as you can see, my husband eventually warmed up and tried to enjoy the reception,

Remember Murphy’s Law “Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Had I stopped counting my pennies and hired a Wedding Coordinator, I would have been a guest at my own wedding and had the experience that all brides deserve — peace, joy and happiness on their wedding day. After that experience, I decided to become a Wedding Coordinator.

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