Confessions of a Wedding Planner, Vol. 1

Confessions of a Wedding Planner ...

(Photo By Still Life Studios, Floral by Flower Bar, Linens by Southwick Linens)

Rewind to nearly 9 years ago… to the day I was in charge of running my very first wedding ceremony.   I had been working at a private golf club and had been recently promoted to the Private Events Department as an Assistant!  We had two weddings on property that day; they were just about 30 minutes apart from each other, however, on different sides of the venue.

This was my time to shine as I took on my own wedding ceremony. Everything was up to me this time.     To say “I was nervous,” is a complete understatement! However, there was a slight ease of pressure knowing that it was a vow renewal rather than a first time ceremony.  The couple was older, much more relaxed, and much easier going than, say, a first time bride and groom. 

I was so proud of myself; I had my checklists checked and completed, I had all of the guests seated… Everything was going perfectly.  There was only one issue… This particular client wanted to be brought in with her husband (remember: it was a vow renewal ceremony) by golf cart to the far off side of the ceremony.  This took quite the extra shuffling on my part because it required me to get all of the attendants down the aisle and then run (behind the scenes, I might add) around the building to where my couple was stationed in the golf cart and then drive them up to the ceremony site.

But I knew I could do it. I’ve got this thing, I told myself.  Well it turns out I was so focused on my shuffling that I forgot to check for one very critical component to a ceremony (…wait for it!)

So there I was, so relieved that all was going according to plan, everything was going so smoothly. I was driving the golf cart, slowly creeping up on the ceremony site, and awaiting the last bridesmaid to take her spot before pulling up with the bride & groom when all of sudden my bride says to me… “I don’t see the minister…” 

My heart stopped, my stomach dropped… I didn’t see the minister either.  As a matter of fact, I had never seen the minister. We had never even had so much as a conversation, and I had no clue if he was even on site (rookie mistake, a BIG rookie mistake.)  I quickly searched the grounds and, nope, no minister! That’s when I remembered there was another ceremony that had just finished on the other side of the venue.  Keep in mind; all of the guests are still awaiting the bride & groom to make their way down the aisle.  And worse, I had already sent the entire party down the aisle and they were all standing up there waiting.  They were waiting for what seemed like an eternity to me.

At that point, I had made contact with my coworker (the lovely, Erin Rohr) and she remained incredibly calm, collected, and reassuring (an absolute MUST as a planner). Together, we located the other minister on property who had just finished the previous ceremony. We threw him, somewhat forcefully, into the golf cart; poor guy!  He agreed to perform the ceremony… although he fudged a little on the names! (To which the bride & groom laughed hysterically at, thank god!)

Long story short, I survived, and I’ve NEVER made that same mistake again (knock on wood!).  After that incident, I became a watch dog on ministers. I make sure they check in and out with me before they so much as use the restroom. (I’m kidding… Kind of.) 

Minister, What Minister?