There's a [Slight] Chance I [May] Have Figured Out What I Want to Be When I Grow Up [Maybe]

I did it! I did it!

Last weekend, I was a wedding planner. And it was awesome!

As mentioned in previous posts, since I was a teenager I aspired to be like Jennifer Lopez.  Well, Jennifer Lopez in The Wedding Planner.  Although, my behind has always been a little JLo.

I digress.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before but my last job was awful.  I was very miserable in the role and honestly, I was knocking on depression's door.  I had to do something to get out, so I figured I'd do something to put me in the direction of my dream.  I posted an ad on CraigsList and laid all my cards on the table.  I had little experience beyond planning my own wedding but if someone would take a chance on me, I would plan their wedding for free.

I got a call.

I knew from the beginning this was a really great situation for me.  I spoke with Bride originally in March and she sounded super organized. Actually, she sounded a lot like me.  She didn't want to give up any part of the wedding planning but recognized she needed help staying organized on the day of her wedding.  That's where I would come in.  Her wedding wasn't until November but I offered to help her every way that I could in the meantime.

I met her a couple of times in September and October so that we could figure out how the day should go.  I created a timeline.  Even just that felt like such a great accomplishment.  I was doing it!

Last Friday afternoon, I headed to Houston to attend the rehearsal.  I was out of my element there.  Everyone in the wedding had these big personalities and their were small children running wild in the church--this was one of the reasons I did NOT have small children in my wedding.  The truth was I really went because I wanted to get a feel for it.  Chances were I wasn't going to be at the church for the ceremony.  There was a chance that I would be able to stop by while the women were getting ready but beyond that it was in the wedding party's hands.

I woke up on Saturday at 6:30 AM, earlier than I do on a work day.  I showered, got ready (I only every do my makeup on occasions I think I need to look like a grown up), and ate a filling breakfast.  I grabbed my AWESOME emergency kit that I put together the night before and away I went.

I made it to the reception hall at 9 AM moments before Bride.  It was a really neat venue, an old fire station converted into a hall.  There was a large piece of plywood where there should be a beautiful custom door.  It was in the center of the room where the cocktail hour was to be held.  And in my first moments as a wedding planner, I had a bride have a meltdown.

I didn't have to face the meltdown on my own.  There was a group of Bride's friends there to help decorate.  Together we all talked her off the ledge.  We began decorating.  Bride was so organized and had such a great eye for party decorations.  We put everything out as she had designated.

When we were done decorating the downstairs room, one of the women who had worked at the venue had someone come and drape cloth over the plywood.  While this wasn't a wonderful fix, it took away attention from it and Bride was satisfied with the solution.

We headed upstairs and began decorating the reception room.  We did everything from the linens to the floral arrangements.  It all looked beautiful!

As we were wrapping it up, Bride mentioned that she had to run to Kinko's to get the signs made for the reception. Whaaaat?? I explained to her that was why I was there.  It took some convincing but she handed this task over to me.  Yes, one of my first successes as a wedding planner.

Away the bridal party went to lunch and away I went to Kinko's.

I stopped in on the bride while she was getting her hair done.  Then I went back to the reception hall and began meeting all the vendors.

First, the baker arrived and delivered the cake.

Second, the DJ arrived.

Third, the photographer arrived.

Finally, I ran to get a bite to eat.  No matter how busy I am, I never miss a meal!  I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner on my wedding day even when everyone told me I wouldn't get a bite. Yeah, those people don't know me.

I came back to the reception hall to meet the caterer at 4 PM.

4:05 PM No caterer

4:10 PM I called the number I had for the caterer.  No answer.  I left a message politely asking if they needed directions.

4:15 PM I began to panic.  See, I had trouble getting a hold of the caterer to confirm they were coming.  When I Googled the company, it came up that the owner marked the business as closed.  But she called and confirmed earlier that week so I disregarded what came up in the Google search.  I was NOT prepared to deal with the caterer not showing up for my very first wedding. Pure panic.

4:25 PM A young man came in and told me that he was one of the waiters and the caterer was on her way.

PHEW!!!

Late, but phew!

I never made it to the church because I had to essentially babysit the caterer.  But that's what I signed up for, right?  When needed, I will be a babysitter for whoever needs it.

At the stroke of 6 PM, guests began to arrive for the cocktail hour.  AND IT BEGAN!

Everything went relatively smoothly.  At one point, I had to run out and get plastic knives.  Overall the caterer was a disaster.  Right down to that they did not bring any knives.  As I was LITERALLY running into Kroger, I thought, "Yeah, I LOVE this."

At the end of the night, a group of friends, family, and I cleaned everything up.  By this point, I was exhausted.  I panicked one last time. I thought it would take us hours to get everything cleaned up and packed away in their cars.  But I pulled myself together and began working as fast as I could.  In just an hour, we had everything cleaned up and I made it home at about 12:45 AM.

Long day but totally worth it.

So this experiment worked.  I loved it! I just have to figure out how to get more clients now.  I'm on it!

Maybe I Want to be a Wedding Planner When I Grow Up...

........................but don't hold me to that.


Sorry it's been a while.  I know this is a slippery slope so I'll make sure TWO weeks don't go by without a post again!  First, I didn't write anything because nothing interesting was happening to me and I didn't want to write a boring post with no direction (not that I haven't done that before).  Then, I got a little too busy and didn't write anything during my down time because I was too tired from what was going on that day.  In between all that, there were also times when I was just too lazy--have I ever mentioned that I'm typically brutally honest?  Well, in the spirit of my ever recurring theme of "What do I want to be when I grow up?", I'll pick up with a story from that:

Earlier this year, while I was still in my miserable dead-end job, I decided to post an ad on Craigslist.  Not one of those creepy ones,  but one offering free wedding planning services.  You see, I've always dreamed about what I would do if I won the lottery.  The problem is that I don't play the lottery.  Well, I've always dreamed about being a wedding planner. I've talked about it.  I've helped friends in planning theirs.  But beyond just talking, I never really did anything about it.

Then one night I figured, if I want to do this, I'm going to need experience.  And the only way someone's going to hire an inexperienced wedding planner (other than friends and family) was by offering the services for free.  This would give me an opportunity to test the waters, learn a little about it, and if I do well, possibly even begin getting a list of references.

Then I got a hit.  I actually got two but one of the weddings was during a time right smack in the middle of vacations, traveling, and visitors, so I had to turn that one down.  The other wasn't happening until the end of the year.

The original email from the client--yeah, I get to say that--was super professional and very organized.  We set up a time to speak shortly there after.  The conversation went well.  She seemed a lot like me.  A bit controlling about her wedding but really in need of help for the day of the festivities.  She had booked many vendors but really wasn't sure how she was going to handle them during the course of the day.  She said that was really how she needed my help.

Well, sign me up!  This seemed like a really good first opportunity.  This was a bride that absolutely knew what she wanted but just needed some help.  What a great way to get my feet wet.  I was so excited during the course of the call, that I forgot to ask the groom's name.  But no worries, I was sure to email her and ask.

I knew she had just started a new position at her company which was leaving her very little time for planning.  I reached out to her a couple of times via email but never heard anything back.  Then I got caught up in my job search and eventual switch.  We didn't communicate at all again until late August, when she called me and left a voicemail.  The issue at this point was I had NO IDEA who this message was from.  But when I called her back, she refreshed my memory--how embarrassing.

We decided to set up a meeting since the wedding was just a couple of months away but we never pinned down a time.  I followed up with an email. Nothing.

About a month later, I decided we really needed to meet, so I called her.  I was ready to put my foot down about a meeting time but didn't need to.  It was one of the first things out of her mouth, "Let's get together for lunch." So we did.  It was really exciting for me.  I really enjoyed meeting her and going over what the day is going to look like.  Then, at the end, she said something that really boosted my confidence, "After speaking to you, I feel so much better about the plans." Yup, I did that.  I made her feel better. Awesome.

So I worked on a minute-by-minute timeline, based on my wedding timeline that our coordinator did.  I emailed it off to her with some questions. And.... well, and I still haven't heard anything back from her and her wedding is in a few weeks.

So what I've learned so far in wedding planning:

1. Make sure to ask the groom's name.
2. Always CALL.

This whole thing is a learning process.  I'm not even sure at the end of it if this is really something I want to do, but I'm excited to give it a try.  Maybe there's a career change in my future... Maybe not.  Either way, it sure is fun to see what else is out there.

This could be me one day... minus the love drama of course.

Still No Clue What I Want to be When I Grow Up

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
 George Eliot

At 28, I might be going through some sort of life crisis.  I pretty much have a new idea of what I want to be when I grow up once a week.  There are a core few that I always return to, but let's be honest. I don't know too many kids that say "When I grow up, I want to be a recruiter!"

The only thing I've ever wanted to be was a mother. Well, that and an Academy Award winning actress. So career dreams were pushed aside.  I always knew that my work was never going to be as important to me as my family.  I guess it was hard to motivate myself to focus on a career knowing that if I ever needed to, I would drop it in a second.

So, one of the things that I always go back to is a photographer.  It varies what kind of a photographer--usually either a wedding photographer or a photojournalist or of course, a celebrity photographer (like Annie Leibovitz not like a paparazza).

I've had a passion for photography for a long time.  I took classes with a wonderful teacher in high school.  I learned a lot and had a lot of fun.  As soon as I started taking photography classes, I began to see everything in pictures.  I see the shot in every scenario, but unfortunately, I don't have my camera with me all the time and miss a lot of the good ones.

I brought my camera with me this weekend and took some pictures while on the St. Arnold's Galveston Pub Crawl.  The lighting in this bar was so cool and I knew that someone without a background in photography wouldn't appreciate it.  The pictures below were taken naturally, no filters or manipulation after the fact.

File photos. What do you think? Any raw talent there?

I've always been creative--please do not mistake creative for talented. After starting college with plans to study Math, I told my mother that I wanted to study photography. Let's just say during our screaming match, I wasn't too far from being left on the side of the NJ Turnpike.  I understand she was only doing what she thought was best for me. That's a tale for another day...

Today, I signed up for a photography class.  It's another intro. Last I took a photography class was 7 years ago. I can use the refresher.  Once I signed up today, I became really excited.  I'd really like to hone my skills and hopefully even learn to take good pictures of humans (currently my specialties are landscapes and pet photography).
 
So, maybe I can be a photographer when I grow up...

I also have a wedding planner venture going on--even have a client.

Oh, and I came up with an idea for a really great website. I just need to come up with a business plan.

And not sure if you heard, but I'm also giving writing a try.  Once I'm discovered, I have THE BEST name for my memoir. I'm keeping that one just for me though.

So this is my somewhere between quarter-life and mid-life crisis.  I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life... or at least until babies come along.

TANGENT/SHAMELESS PLUG: I got to thinking how this class could possibly be another Fresh Start... Again. And since I brought it up, for those of you wondering, I did lose some weight in my first week of doing it my way. It was less than a pound and I'm really proud of myself! I'm just going to keep on keeping on. 

Finally just for fun:
I wanna have boobies... Yeah, I went there. And, by the way, I'm not as big of a PCD fan as my blog makes seem to be!