One Step At a Time

"If you want to win, you've got to start."-John Maxwell.

So I'm getting started. This blog is meant to begin a record of my "great big world" experiences on a personal level, not completely professional.  For that, I do not apologize. If the point is to provide future employers with a glimpse of me and into my life and how I will perform, this is me.

Sunday night was my first wedding planning/coordinating experience. . . .and I absolutely LOVED it. Every second, I felt so useful and loved being a part of each detail in making sure the ceremony, pictures, behind the scenes, and the reception went off the best it could.

I learned...SO much, and am really very excited about the next appointment I have coming up with my friend who is the planner. She is gracious enough to let me shadow her for the summer and fall weddings she is in charge of.

For privacy reasons, I won't give out too many details about the wedding and my friend (we'll just call her J), however I do want to share a few things I learned. She and I will be having our debriefing shortly, and I'm certain I'll learn even more than what we discussed while between moments on Sunday night. My major responsibilities included drying off bouquets, following the bride and bride's maids making sure they were hydrated during pictures, opening doors, carrying things, keeping flower girls and ring-bearers entertained, and then clean up after the event. So...

1. Timeline=your best friend. J had a play-by-play and order of everything. Her system made everything lightyears smoother. It was great. I'm sure most coordinators make a timeline, I'd just never seen one so detailed before.

2. Photographers walk a fine line between keeping things light and getting the job done. Good ones can do both efficiently...the one at this wedding was...too chatty. Borderline inappropriate. Mmm. But he did get the shots. It just took a looong time in the hot sun and bugs of a May Sunday at 3:00 pm.

3. Keeping guests waiting an hour after the ceremony outside without food while the newlyweds take pictures is really not the best option. Guests that are comfortable and fed remember someone's wedding more pleasantly.

4. J says she always likes to have the bride and groom escape before the reception so that they can privately grab a bite to eat while their guests are also eating, then come down later to greet, dance, etc. Works well.

5. Coffee beans and candles in vases and jars make lovely center-pieces...but are awful to have to clean out.

6. Since we're talking about candles, ones that are non-drip work great. We had a few leak on the table at the front of the chapel. I spent the time during speeches gently knocking wax off the wood.

7. Candy favors for guests to take were a BIG hit. Everyone loved the bags that they could fill with the candy we put in big bowls, jars, etc. It was great.

8. From now on, I will not wear a long dress while working at a wedding. It was a maxi, very cute, with a cardigan over it, but it was a) hot, b)in the way, and c)I didn't figure out I could tie it up instead of leaving it strapless until during the reception.

To end, I'd like to share lessons from John Maxwell that I learned today, thanks to J who passed on some of her subscriptions to SUCCESS magazine.

"To get started, know yourself. Settle your family life. Determine your priorities. Develop your life philosophy. Get physically fit. Learn your trade. Pay the price. Develop solid relationships. Prepare for the future, and Find purpose in your life." Sounds like a good list to begin with...and I am so very much a lists person. One step at a time...shadowing is a start, and I'm reading more and more. It's great to be alive in 2011! Last lesson for this entry:

"Never despise meager beginnings."-Janette Oak