So you're engaged. Wonderful! Mazel Tov! May you be blessed with a lifetime of joy!
But before we get to that, first things first: you have a wedding to plan.
Speaking from experience, this is a prospect that can be both exciting and frightening (and occasionally nauseating). Let's take a second and think about what goes into a typical wedding. You'll need a venue, or possibly multiple venues if your ceremony and reception are in different places. Once that's booked you'll probably need to arrange some or all of the following: Food, drink, music, flowers, dresses, suits, cake, photographers, decorations, invitations, parking, hotel rooms, airfare, ground transport, and whose supposed to be taking what car to where and when. Throw in a rehearsal, a rehearsal dinner, a trip to the salon and a seating chart which seperates the cousins who have a feud running back to the last family wedding. And at this point, we are only planning things in the abstract.
Let's imagine your big day: take all the factors we've discussed, then add in all your closest family and friends plus a half dozen vendors and compress everything down into a matter of hours. There's a schedule to keep, a score of moving parts to coordinate, and a hundred potential minor crises which might need your attention. And remember, this is supposed to be fun! While all this potential chaos is going on around you, you're also hoping to look your best, feel your best, express your undying love and devotion to your spouse, and have the time of your life.
Upon reflection, its clear that pulling off even a modest wedding is a task which requires you to be part quartermaster, part drill sergeant, part ringmaster and part accountant, with a little bit of diplomat, therapist, DJ, caterer, choreographer and fashion designer thrown in the mix. I tell you this not to scare you, but to let you know that there are options available to help you cut through the crazy and make the most of your special day. One of the best wedding presents you can give to yourself is finding the right person to help you, someone who will take on responsibility and be your advocate during the whole process. Speaking from experience, choosing to have a good wedding coordinator is a wise decision.
And after making one wise decision, I suggest you make another and choose Amy to be that coordinator. Why? Because she's the best. I can only vouch for my particular wedding, but that's enough for me to make this claim with confidence.
My wife and I enjoyed a relatively laid back wedding, and we were blessed with many things: a great venue, a manageable guest list, reliable vendors, and good weather. Even with all this going for us, however, there were all sorts of potential hazards and migraines waiting out there, threatening to stress us our and sap the fun out of our special day. Luckily for us, we had Amy on our team. We asked her to coordinate our wedding, and she eagerly accepted the assignment. It turned out to be one of the most important decisions we made during the whole process as her experience and skills let us cut the stress and get the maximum enjoyment out of our celebration.
Amy is organized, hardworking and focused without being intimidating. She knew what questions to ask, what issues often come up, and how to handle any possible wild cards which are likely with an event like a wedding. She knows when to be flexible and when to be firm, and is a great point person for communicating with vendors. Most of all, she made sure our wedding was what we wanted it to be. That's her ultimate goal and she did everything possible to make it happen.
On the big day Amy was there to handle the unexpected and make sure everything went smoothly. She kept track of family and members of the wedding party and kept things on schedule. When we learned that another wedding was taking place only a stone's throw away from ours, Amy made sure that all guests got to the right party. When the cake needed to be moved or heaters put in place or the bar tab was running low or presents had to get packed up and taken home, she was there to act our our behalf and keep things running smoothly.
More than anything else, she gave us the peace of mind to let go and have a unforgettably fun day with the people who matter most to us in the world. That's what was important to us, and Amy made that a reality. We are grateful for all she did for us, and we know she will do the same for you.
Best of luck, have fun, and congrats!