Honouring Lost Loved Ones At Your Wedding

I must apologize as it has been quite some time since my last post. I have been busy in the background working on some blogs that I will start posting. For my return I thought that I would write about something that is close to my heart. Lost loved ones and how to honor them at your wedding. This is a truly personal post as the client's wedding I talk about here was a wedding where I knew all the loved ones that had passed away. The wedding was a memorable one but was made even more memorable by the Bride and Groom's decision to make the lost loved ones a very big part of their wedding. 

For some of us we have experienced the pain of losing someone close to us. Whether it be a parent, grandparent, sibling, cousin or simply a very close friend, it is difficult. If you are planning a wedding and have experienced this you may be thinking of how you can honor the memory of this special someone on your wedding day.

There are many ways that you can honor the memory of someone. It can be as simple as having whoever is going to say the prayer at the start of dinner to include the name of the person(s) and say something special about them. You could also take the money that you budgeted for favors and make a donation in memory of your special someone to the charity that is close to your heart. This could be the Canadian Cancer Society, Heart and Stroke Foundation and Ronald McDonald House to name a few.

For a client's wedding last summer the bride and groom had 3 very special family members that had passed away. I mentioned to the bride that she can still honor them. The ceremony was being held in a backyard garden setting so I suggested that there be 3 chairs set aside for the loved ones. The Bride really liked the idea and along with the Groom we decided on a plan to remember the family members. The following is what we decided on. 

We took a plain piece of paper and printed out In Memory of and placed each one of their names on the paper. The paper was then attached to the front of the 3 chairs we set aside. The bride had the florist put together 3 roses tied with raffia for each family member the bride was honoring and then the flowers were placed on the chairs.

At the reception I placed photos of the family members on the receiving table along with the flowers that were on the chairs at the ceremony. This was an extra special touch and you certainly knew that all of them were loved and very much missed.

There are so many other ways you can honor your loves ones that have passed on. I have only named a few. If this is something that is important to you I would like to suggest that you think about a few ways you would like to honor them and see which idea you like the best and go with it.

Honoring a loved one that has passed away is such a personal thing and honoring them in your own special way is one form of personalizing your wedding. It does not remove the pain of losing them but it certainly makes you feel like they are with you on your special day.

Susan

Confessions of a Wedding Planner - Meeting My Mentor

When I finally took a chance on making my dream of a being a wedding planner become a reality I started watching all the wedding shows I could and scoured the internet to learn all I could from other wedding planners. Upon this search I found a wonderful wedding planner who I can proudly say is my mentor.

Mary Dann-McNamee is a much sought after wedding planner from Southern California. She has been a wedding planner for over 20 years and heads up Mary Dann Wedding and Party Coordinators. Mary inspires me to be the best that I can be and at the same time find balance in my life. Because of Mary I have learned to appreciate all my blessings in other words have gratitude.

Mary is a real inspiration to me and when I found out that she was going to be a speaker at a conference that I was attending I was thrilled. When the opportunity to have a career counseling session with her was available a very good friend of mine and a fellow wedding planner emailed Mary and told her what a fan I was and how Mary was my mentor and that I had to have the opportunity to have a session. I was so happy when an appointment was made for me.  I felt so honored to have that opportunity with her.

When the appointment was approaching I was so excited because it is not everyday that you get to meet your mentor. Let alone having a one on one session with them. When I met Mary it was like I had come full circle. For some this is a hard business to get into and there have been times when I had wanted to throw in the towel. Meeting Mary gave me the opportunity to learn from an outstanding peer and a wonderful, beautiful person. I instantly put those times of throwing in the towel way behind me.

Mary gave me some very good advice and showed me that I can do this dream that I so wanted to do and be successful at. I think that every one needs a mentor in life someone that you can look up to, admire, respect and most of all learn from. For me it is Mary Dann and I can only hope that one day I can be like her and be the success I would like to be.

My best advice to new wedding planners is to not give up so easily and that sometimes we have to be patient and wait for the things we want, yes we need to go for what we want but you also need to realize that not all things happen when you think they should.

Remain patient and learn all you can and you will be rewarded with good things.

Also finding a mentor, someone you can look up to is a good thing. The advice that they can give you is priceless and if you use and apply that advice you are sure to succeed. Don’t be afraid to reach out to the person that you consider your mentor I bet that they would be more than willing to help you. All you have to do is ask.

Mary, thank you for being my inspiration and mentor! Thank you for showing me the road that I need to take to further my wedding business and most importantly my passion for this industry. Without your guidance and kind words there is no doubt in my mind that I would have thrown in the towel and given up on my dreams.

For further information on Mary and her staff please go to her website at www.marydann.com

Until next time happy reading.

Susan

Confessions of a Wedding Planner - Why I Love Being a Wedding Planner

Elegant Details is very excited to be a part of the blogging world.

To start off our blog I thought it would be a good idea to introduce what will be a weekly installment of a story I have named "Confessions of a Wedding Planner"

The first installment is "Why I Love Being a Wedding Planner"

Some people ask "How do you do it?". Some people say "I could never do that". Some people say "your crazy". My response to all that as I shrug my shoulders is simply " I love weddings and I am a hopeless romantic". Plain and simple.

A deep passion is what I have and have had it for quite some time. When I think weddings I think love, unity, commitment, family, food, flowers, beautiful dresses, etc.

As a wedding planner I am the couple's friend, sister, therapist, director, producer, accountant and confidant. It is my job to ensure that my clients are relaxed, stress free and most of all happy. I am trained to handle all kinds of situations and problems. The goal is to provide superior customer service and to execute the client's vision for their wedding.

A wedding is one of the most important days of your life and I feel so honoured when I am a part of a client's special day. I have tears in my eyes when I send a bride down the aisle. I am so proud when the bride and groom are pronounced husband and wife. I am thankful when the reception is in full swing and everyone is enjoying themselves.

But what really brings it home to me is when I watch the newly married couple, my clients enjoy that special moment of their first dance together as husband as wife that makes my heart melt and my passion for everything wedding grows that much deeper!

Until next time thanks for reading.

Susan