You are the patron saint of the wedding planners,
Last night while trying to enjoy a girls night out, I was suddenly ambushed by a wanna-be wedding planner. I was wearing a shirt with the word wedding on it, with no company name or logo, she either assumed I was a bride to be or a planner. I told her I was a planner and she began a ten minute rant about how she planned her own wedding for dirt cheap at the local highway hotel and she was going to be the next big thing and rule Orlando as the best planner in the history of world! It made me sick. Elisa sent me this and it made me feel so much better, a true planner learns their craft inside and out before entering the wedding business and is not an impulsive daddies little girl who planned her own wedding and thinks she is an expert!

Thank you so much for keeping it real!
Laurie Anne Portella
Bliss Wedding and Events

…..correct me if I’m wrong, but didnt daddy set up and fund the start up of Bliss?

I listen to some of the girls who call me to intern or work and it’s all I can do to be nice.

When I got started, I had sense enough not to call people with whom I would be competing. Isn’t that just common sense?

I love [read: hate] when young girls call me up and say, “Are you hiring?” and when I explain that I only hire from my students (I teach through the Wedding Planning Institute), they say, “Well, can you tell me what I need to do to get started in this business?” Yeah…let me tell you how to take business away from me!

I tell them to take my class. lol. That way I can tell who would possibly be competition for me and then I snatch them up for my own team. They’re not ready to be on their own anyway.

When I look back on my first wedding, I was SO naive! I had the correct business mindframe but was so green on the finer parts of planning.

Someone please tell these girls that it takes years to build a reputation. Anyone can stand at the back of a church and say, “Go,” when it’s the next bridesmaid’s turn to walk down the aisle but do they know how to literally sew a bride into her dress or are they willing to put their weak stomach aside and help the bride get menstrual spots out of her dress? Can they make an extra boutonniere just like the florist’s by pulling a flower from the back of a large arrangement and using minimal tools in their emergency kit? Do they even have an emergency kit? If so, does it have more than just a sewing kit and tissues?

People rarely recognize our ingenuity, wisdom, patience, acting abilities (have you ever wanted to smack a cheeky bridesmaid who complains because she can’t see the bride from her 12th spot in line?), and genuine love for what we do.

I raise a glass to myself and all of you!

P.S. If you read this, thank you, my beautiful friend and future bride, Becca, for recommending this site to me. I feel like I’ve found my way home.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

I am SO glad that you wrote this because I gather that many people, like you, cannot think outside of the box and appreciate this post for what it is.

You see, “Wow”, I don’t judge my brides. That’s not my place. Together , the client and I will decide if we are a good fit. It’s all about personality, talent, panache and drive. If we click– we’re going to do fantastic together and pull ofd a fantastic event. If not, I will gladly refer you to another coordinator who might be your style.

And yes, I do think these things, and what’s even better, I say them. Why? Because this is MY company and I have to stand by everything it produces, including it’s staff. That being said, anything less than the best is uncivilized. The problem with our unregulated industry is that anyone can come in the sandbox and play with minimal experience and talent and hang up their “ready for work” sign. All I ask from my staff is that they bring their fabulous personalities and their best. There are no do overs on a client’s wedding day– and we’re their form of living wedding insurance. So, you’re probably right, “Wow”. If you’re looking for a planner with substandard help that cannot communicate effectively, dress properly, or handle the infinite details of your wedding day….we are NOT for you.

But to tend to your burning insinuation that I mistreat my employees– you’re wrong. Dead wrong. I love my employees and value them as individuals and co-workers. This was written very tongue in cheek, but as you may have been able to ascertain from the thirty two posts before you, this is a very SERIOUS “problem” in the wedding industry. Just about anybody thinks they can become a wedding planner with minimal to no experience and then want to be a rockstar from jumpstreet. It doesn’t happen that way. This may be YOUR dream, but this is MY livelihood, and I’m going to need a little more than just dreams to pull off a wedding. We all have to earn our hard knocks and bring our A game, and learn how to take constructive criticism. If you were a potential employee and have a problem with this, then again, you are probably right, “Wow”. We are NOT for you.

A lot of truth is said in jest and I stand by what I wrote. So much so, that I didn’t find the need to use a pen name to cloak my real thoughts. If you would like to discuss this further, “Wow”, you are more than welcome to email me.