Blogger Brides :: "Trust Me...I Have Done This a Thousand Times Before"

Our next bride in our "Blogger Brides" series is Janice. Janice is a current SPW bride who is planning a wedding at LeMont in October. Janice and I have become quite close, frequently meeting up for monthly lunch/dinner planning meetings. I just love when I connect with a bride on a personal level - makes the planning process a breeze! Besides, who says the planning process has to be all work and no play, right?! One of the things I love about the wedding that Janice and her fiance, Rob, are planning is that they are truly focused on the meaning of the ceremony. Of course, they've had a lot of fun brainstorming ideas for their wedding decor (think: sunflowers!), but Janice and Rob truly understand the meaning and the main point behind the wedding day...the marriage. I'm definitely looking forward to their wedding. We've enlisted an awesome team of vendors that I know are totally going to rock their wedding day!

Without further ado, here is Janice's advice for our readers:

"Trust Me...I Have Done This a Thousand Times Before"

"I know you have heard that line before. I have too, but fortunately it hasn’t been during our wedding planning process. Rob and I are both very determined and head strong people. We have a very clear vision of how we would like our wedding day to turn out. We know there are many factors that we cannot control. However, we also know that there are many MORE factors that we can…to include what vendors we chose. 

We have already selected all of our vendors for our October 2011 wedding. Before we met with any of our vendors, we had a clear (well, as clear as can be when it comes to wedding planning) vision of what we wanted. We had decided not only what we wanted as far as décor, photos, music & food, but what we wanted from our vendors. Here were qualities that were non-negotiable:

• They must be warm, friendly people.

• Prompt at communication

• Creative

• Open to our suggestions

• Must never, ever say “Trust me…I have done this a thousand times before”.

The last one is a big one!! It makes my skin crawl when I hear stories on blogs and bulletin boards about how vendors have said that to their clients. And I (and Rob too) will argue, “No, you haven’t. You have never worked MY wedding before”. 

We have been lucky beyond belief with our planning process. Sumer has guided us towards some of the best wedding professionals in the business. After our meetings with all of our vendors, the choices were easy to make. They were almost effortless. No matter what we were discussing, all of them were creative, easy to talk to and listened to our ideas. When we have questions, no matter who I am working with, I know I will hear back promptly. And not one of them implied that working our wedding would be a cake walk because they have done this before. 

Now that I have rambled on for several paragraphs, you may be asking yourself, “What is your point”? My point is that when choosing your vendors, if you don’t trust them 100%, turn around and leave…as a matter of fact, RUN! One of the reasons I am enjoying the planning process so much is because I trust each and every one of my vendors. I know that Andy Booth is going to keep my party rocking, Jenni Grace is going to capture my moments, Bill Laughlin will make sure the food is fabulous, Carrie Anne will make my flowers unforgettable and that Sumer will keep me calm& everything running smoothly. I don’t have to worry about the “what if’s” all of the time because I trust my team. We both said from the beginning that we want to enjoy the process…and we are!"

{Vendor Credits}
DJ :: Andy Booth Productions
Photographer :: Jenni Grace Photography
Florist :: Carrie Anne Powell Floral Designs
Venue :: LeMont