The Secretary and the Planner

Hard to tell but it was 102 degrees in the shade - IN DECEMBER!

When I got married several (okay more than several) years ago in South Africa, we didn't have things such as wedding planners. Usually the bride and her mom handled it all. (My mom even made my wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses and her own outfit! Miss that woman so much!) But I think that weddings were a lot more basic, unless my mom was way more stressed than she let on. There wasn't a venue to decorate - we got married in the church and some church ladies set out flowers, etc. Receptions were held at community centers and the setup and decorations were simple. Meals were served buffet-style - unless you could afford a hotel or country club.

But I have learned that the modern American wedding is much more elaborate than that. The list of vendors to choose from is impressive. And over and over I see brides comment on how grateful they were to have hired a wedding planner or day-of-event coordinator.

I get it.

My friend Marsha owns Distinctly Yours Weddings & Events and when I hear of some of the things she does to take stress off the bride or adapt to unexpected...everything, it's clear that she's worth every penny! It's that peace of mind thing.

(I wonder how she would have handled the situation where one of the flower & candle sprays on the stage at my friend's wedding burst into flames 5 minutes before she walked down the aisle? Fortunately the head usher had the presence of mind to remove the spray from the stage before he blasted it with a fire extinguisher!)

But I'm not a wedding planner - I'm a wedding secretary.

What the heck is the difference?. And why would I need a secretary?

I'm glad you asked.

Unlike a planner, I only handle a specific area of the wedding. Starting with the process of designing your print products - from save-the-date cards through to day-of signage - so that they all complement each other and provide a beautiful visual that's unique to your special day. Why force your wedding into someone else's template?

Sometimes that requires working with more than one printer.

Most of the time it requires an understanding of the different paper types and sizes and turnaround times.

All the time it requires knowing what printers to avoid and navigating any orders that need to be reprinted.

It also includes guidance with font choices and purchasing an accurate quantity of each item (e.g. 100 guests does not = 100 invitations - a common mistake.)

But I don't just design your stationery and then send it to the printer for you to pick up or receive in the mail.

I am the Bride's Secretary, providing professional secretarial services.

• I manage your calendar by making sure that your products all meet individual printer and mailing deadlines.

• I build and maintain your wedding website and help with the procurement of accurate addresses for your guest list.

• I individually address, stuff and mail your save-the-date cards, invitations and anything else that requires mailing.

• I keep track of your RSVPs from guests - even having them mailed to my business if you want.

• When the RSVP deadline has come and gone, I place phone calls to those who haven't responded so that you can have a more accurate count for your caterer. (Reminder: an average of 25-30% of your guest list won't RSVP. Those are easy phone calls for me because I don't have a relationship with any of your guests. So what would be a 3 minute phone call for me could be a 10-15 minute phone call for you. Multiply that by 25 and the question is - do you really want to be spending that much time on phone calls just a few weeks before the wedding?)

• I make myself available for last-minute "print" crises (think extra menus or table signs or programs...)

In summary...

Do you NEED a wedding planner? No, but they're wonderful to have and worth every penny.

Similarly...

Do you NEED a wedding secretary? No - but I'm wonderful to have and I'll prove that I'm worth every penny. Just ask some of my customers.

So let's connect! It doesn't cost anything to ask questions.

And if you can accurately guess the year (give or take) of my wedding from the photo at the top, I'll apply a 10% discount to your quote. Wowsers - not only worth every penny but saving you some pennies too - at the expense of you figuring out how old I am!