I know you've probably seen "Oz, the Great and Powerful" and other spin-offs, but please tell me you've seen the original "Wizard of Oz." The one where Dorothy is whisked off by a tornado to the land of Oz and has to click her heels together while saying, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home," to get back to Kansas and all the people she loves.
I know I'm going to age myself with what I'm about to share next, but my grandsons already know that I'm older than the internet, so there's no point denying it!
I remember the Christmas when we got our first color TV. (In all honesty, I don't remember our black and white TV - I just know we must've had one.) But on Christmas day, after the dinner was all cleared away, my parents and grandparents congregated in the living room and prepared me for the grand color TV reveal, via Judy Garland's classic role in "The Wizard of Oz."
Of course, they knew something about the movie that I didn't. So when everything started in black and white, I was very confused and suggested to my dad that maybe his brand new color TV was broken. I was encouraged to keep watching and, to my delight (another spoiler alert), when Dorothy went over the rainbow, the screen sprang to life in full, vibrant color and I was mesmerized!
And although the colors were rich, and the ruby slippers were gorgeous, and the yellow brick road was fun to travel and she had her faithful Toto to keep her company, it seemed that Dorothy really just wanted to go home. Thus her trip to see the big, scary Wizard who, once the curtain is pulled back, turns out to be "a very good man, but a very bad wizard."
I love to travel and explore and coming home is almost always a bit of a let down for me so, truth be told, I've often wondered what Dorothy's problem was.
I have a son who can relate to Dorothy though. We took all the kids and my parents to DisneyWorld when he was about four years old - the "happiest place on earth" that he seemed to be enjoying just as much as his siblings. But as I was putting him to bed on the second night at the hotel, he asked me when we were going home. (Unfortunately for him, we had another full five days planned...but I think we found ways to entertain him!)
Am I rambling? Possibly. But I do have a point to make.
I want you to know that, even if we've never met, you can trust and pay attention to the (wo)man behind The Bride's Secretary digital curtain. Why? Well, here's a few things you should know about me - and I'll provide you with real, live, non-AI people references if you want.
You can trust that I really love weddings. You can trust that when a couple invites me to be a small part and prelude to their wedding celebration, I'm thrilled - even more than the representatives of the Lollipop Guild were to welcome Dorothy to Munchkin Land. And how can you doubt the sincerity of a Munchkin?
You can trust that making your wedding stationery come alive in full color is just as important to me as it is to you. You can trust that when I say you can keep changing your mind until the printing deadline, I mean it and won't give you attitude about it.
You can trust that my Type A personality will have you both double and triple checking your guest list for spelling mistakes before we print any envelopes.
You can trust that your website will reflect as many of the stationery decisions you make as possible, even if getting it that way requires more hours than I put in your contract (and without charging you extra.)
You can trust that I'll do everything to provide you with a beautiful, quality product that works within your budget and you can trust that the price I'm quoting you for your stationery printing is my cost - there are no mark-ups. (BTW: Have you seen my new printing price list?)
You can trust that I'll only settle for an A+ product and I'll require that the printer re-run any stationery piece that I'm not happy with.
And you can trust that, more than likely, I'll reach out to you the day before the wedding to let you know that I'm thinking about YOUR big day but definitely after the wedding to see if it was everything you dreamed it would be!
With the dizzying pace of AI development these days, it's not always easy to trust that a photo you're looking at or a video you're watching or even a blog post you're reading is authentic and un-doctored. So it's reasonable to have some trust issues when it comes to believing the claims of a graphic designer and secretary you've never met. But, as a sole proprietor, it behooves me to follow-through on all that I promise understanding that, if something goes wrong and I don't fix it, you'll never refer me to any of your friends. Or worse - you'll leave a less-than-desirable Google rating for all the world to read.
So, as I mentioned earlier, if you'd like to chat with a real live customer, just let me know and I'll get you their information.
And no - I won't be the woman behind the curtain projecting a giant, fake {wizard} customer who is actually my DH, sister or best friend. Or worse - me with a nom de plume. My conscience wouldn't let me sleep.
And you don't want to see me after a night of no sleep.
Trust me!!
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