What is it like to be a wedding planner in a wedding party?
In a word: exhausting
I had the distinct privilege of being Matron of Honor to one of my longest and best friends in May. We are practically sisters and I love her with all my heart. I would (and do) bend over backwards to do anything she asks of me. So when she asked me to be her matron of honor and asked if we could help her execute her dream day my mouth said this:
“YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM THAT WILL BE SO EASY.”
My mind said
“That sounds like it could be difficult”
And it was. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Honestly I think it did great things for me professionally to experience things from both sides. I haven’t been in a wedding since we started Grace and Truth. And I’ve only ever been in one other one ever. So to experience the planning process as matron of honor and be able to advocate as her wedding planner was so fun! It was all the fun of helping your best friend plan a wedding with all the perks of doing it professionally. I felt like I could make worthwhile contributions and suggestions, meanwhile having complete faith that we would have the day under control and could execute her vision.
The planning and meetings weren’t the hard part. The wedding day was the hard part. If only Ally had tried to warn me about that.
(spoiler: she did. She tried. She tried real hard. And I still wasn’t prepared)
All day I was looking at the timeline and wondering if the vendors were on time and how the flowers looked and if family pictures were going according to schedule.
Did they get all the pictures she wanted?
Are the groomsmen dressed?
How does the cake look?
Is the guest book set up right?
I had all the thoughts and worries of a planner but I couldn’t do anything about it. I needed to be getting my own hair and makeup done! I needed to be enjoying the day with my best friend. And I could not be more grateful that Ally was in her corner all day while I was sipping mimosas and singing Jonas Brothers songs in the top of a barn.
And I’m not just doing a shameless plug here. I’m being totally honest when I tell you that for every stray thought or worry I had, I knew that Ally and Sherrie had it totally under control. While my mind was going ninety to nothing I actually wasn’t stressed about any of it.
The peace of mind that came with knowing we had gone over all the details with the bride and the family really made all the difference in the world as a member of the bridal party. We all had our timelines and we knew exactly what we needed to do. Ally and Sherrie executed the Bride’s vision seamlessly and made executive decisions when it was required. As a member of a bridal party I got to watch my best friend get ready and become a wife and not be worried about a single thing. It was exactly the day she wanted and I couldn’t be more grateful to have been there as a friend and as part of her planning team to see it all come together.