Wedding Planning: It’s Not a Hollywood Movie
II think most people would agree that J.Lo movies aren’t the most high quality entertainment out there. However, there is one that may not make you gag, “The Wedding Planner”. Are you starting to see a pattern here? I think I may have an addiction to movies about weddings. Anyway, you can’t pass up the fact that it has two hunky men in it: Matthew McConaughey and Justin Chambers (pre “Grey’s Anatomy” days).
The interesting thing about “The Wedding Planner” is it gives a nice Hollywood spin on what a wedding planner goes through; even if J.Lo (the wedding planner) and Matthew McConaughey (the fiancé) end up together in the end. Of course, the industry is probably glamorized to make it interesting for us to watch but you do get a glimpse of the ups and the downs wedding planners go through. It seems that they have to be everything to everyone. Not an easy job.
The chaos and time consumption of planning a wedding is why I assume brides hire professional wedding planners. Personally, I never wanted one because I always wanted to do it all myself. Plus my wedding budget does not allow for one even if I did want it. That being said, being a wedding planner is not only about choosing colors and sampling food and cake.
What are wedding planners really? Well, they are project managers who work on one very specific type of project. They get to do all the fun stuff (which maybe isn’t so fun when it’s not your own wedding) but they also are tasked with some important and tedious work as well:
- Did you realize you have to become a cheerleader/therapist too?: You may have to motivate the groom-to-be to go look at china patterns for your registry or make your Mother feel ok about not inviting your second cousin once removed.
- The honor of being chosen for the wedding party: Deciding between your friends for who will be members of the wedding party can be hard. One thing to keep in mind is how responsible your friends are. You don’t want a bridesmaid showing up half way through the ceremony or a groomsman getting sloshed and hitting on your Aunt Mildred.
- Doling out the work: As the bride-to-be you may take on a lot of the work yourself. But you will need help and perhaps support. You don’t want to go insane. And besides, that’s what friends and family are for.
- No run-away trains: The planning can become a disaster if you let yourself and those around you get side-tracked. Maybe your Mom wants to order personalized doilies to serve the cocktails on. Or maybe your soon to be father-in-law insists on having a magician entertain the kids during dinner. You may need to negotiate or cajole whoever it is that is throwing the planning off track (even if it’s yourself)
- Your nasty side may have to make an appearance: You have enough to do already. If one of your bridesmaids promised to help you make candied almonds by hand and wrap them in tulle, hold her to it.
- Family Feuds are prohibited: You don’t want a Romeo and Juliet situation here. It is important to maintain the peace between family members and the wedding party.
- Don’t turn your wedding party and family into matrimonial slaves: Any help they can provide is much appreciated, right? But be careful not to work them to the ground.
Maybe after reading this post you may want to hire a wedding planner; not everyone can handle every situation with as much grace and ease as J.Lo does. But hey, if you plan your own wedding the upside of it is you won’t risk your J.Lo esque wedding planner falling in love with your fiancé.
