“Becoming a Wedding-ista, 1 Wedding down, a lifetime to go”

As I explained earlier, part of the intern process is writing a blog of their first experience with Southern Charm Wedding & Events, so now I would like to introduce to you another of our interns, Kristen Thomas:

“This is a lot harder than it looks”; that was my first thought as I looked at the agenda on

the afternoon of my first wedding with Southern Charm Events. I had NO idea there were

so many intricate details involved. My hats go off to all wedding coordinators across the

board, especially Tanya with Southern Charm Weddings and Events because she doesn’t

miss a detail! A good Wedding Coordinator knows what is happening every minute

of the day on that Wedding Day from the time the vendors will arrive to the time the

bridesmaids will bustle the bride’s dress. If any of those details are missing, it can make

for pure chaos. Thank God, my first wedding went off with out a hitch.

Myself and the other intern for the day had our work cut out for us. We set up the escort

card table, which by the way, definitely made me sharpen up on my alphabetical ordering

skills which I’m glad I paid attention in grammar school. Lol. We set up the center

pieces, put the decal on the dance floor and the doors, set out the favors, brought drinks to

the bridal party, pinned the corsages and boutonnieres on the bridal party, etc. Anything

you can think of, we did. I can honestly admit, I broke a sweat!!!

Once the wedding ceremony began and the beautiful bride walked down the aisle, certain

calmness came over me. It almost felt like I was part of the family because I was so

excited to see her walk down the aisle. I quickly snapped out of it when the ceremony

was over because now it was time to get the guests to the cocktail hour area and bridal

party to the location for pictures. Again, things ran pretty smoothly and the guests along

with the bridal were ready to party!



During the reception, on a few different occasions, some of the guests stopped me to

ask more about Southern Charm Events and to shower us with compliments about a job

well done. I even got a few, “Hey Kristen, High Five!” That definitely gave a sense of

fulfillment, and ultimately, that’s what it’s all about. You cannot and I repeat CANNOT

be a successful Wedding Coordinator unless your main goal is to please the client and

make their vision and dream come to fruition.

I think the universe cut me some slack for my first time around because everything went

really smoothly. I’m sure that my initiation will occur really soon and I will be subjected

to the wrath of Bridezilla. Either way, I’m excited and looking forward to my new life

that I like to call “Becoming a Wedding-ista”!

Why Hire a Wedding Planner? - From Someone Who Didn’t

As each of my interns start working weddings, I like to ask them to write a blog post about their experiences.  One of our newest interns, Tara Close, is also a recent bride.  After the last wedding, she and I were talking about all the behind the scene's work and would she had hired a wedding planner if she had it to all over again.  Here is Tara's take:

Ten months ago I was knee deep in all of the wedding planning stresses that often grace the doorstep of each “do-it-yourself” bride. My mother and I were taking on all of the odds and ends that make up a wedding ceremony and reception, tackling each hurdle as it came, hoping things would go smoothly on the big day. From picking vendors, ordering decorations, sending out invitations, and dealing with various venues, the list of things to do and my stress level just kept growing and growing. By the time the big day came around, the last thing either of us wanted to do was worry about the details that may fall through the cracks, but when you “do it yourself,” you just take that risk. Although no major problems happened that night, having someone there to relieve the small jobs my mom was in charge of throughout the day would have been a great relief. Your loved ones, especially the ones who play a huge part in your big day, shouldn’t have to “work” at your wedding. Not only were my parents hosting the biggest day of my life, but they were also busy making sure everything turned out the way we planned.




Hiring a wedding planner is something that many people don’t find necessary, because they simply think they can handle it all themselves. Why add to the growing list of expenses? But wedding planning should be at the top of your list when it comes to preparing for your big day. The reassurance that you have a team of people working to make your wedding the best day of your life, should be reason enough to put it into your plans. Who wouldn’t want someone to take some of the burden of planning such a huge event off of their shoulders. Why wouldn’t you want to have that great feeling of knowing that someone is working just as hard as you are on your wedding, and that they do this for a living. That’s right! The wedding planning company that you pick is a professional! Attention to detail, flawless execution, and multitasking are their specialties.



Most wedding’s don’t go off without a hitch, and I think that is a concept most brides don’t understand because we are all focused on the fact that our day will be “perfect,” whatever perfect is to that individual. Often times, the flowers and cake are late, it’s to windy outside making setup of an outdoor wedding a nightmare, the caterers aren’t ready to serve dinner on time, or you forgot the unity candle you are using in your ceremony, and realize just moments before you walk down the aisle. That’s when you need a team there who is looking out for you and your guests. Ensuring that your vendors are there on time, that you have all of the elements you need in your ceremony on sight and ready to go at a moments notice, and most importantly handling the problems that will always come up so that you don’t have to stress and worry, and work on your wedding day.



So the big question is, if I could go back and do it all again…. would I hire a wedding planner? Absolutely! If peace of mind is all a wedding planner could give me on my big day, it would be more than enough. Just to know that someone is paying attention to the details, working behind the scenes, and ensuring that my friends and family don’t have to lift a finger on my big day is reason enough!