Truthfully, there is not much I can’t stand about being a wedding planner. I am going to start out by saying that I love what I do, and I love working with my industry peers, and more importantly I love my job so much because I really enjoy helping people. On the weekends, I probably spend more time with my wedding industry peeps than I do with my family. But I have been in the business just shy of 10 years. I feel qualified enough to say that there are a handful of things that really $hit me about this job. And it’s probably not what you’re thinking. I think anyone working in this industry can probably relate some way or another, but here goes.
- The word Bridezilla. Please stop using this word, it makes me cringe. My clients are stressed out, and often emotionally fragile. They need extra hugs and understanding, not a label.
- Being inundated with requests for a job with cover letters that start off by saying: “I have no experience, but I’ve always dreamed about being a wedding planner…”. Sigh. Insert reality check. This job is hard work and I definitely don’t feel like Jennifer Lopez at the end of the day. I have no social life during spring and summer, I miss my family, my weekends are full of late nights with post event hangovers which last a few days. I get blisters, a lot of blisters!! I often wonder if that was something that they also had dreams about.
- Dealing with the odd idiot supplier. This is really a small industry – and I am only as good as the suppliers I work with. For the most part I am lucky to work with awesome vendors. At every event I attend, it’s unusual not to know at least a few suppliers on the client’s vendor list. Every now and then though I’ll come across someone new on the scene. It’s nice meeting fresh faces, and so often I have something to learn from a supplier taking a new approach to something. But the rage I have when I occasionally work with a supplier with a lousy attitude or who doesn’t perform to a high standard. This includes vendors who run late, make their incompetence your problem, or who don’t approach their job as a team effort in working with the rest of us to get the very best outcome for their clients.
- Couples who think we (the wedding industry in general) are rip off merchants looking to make a quick buck. The car I am driving is no Maserati. I promise you if I was in this to make a quick buck, then I still wouldn’t be here after a decade. The truth is that I have expenses just like my comrades in the industry. I need to cover office space, staff, insurance, telephone, electricity and the list goes on. I would also like to take a little bit home for myself so I can feed my kids, maybe even buy myself something nice as a payoff for all the hard work.
I am human folks and the good news is that I could only really think of 4 things. Lucky for me that the list of things I love far outweighs the 4 things I don’t. I am looking forward to a great wedding season ahead. Even given the things that I don’t like, they do make me into a more patient and experienced individual. They also probably make me better at my job. And that my friends is priceless.
