From Behind The Clipboard
Biographical / Self-Help / Wedding Planning
One of the most interesting and rewarding aspects of being an event planner
is the personal relationships I develop with clients with whom I work. For a
period of time, I get to be an integral part of their lives as we plan
together to create a lifecycle event that will be long remembered. During
this process with them, I am often navigating a range of emotion, family and
relationship dynamics, decision paralysis and more. Not only am I a wedding
planner and designer, but I often feel that I am a coach, mentor and
therapist as well.
This book dives deeper than being only a “how to” guide by also
including psychological and professional perspective pertaining to the
wedding planning process. It helps address decision making, external
influences, financial pressure, stress management, relationship preservation
and so much more. I share my advice and pro tips and open up about personal
experiences including stories that reflect on what I have learned and the
wisdom I can impart to others based upon what I have done successfully in
planning and experiences that may not have gone as I had hoped, but became a
great lesson for what not to do. I want everyone who is planning a wedding
to know that it is absolutely ok for their wedding to be “perfectly
imperfect.”
Interview
Introduce yourself and tell me about what you do.
I am a business owner and
professional wedding and special event planner.
I have owned Perfectly Planned by Shari for 20 years and have worked in
the event industry for approximately 28 years. During this time, I have planned
hundreds of weddings and events.
Majoring in design and
communications in college, I bring my passion for interior design to my events.
I worked with my clients on developing the creative vision and curate the style
and aesthetic for all events I plan.
That being said, my greatest
achievement is being a mom and raising my twin, almost 21 year old sons, whom I
am immensely proud of for being responsible and kind humans. I believe the best
thing I have done in my life has been creating my family.
Tell me more about your journey as an
author, including the writing processes.
Writing this book has felt
like a very long birth that began about ten years ago. I was reflecting on all
of the interesting things that happen during the wedding planning process and
on the wedding day and I realized that I have many stories to share that would
be both entertaining and informative.
Going through the COVID
pandemic as a wedding and event planner, reinforced my decades of experience
and adaptability. I felt as though I have so many years of knowledge and
practical experience that I can share with others who want to plan events. I
feel people can learn just as much from what has gone wrong as what has gone
right.
I wrote a training hand book
which was intended to be used as an industry training tool, but while writing
this book, I turned to sections of what I had written and wove them into the
content of this book.
This book is the culmination
of the stories, experiences, pro tips and information that I want to impart to
readers as an interesting read and helpful tool.
Tell me about your Book
One of the most interesting
and rewarding aspects of being an event planner is the personal relationships I
develop with clients with whom I work. For a period of time, I get to be an
integral part of their lives as we plan together to create a lifecycle event
that will be long remembered. During this process with them, I am often
navigating a range of emotion, family and relationship dynamics, decision
paralysis and more. Not only am I a wedding planner and designer, but I often
feel that I am a coach, mentor and therapist as well.
This book dives deeper than
being only a “how to” guide by also including psychological and professional
perspective pertaining to the wedding planning process. It helps address decision making, external
influences, financial pressure, stress management, relationship preservation
and so much more. I share my advice and pro tips and open up about personal
experiences including stories that reflect on what I have learned and the
wisdom I can impart to others based upon what I have done successfully in
planning and experiences that may not have gone as I had hoped, but became a
great lesson for what not to do. I want everyone who is planning a wedding to
know that it is absolutely ok for their wedding to be “perfectly imperfect.”
Any message for our readers
Weddings, just as life, will never
be perfect. We need to navigate the, sometimes overwhelming, constant flow of information and influence
coming at us on a regular basis. We need
to learn to curate what we take in and focus on what is most important.
Story
(Story about outdoor weddings and the importance of having a
back up “weather plan”)
This reception was held at a historic landmark building
nestled within a university campus. A unique feature of this property is its
rooftop, used for outdoor dining. This space is well-appointed, has a large
capacity, and offers picturesque views of the campus.
Tenting a rooftop patio comes with particular challenges and
concerns. The higher the elevation, the more of an issue the element of wind
becomes. In the past, tenting this rooftop had been discouraged, but my bride
fell in love with the view from the patio the moment she stepped foot on it so
I wanted to make it happen for her.
As an alternative, there was an indoor location for
cocktails. Its size and aesthetic were less optimal, but it could tightly hold
our guest count. It did not offer the uniqueness and impressive views we would
get on the rooftop; however, it could accommodate the group if we wanted to use
the space.
As with most weddings, planning occurs months or even years
in advance. We have no idea whether it will rain, but by the law of averages,
it always should be of consideration. Since I typically don’t plan an outside
event without a tent, I had one installed to mitigate risk. This way, we were
covered (literally) in the event of light to moderate rainfall.
However, on this particular wedding day, much to our
misfortune, we suffered the aftereffects of a hurricane that was striking the
coast. We were experiencing a monsoon-like rain as a result. With the heavy
rain also came occasional thunder, lightning, and forceful wind. The frame of a
structure tent consists of metal beams and poles. In such a scenario, an
ungrounded structure may become a lightning rod. If you are not so familiar
with them, lightning rods used to be installed on buildings to operate as a controlled
point of impact by lightning and were meant to prevent striking an unwanted
area. You don’t want to be standing within direct range of the lightening rod.
With the susceptibility of being struck, it could put guests in grave danger.
The rooftop tent had been installed the day prior to the
wedding. Tables and chairs were placed and we planned to add the finishing
touches the following day. When I arrived on the rooftop on Saturday, I stepped
through the doors and was slapped by the blustery wind’s impact due to the
elevation. Scanning the scene, thankfully all tables and chairs still appeared
to be upright, however, there were waterfalls pouring from the tent gutters and
splashing into the tent, which created small ponds of water in several spots.
The radar I had checked earlier had shown a slight chance
that we may get a temporary reprieve following this burst, so I was holding out
hope that the rooftop cocktails may still work out later on in the day. I
needed to help make this work. I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure anyone else at
the venue would go along with it, so I would see if it worked. I remembered
passing a utility closet on my way to the stairs. “If there is a wide
contractor broom, I can sweep the water puddles out of the tent,” I reasoned.
It seemed worth a try. In my designer black pantsuit and my knee-high Hunter
rain boots, I returned to the roof with the broom in hand.
Using the utility broom, I pushed waves in long strokes from
the center of the tent to its edge and watched the water wash down the side of
the building. Again and again, I repeated these steps, while the water was
splashing me from below. I wasn’t making the progress I had hoped. I realized
the water was not only splashing up, but it was now also falling into the tent
from above. The weight of the collected water was pooling and had become too
heavy. It was now leaking from all directions within its interior. Defeated, I
realized it was time to drop the broom and enact “Plan B.” I had given it every
effort, but it just wasn’t going to work and the risk was too great. While it
was not our first choice, I was so glad we had an alternative indoor space
available to save us.
About the Author
I am a business owner and professional wedding and special event
planner. I have owned Perfectly Planned by Shari for 20 years and have
worked in the event industry for approximately 28 years. During this time, I
have planned hundreds of weddings and events.
Majoring in design and communications in college, I bring my passion for
interior design to my events. I worked with my clients on developing the
creative vision and curate the style and aesthetic for all events I
plan.
That being said, my greatest achievement is being a mom and raising my
twin, almost 21 year old sons, whom I am immensely proud of for being
responsible and kind humans. I believe the best thing I have done in my life
has been creating my family.
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