Being a guest vs. the planner

I just got home from the wedding of a good friend of mine. Well it was actually the post-wedding reception, they got married last month in St. Thomas, just the 2 of them. She looked so beautiful and so unbelievably happy. She wore her wedding dress again tonight, they had their first dance but that was about as "technical" as it got as far as weddings go.

Instead of the traditional cake they had several assorted cakes which I thought was really cool. I grabbed a piece of chocolate cake as did my brother who was also there. It was so rich that neither of us could finish it, we should've just shared a piece (which was enormous by the way). I'm still trying to figure out what the filling was between the 2 layers, but on top of the layers was chocolate mousse, caramel on top of that and then covered in chocolate, kind of like a hard shell (think Hershey bar hard, but thinner). It was really good.

By the guest book they had a digital frame that went through a slideshow of photos from their wedding and honeymoon. It was a great touch. The centerpieces were beautiful and the way they gave them away was simple and a great idea. Instead of doing the "pass the buck" or anything like that, they had one glass of water on each table with a lemon AND a lime whereas the rest on the table just had lemons. I figured it out right from the get go.

I love weddings, obviously or I wouldn't be in this business, but there is a difference between going to a wedding of a friend and being the planner of a wedding. When you're a guest at your friends wedding, you have a relationship with them so to see them so happy is just amazing. You're seeing them have their dreams come true. When I'm planning the wedding it's still amazing but in a different way. I don't have the relationship with a client that I do with a friend but to work with them and help them create their dream wedding and then to see it carried through, that is an amazing feeling as well. In that scenario I helped them make it happen. And of course there is the obvious difference between the two: One I'm working and the other I'm dancing and just having fun.

It was a wonderful time. I wish them a very happy and healthy life together, they both deserve it.