“Auntie Em & Grandma Dee Are ‘Doing’ My Wedding (For FREE!)”

The fabulous ring . . . the fairy tale dress and gorgeous tiara . . . the luscious, sweetly scented flowers . . . the beautiful, 5-tier Wedding Cake. . the stretch Limo . . . the romantic suite in the city’s newest hotel with top shelf cuisine . . . Prince Charming, AKA, the Groom . . . Auntie Em and Grandma Dee are your Wedding Consultants?

While preparing for your Wedding, you are also preparing for your medical boards in Atlanta. Your Groom is a Law Clerk in Washington, D.C. Your Wedding will be in Cleveland. Are Auntie Em and Grandma Dee qualified and able to manage these logistics?

Your Groom’s self-centered, childish ex-wife will be bringing their 5-year old Flower Girl daughter to the Wedding. His mother, still bitter from the recent divorce refuses to sit next to his father or stand in the family picture if he does. One of the couples in your Wedding Party, once a lovely two-some, have been known to hurl objects at each other and are fighting over child custody issues, as their marriage undergoes a nuclear meltdown. And the Groom’s oldest sister, who is underwhelmed by the prospect of your marrying her Baby Brother, has clearly demonstrated how and why she has earned the title the “Mother of All Drama Queens”. Your Groom thought he was helping by acquiescing to her demand that her 14-year old, size 18 daughter be in the Wedding Party as a Junior Bridesmaid. Your mother has no problem with your father escorting you down the aisle. She simply refuses to be under the same roof with his new and very young wife. Can Auntie Em and Grandma Dee move past family issues and say “this is their day"?

Are you the couple whose parents are both divorced and re-married? Instead of four parents of the Wedding Couple, there are now eight. Both sets of birth parents adamantly refuse to sit with or near their respective ex-spouses, and all four birth parents insist on attending your Wedding with their new spouses. Quick, get the smelling salt. Auntie Em and Grandma Dee both look woozy.

You thought Auntie Em and Grandma Dee were planning to co-ordinate your Wedding. They thought they were just directing it. Now, who’s woozy?

This is NOT the stuff of fiction or fodder for late night comedy shows.

Your Wedding is one of the most important days and precious experiences of your life. Your dream of the perfect, fairy tale Wedding is wonderful and quite normal. Without the competent, professional and caring services of a Wedding Consultant, your precious dream could disintegrate into a nightmare! Auntie Em, Grandma Dee, friends and family can have important and supportive roles in the unfolding and development of your Big Day. But unless they are trained professionals, you may be denied the opportunity to experience your Wedding Day with the great joy and minimal stress that you deserve. Close friends and relatives are sometimes too close, and they may work your last nerve when you least need it.

So . . . what is a Bride to do? I am so glad you asked! As soon as you are engaged, you need to place the hiring of a professional, certified Wedding Consultant very high on your Wedding “To Do List”. She brings to the table a tremendous wealth of knowledge, professionalism and the skills needed to transform your precious dream into a beautiful event with memories you will always cherish. The Wedding Consultant is close enough to care about you and your day, yet distant enough to see clearly things and people for what and who they are. She has a treasure trove of Wedding Vendors who can be secured quickly and efficiently. With her reputation on the line, the Wedding Consultant is going to be very particular and careful about who is recommended to you as potential Wedding Vendors.

Family compositions and life journeys are very different today from the ones people experienced 50 and 100 years ago. Gone are the days of the 16-year old, starry-eyed Bride who moved from her parents’ home immediately to one she shares with her Groom. Today’s Bride and Groom may live in two different states planning for a Wedding that will occur in a third state. Both may work and be well into their respective careers. One or both may be homeowners, and may be birth and/or stepparents. Weddings are highly emotional events and all kinds of family issues seem to band together and come out of the closet like a legion of berserk storm troopers.

Auntie Em is wonderful and Grandma Dee has been sweet for as long as you can recall. Neither of those admirable traits will be sufficient enough to insure that your precious dream develops into the beautiful Wedding of your fantasy. Utilize their talents and willingness to assist with your Wedding. However, they should not serve as your Wedding Consultants, unless they are so trained. At some point you need to enlist the services of a consultant. The sooner you do this the greater the likelihood that your fantasy Wedding will be the Wedding you and your Groom experience.

You can save money through the efforts of well meaning volunteers. But what is the real cost of your savings? Brides and Grooms who have used professional, Certified Wedding Consultants have realized that the money invested in her was 5%-12% of the Wedding Budget (you do have a Wedding Budget, don’t you?). The value of the Consultant’s service was beyond measure.

Auntie Em, Grandma Dee, well-meaning friends and family . . . or a professionally trained, Certified Wedding Consultant? Your choice will revolve around what you want to be the lasting memories of your Wedding Day, long after the cake has been eaten, the gifts have been opened and the Honeymoon video has been viewed for the tenth time. A professional, experienced and caring Wedding Consultant is prepared to work with you and your Groom to ensure that your precious dream is transformed into a beautiful Wedding with cherished memories. You give the details and legwork to him/her, while still retaining control of all decisions. You and your Groom can then relax and enjoy the transformation of your dream.

Your decision is very important. The cost of investing in a professional Wedding Consultant will be small . . . the value will be priceless.

©2006
Delores L. McCollum

Please note: “Auntie Em” and “Grandma Dee” are fictitious names. Any similarity to real people is purely coincidental.