Wedding Blog

It’s no surprise that wedding planning, in a nutshell, has been pretty crazy. I wouldn’t really say I was super busy at first, but I was still pulling my hair out about insignificant things. All my friends have been so supportive and they have been offering their help to me unconditionally. The only problem is, I don’t know what to ask for. I don’t know how to delegate.

And so I spent most of my days stressing about nothing and everything, and not getting anything done.

Mrs. Bee has always said that hiring a day of coordinator was the best thing she’d ever done for her own wedding. I considered hiring one, but Mr. Martini was pretty confident that we would be able to do it without a DOC. He actually helped coordinate my best friend’s wedding a year ago. Not only is he fascinated with the wedding industry, he thought it was a great opportunity to get an idea of what it would be like to plan his own wedding someday. Fortunately for him, he is super organized, focused, and has a mild case of OCD. Unfortunately for me, I can’t concentrate on one thing for more than five minutes, and Mr. Martini lost interest in the little details of the wedding once all the big things like venues and vendors were taken care of (curses!! I was hoping he would plan the whole darn thing. Is that too much to ask?). So, I was left alone with my unfortunate predicament - absolute terror and wedding anxiety.

Mrs. Bee knows me well, and she knows that I have a huge problem asking for help.

I mean, she’s the encyclopedia of all things wedding, and I didn’t even know how to ask her for help! Then one day she gave me our wedding gift early - a day of coordinator to hold my hand throughout the rest of our wedding planning. But Mrs. Bee was mean… so, so mean. She told me this in the middle of a workday, and I had to leave my desk and run to the bathroom so nobody would see me tear up. What a thoughtful gift; she gave me peace of mind.

Christine Viola of Exquisite Affairs also coordinated Mrs. Peony’s and Mrs. Canary’s wedding. I’ve been working with her for some time now, but I planned to write about her after our wedding, since I will be working more heavily with her as the big day gets closer. But I’ve had such wonderful experiences with her lately that I couldn’t help but share. Every time I’ve emailed her, she has gotten back to me super fast. Even when I ask what I think are dumb questions, she answers immediately.

But the real kicker was when I had to set up a conference call with our band. About a month before the wedding, a conference call with the band leader is required to go over the details of the wedding and order of events. I sheepishly asked Christine if she would be interested in being on the call, and she immediately responded with an enthusiastic yes. An hour before the call, she sent over a general itinerary she set up for us. During the call, she asked questions Mr. Martini and I didn’t even think of. When we were asked questions we couldn’t make a decision on, she was there to step in and offer her own suggestions from her experience.

This last couple of weeks has been extremely busy. I am getting married in less than a week, and there is just so much to do! Everyone always told me that the last month is crazy, and although I did my best to mentally prepare myself, it’s been hard to keep calm sometimes. But I’ve been emailing Christine all the details of the wedding, at all times of the day and night whenever something comes to mind, and she’s been on top of everything. She’s also the sole contact for all vendors for the week before the wedding, and just that alone gives me one less thing to worry about. Having that peace of mind, knowing that there is someone who will take care of everything for me on that big day, makes me feel so much better.

Are you using a Day of Coordinator for your wedding? What has your experience been like?