Hello everyone!
The weather has gone downhill here in Montreal, which sadly hasn’t got me thinking very happy thoughts today. So, in the spirit of all things cold and unpleasant, I thought I’d write a little something about bridezillas.
When I tell people that I am a wedding planner, one of the most common comments I get in return is “wow, you must deal with a lot of bridezillas!”. For those of you not yet familiar with this term, a bridezilla is basically a bride gone bonkers. Lucky for me, most brides who choose to hire a wedding planner don’t actually have anything to go bonkers over, since they have someone else handling all the stress for them.
But, probability being what it is, I did once, and only once, have a bride go bonkers on me. Don’t get me wrong: I usually really don’t like to “kiss and tell”, and so I promise I will not give any details as to who she was, where the wedding was held, or any other info that might lead you to guess her identity. But I do think it might be helpful if I shared with you some of the do-s and don’t-s of being a bride.
1- Treat thy neighbor kindly: This bride started out absolutely lovely, but as the planning process advanced, she became increasingly mean. Once, we were driving to visit a venue, and when her phone rang, she threw it at me and said “pick it up and take a message”. Wedding planner, yes. Personal assistant? No.
2- And remember that your wedding vendors are also people: When it came time to plan the actual wedding day, I kindly mentioned to this bride that she was expected to provide a meal for all the vendors who would be on location all day (the dj, the photographer, and myself). She raised her eyebrows in complete disbelief, and answered: “What? Can’t you bring a sandwich or something?”. I don’t mean to be rude, and I definitely do not expect to eat lobster, but come on! Please remember that a hungry dj is a grumpy dj…
3- Don’t forget to share vital info with your wedding planner: So, the wedding day rolled around, I drove the 2 hours to this location in the wee hours of the morning, booked a hotel room, set up the room, went to take a shower, changed into my beautiful pale blue Andy The Anh suit, went to see the bride… And the first words out of her mouth, as she opened the door, were: “Eeew! You’re wearing blue! I f**ing hate that color!”. Nice. If you really don’t want to see something at your wedding, please be kind enough to advise your wedding planner before the wedding.
4- And finally, remember that there are things that simply cannot be controlled: Unfortunately, this bride could not be satisfied. When I say unfortunately, I mean unfortunately for everyone involved, including herself. She threw a fit when it got cloudy. She threw a bigger fit when it started raining (although the wedding was held inside). She complained “post factum” that guests got lost on their way (although we had provided very clear directions). She complained that her steak was bloody in the center (although she had asked for medium-rare). She complained that it was windy, that the guests didn’t drink enough at the open bar, that the ceiling was too low. I can only begin to imagine how unhappy she must have been on her own wedding day.
As I mentioned before, most, if not all, of my brides are always happy and relaxed. A lot of them become dear friends and we stay in touch long after the honeymoon is over. The trick to having a happy, merry wedding is not something that’s measured with budget or size or elaborate-ness. Remember that you are getting married to the love of your life. Communicate with your vendors.
And let the old man upstairs control the weather.
xoxo
