Wedding Planners wear many hats
by Tony Smith

I long ago stopped being surprised by brides who made last minute decisions and expected me to magically make them so. There has been more than one occasion where I was tying the last ribbon on the last chair just as the guests were arriving for the ceremony simply because the bride had decided the night before that it would be a nice look even though it had never been discussed, budgeted, or planned.

And I am probably the only 45 year old man in New Orleans whose jacket pockets are filled with tampons, a mini sewing kit, extra safety pins, a mini first aid kit, and a bottle of clear nail polish.

This is just part of the job and it is a job I love and have been doing for over fifteen years. However, there are some times I get asked to do things that are way above the call of duty. On those days I go home and tell myself that I need to raise my prices.

For instance,

There was the bride whose hair dresser didn't show up. The entire wedding sat on hold while I put her fine, limp hair into an updo without benefit of hair brush, curling iron, hot rollers, or hair pins. It's amazing what you can do with enough hair spray and some paper clips.

There was the couple who insisted on getting married at dusk on an observation platform overlooking the Mississppi River. Her second cousin twice removed wrecked his car halfway between the hotel and the site of the ceremony. When he arrived on site, he had left his flute in the car and there would be no music for the ceremony. I sang "The Lord's Prayer" in front of the ten people gathered for the ceremony and the 5000 tourists gawking at us from below. At the end of the song, all 5000 applauded, then reverently waited for the end of the ceremony, then applauded again. This all happened as the sun set over the River and the lights came up on Jackson Square. I'll always remember this as my most magical wedding.

Finally, there was the bride who refused to let me hire a bridal attendant and then insulted her six bridesmaids so terribly that they refused to talk to her after the ceremony. These two facts compounded the problem when the bride's curse hit her just as she arrived at the reception. I held her hand, looked gently into her eyes and told her, "Wait a minute and I will go find your mother." This was one job I had no intentions of helping with.

A wedding planner wears many hats, but the most important one is that of a friend.