I can pinpoint the exact moment when I wanted to become a wedding planner. I was eight years old, and I was watching J-Lo and Matthew McConaughey in the The Wedding Planner. J Lo made the job look not only effortless, but so glamorous. I know, this scenario is extremely predictable and corny, but true. I also know this not a great example of a wedding planner since she stole the groom, but that's not the point of my story. The point of my rambling is to point out I knew from a very young age that I wanted to plan weddings. Fast forward to college, where surprise, I wasn't there to be an event planner, but instead a doctor. Big mistake, I was absolutely miserable, except when I was planning baby showers or nieces' birthday parties. So after a year and a half of being in complete misery, I decided to make a change. I would study business and then become a big wedding planner in the city. So you are probably wondering why I'm not in the big city, planning weddings with the budget of a nice home, but instead in Hampshire County, WV, where I have to sit in a certain position to stay connected to the internet. The uncomplicated answer? Family and determination.
Silly readers, you thought I was going to let you get by with only the uncomplicated answer. #sorrynotsorry Two years ago, I was asked to help coordinate a wedding for my cousin. Since I needed the experience, I agreed. The night before the wedding, I realized I was going to need help to make the wedding day perfect. So who did I call? Not the Ghostbusters, but my mom. And guess what? We made a pretty good team, and we saw a need in our community. To fast forward this story, we decided to create Sarah K Events, become certified wedding planners, create some cool business cards, and attend every bridal expo we could, until we convinced one person to hire us! And guess what, someone actually did, and then another, and another...
I bet you are wondering what was the need we saw in our first wedding? The brides and their families in our area, are not actually enjoying their wedding. They are stressed, tired, and on the verge of murder by the time of the wedding day. And you might be thinking, well that's how my aunt, mother, and grandmother's wedding was, so isn't that how it is supposed to be? Absolutely not, and please stop making this stress some kind of weird family tradition. Wedding planners are kinda like Fairy Godmothers, because while you are getting your hair and makeup done, we are waving our magical wands all over your reception and ceremony site. Except for wands, more than likely its scissors and command strips in our hands. Sarah K Events wants you to enjoy your wedding and not worry about a thing. By the time, you need to get down to the details of the wedding, you are way over your head and could not care less about napkin folds, and who is walking Grandma Edna down the aisle. Wedding planners take way the stress of planning and help you take care of the details, so you have no regrets about your wedding day.
So let's get back to J-Lo, she is a liar. Wedding planning is not glamorous, and so far, no team of professional decorators have come to help make a firehall look like wedding reception site. Our first wedding, we left our house before 5 am to set up for a wedding and got home around 2 am the next morning. We ran around making everything look perfect, solved un-predictable problems, and sweated in places we didn't know where possible. We had to climb lake banks to retrieve supplies that were carried off in a wind gust, and organize decorations in a pitch black trailer after all the guests left. This is not what J-Lo or our certification instructor promised. But guess what? On our way home, we both agreed we loved every minute and did not regret our decision to plan weddings.
In summary of our first ever blog post (yipee!), Sarah K Events promises if you hire us, you will not regret it. We don't care what your budget is because we believe every bride deserves a beautiful wedding, A wedding that will literally make her gasp when she walks in, and a wedding she wants to brag about on her Instagram. SO small town brides get excited because J-Lo was right about one thing, all weddings should look effortless, and glamorous, and Sarah K Events is here to do just that.