Wedding Madness

This weekend I coordinated the wedding of my sweet friend Austen. When she came to me last fall, asking if I would help with her wedding planning, I readily agreed. Little did I know what I was really getting myself into... "Helping" turned into "full-out planning." LOL. Despite the initial shock of the reality of my role, I was eager to tackle the challenge. I just have to explain the broad scope of what I got myself into...

Back in the fall, I was asked to plan a May wedding in Charleston, South Carolina. That was a challenge, considering I live in Texas. But we were making headway, and things were starting to fall into place. Right before New Year's, the sweet bride came to me with an event revision: we were moving the wedding to Texas! Despite the fact the last few months of planning were gone, I was excited to ease the stress of a far away wedding. The catch was that she was moving the wedding up two months. That's right- a March wedding in Texas. I had just over 2 months to re-plan an entire wedding. Ha!

You have to understand: I absolutely LOVE event coordination. It's my chosen career choice, and never am I more in my element than when I am planning/coordinating an event. And I was more than happy to help a friend. But I quickly realized I was in over my head when the clock was ticking and I was a staff of one. I faced wall after wall, challenge after challenge. But in the end- it was a beautiful wedding, no major mishaps, and the bride was happy. What more could I ask for?

As I ran around all weekend trying to get this wedding to go off without a hitch, I had to pause (if only for a brief millisecond) and reflect on what I was actually doing. While it was crazy, and I nearly had a heart attack more than once over the course of the weekend- lol- I realized that I was doing what I loved. And I realized I couldn't give it up without a fight. Now understand, if God asked me to give it up because He had something else for me, I would. It would be extremely difficult to do, but I would do it. But throughout this job search process, I have wondered if I was in the wrong industry. Given the economy, there aren't a plethora of event jobs out there. But after this weekend, I felt as though God was confirming the gifts/talents He created in me. This is what I am supposed to do. It's not the overall calling on my life- planning events as a calling would be silly. But I do believe it is the job He created for me in this temporal world. The gifts and abilities He has developed in me...I was meant to plan events. My calling is how I plan those events and impact the people I come in contact with for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom.

And so I continue searching and I continue waiting. As I unloaded my car from the wedding, I had a vision of the future. I looked at the mound of event materials that littered my backseat, and I thought: one day, I am going to look back on this day and smile. I am going to smile to see where I started...and how far God had brought me from 'those early days.' I am going to smile as I think how I got my start...and so I share with you a snapshot of my "before." This is where Erin, Certified Meeting and Event Planner, got her start: her apartment was her office, her living room was her warehouse, her personal vehicle was her first loading truck, her first clients were her friends...

On a random note...I just have to say that I am a HUGE fan of staying in a hotel. (Told you it was random). I think the thing I have realized is that it's not just about staying in a hotel...it's about staying in a hotel by myself. I stayed in a hotel over the weekend for the wedding so that I could be close to the event venue...and I was happy as a clam. It was a basic hotel...a Holiday Inn Express, actually. But just having my own space...so nice. I had a king-sized bed, a flat screen HDTV, an in-room coffee maker, and my choice of pillow firmness- lol. I am fairly easy to please.

My hotel room for the event weekend...

The choice of pillow firmness just made me laugh!

Ready to take on the day...ready to tackle this wedding...