Wedding Wednesdays: Help! I Need Somebody

It's easy to find articles on wedding websites about the necessity of having a wedding planner - or, at the very least, a day-of coordinator.  (There's one here to start you off, if you haven't been convinced yet.)  Even before I read them, though, I knew I wanted to hire someone to bring together the details of our wedding.  The big picture planning was going to be tricky enough, with me in the States and our vendors in England, certainly, but I was confident we'd appreciate a professional's help even on a smaller scale.  Things will inevitably go wrong at my wedding, as at all weddings, but I don't want to know about them and I don't want my mother or Jon's mother to worry about them; if something catastrophic almost happens, I'd like someone else to take responsibility for averting disaster.  Our families and our friends - and we ourselves, of course - are going to have a great time at our wedding, and I'd like us to be totally unaware of the mechanics of how it's all happening on the day.

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At the beginning, Jon didn't completely understand this, but he was happy for me do some research (that's what I called the stack of wedding magazines and the folder of bookmarked blogs) and he didn't roll his eyes when I emailed a fantastic wedding planner to explore possibilities.  And, to his infinite credit, he participated enthusiastically at the resulting meeting.

It was wonderful to sit down with a professional to talk though our ideas and plans - it really made me feel like we were on the right track.  We were so much on the right track, actually, that she didn't think we needed full or even partial services; she recommended that we just go for day/month-of coordination.  (That's what happens when you're partially employed, as I was, and totally type-A, as I am.)  Unfortunately, we realized our schedules didn't match up appropriately and so the meeting ended with best wishes all around... but the story has a very happy ending nonetheless.

Do you see those gorgeous images up there?  Of course you do.  Well, guess what? I know the girl who styled that shoot!  Jillian and I had been blog friends for a few months before our paths crossed in London this past May.  Via Twitter and email, we had bonded over being expats in the UK, our British boys, and - obviously - weddings, and when we met for lunch, we totally clicked.  Jillian even offered to help out with my wedding that very day, but, somehow, it didn't get through to me that she really could be my planner.  I'm not entirely sure why; maybe I thought that friends and business didn't mix?  I don't know, but clearly I was having a obtuse moment.

And then, one day in early June, I clicked through to Style Me Pretty and swooned over the stunning photos from a beautifully imagined English country wedding shoot - and then, when I saw the styling credit at the bottom of the page, I swooned again.  It was Jillian's work as owner of Mimi Nicole Event Design Boutique!  That, dear readers, was my lightbulb moment.  I emailed her that evening, apologizing profusely for having been such a bonehead.  Several emails, a Skype call, a contract, and a dozen cupcakes later, it became official: I'm working with Jillian and Mimi Nicole Events to coordinate my wedding!  I could not be more thrilled to have such a wonderful friend and professional by my side through this crazy ride.  Thank you, lady, for coming on board!

I'm linking up with Joelle at something charming today.

Go check out the other Wedding Wednesday posts for more!

*not just anybody / help! / you know I need someone / heeeeeeeeeeelp! 

Well, you know how it goes.