SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been milling about the following story I’m going to share with you for a couple of weeks now because I cannot decide if it is

                         a) kind;

                         b) weird or

                         c) kind of weird

You decide for yourself.

A few weeks ago I met with a woman regarding a wedding and reception for her daughter. This is not unusual to meet with the mother of the bride, especially because a majority of women getting married these days are also full time employees, so usually a mother who is retired or has a little more flexibility with her employer is tasked with finding out information on wedding planners, decorators, venues, churches, etc.

I sat down with Mother of the Bride, Marsha, to talk about general information about her daughter’s special day to give her an idea of the services I can provide as well as give her some other vendors information etc. Boy was I wrong.

Marsha proceeded to fill me in on the “fun” she and her future son-in-law have been having planning details of her daughter’s wedding. Oh how fun! I thought. It is great when you see a groom and future mother-in-law get along, let alone enjoy planning a wedding together. This may come as a shock, but not all grooms obsess about every details of the wedding and reception. Weird, I know!

Well then she hit me with this little number, “They aren’t officially engaged yet….”

“Oh gosh, that’s okay!” I said.

Then I thought to myself, Gosh, this girl must really have her heart set on a certain date.

“She doesn’t know when she getting engaged.” Marsha continued “It is going to be a surprise!” She was smiling from ear to ear like a Cheshire Cat.

“Well that is so much fun!!” I squealed.

“So after she gets engaged, her fiancé is going to bring her over to my house and we are going to show her all of the work we have done picking out a date, church, reception hall….” At this point, I almost reached for an umbrella because I thought Marsha was going to burst with excitement.

Suddenly this woman’s voice sounded like the teacher on The Peanuts and in my head I was screaming STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON’T MAKE PLANS FOR HER!!!

I gritted my teeth and smiled through the urge to strangle her. I cannot imagine making these important decisions for someone, especially my own daughter! Without a thought or single bit of remorse, Marsha droned on and on about how she chose the date for her wedding…her daughter’s wedding, the location of the ceremony & reception, photographer, colors and so on and so on. I lost count of how many times she had to correct her self from saying "my wedding" to "my daughter's wedding." I tried reaching for the nearest airsickness bag, but we were in my office, not a 747! (Note to self: Locate barf bags with the "I Do Expert" Logo on them! That could be a huge hit for me as well as nervous brides and grooms - I think I am on to something here!)

I tried to recommend just putting the date on hold until the engagement and not signing a contract or making a deposit for me and other vendors. It isn’t like the date is next month – it is in two years!!!! But NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! She HAD to have the contract signed. I reminded her of my policies regarding no refunds and she didn’t care.

So I prepared a contract and handed the pen over. She returned it with a check (which surprisingly cleared the bank, because as I have learned when dealing with CRAZY, not all checks clear the bank).

It is official. I am involved in my first Surprise Wedding! I know, I can hear some of you already..."It is romantic!" and "Everyone loves a surprise!" My dissenting opinion would be as follows: Engagements are romantic, sometimes. Not everyone loves surprises, especially my dad. Surprises can be romantic. Choosing a wedding date, wedding location, reception location, colors, florists, photographer, bakers, caterer, wedding planner, etc is NOT romantic or fun!

I am I will keep you posted. I am afraid it is going to be a LONG two years with Marsha planning her daughter's dream wedding, scratch that, I mean Marsha's dream wedding.

The little voice in the back of my mind is questioning -

"What if he proposes and she says “No!”??

We will all have to wait and see!

xoxoxo,

I Do Expert