How do you start without a plan?
There’s that old classic: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
Quite dramatic, really. But annoyingly true.
Meeting your most important guest of the day for the very first time is a little like expecting a baby.
Well… perhaps not quite as amazing as that experience, but there is still that small matter of not knowing exactly what you are going to get.
Will they be wonderful?
Will they be demanding?
Will they arrive with a Pinterest board the size of a small country?
Don’t overthink that initial meeting too much. They may actually be lovely and incredibly easy to work with.
Biting your perfectly manicured nails would therefore be entirely unnecessary.
But if you’ve prepared properly for that meeting, you may find yourself mentally ordering the champagne before they’ve even offered you their trust in your ability to deliver their day.
Hopefully, by now, your wonderful behind-the-scenes crew is mapped out too.
Your florist.
Your chef.
Your service team.
The people you know you can call when something goes sideways — because, eventually, something always does.
These relationships aren’t built on the morning of an event. They are built long before anyone arrives, through trust, experience and knowing who can make magic happen when you’re standing there wondering where on earth the missing tablecloth has gone.
And then comes the meeting.
Are you really listening while the bride-to-be enthusiastically fires her shopping list at you?
Or are you tapping your fingers under the table, desperately waiting for your opportunity to get a word in edgeways?
Chill right there, artist.
You will have your moment.
Listen.
Take it all in.
Let her paint the picture — even if she doesn’t quite have the brushes yet.
Because this is where it all starts.
Not with the flowers.
Not with the linen.
Not with the pretty stuff.
With a conversation.
With listening.
With preparation.
And perhaps most importantly, with making someone feel that their rather large, rather complicated, occasionally ridiculous vision is in very safe hands.
This is your moment.
Now go shine.
And for heaven’s sake! Put the nail polish down.
