Wedding Destination: Anywhere

Submitted by Kristeen on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 19:10

When I was a child, like most children, I took a lot of things for granted. Some of those things, things that I never thought I would lose (like my Nonna’s hugs and her amazing cooking), I sadly cannot ever get back. Other things, things that I am still lucky enough to have in my life, I try to appreciate every day. One of those things is the place where I live. It was often pointed out to me when I was young that I was very lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world: the San Francisco Bay Area. It took me quite a few years to see that for myself. I now realize that there is nothing quite like watching the sun set behind the Golden Gate Bridge or walking through the trees in Muir Woods on a still summer morning. Talk about breathtaking! I am fortunate in that wedding coordination takes me all over this glorious Bay Area – from the Napa Valley to the California Coast, and from the heart of San Francisco to the hills of the South and East Bays. It allows me to work in parts of the Bay Area that I might never have otherwise had the opportunity to see. This is one of the many reasons my work does not feel like work to me. Yes, I am lucky, and grateful too!.

Because of the amazing natural landscape and rich cultural history of the San Francisco Bay Area, there are simply a ton of lovely venues for people to marry here, both inside and out! Whether your budget allows for $500 or $15,000 to be spent on your wedding venue, I believe that there is “somewhere” for everyone here. Whether you are a local, a couple from out of state, another country or a gay or lesbian couple, the San Francisco Bay Area welcomes your wedding celebration and most likely has the perfect location to host it too!

Having said all of that, I posed this question to myself; what if a bride and groom were to come to me and say that after all of their site visits and all of my research, they were not completely satisfied that any of our local venues could complete their wedding day vision? Then what would I do? In answer to that question, I have recently decided to make myself available to plan and coordinate destination weddings. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am willing and able to travel. (My fees for destination weddings vary slightly from the packages listed, and travel is included my pricing, but those prices vary. Drop me a note if you are interested and we can chat about specifics.)

There are a few reasons that I have decided to provide destination planning service, and I’ll share some of them with you.

The first is that I firmly believe that it is of the upmost importance for a couple to have their Wedding Coordinator with them every step of the way, wherever those steps may lead them. If I meet a potential client, and everything clicks for both of us, and they really want to hire me, my goal is to do everything that I can to help them have an amazing wedding. Why should it matter where the wedding takes place? I pride myself on being of service to my clients in any way that I can, and this is just one more way I can do that.

Another reason is that, without mentioning any names, I have heard some frightening stories over the years about wedding coordinators “abroad” at all inclusive resorts and venues where “packages” seemed to fall apart at the last minute. Catastrophes ranged from no flowers (at all), to venue coordinators who did everything their own way regardless of the couple’s wishes, to transportation simply not showing up to bring the bride to the ceremony, to the reception venue forgetting to provide the alcohol for the event. Scary situations, aren’t they? Beyond scary, they are also simply unacceptable and I hate the idea of anyone I have met going through those type of wedding day nightmares. Not on my watch!

Finally, I have also realized that I am not the sort of person who can steer a couple towards a venue or location, wipe my hands clean and say that I have done my part in ensuring their day is spectacular. I would much rather see the event through to completion in order to ensure that my bride and groom head off to their honeymoon with smiles rather than in a state of frustration. I am a hands-on, not hands-off.

I won’t go on and on with anymore of my reasoning. It just makes sense that this should be the next step in my professional evolution. So there you have it ladies and gentlemen. I am now available to travel with you to help make your wedding day all it can be, if you will have me. And of course I will continue to plan and coordinate for those of you coming from out of town to our glorious Bay Area.

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Wedding Destination: Anywhere

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