Full Transcript for Emergency-Proof Wedding Planning

She she's like the uh like a pure little snuggle bug, is what she is. 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:28.399 And she wouldn't bite a soul, Brie. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:29.360 She just wouldn't do it. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:42.079 I mean, I'm genuinely convinced that if we had an intruder breaking to our house, she would just lick them um and love them and snuggle up to them and maybe, you know, I don't know, offer them a warm blanket. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:46.560 I mean, honestly, she's just but that's why she's my whole heart. 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:54.879 But if we're talking breeds here in general and what my favorite one is, I'm a total sucker for golden retrievers. 00:04:54.959 --> 00:05:08.720 And I know that's gonna surprise you because you kind of, you know, you think uh I'm all about the small dogs, but if I had to have one outside of Bella, I think a golden retriever or another one just popped in my head, those King Charles Spaniels. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:10.160 Those are cute. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.040 Oh, they're so adorable, they're little faces. 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.279 They I just want to just rub them. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:17.759 Um, those just kind of undo me. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:20.959 So I think about Frenchies too. 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:24.480 Like, if it's that or an English bulldog, I just call it a pork chop. 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:36.319 Like, if you've got this squish face, which boxers do, yes, it's like I just want to go like they're so cute, those little Frenchies are. 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:42.720 Oh, but they're like, yeah, no, my husband had boxers when we got married 24 years ago. 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:59.199 Yeah, and since then we've just cycled through pairs because they do better at in a pair, and so it's oh we just had a small gap when our kids were little that we didn't have dogs, but it's been a uh that was the breed my husband had, and so I've just fallen on both them. 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:06.399 So I don't again, other than maybe a Frenchie, but that's a small dog, and I I like I like the 70 pounders, yeah. 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:09.360 You're listening, I I can understand. 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:16.399 I I love the the fact that she can just jump up on my chair and we can snuggle together, but I don't think I can do this. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:18.319 Your 70 pounder does that. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:19.279 Oh my gosh. 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:22.240 Oh, I'm on the couch, there's no personal space. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:29.279 That the dog will literally back up and then put the upper half of his body on top of mine. 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:31.279 Uh like a weighted blanket. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.879 Oh, see, that might be too much intrusion for me. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:39.120 I yeah, if you like personal space, this is not the breed for you. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:45.519 So, for all of you listening, that is something that you can take away from this podcast, okay? 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:49.680 It is about wedding planning, but we also have all kinds of inside tips on dogs. 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:59.519 All right, well, listen, I literally could talk to you probably for a full hour on dogs, but I I doubt that's why people came to talk to us. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:01.680 So I'll kind of get right into it. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:04.240 Here's kind of where I want to start with everything. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:16.079 If we zoom way out, because when people hear wedding planner and they picture that the pretty stuff, the linens and they picture florals and that really awesome Pinterest board, and all comes to life. 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:18.240 And that's that's in there for sure. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:20.160 I mean, it's real, it's part of what we do. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:30.160 But the way that I think about our role as planners and coordinators is we're kind of like little architects of emotion and steady anchors all at the same time. 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:35.439 Now, a couple doesn't just want someone to execute their vision, right? 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:44.160 They're actually looking for a trusted advisor and a creative visionary in many cases, but also be that calm presence in their world. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:48.959 And but we have to be all of those things all rolled up into one person. 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:55.279 And that's something that's not easy for every single person in our role to actually do. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:08:00.800 You know, when something goes sideways, there is that piece of things, right? 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:03.600 And that's the crisis part of things that's real. 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:10.480 Honestly, I hate to say it, but it feels like a constant part of our job, but it's not the whole job. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:13.279 And I never want to like make it sound like it is. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:17.759 But right there is kind of the thing that most people never really see. 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:31.519 And the reason why I think a really amazing planner can handle these curveballs so smoothly and all the kind of unglamorous prep work that nobody really stands back and goes, Oh, good job, well done. 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:32.159 Right. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:40.240 So when that prep is thorough, the wedding day, you know, is this really beautiful proactive orchestration. 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:46.960 So when prep is thin, the same day kind of turns into a reactive crisis management situation. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:54.480 And then the couple, I have to tell you, I think they can feel every single bit of it and they can feel the difference between the two planners, even if they can't name it. 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:55.519 Do you agree with that? 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:56.799 Oh, a hundred percent. 00:08:56.960 --> 00:09:01.039 I'm sure when I first started, I've had days like that where I was more reactive. 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:05.360 Like I felt like I was an octopus on roller skates,

like you say all the time. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:11.200 But then there's now when things pop up, last year I had a wedding arch snap. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.440 No it was a wooden one. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:17.279 The bottom didn't move, the top did, and it snapped at the miter joints. 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:28.799 And I was literally 20 minutes before the ceremony because we didn't even move it outside till we had to, because it was windy, snapped in half, had to undo, re-affix onto the new one. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:34.000 It was me, the DJ, the people at the venue, my helper, toolbox was out. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:35.759 The bride never even knew. 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:43.120 She had no idea that she had an entirely different ceremony structure and that her floral arrangement was literally on the ground. 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:44.240 Oh my goodness. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:46.080 20 minutes before her ceremony. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:53.440 And the funny thing is that she had a live painter, and so I was like, please make sure that you update your painting. 00:09:53.519 --> 00:10:01.360 I don't know where you're at in the stage of it, but our ceremony structure is now different than what you started with. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:08.399 So I don't know how she fudged it, but that was again one more detail that I needed to make sure. 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:11.600 See, and then my bride never even mentioned it. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:18.159 She's okay, you know, because the one was a hexagon or whatever, you know, it was an octagon, and this one was just your standard whatever. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:26.320 So it so again, yes, things like, but if I would have been running around like a crazy person, you wouldn't have even been able to do that. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:29.679 Like it was just a matter of, oh, this is a problem. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:38.240 We're fixing this, all hands on deck, get the right people, talk, you know, and then get it fixed because we literally are starting our ceremony on time. 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:42.559 It doesn't matter that this arrangement just splintered like toothpicks on the ground. 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:45.679 We are fixing this and we are starting on time. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:46.559 Wow. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:47.840 Wow, wow, wow. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:11:16.240 You know, that's a perfect example of kind of how we have to be ready for a crisis, but we're always mentally prepared for those types of situations, which kind of brings me to the part, honestly, that kind of gives me chills a little bit, which is when a couple signs with a wedding planner or coordinator, they're handing over their vision, they're handing over their families, they're handing over, you know, their one shot at this one day that I've always said there's no do-overs, right? 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:23.519 They're trusting us with whatever happens behind the curtain, and they're trusting us to protect that. 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:26.399 That's a sacred kind of trust, in my opinion. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:32.720 Brie, don't you feel like it kind of changes how we go about solving the problems in those moments? 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:39.440 It does because based off of the education that I have, the experience that I have, those things are so hand in hand. 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:45.200 You know, again, if I've done my job well, I have prepped myself for every scenario. 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:48.159 I know every vendor, I know what is expected of me. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:53.200 Now I can be more reactive because I don't have to question the other things. 00:11:53.440 --> 00:12:09.519 I've done my job so well that I can walk away from that or have my assistant, who's also a certified wedding planner, diverted to go handle this while I have to handle what's been brought in front of me, whether it is a family member or a vendor or whatever the scenario is. 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:16.639 But that just comes with utilizing the tools that I've learned through training because you can't prepare for things. 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.279 You don't know what's gonna go wrong on a wedding day. 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:21.840 You just try to be as prepared as you can. 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:25.120 So that way when the things pop up, you know how to navigate it. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:29.679 It's no longer it's not a problem, it's not an obstacle, it's something that we need to work around. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:30.320 That's it. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:34.639 We have the confidence in the fact that we know that we can solve whatever problem. 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:34.799 Yeah. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:47.679 So, I mean, that was exactly it, you know, because a planner who's just fixing the thing, like the cake topper broke, or you know, you've got to patch something up, or or in your case, a huge arch just snapping. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:55.600 Yeah, you know, that that's a totally different animal from a planner who's just winging it and not knowing exactly what to do. 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:59.679 We have to protect the couple's heart while we're fixing certain things. 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:04.399 So when something breaks, my first question is never how do I fix this? 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:08.080 It's what did this moment mean to them and how do I protect it? 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:15.039 And so the flowers from like a centerpiece become maybe a new cake topper if the cake topper broke. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:17.759 Like we just kind of go into go, go, go mode. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.720 And I feel like whatever we do, it has to kind of honor their story. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:21.120 Yeah. 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.279 You know, that whatever their original vision was. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:30.480 So yeah, we stay the keeper of their vision, even you know, in the 10 seconds where they can't see it themselves. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:33.279 But honestly, that's kind of the

work, that's the job. 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:37.120 Something goes sideways at, you know, nearly every single wedding. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:42.240 So we have to make sure that we have the confidence and we know that we can pull off whatever it is that we have to pull off. 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:49.759 The couple just never sees it and never feels it because someone in the room is dedicated to making it all go well. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:54.559 So here's the part that I feel like nobody ever plans for, at least for themselves. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:14:00.720 You know, you and I, Brie, we're in an industry where there are events outside, right? 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:02.480 So we we plan for rain. 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:03.679 That's what we kind of do. 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:13.120 We plan for maybe the vendor who flakes out or address emergency or the drunk uncle who finds you know the open bar really early. 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:25.120 But you know, we so rarely kind of stop and ask the scariest question, which would be something that you had to face full on, which is what happens to this couple's day if something happens to me? 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:39.360 And Brianne, like you're the person that I think of the second that that question comes up because you've lived this in about the most extreme way that I can picture someone living this. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:45.039 And I would love for you to kind of take us there, just as much or as little as you want to share, obviously. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:55.200 But can you help our listeners kind of understand that the crazy can happen, the unexpected can happen, but not to in the way that they think, but to us? 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:56.320 Absolutely. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:59.679 So five years ago, I had a sudden cardiac arrest. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.720 It was a day following a full event day. 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:04.639 So it was like a full wedding planning client. 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:08.080 I was there from whatever in the morning until after midnight. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:12.320 Um, and the next day I was like, hey, kiddo, you want to go hang out at the pool? 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:17.519 We went to the city pool, and I just went, I had a sudden cardiac arrest. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:26.000 So that means that your heart stops beating viably, it's just fluttering, it's not circulating blood through your body, you're not getting oxygen to your brain. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:30.399 I wasn't in the pool, I was just sitting there and I slumped over. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:36.960 So, not to go into too much detail on the that all part of it, but it was in June. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:40.559 We all know what our schedules are like in the middle of summer. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:44.480 Except you're in Florida, you're trying to stay away from the heat, but you're in the middle of us. 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:45.679 This is our busy season. 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:46.240 Yeah. 00:15:46.480

--> 00:15:49.440 So it was catastrophic to a certain degree. 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:52.639 On how am I gonna keep my business operational? 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:55.039 What's gonna happen to my clients? 00:15:55.279 --> 00:15:57.440 My husband said my phone was blowing up. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:05.840 Like I'm, you know, intubated in a hospital for two days, had no idea what was going on, and I was supposed to have a site visit with a client. 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:10.159 And you know, my sister-in-law posted a message on like my Instagram page. 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.720 Bury's not available, please text this number. 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:14.639 Like, they didn't know what to do, right? 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:24.559 But thankfully, my husband knew another CWP member that I had trained, and she had started her own business, and he knew her name, and so he reached out to her. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:27.600 Yeah, so that baton got passed. 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:35.360 So, with me not physically being able to talk, I ended up with like a vocalized or a paralyzed vocal cord, like I couldn't talk very well, you know. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:40.320 You couldn't walk, you could not you were in a hospital for hospital. 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:57.759 It was for like a week, and you know, these things were coming up, and so again, thanks to the CWP family, my events that I had still on my schedule, they were able to take my binders and my notes and all of my things and my timelines. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:06.960 They had got access to Timeline Genius, so they were able to connect with my clients, tell them that what had happened, and they just took over my events for me. 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:12.000 Yeah, so I wasn't prepared to die that day at the pool. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:17.680 But again, I've been at this now for over 15 years, so my business didn't stop either. 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:28.559 It got shuffled around, took a had to take a different little bit of a different path, put in different protocols and procedures, but nobody could have prepared me for that kind of situation. 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:32.400 And so that's why this conversation is always such a good one. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:38.960 Because in our industry, yeah, we fight through a cold, we fight through a broken leg, or you know, miss a funeral here or there. 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:44.480 But if you go, what happens to your business is not something most of us have talked about. 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:47.519 I mean, like you said, you didn't plan to die that day, right? 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:59.519 And this is kind of what I want every single planner and coordinator to really, really hear because it would be so easy to just file a story like that, kind of under wow, wild thing that happened. 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:00.480 But it's not, right? 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:07.680 It's the clearest proof that I know of as to why we need to plan the way that we do. 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:20.079 Okay, so the only reason those couples' you know, days were able to continue on is that the planning was built to be handed off in case of an emergency. 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:25.839 And in our world, honestly, reliability is one of the most important things. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:34.400 It's it's about being organized, but being reliable and being organized, all that does is it protects our couples, it protects our vendors. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:46.960 And the timeline isn't just living in your head, is this document that's shared with every single vendor and the contract and the contact lists and all of the couples' details. 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:56.799 I mean, they live somewhere that needs to be where your team can actually reach them and it's not locked inside of just your phone or just your mind. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:00.559 And that's what makes everybody so coverable, right? 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:11.039 So even the simplest wedding runs way better with having all of these ducks in a row and having more professional minds that can get into these documents. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:15.200 And this is the extreme proof of that is. 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:23.359 And then there's the piece that I wish more planners and coordinators kind of set up long before they ever really need it, those reliability partnerships. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:34.079 And it's it's a formal, agreed ahead of time type of arrangement with other certified planners that you'll step in for each other just in case there is an emergency like this. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:39.839 And you had that with that other CWP that you had trained, and that was brilliant, right? 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:53.519 Like not just a warm body in the room, okay, but a backup who actually can hold your exact standard, knows exactly what you're made of, knows what your policies are, so that your couples never feel that there was a break in the scene. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:56.240 That when I died, I did not have that in place. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:01.920 It was just fortuitous that this person knew everything, knew everything. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:04.960 But moving forward, that is something that is in place. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:09.680 Like my assistant coordinator that is subcontracted has to be a certified wedding planner. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:16.960 And they know that if something comes up because my health is not foolproof, even after five years, you know, there is that off chance. 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:22.000 And so that person that works that day knows that there could be the chance that they have to be the lead. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:34.640 So now it's just a protocol that I have in place that I don't just let anybody be my assistant, they have to be certified, they have to know what to do, and our understanding that they could potentially have to step up. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:39.839 And the only time that ever had to be enforced to a certain extent was in that

fall. 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:43.119 That same year, I ended up back in the hospital again. 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:47.359 But at that point in time, I we had something in place. 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:50.480 So from my hospital bed, I was transferring a client. 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:53.599 I called them and I said, Hey, you know what we talked about? 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:55.359 This stop happening now. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:58.559 I you know, we, you know, talked about what we would do. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:08.000 This person's ready, she has all your documents, she's available anytime to set up a conversation with you guys to make sure that you feel comfortable with everything. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:10.160 But this is what we talked about. 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:16.559 And in this case, the nurse my bride was a cardiac nurse, and so she was very, she's like, I get it. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:26.720 She's like, you know, but I also have told my clients, and so that's something too, as planners and coordinators, communicate, don't hide things, whether it's pregnancy or whatever. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:41.519 Like, just be honest with them, let them know, but also already have your plan in place so that way they aren't sidelined by something because you can't control when your baby comes, you can't control when you know things happen. 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:47.200 You're not flaking out on them, you're just building in a backup system so that they feel taken care of. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:48.400 That's it. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:59.599 It's creating that web around you that's built to protect everybody, you, the couple, their memories, the vendors, everybody that is having some. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.759 Sort of role on these wedding days. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:11.920 That situation that happened to you when your colleague had reached out to me, Timeline Genius, everybody, and we just all rallied around. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:17.839 It was in that moment that I realized that we all need to be thinking about this. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:33.119 We all need to make sure that this is top of mind, which is why, you know, part of what you teach at the CWP Society is how to protect yourself, how to build those systems and make sure that you have all those backups right there in place. 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.240 So I love that because it's not, it's not supposed to be luck, right? 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:39.519 It needs to be a discipline that we actually put into our workflows. 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:40.400 Period, the end. 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.680 I mean, so this is kind of where I get a little fired up. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:52.079 And it's not for the reason a lot of people kind of assume because when I talk about certification, it's not always about a piece of paper. 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:54.160 Like who cares about the piece of paper? 00:22:54.240 --> 00:23:01.359 It's all the knowledge and all of the people, like almost like an

army that's behind you. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:09.440 You had an army behind you because you were already plugged into our family, and it just really helped in that specific moment. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:16.559 So when a couple trusts one of us with like the day, the day of their life. 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:19.680 That genuinely cannot be a do-over. 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:20.319 Okay. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:23.680 We can't be winging it and hoping that it lands. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:25.599 It's it's not a neutral choice. 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:33.519 A trained, experienced, certified or master-certified wedding planner has a predetermined plan for these emergencies. 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:58.640 I like to make sure that we are always talking about get these protocols in place so that when the worst thing imaginable happens, like it did to you, that you're not inventing a response in the middle of a panic, that we're actually executing what we've already built, what those protocols are calling for back when our head was clear and back when we had a voice, okay, and that we could walk. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:08.880 And so that calm that you know that kind of comes over you when you're in the middle of a crisis now, because you've you've got the protocols in place, you've got some of that prep work done. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:15.200 It isn't something that you have to kind of rely on as like a well, I hope it, I hope this works. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:16.240 No, no, no, no. 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:22.640 Okay, because it it isn't a personality trait that some people are just born with to feel that's not what this is. 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:26.160 It's basically this evidence-based thing. 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:33.519 Like it comes from prep, it comes from, like you said, education and having all these backup plans for your backup plans. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:39.440 You know, we sometimes we joke and say, okay, I do have a plan, you know, A, B, C, D, E, S. 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:41.839 It becomes funny. 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:53.200 But that's the entire difference between a planner and coordinator who looks calm because they're hiding the panic, and the one who's calm because listen, they genuinely actually are in fact ready. 00:24:53.359 --> 00:25:02.720 So certification, in my perspective, is basically just the proof that you did that work and that you are coverable, right? 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:05.359 And that you're held to a specific standard. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:12.640 And when someone is handing you their heart, which is what your couples are doing for their wedding day, that proof actually matters. 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:14.559 Wouldn't you agree with that? 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:15.920 Oh, a thousand percent. 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:20.559 And I didn't have to question what these people filling in would do for my clients. 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:30.319 Again, you know, because our education is so wonderful through the CWP Society, I

know that anything that they would be doing would be the same things I was taught. 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:51.200 And so everything that I had shared with them that I would do for them, this person coming behind me who I don't know because people flew in from other states to cover my events, I didn't have to question whether or not they would follow my timeline or that they would, you know, drop something somewhere because the fundamentals are there. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:55.279 The, you know, the way that we would attack something would be similar. 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:55.440 Yeah. 00:25:55.680 --> 00:26:00.960 Uh maybe not the exact same way, but the basis is there, the basics are there. 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:09.599 And again, in the case where Lisa filled in, she had worked with me for over a year before she started her own business and she was certified. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:14.640 So there was no doubt she knew my, you know, what timeline, how I did, how I ran a rehearsal. 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:17.039 Like she knew exactly how I would handle it. 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:20.400 So I didn't have to worry at all when she stepped in. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:32.079 But for the people I didn't know and I never got to meet, um, because they flew in and flew back home and I sent them a thank you card, you know, it was again such a family situation. 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:36.000 But I hope any of our listeners never find themselves in that situation. 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:50.880 But, you know, when we're given such a special day to be in charge of, it's just one more thing that we need to be mindful of that we have to take care of ourselves and make sure that we have something in place, you know. 00:26:51.039 --> 00:27:06.640 And obviously the CWP Society is a great place to find these backups for ourselves because they're gonna have that same education, they're gonna have the same protocols, the same processes to pick up for you. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:14.799 So definitely if you don't have anybody, I always talk about, you know, reach out, mingle with your, you know, find them on the forum. 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:17.920 I'm in this state, you know, set up your own Facebook group. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:26.240 I we've got one here in Iowa for the other certified wedding planner members, you know, like, hey, I've got this lead who's available because I have it, don't have it. 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:31.039 You know, it doesn't have to be like you're talking all the time, but then open up that conversation with them. 00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:37.759 I'm like, hey, if something came up and you couldn't do an event, I'm I will drive and come fill in for you. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:45.839 Or you know, if that happened for me again, would you be willing if my local person couldn't come that I currently have in place? 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:50.240 So we want to make sure that our, you know, our clients' visions don't disappear. 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:57.519 And the best way we can do that is by making sure we don't disappear or that our hard work doesn't disappear because we can't be there. 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:00.480 That's it, because it will directly affect them. 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:13.440 And we have to care about that and we have to make sure that the people that are filling in for us are, like you said, just as educated on these things and and even educated on how to be calm. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:24.400 You know, I always joke during the certifications and say, you know, the place could be burning down behind me, but I am going to have a smile on my face and I'm gonna be reassuring to my couple, right? 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:25.680 Like that's a part of it. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:38.079 So if there's one thing that I want our listeners to kind of walk away from here, is that calm for your couple is supposed to feel like an insurance policy. 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:38.559 Okay. 00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:45.279 So, you know, you don't want to make your couple's wedding day feel like an accident, you know. 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:48.319 That's not how this is supposed to be. 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:55.279 It needs to feel built, built so well that it could hold up even if you weren't the one holding it yourself. 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:57.599 And that's the job behind the job. 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:00.880 And that's something that we don't really talk about enough. 00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:05.279 And that's really kind of you know what we're here to try to protect. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:14.559 So, Brie, before I let you go, tell everybody where they can find you and how they can uh follow all of your amazing work. 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:18.559 You know, tell them what your website is, what your social media handles are. 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:24.960 That way they can kind of, you know, privately but professionally stalk you a little. 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:26.559 I like I don't mind that. 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:35.440 So my website is planstressfree.com, but my Instagram is stress underscore free underscore weddings. 00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:40.079 Facebook is plan stress free, TikTok and all the other ones are stress free weddings, Inc. 00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:52.799 And if you are a wedding planner or coordinator and you're like, I don't even know how to start this process of creating a backup, I know I'll be speaking about it at our Palooza in January some more, about just um how to prep yourself. 00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:55.119 But most of us are solo people. 00:29:55.279 --> 00:30:04.640 We I am a solo person in my business, and so the CWP Society family is integral in keeping my business afloat when I ran into some obstacles. 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:12.720 And you know, I'm forever grateful for it because otherwise I would not be able to be doing this for the last literally five years for sure. 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:15.359 Um came back to life five years. 00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:17.920 I came back to life multiple times. 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:26.079 Um, that's what happens when you get into fibulator, it's it said to resuscitate me three times. 00:30:26.319 --> 00:30:29.759 So I I laugh about it now, but if I didn't, I would cry. 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:32.960 So but it puts it into perspective again. 00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:37.119 It's as somebody who's in her 40s when all of this happened. 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:46.240 Yeah, my dear young people that are new, fresh in the business are my ones that have been around a while, where none of us are invisible or invincible, I guess is the right word. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:50.960 Like, so um, you know, I'm happy to help share my story and help anybody that I can. 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:54.799 So please feel you know free to reach out, stock me, not in a bad way. 00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:57.440 And I'm happy to help support everybody that I can. 00:30:58.960 --> 00:30:59.680 I love it. 00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:08.319 Well, and to anybody listening here, if this conversation lits something up in you, that's exactly what the CWP Society is here for. 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:19.519 So just in case you weren't aware of it, we are the world's premier wedding planner and coordinator certification and membership program, as well as the largest community of wedding pros anywhere. 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:22.720 And we have a place for you no matter where you are in your journey. 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:25.519 So come elevate yourself and your business with us. 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:33.359 You can visit our website to learn more, cWpssociety.com or certified wedding planner society.com. 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:35.599 We are your people, we are your tribe. 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:38.160 And until next time, happy planning. 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:40.160 Thank you so much, Bree, for being here. 00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:41.279 Thank you. 00:31:42.289 --> 00:31:46.369 Certified wedding planner, society. 00:31:51.009 --> 00:31:54.049 This is where you belong. 00:31:57.250 --> 00:32:01.650 This is where you become who you were meant to be.