The key to successful event planning, have confidence in yourself!

Over the course of the past ten months I have had the pleasure of planning a gay destination wedding in Spain which just took place over the Memorial Day weekend.  The hardest part of planning the wedding wasn't the distance or the language barrier; but rather the client was insistent they just wanted to show up.  Their feeling was if they are hiring me to be the wedding expert, then I should be able to guide them on how their wedding should be with little to no input from them.

For some that would be a dream, and for others it would be a nightmare...for me, it was both.

I loved the fact they gave me carte blanch, but I was terrified that I hardly knew them.  What if I got their taste wrong? What if I didn't give them what they wanted? What if I gave too little or too much?  For the past 10 months as the expert I questioned myself...everyday!

Literally, the client showed up two days before the wedding with not a care in the world and on the day of the wedding they told me and I quote "this is a dream come true, everything is perfect".

This taught me several lessons that I can apply (and so can you) to any event I plan.

First, there was no need for me to agonize for 10 months on whether I was doing the right thing.  I should have been a bit more confident that I was on point with their thoughts.

Second, listen because it will help you trust your gut.  In the first several meetings I asked a TON and I mean ton of questions about the couple, what they like, what they didn't like, what their favorite colors were.  Did they drink, if so what.  Where were they from, how did they meet.  The questions were endless and through those questions they gave me all the answers I needed to know.  I just had to listen and keep going back to their answers to know whether I was on the right track.

Third, know deep down inside you're good.  I think all too often we second guess ourselves into thinking we aren't good enough.  The couple was right, I am good at what I do and that is why they hired me.  If for an instant they didn't think that then I would have never gotten the job.

There are plenty of more lessons to be learned, but I can tell you this taught me the biggest one of all, be confident in yourself because if you're not, then no one else will be.

Until next time - cheers!