I’m angry. I failed with Steve and his band.
I take a few deep breaths and begin to relax. Getting a wedding planner’s band is just one part of their business. There are many other parts to go after. However, I push the thought of other parts of the business aside as I think about the concept of the ‘wedding whisperer’ that Steve let slip to me.
I know there’s something important in it. It hovers just beyond my mental grasp like a carrot on a stick for the time being. I have to admit it’s a genius idea and I should be thinking of doing it myself. But there’s something else about it that I think is much more important than simply copying the idea.
I grab the brochure that I took from Viola’s booth and study it. There’s not a word in the brochure about a wedding whisperer. Nothing that even alludes to it as a service.
I check her website again. Nothing. Nowhere. The testimonials say nothing about it. How can she keep it secret? Surely the clients should be impressed with the added value?
Why would clients keep it secret? It’s not possible. Unless…
Unless what? I know it’s there but I just can’t grasp it. Frustrated, I finally try to push it away and focus on other work I have to do.
My assistant enters my office and I decide to bounce the idea off her.
“Lacy?”
“Yes?”
“I want to bounce something off you. An idea to possibly improve our service and differentiate us from other wedding planners.”
“Okay,” Lacy says as she sits down opposite me. “What is it?”
“A wedding whisperer.”
“A what?” Lacy asks not understanding what I’m talking about.
“A wedding whisperer. A person who I employ to encourage the bride or groom to put their last-minute fears of getting married away and go through with the wedding anyway.”
“Why on earth would you want to do that?” Lacy asks.
“Because clients fork out a lot of money on a wedding. Money they lose if the bride or groom decides to stand the other up at the altar. This person would help them get through their fear and walk down the aisle anyway.”
Lacy shakes her head. She’s conservative and I know I’ve done the right thing asking her. If anyone will have a negative objection it’s her. As much as her objections are negative, they do make sense most of the time.
“No way. That’s asking for trouble.”
‘Trouble? From who?”
Chris,” she says using the shortened version of my name. “It’s dangerous. A good idea but dangerous. Too dangerous.”
“Why do you say it’s dangerous?”
She leans forward, crosses her legs, and rests her elbow on her knee. In turn, she rests her chin on her hand as she always does when she’s about to make a very important point. “What happens if this wedding whisperer talks the bride or groom into getting married and a few months or years later, they get divorced?”
“I’m not sure I follow you, Lacy.”
“Well, people get pretty bitter when they get divorced. They need people to blame. They need to put their anger on someone else and if they can say they got married because they felt pressured to do so by a wedding whisperer, I’d say you’re going to have lawyers kicking down your door very quickly.”
I absorb what Lacy has just told me. I know she’s right and in my mind, the donkey finally gets the carrot on the stick.
I nod my understanding. “Thanks, Lacy. That makes sense. I can always count on you.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” she smiles.
“That’s all for now.”
Lacy gets up and leaves my office.
I almost jump for joy. I can’t believe I didn’t see the possibilities of what she just told me. I look at the brochure again. Nothing. Not a word about a wedding whisperer.
And now I know why. It’s a bomb looking for a detonator and a place to be set off. Any wedding could be the place and the detonator.
I laugh with joy.
I know what I need to do.
Cold feet.No, I don’t mean cold feet as in the kind you get from being out in the cold or swimming in water that’s too cold or simply not dressing warm enough.I mean the other kind of cold feet.The worst kind.The kind that some women, and to a lesser extent, some men get just before their wedding. Yes, that kind.My biggest pet hate. Why? Because in my line of work, they can ruin everything.What is my line of work?I’m a wedding planner. Any wedding planner hates and fears cold feet. They can derail everything. The whole day. Ruin you financially and possibly your reputation too.I’ve been in this game a long time though and I’ve learned the hard way. When you’ve had enough cancellations because of cold feet you become hard. It becomes a matter of survival as well as doing what you love.I now insist on non-refundable deposits from clients. They sign a contract when they hire me a
I’ve never had this situation before. Ashley tells me that the bride has no proof. She’s not even sure who the groom might be cheating with if he is cheating.I calm Ashley enough that she stops crying and I try to make her feel better. I remind her of what a great job she has done for me every time I have needed her and that everything has been fine. I try to assure her that everything will be fine today too. I suggest that she rather goes home and does not attend the reception but she insists that she will.I am tempted to pull the groom to one side before the reception and tell him what I’ve been told and tell him to keep his dick in his pants at least for today figuratively speaking. But it’s no business of mine. If the bride is wrong and I bring this up, I could be sued, and so could Ashley. I would probably lose my whole reputation and my business, never mind the fact that I would have to refund the money I have been paid for this wedding.
He offers his arm and I link my arm through his. We wander away from the party into the gardens. There is still some time before the reception begins. I’m sure whatever he wishes to discuss will be over by then.“It’s a lovely evening,” he says sounding as if he is observing something working exactly the way it should.“I think it’s perfect,” I reply.“Nearly perfect.” His remark tells me that he thinks something is missing.“And what would make it perfect if I may ask?” I say looking up at him as we walk towards the beach.“Getting to know you better,” he replies confidently.I blush, thankful that it is night and there is little light for him to see how red my face is. My skin is a golden brown but despite its color, I’m sure he could see me blushing if there was enough light. Despite the cool breeze, I feel warmer than expected and I know it’s Rick&r
I get back to the table and sit down beside Ashley after the new bar limit has been confirmed. She looks at me and smiles.“You were gone a while,” she smiles knowingly waiting for me to spill the beans.“I had to sort out the bar limit,” I reply blushing. “I wasn’t with him all the time.”“Could have fooled me,” Ashley says. Bursting with curiosity, she asks, “What did he want?”“To get together after the wedding,” I smile.“Really?” Ashley asks surprised. “He doesn’t take it slow does he?”I blush again as I think of just how slow we didn’t take it. I shake my head not trusting my voice to answer as I avoid Ashley’s gaze.“You tart!” she whispers. “You didn’t!”“Didn’t what?” I ask feigning ignorance but still not looking at her.&ldquo
I sit down at my table again. My chat with Viola didn’t go the way I had hoped. I know I’ve blown what we started outside in the garden. I am disappointed. She has had an effect on me like no other woman and I still can’t stop looking at her.She’s one of the best at what she does. I’m one of the best at what I do too.I know if we collaborated it would be great. With her reputation in her industry, Viola attracts top-tier clients because of her reputation. My kind of clients. The wealthier they are, the bigger the divorce settlements are. Makes sense doesn’t it?That aside, they can also pay for the best legal advice before they get married if we collaborate. This is what Viola failed to recognize. My commissions are good and she stands to make good money simply from a referral. Why should she even care what happens later down the road? If anything, she’s likely to get at least one repeat client if the couple divorces a
I can’t believe him. He gave his business card to Trish’s mother? How insensitive can you be? I want to explode right there and then but I think there’s more than enough drama already and this is not about me and my opinion. I crush the urge to go after Rick and tell him just how cold-hearted, selfish, and opportunistic I think he is.I step up to Trish who is still being held by her father. I put my arm on her back.“I am so sorry, Trish,” I say.She nods but does not look at me. I can’t tell if she even knows who I am right then but it’s not important now.The bathroom door opens behind me and Eric and the bridesmaid, Cherise steps out. They blush immediately when they see the people that are still standing there and then they look at Trish and her parents.Trish’s father tenses and he tries to get Trish to release him but her mother steps in.“No George,” she sa
I do not sleep well at all through the night. My mind is too full of the possibilities of what might happen. To be honest I am expecting the worst but praying for a miracle.Since I can’t sleep, I finally move to the couch and turn on the television. I tune into the local news channel and things go from bad to worse. I thought it was simply a local story that would pass quickly but I thought wrong.I suppose there’s some young ‘wannabe great reporter’ at the station who’s decided that this story might just be their ticket to something bigger. They have dug up more information about the wedding and, more importantly, my business. I listen as the latest news about the story is broadcast and feel sick. If only it was morning sickness, it would surely be better than this.The reporter is a young woman, blond and pretty with a captivating smile who seems only too happy to be telling the world about me and my business.“&
I sit down but only on the edge of the single-seater sofa, behind me.“Mr. and Mrs. Benton, I came here to tell you how truly sorry I am for what happened last night. I expect that you’ve heard the news by now. You must…”Emma looks up her eyes suddenly hard. “What were you thinking?” she asks her voice rising steadily as she speaks. “What in heavens name made you believe talking anyone out of cold feet when they’re getting married was a good idea?”“Experience has shown me that people get cold feet. When the bride or groom or both get cold feet, they do eventually get married. I did what I did because I know how hard it is to get people to come from so many different places at such an expense only to be disappointed if the wedding doesn’t go ahead.”“Do you think I care?” Emma asked. “Do you think I care about the cost? I care about my daughter. She is eve