GSD Diaries with Angela Proffitt

Whether your client is on a tight budget or operating with a blank check, it’s common to encounter friends or family members who are providing a gift to the couple in the form of free services. In today’s episode, you’ll hear Angela and her lead consultant Alison share an experience where most of the vendors were friends of the couple and how it affected the work behind the scenes. Through their experience, they hope you’ll learn how to confidently work with vendors unfamiliar with your process.

In weddings, everything goes. It’s your job as a wedding planner and event designer to make sure everything goes smoothly and make sure the clients and guests are none the wiser. Your clients are depending on you to have a level head and have answers for the day’s toughest problems. Today, Angela and her lead consultant Alison are sharing one of their more unique experiences. They hope this story lets you see ways you can potentially respond if you ever find yourself in similar, unchartered territory.

There are so many things to consider when planning an event, from vendors to photos to transportation of the bride and groom. And although you’ve likely thought most everything through, sometimes, one missed detail sends the whole thing into a tailspin. In this episode, Angela and her lead consultant Alison share a story about a wedding in which they didn’t have a solid plan for where the family would go for pre-wedding pictures. It resulted in 30-something of them crowding the area where they were setting up for the wedding, and thinking their insight would be helpful on the setup (which it was not).

Weddings are a melting pot of personalities all coming together under a common goal of getting the event off of the ground and sailing smoothly. It’s your job to remain professional at all times, yet there will likely be instances when someone’s personality clashes with your own. In today’s episode, Angela and her lead consultant Alison share a story about a wedding during which one of the venue’s personnel lacked professionalism and how they handled the encounter.

As an event planner and designer, there are many things that are within your control when you’ve planned properly. But what do you do when there are situations that are utterly and completely beyond your scope of influence? Today, Angela and her lead consultant, Alison, will discuss what to do when you can’t control certain outcomes. They share a story of a wedding they once did that included an out-of-order service elevator, missing linens and other missing pieces and how they kept a positive, upbeat attitude through it all.

Destination planners have a particularly challenging — yet fulfilling! — journey of an event from start to finish. Because of this, it’s so incredibly important that you have a firm grasp on all of the details of the day, especially if you’re not familiar with the area. Angela's and her company's lead consultant, Alison, discuss a time they can look back on with laughter now, though it wasn’t funny at the time. This story has so many twists and turns — literally and figuratively! — that you’re bound to learn a thing or two for your next destination event. Tune in!

Destination weddings are some of our favorites — the picturesque views provide such an awesome backdrop to the love of our couples. However, destination weddings also provide an added layer of complexity in terms of logistics. Today, Angela and her company's lead consultant, Alison, discuss why it’s essential to anticipate and be prepared for absolutely any situation while at the destination — the flow of the day depends on it!

Laidback couples are some of the best we’ve worked with — they’re easy going, generally stress-free and they trust us to do our jobs. On the other hand, however, we’ve found these couples take their carefree approach to the wedding day plan, often leaving details to chance on one of the most eventful days of their lives. In this episode, Angela discusses a time when a couple failed to plan and delegate tasks, which left them without previously-arranged transportation from the ceremony to the reception venue.

When their wedding day arrives, brides and grooms are usually beside themselves in excitement — not only is it one of the best days of their lives, but they’ll be surrounded by all of their family and friends for the momentous occasion! And although they’re naturally inclined to pack as much as they can into their wedding day itinerary, overfilling the day with pre-wedding events can create more stress than the lovely couple wants or is prepared for. In today’s episode, Angela and her company’s lead consultant Alison discuss a time when a client’s aunt wanted to throw the couple a brunch the day of the wedding and the chaos that ensued.

New event planners and designers can tend to think all events are the same. Yes, most events may include catering, lighting, music. From collecting donations, managing auctions, coordinating volunteers, registering attendees, communicating with sponsors, and selling tickets at the door, fundraisers are unique and very different from weddings. In this episode, Angela discusses her first fundraiser. We hope you learn from her experience so your first fundraiser runs smoothly.