Someone Else's Shoes

Over this past Thanksgiving week, I’ve personally had a lot of time to reflect on all that I am thankful for. Being just recently engaged, I am thankful for my fiancé and the love we share. I am thankful for his family and their excitement in having me join the family. And above all else, I am grateful for my own family and their generosity, support, and patience as we all try to tackle wedding planning.

            It’s been a some-what overwhelming adventure so far with my family as we have jumped right into booking our venue, church, and most of our vendors in the past 5 weeks alone. The most overwhelming aspect of all? The cost! No one can say that weddings are easy on the wallet!  And working within a specific budget is a necessary option – but one that can seem impossible at times!

            Like many new brides, I found myself wondering why things are so expensive! For instance, the flowers – why does hiring a quality florist eat up a chunk of the budget?

I was lucky enough to take a break from behind the computer to get out on the road and travel around with Bloomin’ Bouquets to help them set up for a wedding two weeks ago –--- and it didn’t take long for me to find out the answer.  Being a wedding florist is so much more than the hours spent ordering, designing, and preparing the arrangements.

            Within two minutes of arriving at “headquarters,” I was loading up masses of exquisite bouquets, table arrangements, boutonnieres, candles, and decorations into the back of my SUV. Within three minutes, I was sweating! Man, oh, manual labor!

Our day went a little like this: we went down to Buckhead, set up the church flowers, went downtown to the venue, unloaded and set up there, went back up to the church after the ceremony, loaded up the flowers to bring to the venue, and continued again to the venue to complete set-up there. After the reception, we went back to the venue to load-out, or “strike”, all of our things. Our 13-hour day was over. 

            Now, I’m not complaining about all the carrying and lifting! In fact, it was a nice little bride-to-be bootcamp for my biceps! But the point I’m trying to make is that I had no idea about all the physical effort that went into being a wedding florist. I always knew it took hours and hours to design and create the arrangements, but I never thought of the day-of execution. As a future bride, I’m glad I had this experience. I never would have known what it takes to make weddings and receptions look so extraordinarily beautiful.

            So this holiday season, I am thankful for the quality and passion of the vendors I have selected for my wedding. I am thankful for the understanding I now have for their specific costs, and I will definitely appreciate the hard work each will bring on my Big Day. 

....... I guess I just had to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to realize that it is the climb, not the shiny shoelaces, that makes the mile so valuable.