The ATP Approach to Weddings

When I started this business over seven years ago, I never really knew what the job would be like. I mean, I knew it would be fun and such a blessing to get to do what I love for a living, but I just had no idea what real wedding days would be like. Jennifer Lopez made it look so easy and flawless with her fun headpiece and clipboard! I soon realized that's not at all real life.   

With any job and certainly those you are so passionate about, there are ups and there are downs. There are days when you love it way more than others. Days you feel like you're just not good enough and days when you feel like you could take on the world. What has stayed consistent from day one is the way ATP approaches wedding days.

From our very first wedding to now, I still get butterflies on the big day. It's a mixture of excitement and nervousness. I am always THRILLED for our clients who have finally reached the point we've been planning for for months - the day they can become one and celebrate their love in front of those they care for the most. My favorite thing is getting to see it all come together and setting things exactly the way they envisioned. However, there is always that little bug of nervous. Always a little worry about whether the caterer show up on time, that the flowers will be exactly what the bride had in mind, whether the groom's Aunt Sally can control the crazy and act somewhat normal for at least five hours. These are all valid concerns for any wedding planner/coordinator. It is our job to manage and "fix" all those situations and so much more. And while we can plan a perfect day via Pinterest and planning notes, wedding days are real life days and as we all know, don't always go as planned.

Our approach is this, creating an editorial like setting - each flower perfectly placed, each linen and chair straightly aligned and, of course, a rock-solid timeline to follow to ensure a wonderful flow of events. All of those things are a given. Where we are most valuable is rolling with the things that weren't part of the plan. Things like unexpected torrential downpours for an outdoor wedding. A groom who woke up ill or a bride with a terrible migraine. A cake that arrived to the reception melting and leaning to one side. A limo who got in a wreck on the way to pickup the couple and can't be there for the grand exit. Those are all real life wedding day situations and things we've had to handle with care.

The key is the care. Treating each and every situation the way we would want someone to handle it for us on our wedding day because our clients are not just clients. They become our family and our very dear friends. We treat them as such on wedding day providing the the highest level of care for those things we have perfectly planned for and, of course, the things that were not at all part of the plan. That is our approach on wedding day. It's the ATP way and what we are our very best at. 

That nervous wedding day tingle will likely never go away no matter how many years I plan and coordinate weddings. I have learned to love it and accept it. I have learned that no matter what a wedding day throws our way, we can manage it. We will always handle with care and that is what is most important.