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CHAPTER 1
Lily
“Good morning, Blissful Unions, how can I help you?” I'm sitting at my office desk. It's white leather with beautiful studs in it. It's comfortable and makes me feel like the CEO of my own company that I am. My office is basic, minimalistic, and my chair was a last-minute purchase and one of the best things I've ever bought.
“Morning, I’d like to use your services to book my wedding please.” The lady on the phone sounds nervous.
“Of course, I can help you with that. Can you tell me what date you are looking at so we can check availability?” I grab my diary. My friends keep telling me to use the computer, and I do, but I back it up in a handwritten, beautiful journal that I can take home with me; that way, I'm always on top of what’s happening in my business.
“Well, we only got engaged a few weeks ago, but we are looking for a wedding in September this year.”
“This year?” I nearly shout, but rein it in to keep things professional. I flip the pages in my book. “I actually have one date available in September if you want to take it. The 28th.”
“Yes please, I'll take it. You have come highly recommended and I really thought I wasn't going to get a slot, so I'm delighted I rang.”
“Okay let's take some details. So, I'm Lily, and I'll be organizing everything for you. I have an assistant who works part-time and helps me on the actual day of the event.”
“Perfect. My name is Sarah, and my fiancé’s name is Jake.”
“Great, and what is the surname and contact details?” I go through the list of information that I need and write everything down so I have it all on hand.
“Now, there is a non-refundable deposit of three hundred dollars to hold the spot and to help me start with the preparations and arrange appointments, etc.”
“No problem, Lily. I can pay that now.” Sarah gives me her payment details, and then we talk a little about her wedding and what her plans are. We arrange for her to come in and see me so that we can get some more details down for both of them.
“I'll see you in a week's time, Sarah, and I look forward to meeting you both.” I hang up and lean back in my chair and close my eyes. “Another client,” I hear a voice as they enter my room. It's Alison, my assistant and best friend.
“Yes, for September, so we filled the spot where the Maguire wedding got canceled.”
“That's fantastic. Now we need to go over the last-minute preparations for the wedding this weekend.” Alison stakes the seat opposite my desk and gets her tablet out. She works on anything digital and laughs at my paper notes. Each to their own, I guess.
We talk about the upcoming wedding and the things we have to finalize. The flowers are sorted, the cake is being delivered, and everything seems to be in order. “We need to make sure the venue is ready for the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, and we need to get the whole wedding party together to ensure everything goes smoothly. This is a large account so we want good reviews. This could propel us to VIP status.” Alison laughs. She wants us to be wedding planners for the stars. She can see where we are heading, but I want to do it nice and slow.
“I know, but we need to concentrate on the matter in hand. What else do we need to do for the Jackson wedding?” I ask, checking over my notes.
“I think we should go to the rehearsal dinner venue to make sure all the bookings and decorations are there and ready to go. It's only two days away. Then we need to have a meeting with the bride and groom to make sure there are no changes to the seating plans or anything else.”
“Great, can you ring the venue and let them know we are coming over?” I stand and grab my bag, putting my journal in there, and Alison follows behind me. She's talking to the venue on the phone as we walk.
We lock up the offices and then get into my convertible, and I drive over to the venue as she speaks to them. Next, I hear her on the phone with the bride and groom arranging for us to go and see them after this visit.
When she hangs up, I say, “Fantastic, everything is going smoothly. I love it when a wedding is like this. No complications. No red flags. Let’s give them what they want and get a great review at the end of it.”
We pull up to the venue, and when we walk in, the owners are there to greet us. This rehearsal dinner is bringing them in lots of money, and they want everything to go well so that we will recommend them again. They gave us a finder’s fee for using them, and I hope to do great business with them going forward.
Everything looks good. The venue is beautiful, and the decorations are ready to go in two nights' time. We then drive over to the bride and groom's house to meet with them.
“Come in, Lily, Alison. It's so good to see you.” The bride, Jess, is always so welcoming. She lets us in and then closes the door. “We've opened the back as it's so warm today. I think we might get great weather this weekend. I'm so excited.” She claps her hands together. We follow her outside, and it is a beautiful space.
“You should have some of the wedding here; it's so beautiful.” I look around. “Look, Alison, this area would be stunning with an arch of roses.”
I look up at Jess, and she laughs. “I see this every day and didn't want to see it on my wedding day.”
“I get that.”
We sit at the table, and her fiancé, Rory, comes out with a couple of pitchers of water with lemon in them. “Ladies, it's a beautiful day, and it's so good to see you both.”
He sits, and I get my journal out while Alison fishes her tablet out of her bag. “We just want to double-check all of the arrangements so that we know if there are any problems or changes that need to be made. I'd rather face them now, knowing about them, rather than be thrown for a loop on the day.” I look at them both. They are holding hands, and they are by far the most beautiful couple I have had the pleasure of helping with their Blissful Union.
