This post is one that’s been on my heart for a long time now, but it’s so hard to put this idea into words. It’s scary to say something so honest and real about an industry I love, and I’ve been trying to determine why this matters so much to me. But a 13 hour road trip has the best way of lending some perspective, so…get ready:
The wedding industry is one that’s largely known for pretty. Professionals, especially event planners, work to create a pretty day – one that’s filled with pretty details in a pretty location with a goal of creating a vendor team to make all of that pretty happen. Of course, each piece will be tied together with a pretty bow that makes the day seem as though it’s perfect.
Photo by Amanda Young; Graphic by Carly is Inspired
I love pretty details. I’m drawn to each and every one of them (all of the flowers!), and I do believe that each and every piece fits together into a larger wedding day puzzle. But, sometimes the quest for pretty and perfect leaves me feeling flat. Pretty and perfect are great, but they shouldn’t be the only two things that are chased. In fact, perfect shouldn’t be chased at all. Why? Because a wedding day is never perfect. Something will happen. And that’s OK. Because the chances of a wedding day being meaningful are far greater.
“I don’t ever want to just create beautiful things. I want to create beautiful moments. I’m not doing this for the money. It’s to be rich with joy. I used to think my job was full of frivolous things. Now it’s clear my job is indeed full, but full of the unseen and must-be-felts. I’m not building an empire. I’m building a legacy.” – Rhi, Hey Gorgeous Events
I saw Rhi’s post while road tripping home from Charleston, and it’s my favorite note I’ve ever seen about the wedding industry. I often feel like there are so very few people who aren’t chasing perfection. I believe in the must-be-felts, too – moments before a walk down the aisle, groomsmen huddling together to cheer before a ceremony, first dances, family and friends filling the dance floor for the entire night, and all of the pretty details that make a bride smile because it’s how her day was meant to look. Those moments, and the joy I feel when I’m helping a guest, are what make me return again and again to weddings.
Just like Rhi, I also used to question whether this industry is too frivolous. But then I realized over time that what I love and the work I chose to do are meaningful because of the outlook I choose to have. I’m chasing my best work and creating a day that is the best that it can be all while problem solving and rolling with the day as it happens. It won’t be perfect, but it will still be pretty. More importantly, the meaningful moments are what matter and what should be remembered over time. I view weddings as a privilege. It’s a privilege to coordinate the start of someone else’s legacy, to write about someone else’s story, to create a social media plan for a company I believe in with everything I have because each of those elements impacts my own legacy. And I hope it’s one filled with (imperfect) meaning.
Stay tied to Carly is Inspired…
Another wonderful blog by someone who has their priorities straight. You truly are inspired!
You are much older and wiser then your years!