How Facebook helped plan our wedding, Part I

Mac and I discussed the need* for a wedding coordinator after we booked the Botanical Garden. We were mainly looking for a non-family member or guest to work with our vendors to set up and oversee the set-up, reception, and clean-up. Sharon, the CFBG event coordinator, gave us a stack of vendor information after our initial appointment. I sorted through it to figure out what was going on.

*Need is a relative term. This falls into the “we don’t feel like doing it, so let’s pay somebody else to do it” category.

The first thing I tackled was a wedding planner. Through my research, I realized we were looking for more of a “day of coordinator” than a true “wedding planner.” We wanted someone to come in and boss folks around the weekend of. But we, in the words of Donnie Brown, didn’t need to discuss the finer points of shades of peach.

The one and only Source

So how does Facebook come into this? Funny you should ask. Mac knew a couple from college: he met the groom (Mr C) through the Corps and ROTC, and he met the bride (Mrs C) through class. Mr & Mrs C started dating shortly after, and she even asked Mac about her future husband. While Mac was deployed, he updated his Facebook profile to show that he lived here in Fayetteville (relatively speaking). Mr C is also stationed in Fayetteville, so they live here. She commented something along the lines of, “Hey. We live in the same town. Cool beans.”

You all need to see “Hot Rod” as soon as possible. Source

I was working my way through the wedding planners on the list from the Botanical Garden and came across Designs by Lady Vye. Several of the wedding planners didn’t have websites, so I immediately crossed them off the list. I don’t consider wedding vendors that don’t have websites. It’s 2012. The interwebs aren’t going nowheres. On her website, I noticed a review from Mac’s bride friend, Mrs C. I sent Mrs C a super sketchy Facebook message asking for some more info. Lady Vye works in event planning at a local hotel full time (Lady Vye and Mrs C worked together for a spell) and runs an independent wedding planning business on the side. Mrs. C has nothing but wonderful things to say, so I sent Lady Vye a message.

Lady Vye was quickly answered my message and was very professional. We arranged a meeting and discussed our “wedding vision.” She offers several different packages of planning based on what you need: from full service (like will pick out your garters) to more of what we were looking at, all at reasonable rates. Because we opted to plan most of the wedding ourselves, she has acted as a resource if we get stuck. Lady Vye also recommended several vendors for services we hadn’t yet booked (DJ, limo, etc).

Boom, we have a wedding planner. Any of y’all employ creepy motives to do wedding stuff?