Orcas Island Wedding Style

Leaping

Doing a destination wedding requires a trust between the planner and the couple. It is a leap of faith that is made when a couple books a vendor to help them make their dream come true. (Just remember the leap that got you here:  the question that was asked and response of yes has been the biggest leap of all!)

For some, it turns out their leap is made a bit too early. The vendor is booked and they are not a good fit. It happens.  I get that need that itchy scratchy feeling urging you to pull the trigger to get just things moving.

Conversely, I get the nervousness  that comes as you consider making that jump over the grand canyon of communication: being heard and understood; the resistance to making a  mistake in choosing wrongly and findng out  that this most important expression of self your wedding will be mistranslated into something that is not you.

So it is good idea to have a tool or two to use to help make the leap of faith exciting and sucessful.

To my mind, the most useful is having a sense of what generates trust in your interactions with those you do not yet know. Is it a quickly returned phone call? Is it a tone of voice or a manner of reaching out that makes you feel safe enough to share? Is it the practical voice of experience still laced with enthusiasm for you and what you are about to do? Is it a forthrightness in the giving of information or the stories told that illustrate a point of view? 

Give it a think and then make your call. It might be a much shorter leap than you thought.

The Really Big Leap!

 

 

 

Praise that is purchased

As my previous post indicated I am already nail biting about next year. A bit of worry is apparently a great motivator for me as it got me posting (hallelujah) and I did some homework.

I belong to a few online groups, tweeting clans etc. And it was through one of those that I found a grand list of links of preferred wedding (planning) vendors. My first click through brought me to a very impressive site with  interesting and smart information so I book- marked it. I wondered how do I get considered for this list?

Looking for a way on to this list I continue to click through to several other Preferred Planning Vendor websites only to discover most of then were - insipid. But I still wanted to be chosen to be on the same list that selected that first vendor.

As I searched I mused as to what I would write,what pictures I would send, what recommendations I would include to offer Patina up as a compelling candidate.

At the bottom of the article was a link to "How To Be Considered As A Preferred Vendor", which of course, I clicked through to.

Oh well. Apparently preference, that measure of quality and talent, that yardstick by which  a vendor is recommended to you and in whom you place your trust to make your wedding day perfect-could be had for $249.00. No pictures. No praise. No references. Cheap preferences sold here!

When you see a Preferred Vendor list whether on The Knot or Martha Stewart or a blog you really like (trust) you might want to double check how that preference came to be.

(something that can be relied upon to make a me feel good- an Orcas Island sunset).

 

Bittersweet, yay!

Well, this is the last week of my wedding season on Orcas Island; that is the time between May and September when we bring to life those notions and dreams that grew up between October and April. It is a relief in some respects because mounting a perfect day every week is daunting and not a little exhausting. Being able to maintain the level of caring required to attend to the unseen but yet always felt details becomes harder as the months of hardwork pass by.

But then, it is really now that we hit our stride; remembering all of the ways and means we can more easily achieve the goal, when we can use that idea that came up at the last minute just a wee bit too late to employ in last week's wedding, when we remember that we really love doing this- I mean we get to make a place for love and beauty to be shared every week. How cool is that?

And then there is the titch of fear that up here in this little piece of the world, we will not be found. That all that has gone before was an accident of chance. The couples of 2012 will miss us as they are tempted by the bounty of choice out there in the world. And so by sheer necessity of action I come back to this spot to reach out to the world again and say Hi! Look Over Here! We are waiting for you.

But there are rewards to slowing down. The first really lovely gift  is the discovery of what is going on around me. I was wonderfully touched by a friend's blog that was sent to me by another that I thought it would be selfish not to share: Jane Alden's ponderings and insights are so worth the time it takes to click the link, read the words and have your senses awakened. 

Oh- I better go I feel the tug back into this last week of design and decor. I feel the tickle of all the  errant details waiting to be wrangled, of striving once more time for the perfect day however it reveals itself.

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know how you are.

SEPTEMBER 1

Oh my. It has been a very long time since I last posted; even my  husband noticed.

Before I had a blog I had all sorts of things to say that seemed terribly important. After the first flush of blog ownership those feelings waned. It is easy to have courage when what you fear is not nearby. It's when it is right in front of you where the real test begins.

It has been a wonderful wedding season for Patina mostly because we have had the most wonderful clients. Really, every last one of them. Truly lovely people who were marrying truly lovely people. I will miss you all.

I listen to the news irregularly now because it is too difficult to follow, requires too much of my soul to endure. When last I did, day before yesterday I believe, I heard this amazing statistic about 1 out of every 46 men in this country do not have a job. It could not have been more stunning. Dustbowls in Texas. Soup kitchens crowded beyond their capacity. The song "Brother Can You Spare A Dime" has rolled across my mind ever since.

But I and those around me are blessed. We eat well, we email. We play with friends or read books. Work hard. We are living normally. How is it that we can do that but there are so very many people who will find this hour this moment insurmountably difficult. It feels like there is a thin membrane between where they are and where we are.

And in the face of it people get engaged. People get married and want to share with everyone this great joy they have found. The indominitable human spirit I guess is at work.

Some pictures to share of the work we have been doing. Hope you enjoy them. They were great fun to do. New Pics for 2011