Chapter 4

CHRISTINE

I’m angry. I failed with Steve and his band.

I take a few deep breaths and begin to relax. Getting a wedding planner’s band is just one part of their business. There are many other parts to go after. However, I push the thought of other parts of the business aside as I think about the concept of the ‘wedding whisperer’ that Steve let slip to me.

I know there’s something important in it. It hovers just beyond my mental grasp like a carrot on a stick for the time being. I have to admit it’s a genius idea and I should be thinking of doing it myself. But there’s something else about it that I think is much more important than simply copying the idea.

I grab the brochure that I took from Viola’s booth and study it. There’s not a word in the brochure about a wedding whisperer. Nothing that even alludes to it as a service.

I check her website again. Nothing. Nowhere. The testimonials say nothing about it. How can she keep it secret? Surely the clients should be impressed with the added value?

Why would clients keep it secret? It’s not possible. Unless…

Unless what? I know it’s there but I just can’t grasp it. Frustrated, I finally try to push it away and focus on other work I have to do.

My assistant enters my office and I decide to bounce the idea off her.

“Lacy?”

“Yes?”

“I want to bounce something off you. An idea to possibly improve our service and differentiate us from other wedding planners.”

“Okay,” Lacy says as she sits down opposite me. “What is it?”

“A wedding whisperer.”

“A what?” Lacy asks not understanding what I’m talking about.

“A wedding whisperer. A person who I employ to encourage the bride or groom to put their last-minute fears of getting married away and go through with the wedding anyway.”

“Why on earth would you want to do that?” Lacy asks.

“Because clients fork out a lot of money on a wedding. Money they lose if the bride or groom decides to stand the other up at the altar. This person would help them get through their fear and walk down the aisle anyway.”

Lacy shakes her head. She’s conservative and I know I’ve done the right thing asking her. If anyone will have a negative objection it’s her. As much as her objections are negative, they do make sense most of the time.

“No way. That’s asking for trouble.”

‘Trouble? From who?”

Chris,” she says using the shortened version of my name. “It’s dangerous. A good idea but dangerous. Too dangerous.”

“Why do you say it’s dangerous?”

She leans forward, crosses her legs, and rests her elbow on her knee. In turn, she rests her chin on her hand as she always does when she’s about to make a very important point. “What happens if this wedding whisperer talks the bride or groom into getting married and a few months or years later, they get divorced?”

“I’m not sure I follow you, Lacy.”

“Well, people get pretty bitter when they get divorced. They need people to blame. They need to put their anger on someone else and if they can say they got married because they felt pressured to do so by a wedding whisperer, I’d say you’re going to have lawyers kicking down your door very quickly.”

I absorb what Lacy has just told me. I know she’s right and in my mind, the donkey finally gets the carrot on the stick.

I nod my understanding. “Thanks, Lacy. That makes sense. I can always count on you.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” she smiles.

“That’s all for now.”

Lacy gets up and leaves my office.

I almost jump for joy. I can’t believe I didn’t see the possibilities of what she just told me. I look at the brochure again. Nothing. Not a word about a wedding whisperer.

And now I know why. It’s a bomb looking for a detonator and a place to be set off. Any wedding could be the place and the detonator.

I laugh with joy.

I know what I need to do.

VIOLA

Cold feet.

No, I don’t mean cold feet as in the kind you get from being out in the cold or swimming in water that’s too cold or simply not dressing warm enough.

I mean the other kind of cold feet.

The worst kind.

The kind that some women, and to a lesser extent, some men get just before their wedding. Yes, that kind.

My biggest pet hate. Why? Because in my line of work, they can ruin everything.

What is my line of work?

I’m a wedding planner. Any wedding planner hates and fears cold feet. They can derail everything. The whole day. Ruin you financially and possibly your reputation too.

I’ve been in this game a long time though and I’ve learned the hard way. When you’ve had enough cancellations because of cold feet you become hard. It becomes a matter of survival as well as doing what you love.

I now insist on non-refundable deposits from clients. They sign a contract when they hire me and they accept that they will lose their hard-earned money if they dare cancel. The deposit covers the location rental, decorations, cakes, caterers, furniture and marquee, photographer, band, and absolutely everything I need to cover.

I’ve gone a step further with my service. I include a counselor who provides last-minute counseling if the bride or the groom gets cold feet. They don’t know the person they’re speaking to is a counselor if I send them in. The counselor works the magic they need to, to keep the show on the road.

I’m the best. Not just as far as clients are concerned but also as far as my suppliers are concerned. They know they’ll get paid even if the show doesn’t go on.

I’m inundated with clients and they even delay their weddings just so I can be the wedding planner. I’m not boasting, just saying how it is.

For me, it’s not about the business aspect. There’s something about seeing a couple walk down the aisle to that moment in time when they will commit to each other before God and everyone present. Seeing the love and caring in their eyes and their kiss and the celebrations that follow. I love it. I love to see a couple in love and happy. That’s why I do it. I help couples make a dream come true with their wedding day.

But right now, I’m waiting with bated breath. It’s early Saturday afternoon.

The groom is waiting in church and the bride hasn’t even left her home yet. The counselor is doing her best but this one is her hardest to date.

I’m beginning to think that I’m about to lose the first wedding I’ve lost in ages. I am seeing my record run of talking brides and grooms out of cold feet threatening to end here and now. The groom is restless as are the people in the church.

I wait with bated breath for the message to update me.

My phone pings. The bride is on her way.

I say a silent prayer of thanks and heave a sigh of relief. I key the walkie-talkie and speak to my team. “Bride’s on the way. Positions please.”

I receive crackled confirmations from the team and head inside to tell the groom the bride is on the way. I lie and tell him that there was a traffic jam because of an accident. That’s usually the story I give them. The bride, or groom, whichever one of them had cold feet is always told what to say beforehand. As far as possible, no one wants to admit they had cold feet on their wedding day. It’s not the way to start a marriage. They can sort it out later if the bride or groom wants to give their new spouse the real reason why they were late.

The drive to the church isn’t far and thankfully the bride’s car arrives soon enough. The bride steps out and the organ starts playing as she enters the church with the flower girls and maid of honor trailing behind her.

The groom watches her and his face lights up with joy. He can’t see her face that well because of the veil. I hope the bride is giving none of her fear away. My counselor climbed out of the car when they arrived. It must have been bad if the counselor had to drive with her to the church.

It worries me that she might still at this stage back out but thankfully she doesn’t. I say another prayer of thanks when she says ‘I do” and kisses her husband.

I wait outside as the newly married couple exit the church. Guests and well-wishers sprinkle confetti and smile as the couple walks down the church steps and climbs into the waiting carriage.

We made it this far, I think with relief. Now it’s on to the reception which I expect will go off without a hitch. The couple will do their photos just before the reception so there is time for me to have lunch and regroup with the team.

As I turn to reenter the church, I notice him for the first time. I pause as I take him in.

He is slim and muscular. Not too muscular but he clearly spends time in the gym. His hair is jet black and short but not military style. His blue eyes sparkle and his strong jaw is perfectly proportioned. White teeth sparkle with his smile and everything about him says ‘I am in charge.”

He can be in charge of me any day, I think as I take him in. He’s looking at the newly married couple but must feel my eyes on him because he turns and our eyes meet for the briefest of moments. I blush and look away quickly as I soak my panties.

I didn’t see that he was with someone and I wonder where his partner is. Surely, he can’t be at this wedding alone? Not someone as gorgeous as him!

I feel his eyes on me but I resist the urge to look at him again. I wait until the couple is heading down the road in the wedding carriage and then I key my walkie-talkie and call the team together for a meeting.

We meet on the church grounds where we eat lunch. In my business, I have a lot of contacts. One of them is a caterer I use regularly for food for the team. They’re not expensive and the food is always good. They also know what food is needed for every team member so I don’t have to worry that someone might get the order wrong. It just makes everything so much easier. One more part of the well-oiled machine that my wedding planner business is.

Catering also lets us eat somewhere away from crowds in a restaurant with no distractions. We can focus on what needs to be done and adapt our plan any way we need to without interference.

The team all confirm they are ready for the role they will play in the reception. The photographer is the only one who is absent since he has a full day with the bride and groom.

The band confirms that they are ready with their equipment and will head to the reception location after lunch to begin setting up and testing their equipment.

I move through the checklist and mark off items one by one as the team members confirm that their part in the ‘show’ is ready to go.

Catering. Check. Band. Check. Decorations. Check. Flowers. Check. MC. Check. The list goes on and each item is a check.

I finish the checklist and everyone continues eating.

Ashley approaches me. She’s the counselor I use when the bride or groom gets cold feet. I never expect her to stay around after the wedding. Her job is pretty much done after the couple has said ‘I do’.

“Ashley,” I smile and embrace her. We have worked together for a long time and are good friends now. “You did a great job as usual,” I smile when we end our embrace and I look at her.

Ashley looks at the team quickly and then back at me. “Can we speak somewhere privately?”

I sense concern in her voice and nod my head. “Sure. Let’s go inside.” We enter the church through a side door and take a pew beside each other.

“What is it?” I ask Ashley.

Ashley looks at me. “This was the hardest session ever,” she says. “I don’t know if I’ve done the right thing.”

I frown in confusion, “What do you mean you don’t know if you’ve done the right thing?”

Ashley wipes away a stray wisp of black hair from her face and continues, “I get that people have cold feet sometimes and I know it’s my job to get them through that so the wedding can go off well. But sometimes there’s more to the reason for their cold feet than it just being cold feet. No one has ever given me a reason before today but today the bride gave me a reason.”

“I’m not sure I’m following you,” I say.

Ashley looks as if she’s about to cry and she opens her mouth to continue but then closes it.

“Is everything okay?” a voice asks from behind me.

I turn around and see the minister who married the bride and groom.

“Yes father,” I say standing out of respect. “Ashley is just emotional to see her sister is married.” I wait for the lightning to turn me to a crisp for lying to the father but it doesn’t come.

“As long as it’s happy emotions,” the father smiles.

“I couldn’t agree more,” I smile. Ashley simply nods. I know she doesn’t trust her voice as she looks as if she is about to break down altogether.

“Very well then,” the father says and pats Ashley’s shoulder as he moves off.

Ashley’s eyes close and she begins to sob silently. I sit beside her and put my arm around her. “It’s okay. Talk to me. What is the problem?”

Ashley cries for a long time and then finally she calms enough to stop crying. I have given her all my tissues and she blows her nose again and dabs at her makeup which is ruined. At least she has time to fix it before the reception. She doesn’t have to attend but normally she does.

She becomes silent for a moment and then finally, trusting her voice to be stable she tells me what has her so upset. “The bride had cold feet because… because she thinks the groom is cheating on her.”

The words hit me like a Mack truck. “What? Are you serious?”

Ashley nods her head and, as she begins to cry again, she manages to say, “I may have convinced the bride to marry a cheater!”