Spanish, Summer, Church Wedding - CANCELED

I was hired to work a July 2011 wedding in the Santa Clara/San Jose area last month. This was a referral from a fellow WIN colleague I met in our San Mateo training office. We met in the middle at a Starbucks after a discussion over the phone. I obtained as much information I could in terms of their needs and expectations.

The wedding ceremony was to be held in a cathedral and for a full Catholic mass in Spanish. This would be my first ceremony in another language. The cathedral they had their eyes on was the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph’s in San Jose, California. It could be challenging as the Event Planner to get detailed information from some churches. Some will not even release their availability or ballpark ‘donation’ or cost. They usually like to speak directly with the bride or groom. Though it may be deceitful, you may need to pose as either party to get more information. The Basilica was not difficult to deal with and I would have to say they were the most helpful and pleasant when gathering initial information.
The couple’s date was not confirmed and many churches and venues have very few options available for weekends in the summer. Therefore, first step was to find a ceremony location. Once options were laid out, I had to kick the ball back to the couple to make appointments to speak and meet with the priests. I provided them with a complete status sheet that included their tentative timeline for tasks and day of events, a list of all the churches I have reviewed and made contact with, and indicated specifics and next steps.

A church and date was selected. While they gathered and filed the necessary paperwork for the church and enrolled in marriage and family planning courses that need to be completed before they marry, I began working on putting a list together of possible venue locations and recommended vendors. (Are you on it? :) ) A vision or look and feel was not decided upon yet in terms of the reception but I kept plugging away.

But sadly, the wedding has been canceled. I am reassured by the groom that they were not unhappy with my services:

I greatly appreciate all your hard work and dedication to make sure our
needs were met. Your professionalism and timeliness were outstanding. We
will definitely call you again when we need an expert in your field. In the
same manner, we will gladly refer you to anyone who might be in need of your
services.


It was definitely a great experience and I hope to work with them in the future. I wish them nothing but the joy in whatever they decide.

Have you had or worked on a wedding that was canceled? Please share your thoughts on how it effected you as part of the bridal party, family, friend or vendor.

Comments

  1. Sorry it was cancelled after all your hardwork. It would have been an interesting experience. Hopefully their referrals will provide good business.

    ReplyDelete

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