Great Insight from Preston Bailey

I came across this entry about “Learning from Common Event Mistakes” on the fabulous Preston Bailey blog, and I think it is so insightful that I should share it here. Mr. Bailey is probably the most notable event designer in the world, and to learn from his mistakes is like gold to all event planners. It’s relieving to know even Preston Bailey used to make mistakes too, right?

No matter what career you are in, as human beings, we are prone to make mistakes, and we all have to count on learning from these mistakes to make us better at what we do. There are many great reasons behind hiring a professional wedding planner for your wedding, and you can read about it more here in an article I wrote for the Hawaii Bride and Groom magazine. But I have to say that one of the greatest reasons for hiring an experienced planner is to be able to learn from the planner’s mistakes! Most professional (full time) planners plan a minimum of 2 events a month. From all her experience and mistakes, an experienced planner knows what works and doesn’t work at weddings, so you can be rest assured that your wedding will most likely go off without a hitch. This type of experience is not something you can expect from a friend or a family member who happens to love event coordinating and offer to help plan your wedding. One of my all time favorite quotes came from Colin Cowie, “Your wedding is going to have glitches and is not going to be perfect, but it is important for you to know that the vendors you’ve hired are professional and knowledgeable enough to take care of these glitches for you – and making it perfect again.” Next week, I will post a few tips on my blog with lessons I’ve learned from my own “common event mistakes” Hawaiian style. Stay tuned!