I used to hate weddings. Hate is a strong word, and I stand by it in this statement. I was never the girl growing up that liked to wear dresses and play princess. I liked my cargo shorts and I wanted to slay the dragon instead. Needless to say, I was a handful, and my mom is a saint, but that’s besides the point. As I got a little older, I still never planned my wedding. I never created a Pinterest board to look at the pretty white dresses and shiny rings.
I have been working in the wedding industry for just over a year now and I have a confession to make. I now have a Pinterest board titled “White Dress Day.” Do I want a wedding myself? No, not really. But ask me in another year working in this industry and see if my answer changes!
What changed over this year that made me want to make that Pinterest board? Working at Poplar Hill Estate. When I thought of weddings, I believed for a very long time that they had to be these extravagant parties, in ballroom settings, with poufy itchy gowns, and too many people. I was very wrong.
After year one I learned that a wedding is so much more than that. A wedding can be simple yet elegant. Homey and classy. Relaxed and a hell of a party. A wedding can be anything you want it to be. Working at a wedding venue where you get to build your entire day changed my perspective. Our couples get to build every aspect of their dream day. Each couple uses the same space, the same tables, and the same chairs, and yet each and every wedding is unique. You think I would be used to that by now! I am not. I am still in awe when the set-up is done, the food is enjoyed, and the party starts.
I have been to weddings at venues where the couple picks from the venue’s short list of approved vendors. Gorgeous weddings and the way these venues are structured creates minimal planning for couples. However, these weddings feel a bit like cookie cutters once you are in the wedding industry. Different ceremony arches, flowers, and table decorations, but similar food, DJ, bar and flow in general. Please let me clarify that this is not by any means a bad thing. This is just not our style or mine personally. I love seeing the creativity our couples bring to our venue. I love seeing their Pinterest boards, hearing their ideas for decorating our ceremony arch, their ideas for our loft spaces, and even their thoughts on outdoor seating and game areas. There is so much to customize that each experience and event makes my work not feel like work.
These aren’t profound learning tidbits that will change your life overnight, but they are tidbits that no other industry has stressed for me in the fashion that this one has. Excited to see where the next year will take me and Poplar Hill!
