Hey everyone! It's Steve Young here writing at 1:12am in the morning. I just got back from Safeway, had to make a late night run to buy some contact cleaning solution. You know, I got to thinking...I better post a positive message on my blog, before all my couples get the feeling as though I'm this negative guy who just has a bone to pick with the DLNR...hahah. Truth is, I'm very outspoken when it comes to politics regulating the wedding industry. It just stirs me. To hear some politicians cry out say behind closed doors "We need to curb the amount of weddings in Hawaii to protect our earth from warming..." just really irks me. Arrgh...the logic?

Anyway, this post...well, it'll be a somewhat positive one.

I want to talk about love, and my experience with it when it comes to weddings. And I tell you...I have some stories that I really want to share. I'm going to change the names of the couples to protect their identity, because a handful of these stories are down right...embarrassing. ALL TRUE THOUGH.....Here goes.

Love by Internet?

Let me blurt out an interesting fact here. Over 90% of my couples that I marry, actually meet on the Internet in some shape or form. Some them meet via those online match-making services, some through chatrooms, some through simple craigslist forums. I used to think meeting people over the Internet was only for geeks, but it's actually the "in" way to meet, and a much better way as well.

Most of my couples who have met via the Internet, usually end up getting married within a very short amount of time. I've married couples who've known each other in person, for literally 2 months, after chatting online and talking on the phone for years.... The average wait time though from dating to the alter for Internet couples is about 2.5 years.

I was talking to a couple yesterday about how they met. They had met literally 4 months ago, and they just felt, as though they wanted to get married to each other. Well, all the power to them...really. Some people may accuse them of not getting to know each other too well, before they took the plunge. But my opinion is the following: "There is nothing wrong with tying the knot after knowing each other for four months. At least they are diving into this relationship with both feet, and they are committed to each other forever, and entering into this relationship with the right state of mind."

I've met couple who have been together for decades,with one foot in the relationship, and the other out. When it came time to march down the isle, they cancelled their wedding on me! Can you believe that? You know, one thing that kills me is couples who just date...to have someone there. I think it's a complete waste of time. I mean, why argue...and then make up, just to know that maybe 3 years down the line, you're eventually going to break up. That's 3 years you could have spent, trying to find the right person. Spend 3 years in relationship that's bound to break up....is just 3 years wasted. Am I right?

Now of course, rushing to the alter is actually also bad...if it's for lust, and you have no idea what love is.

ENTER MR. YOSHIMURA (NOT HIS REAL NAME) a wealthy Japanese man, who I married 5 times, within the last 3 years!

I met Mr. Yoshimura at a business party 5 years ago. He had a beautiful 20 year old girlfriend at the time, who just stole the rooms attention. Mr. Yoshimura, was in his late 50's. They both seemed to love each other, and when he asked to plan his wedding on the beach, I gladly accepted.

Two months passed....and I get another call from Mr. Yoshimura. It didn't work out with that 20 year old, he found another one.... So, we plan everything once again. We take him to the same beach, have the same pastor, in fact, we do the same photos.... They look the same, they just have a different girl.

12 months pass. I get another call. Mr. Yoshimura found yet another girl. I joke with him and tell him...you know, it's really bad but my pastors are running out of wedding advice for you. But he begs me to help him out. I do. But he wants a different look he says...maybe a different bouquet. But he wants the same pastor, same location...

Now this process repeats itself until wedding number 5!! I finally tell him, this time...no more... In fact, if we do a number 6 weddings, it is going to be 1 billion dollars (which he can afford)...because he has to start taking marriage seriously. He jokes and tells me, that he can't help it..he loves to get married. I joke back and tell him, apparently you love to get divorced too! I am happy to report it has been 2 years, and I have yet to hear from him.



I consider myself an above average wedding planner. Why? It's not that I used to work in the movie industry, or I own 3 businesses, which makes me great for this job. I'm a great wedding planner purely because I know football very well....and nothing more. STOP LAUGHING! Planning for a football game is all about pre-game preparation. And the better you are at preparing for the big game, makes winning the Superbowl that much easier. So brides, compare your wedding day to the most important day for every man, the day his team makes to the Superbowl. It's that special.... see the similarities...

Wedding planning itself is actual a lot easier than playing football though. I tell all my brides, wedding planning is purely glorified order taking, and order placing, that's all. You want it, you got it. Throw in a little common sense on budgeting, and that's all. A wedding planner should not be running around on the wedding day, figuring out what wedding shots are perfect for the couple, or what to do if the flowers are not showing up on time. If a wedding planner places orders with the right PROFESSIONAL vendor, that vendor...will deliver their goods on time. Simple as that.

So where do Bridezillas come in? When you get a bride who lacks logic and reasoning.

My bridezilla story isn't anything special. But I remember this clearly. The bride, wanted to ride in a limo to her wedding location, which was literally, a five minute drive away. I told the bride, it really wouldn't make financial sense, but if she wanted the limo, I would get it for her. And that they limos, usually only book by the hour....not by the minute. So she would have to pay for the hour, even though the drive was only 5 minutes away. She told me to get the limo, and that she would handle the rest.

How she handled it....was just amazing...amazingly awful.

The limo arrived on time, picked her up, literally shot her to the location in under five minutes. I think it was more like 2 minutes since there was no traffic. Everyone was there at the wedding location, groom, friends, family, and all....waiting for that beautiful bride to GET OUT OF THE LIMO...and to walk down the isle.

BUT SHE DIDN'T.

She sat there, in the limo. Why? Not because she had cold feet. But because, she said, "She paid for the hour, so she wasn't coming out."

So of course, this started a commotion. The family got mad at her, the groom, tried to be understanding, but even he was shaking his friend complaining to his friends, that she's always like this.

An hour passes by, she steps out of the limo. Now, everything is running late. We miss sunset pictures because of her. The reception runs late, and we have to cut the program short...because everything was affected by her stupidness.

And guess who gets the blame. Your truly. She told me, "You should have told me to get out an hour earlier...then we could have gotten our sunset shots..." She was right....I told her husband to tell her. She responded... "Well, I don't listen to him...I would have listened to you.."

Okay, this couple may not last.....if they did.... Wow, that's an understanding guy...

I'm happy to report though, that I have not had another bridezilla since....

DOOR NUMBER ONE.....OR DOOR NUMBER TWO

You've heard this...getting cold feet before a wedding is really nothing out of the ordinary.....BULL CRAP. Completely bull If you're getting cold feet before your wedding day, on your wedding day, you have some real problems. Commitment comes down to more than just a simple split minute decision to get married, it's a life long commitment to that person. There have been some couples, who have been a little nervous....but that's all. They were just...nervous. Not nervous that they were taking the plunge with the wrong person. Just nervous of the moment they would say I DO.

Then, I met Trish (real name withheld) Trish was 19 years old, a very educated young woman, who was attending an Ivy league school. She was set to marry her childhood sweetheart. She known him forever. Their two families had known each other forever as well. Trish and her fiance had gone through their normal ups and downs, but all-in-all, they made it to this day.

I remember taking pictures of her as she got ready to march down the isle. We were in her private bridal room, with all our her bridesmaids, her mother, father, and friends. They were all happy. Trish took one look in the mirror, and just started to cry. Everyone thought these were tears of joy, including myself.

"Don't cry", her mom comforted.... "You'll ruin your make up..."

She nodded.... I asked if everyone was ready to get the party started, and they all nodded. I told them, "Alright, lets get this show on the road...places!!" And all the girls exited the room. I stayed back as always to have my last prep talk with the bride.

As her father exited the room to wait for her downstairs, she locked the door behind him. She grabbed me by the hand, and tears ran down her face.

"Steve, we need to talk..." she said.

"Yeah, something not right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, everything. Look. You're the only one I can talk to, and I need your advice, because you've been perfect so far. So tell it to me straight..."

Trish went on to explain to me, while sobbing, how her two families, who were very wealthy, seemed to pressure her into this marriage because they just wanted to be related to each other. And her childhood friend, we'll call him Dan, was such a special guy. She said she loved him, but she was not in love with him....or was not sure if she loved him.

"How can you tell Steve, if I'm in love with him?" tears rolled down her face.

I put down my camera, looked at her, and told her my definition. I first told her the chapter in the bible that describes love. That love is patient, kind, does not judge, does not hold grudges, hopes..etc..etc.... And I told her that in summary, all the bible is saying that love is not an emotion, but a commitment. Then I went on to explain, that I had a love for the Philadelphia Eagles. Yeah, I would yell at them, scream at them, but at the end of the day, I stayed committed to them through thick and thin.

She smiled and laughed at my analogy and I asked her, "Now, it's quite simple of a question. Can you love Dan, as much as I love the Philadelphia Eagles?"

She answered....No.

I didn't know what to say other than.... "Really?"

She nodded.

I tried to back up myself from my analogy, "Well, maybe you won't be able to love him as much as my Eagles, but maybe halfway there..."

"No, Steve...I understand now. I don't love him. I like him as a friend. I've been polite with him. And I've been faking this love....by being polite....I mean...What do I do?"

This was extremely awkward for me. Something even straight out of the movies. I told her my honest advice though. We literally had two doors to his bridal room. One door led to her wedding, the other was a back door, which led directly a back exit. I literally told her you have door number one, and door number two. And that running away would be very simple, as all I would have to do is to call the limo to pick her up...and no one would know.

Trish paced back and forth in the room, trying to deduce what her next move was, when she turned to me and asked me, what I would do.

I couldn't lie to her. I told her, "I would run..."

"Run?"

"Yeah, I would. I mean, I wouldn't want to be stuck forever with some person that I didn't love..."

"You're right....call the limo..."

I took a deep breath, nervously smiled at her, and called my limo driver. Just then, her father knocked on the door asking if everything was okay.

"Steve, I just need to go..can you handle that?"

"Yeah. No problem."

Trish had a huge smile on her face. She gave me a big hug, and ran out. As soon as she exited the room...I had to think quickly on how to make this situation not get any uglier. I got my friend, who was a cop, and called in a favor. I told him he had to come to shut the wedding down because there 70 people at a location which only could hold 50, by State Law. He didn't want to do it, but he agreed to.

After I got off the phone with him, I opened the door, and told the father, that we were looking for the rings and marriage license, Trish had to run back to the hotel to find it. The father said okay. Ten minutes later, my friend rolled up with his blue lights, and closed down the party. Of course, everyone was fuming mad... At that moment, I pulled Dan aside, and told him what had happened. But the party truly was being shut down, but I had called in the cops to make sure Dan didn't get embarrassed, waiting at the alter. He told me, he really appreciated it.

Dan and Trish never did get back together. Trish did email me to thank me for helping her with probably her most difficult decision in her life...and to tell me that I was the best wedding planner a runaway bride could ever have...

That's funny....