What is the task of a good wedding planner?
The first step in the planning process of a successful event is to interpret in the right way the expectation of the future spouses. For this reason a wedding planner must, first of all, meet and get to know the couple to understand their tastes, their wishes and to outline in a definitely way the budget at their disposal.
Despite what it seems, same-sex wedding is a not yet consolidated reality so it is necessary to distinguish between straight and same sex wedding planning services.
In Italy above all there is still not a real equality between straight and gay wedding. They are, in fact, two completely different ceremonies (and two completely different status, that of the wedding – only possible for straight people – and that of the civil union, possible for both straight and same sex couples).
So, the wedding planner must provide different services for same-sex weddings due to the different type of ceremony, for example.
What’s the differences in planning a same sex wedding
Gay couples do not want to imitate straight couples, instead they want, as they should be, to maintain their identity. What they ask is simply to have access to the same rights that for years has been the base of the traditional straight unions. Differences are not mainly in the planning process itself, as well as in happiness that flows through people. The LGBT community comes from years of battles and now can finally enjoy its civil and social redemption. During gay ceremonies there is a general commotion we simply don’t find in other situations.
What are other more practical aspects of a wedding planner work
Once outlined all details, the wedding planner select his/her trusted suppliers for the organization itself and negotiate the conditions of the contracts: those of the staff working on the set-up, that of the venue and floral arrangement, food and rent services, music, make-up, photography, entertainment and so on. Most of times (above all if we are talking about a destination wedding here in Italy) the wedding planner deals with guests accommodation and all other technical, bureaucratic and logistical aspects before the big day (Visas, bookings, authorizations and so on).
Possible difficulties in planning a gay wedding
There can be some difficulties in planning a gay wedding, for example it is easy to find homophobic suppliers or suppliers that do not give their best in case of a same sex wedding.
The prepared wedding planner has to know how to face this situation correctly and to understand all situations and eventual reticence in advance.
Some work flows are built on straight couples and has to be redesigned in case of gay or lesbian wedding. The etiquette influences many aspects of the event but it is built on the straight-couple-model. It is necessary to build other rules, but it will be necessary some time to do so.
Family are generally sensitive, anxious and afraid of possible critics.
And, at last, everybody seems to take for granted that a same sex wedding has to be stylistically over the line, but, in most cases, it is not.
