Today I had a wonderful conference call with the Marriott’s wedding planner and the manager of the La Vista Restaurant where we will have our welcome party. These ladies are so cute and were so much fun to talked to. We talked over an hour throwing ideas around. I also learned that they are both planning their own weddings and ‘get’ my concerns.

I have found myself at times getting a little wound up and defensive as I try to assert my wishes. I’m suddenly realizing how unnecessary that was. These girls really are in this with us. I feel like they really do care about our event and enjoy their work. Early on when we were negotiating the contracts we had to deal with the “corporate” side of the Marriott. We really liked the manager that we worked with but often she’d have to get answers from her manager which could take days. And it seemed like it took a while to actually get that contract in hand to review. Also there were areas where there was no flexibility due to Marriott policies (like the fact that my guests can’t guarantee themselves an ocean view room with our ‘run of the house’ contract, even if they are willing to pay more). I think it was this feeling like we were wrestling with a big corporation that put me into a defensive mode.

Now all the ‘paperwork’ is done and we have moved on to the planning. At first I was a bit disappointed that our planner doesn’t really start working with us until three months before the wedding, but now I can see that is an appropriate starting time. Otherwise I would have driven her nuts for the last two months. Now that she is ready to work on our wedding she is really focused on us and the other near future weddings instead of being distracted by weddings that are still 6 months or more away. A month ago I was getting frustrated when it would take days to get an answer, however now that I’m inside the three month window, I can see that everything is as it should be. She follows up quickly and when she is unavailable, forwards issues to someone else that can get back to me right away. 

So, my fears of being “just another bride in a Marriott wedding production line”, are alleviated. I think we’re right on track and am confident our event will get all the attention it needs, if not more.