An 80’s Prom Party, Group Unification Ceremony & Parade?  No Two Events Or Clients Are Alike…

Last week I reviewed a FB message regarding a group unification ceremony that ended with “we aren’t like Sister Wives or anything.”  Naturally intrigued, I responded to this creative request to find out more since polygamy isn’t legal in Texas.  After discussing the details, I learned that the prospective client was at a Dream Event for Kat & Tiffany McKay last year and had heard about my group unification event several years ago on the courthouse steps.  Quickly checking my calendar since July & August are a slowing down period in Texas for weddings due to the heat, I booked this event for July 3 at 11:00AM.  This commitment ceremony will be based on the promises of these three ladies to always be there for one another. 

Kim Jeffers posted on FB regarding an 80’s themed backyard Prom Party for all of her friends who never went and my team are very excited to help out and coordinate this party with tons of fun ideas along with crazy colored clothing for the guests. 

 Of course if guests choose to dress up for the event- big prom dresses and bigger hair will set the tone for this costumed themed event. 

 Renting tables and chairs along with requesting old records from the guests will bring this event together with fun and funky 80’s throwback items.

Today, I made a trip to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens to send photos to an out of town couple requesting a wedding officiant and photography package for their wedding while on vacation in Fort Worth planned for September.  The Little Pawners, Maryssa & Makenna Mahaney enjoyed our excursion by revisiting where my son and his wife were married 6 years ago.  Ironically, the drama and disaster at their wedding was the sole reason I decided to start a low cost wedding and event business immediately afterwards (Texas Twins Events).  Later of course, I combined Texas Twins Events & Texas Twins Treasures to create The Pawning Planners.

   

Involving your family in a business isn’t always “smooth” or even easy when everyone brings their ideas and opinions about this or that event to my attention when on location and should something unexpected occur- tell me to smile. On a few occasions, I’m not smiling mainly because I’m too shocked at something that happened during the ceremony. 

My son and his wife “see it all” from behind their cameras and often catch me “off guard.”  However, having someone disrupt a ceremony is always shocking to me and over 500 events and ceremonies later, it’s not easy to smile when a guest is hollering and I’m attempting to keep ignoring it. 

Prior to same sex legalization in Texas, I performed numerous unification ceremonies for LBGT couples and am familiar with a “promise” based ceremony although this will be my very first for friends rather than couples. 

    
   

99.9% of the time, my team and I are having a good time with clients and their guests but the occasional outlaw often “ruins the fun for everyone.”  Am I smiling when this happens?  No.

My son often tells me to act like I didn’t just see a guest standing on a table screaming “I object!”  The problem is that I see everything and everyone and therefore can’t pretend that what just happened didn’t happen.

Preparing my family for the Gordon Parade & Annual Family Reunion on July 2 will “as usual” be filled with the “who is riding with who” questions along with the “I don’t like that radio station” type of comments because when both of our suv’s roll out of my driveway- both Cindy and I control the temperature and the music.  Often the older children can get bossy and cranky on a road trip but your adult children and grandchildren smashed into two vehicles can create some real chaos!  In case you’re wondering where my twin sister, Cindy Daniel “comes up” with her #Cindyisms- it’s 70% of our family and 30% of our clients because trying to keep our family from arguing on road trips and at rest stops isn’t as easy as you might think.

   

Packing my patience to get through this holiday weekend, I still think family reunions are important because I officiate at many funerals and recognize the frail nature of life.  Will my children and grandchildren complain about being bored?  Always!  Will they remember the time spent with their cousins?  I’m sure they will and one day I hope they appreciate all of the times we dragged them to yet another family function.

Keeping a close knit family has been very important to both my sister and I after being abandoned by our mother at 6 years old.  Losing half your family (our mothers side) and being moved away from everything you’ve ever known wasn’t easy either but, we had each other and made a pact that our children and grandchildren would always spend time together and never take for granted the fact that we are closer than many families (especially since we work together) but no matter how much we argue amongst ourselves- we will always be a family committed to changing the wedding and events industry “one barter at a time from Fort Worth, Texas!” 

 Wendy M Wortham