I DO… ALL THE PLANNING

By Shanna Hogan

The bride is about to walk down the aisle when wedding coordinator Cara Morrison gets word of a pending catastrophe.

The wedding DJ has blown a circuit on his equipment, somehow erasing the couple’s first-dance song from his computer.

Keeping her cool, Morrison rushes to find a resort employee who might happen to have the love song on their iPod. After locating it, she downloads the tune to the computer, just moments before the nuptials.

“We were scrambling behind the scenes without the bride and groom knowing, trying to find their first-dance song,” says Morrison. “We made it happen. The bride and groom never knew it was missing.”

Lost love songs, missing bouquets and torrential downpours are just a few of the on-the-job hazards potentially awaiting Morrison, a Valley wedding coordinator. Morrison is responsible for planning and organizing what is to be the happiest day of a couple's life, and making sure all of the plans, some of them elaborate and rather complex, go off without a hitch. Along with her business partner, Morrison plans at least 30 weddings each year and will occasionally have two in a week during peak wedding season.
For brides preparing to take the plunge, Morrison offers this advice: Enjoy your special day.

“You plan and plan and plan, and then it goes by in the blink of an eye,” she says. “Take a step back and relax and try and enjoy it.”