In this crazy wedding world that I live in, there are planners and then there are PLANNERS. WHY AM I SCREAMING? Because a REAL PLANNER is a diamond in the rough and an incredible asset before, during and after a wedding. A REAL PLANNER makes all of the wedding day messes go away quietly and efficiently, looking out for the best interests of the bride and groom, their family and guests, and their vendors. In that order.

Over the years, I’ve seen plenty of wannabes – from the indescribably unorganized to the stupidly irresponsible. I’ve seen them make the wedding day a bigger mess than anyone could have imagined and I’ve laughed at their irrational and diva-like behavior. Over the years, I’ve even expressed my doubt for the need for a planner in the first place and as I have come to work with the real thing, I’ve indisputably sang their praises. They are truly the glue to a really good wedding day.

What a planner is – a professional who assists with the design, planning and management of a client’s wedding. A REAL planner knows how to handle those sticky, uncomfortable situations and just overall taking care of things … efficiently and quietly. He or she has a plan B, C, D, F and G; with every vendor on speed dial and harmoniously working together. They are trained at being awesome- certified through organizations with sassy acronyms such as the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners (AACWP) and the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC). If a planner says they don’t have to have a certification to do their job – I implore you to call them lazy butts and run away as fast as you possibly can.  In my thirteen years and 400+ weddings, I have NEVER seen an certified, professional planner fudge up a wedding to where I wanted to throw my hands up in the air and beg for my own demise. (I definitely cannot say the same about their faux counterparts.)

What a planner is not – the site coordinator at your venue. Sorry, that happy person who sold you on your wedding location is there to look out for the site, not set out your decor and make sure your day goes perfectly. They may make promises (and some will deliver on them, sort of) but that’s not their reason for being there and a certified planner fills in the (very big) void. Of course, a handful of lovely sites actually include an honest-to-goodness-planner as part of their package, but this is the exception and not the rule.

You see, I don’t seek out planners. I don’t write boring emails looking for their attention or take them out to lunch to schmooze them. I figure at some point, I will get to work with them, they will fall in love with me (and my amazing crew) and they will think “hey, I need more Lynn Michelle in my life”. And then we will all live happily ever after.

All of this brings me to Wendy Kidd with Each and Every Detail. I met Wendy through a smattering of industry events and she sought The Photography Clique out to speak at AACWP severa; events, including a new planner training. At one of the last events, Wendy promised she had the perfect bride for me. And she did.

I’m about to go gush-tastic all over this blog : because there is nothing better than meeting with a client and the angels break out into a heavenly chorus. And there is absolutely, positively nothing better than working with a planner who knows her sh!t. During our May wedding together, Wendy and her team fought fire after fire effortlessly, tactfully avoiding decking a few people right in their smug faces. We even schemed to make sure every inch of the reception site was picture perfect – which included moving the cake away from a dangerously hot & ugly light that surely would have turned the confection into to a puddle of sugary goo.

The result? One very happy bride and groom. Two utterly ecstatic wedding photographers.

O! And one lovely blog post … click on her blog below to see how she classifies our style and view a few of the images that she hand picked from the blog. I cannot be more pleased to share the post with my Photography Clique darling, Stacey of Simple Moments Photography  as well as  Amy Karp and the always KICKASS Tony Valadez of Flashbox Photography.

“Fine Art – Lynn Michelle Photography : 

Lynn Michelle at Lynn Michelle Photography, like many Fine Art photographers, takes BEAUTIFUL shots. And chances are, if you choose a fine art wedding photographer, your photos will not look like anyone else’s. Fine art photographers know light – how it shapes and perfects the human form – and they utilize everything from flash to beautiful sunlight to make that happen.”

So weigh in- how would you categorize us?