‘Hopeless romantics’ put up wedding planning business

IT ALL started with a dream among friends. Karen Marek, Cielo Bulos, and Maya Madarang-Tababa were ‘hopeless romantics.’ “Cielo and I were not married yet at the time and we had ideas of what we wanted for our weddings,” says Karen, a former TV and movie star with the screen name Karen Timbol. Since Karen and her then boyfriend (now husband) Ariel Atendido were mounting fashion shows and corporate events through their company Exuberance, it wasn’t far-fetched for them to venture into wedding planning and coordination as well. Karen broached the idea to Cielo and Maya who were with her in the single parents ministry of Christ’s Commission Fellowship, and the two agreed to join her and Ariel in a wedding planning business, after they prayed about it. When they told people about their plans, many discouraged them in pursuing the business. “’It’s very detailed,’ they said. But the desire was there,” says Karen. Soon Blushing Bride the business was born in October 2005 with the tagline “We do your I do.” From only one wedding they coordinated in the last quarter of 2005, Blushing Bride has done more than 50 weddings and debuts to date. The company participates in bridal fairs to get the word out. Ariel reveals they get inquiries every day from people who check out their website and are referred by clients and friends. Majority of their clients are based abroad, and they make sure everything is ironed out for these clients by the time they arrive for their wedding day. Blushing Bride can do the full coordination from booking the venue to choosing a florist to conceptualizing invitations and putting together a delectable menu, etcetera. They also offer coordination services for the wedding day only for brides and grooms who want to take care of all other arrangements themselves. Wedding day coordination services cost about P25,000, while the full coordination fee is about P45,000. Karen stresses that they can work with clients’ budgets. “We will find and negotiate with suitable vendors based on their budget and preferences.” For full coordination, the Blushing Bride partners are very hands-on in conceptualization. “The wedding should reflect the couple’s personalities,” says Karen. The concept is incorporated in the invitations, reception program, and the total look of the place resulting in a unique wedding that suits the new bride and groom. “Some brides and grooms are clueless while others are OC. It would be helpful if they know what they want. But when clients trust us to take care of everything, our creativity shines through,” shares Karen. Blushing Bride’s services go beyond choosing the vendors. They also encourage couples to undergo premarital counseling. “One of our goals is to reach out to couples. Some of them don’t know what they are going into. We encourage them to undergo counseling to see if they are meant to be together or not,” says Karen. Ariel and Karen share their experience with counseling to the clients, and this has proved helpful to a lot of them. “We want them to not just have a beautiful wedding but a beautiful marriage too,” says Ariel, who is also a model and the current president of the Professional Model Association of the Philippines. Blushing Bride’s start-up capital was minimal. Initial cash outlay went to booth rentals in bridal fairs, fliers, website design, etcetera. They work from their homes and meet their clients outside. The partners are happy with how their business is going. “In every wedding, we learn something new,” says Karen. “And it’s very rewarding when clients are happy and refer us to other people.” Some of their wedding clients have become corporate events clients too. While it may be easy to set up such a business, success doesn’t come to every wedding planner. To succeed, Karen and Ariel say you should have these: 1. Passion. “If you don’t have the passion for it, you won’t last,” says Ariel. “You deal with people who have different personalities. Some clients demand too much.” 2. Organization skills 3. Patience 4. Love for people. “You must be a people person,” says Karen.