Besides Being an Author, I'm a Wedding Planner! by Mary P. Karnes

Hello! I’m Mary Karnes, the author of WEDDING BRIDE AND DOOM, the first in the Wedding Planner Mystery Series which was published August 22, 2023, by Level Best Books. It’s a cozy mystery series about an amateur sleuth who happens to be a wedding planner. This was both an easy book for me to write, as I’m a professional wedding planner, and a hard one. Everyone says, “You must have so many stories to share from your work as a wedding planner!” I do, I really do! But I also feel very protective of my clients and would never share anything that would reflect on them in a negative light. This makes my imagination work overtime to creative new and fun scenarios.

I thought it may be fun to share what a typical wedding day looks like for me, and the tasks it takes to create the perfect, (well, as perfect as possible – nothing is ever perfect), wedding day for my couples.

I usually arrive at the ceremony site just before the first vendor arrives, which is usually the florist. Most of the weddings I do have the ceremony and reception at the same venue. Church weddings are not as popular today as they were when I got married. I am present to greet the vendors and answer last minute questions. I oversee the set-up of the ceremony chairs, add ‘reserved’ signs to the first couple rows of the chairs, and add programs on each seat if they are provided.

My daughters

I then move to the reception space. If needed, I assist in caterer set up. I make sure the ‘Sweetheart Table” is decorated, as well as the cake table. I ensure the ‘card box’ is set out. Guest Tip: It is no longer the ‘done’ thing to take a gift to the reception. Cards with a check or cash are acceptable, but if you wish to give a ‘wrapped gift’ send it to the bride and/or groom well before the wedding. Remember…if you take a gift to the reception, someone has to take those gifts home at the end of the night.

Next, I’ll check on the bride and sooner than you can believe, it’s time to line up the procession. Ceremony tip…seat the guests fifteen minutes before ceremony start. It’s always better to have the guests waiting on the bride, not the other way around. If guests are late, hold them from finding a seat until the procession makes its way to the ‘altar.’ And yes, people really do try to find seats in the middle of the procession.

Next time, the reception!

California wedding planner, Kate Ludlow, moves back home to New England after her marriage implodes. In tow is her teen daughter Ellis, unhappy and nervous about the move. Suddenly, Kate’s responsible for turning her part-time wedding planner gig into a full-time business. Kate’s off to a good start, too, when she books the society wedding of the year. The prosperity of her business is dependent on the success of Marcy Simpson’s wedding. The joy of an unlimited wedding budget is intoxicating. But when Kate’s best florist is murdered, her focus changes from pulling off the year’s most glamourous wedding, to saving her own skin – for Kate’s suspect number one for the murder. Further complicating her life, Kate’s old high school flame, Brian McAllister, is the police detective assigned to the murder case. The spark is definitely not gone from their connection, as they have unfinished feelings. Throw in a scavenger hunt for an antique missing family ring, the job transfer of Kate’s ex to New England, and quirky and endearing townsfolk, Kate has more than she can handle – almost.