Bride Interview with Christine Ringuette, Professional Bridal Consultant™ and owner
of Down The Aisle.
Please take a moment to read this before hiring Christine and her
planning team:
How long have you been doing this, and how did you become a wedding planner?
I became interested in weddings when I worked in a jewelry store part-time while I attended grad school. The
engagement ring is such a defining symbol of one’s promise for the future, and I loved working with the groom-to-be about choosing the right ring. Soon thereafter, I became engaged myself, and
found myself dispensing all the information, research and knowledge that I came across in my own planning with engaged couples who’d come into the store. I found myself planning for friends,
acquaintances, and family “on the side”, and this started my network of connections.
After I completed grad school, I entered “the real world” and went on to become a healthcare executive. I have a passion for helping others, and felt blessed knowing that I was really making a
difference in people’s lives. During this time, I was planning my wedding...I was the epitome of the self-motivated, DIY bride, with handmade invitations, hairpieces for the flower girls,
meticulous spreadsheets and concurring with my budget daily, the way people nowadays update their Facebook status on a daily basis. I planned as if my life depended on it, and thought I had
everything down to a science…Until my wedding day arrived. And things happened that I could not have even imagined would happen—our limo arrived late and the driver did not know where he was
going (this was pre GPS), our ceremony was then late, causing us to miss important outdoor photos because of low lighting, and no one danced because all the DIY mixed CD’s we played on our home
stereo (pre iPod’s) weren’t loud enough.…I was devastated by this. I did not have the wedding “I envisioned”, and what’s worse, all of these mishaps could have been avoided in the first
place.
After starting a family, I felt my priorities shift, and in the Spring of 2009, I decided to take a leap of faith in launching my own business. I still tap into my healthcare experiences—my aptitude of managing multiple projects at once, competing priorities and balancing funds within tight budgets, but now instead, I’m helping to change how brides and groom have their wedding experience.
We love your wedding planning services and gallery. Everything sounds great. So, can you tell me what really sets you apart from other wedding planners out there?
I did not have my dream wedding, even though wedding planning came natural to me. Like many of you, I share in
your experience of being the DIY bride. I knew I’d be able to get the details done, but what I never planned for, was what was to happen on the day itself. This was the “fuel” to get me motivated
to make sure this did not happen to other brides out there. There are no “do over’s”—you never get a second chance to have a dream wedding.
My approach is different because I have that memory of what it’s like to be the “perfect” planning bride…to not want to accept help because you think you have it covered…or that someone else will
come-in and “take over”. It was a very painful experience to not have your dream day.
Our mission of Your Day, Your Way stems from
the belief that each wedding is unique, and that each couple’s values should be reflected in their planning experience, and on their day—what bride would be happy if all I did was reflect
my tastes?
Quite honestly, that would be boring, if all I did was plan weddings to suit my interests. Our past clients would tell you that in working with me, not only will you find someone who is here
emotionally for you, but that I am skilled at working hard to be sure you receive a personalized experience. In addition, I specialize in planning only weddings, not other
types of events.
If you haven't had the chance to check out this video yet of me planning day-of coordination, be sure you watch it. This is an example of what I can provide for you
on your day:
This all sounds wonderful…But it also seems expensive, an added expense to my already tight budget. Are we going to be able to afford this?
You can’t afford NOT to! The mistake of not having my dream day, taught me that it’s not just about planning *the* perfect wedding, it’s about the emotions that go with what YOU feel is about having the perfect wedding. Because of this, I truly believe that every bride should have a planner—at the very least, for the day-of—and hence why I made our packages affordable for all budgets.
Plus, I’ve had the experiences of hearing from brides who felt we were “too expensive”, but later found out that they went over their budgets (sometimes WAY over), all because they didn’t know what they were doing. Remember that this is my profession. Contrary to what many believe, a planner should be part of your wedding budget, not an extra expense. Plus, we'll save you time and money. Your time is precious, and like most, the vendors you are trying to contact are probably taking lunch the same time you are, or are working until 5PM like you (and you don’t want to be planning on your company’s time, do you?).
So, I suggest that you really sit and think about what your dream wedding looks like to you,
what you’re envisioning…Really seriously think this through (write it down!). And contact me for
your complimentary get acquainted session, so that we can really talk about your dreams, see if we’re a good fit, and how together, we can create your wedding vision. It doesn’t sound that
expensive now, does it?
Who do you work best with?
You will benefit best from working with me if you are easy-going, have an ideal dream wedding in mind but either don’t have the time, the resources, or the know how to get this done. Or you may wish to incorporate some DIY projects but don’t know how to get started, or are not clear at all about how to plan the wedding of your dreams. And that’s okay too—you’re both an ideal candidate.
Or you may be a “type A” bride who is fearful of delegating to others or investigating further the benefits of a
wedding planner for fear of losing control or they will “take over”. A bad wedding planner is one who takes control away from you, and when you work with me, you can rest assured that you will
never, ever lose control. It’s your day. Period. I’m here to help you with as much or as little as you think is necessary.
Which type of bride would likely not benefit from my help planning their
wedding?
Since we only plan one wedding per weekend, we’re quite selective in who we work
with. Most wedding vendors work together with the couple in the few weeks prior to the wedding day itself, not several weeks to months before hand. If you’re considering me to create the most
amazing day you’ve ever envisioned, I want to be sure we “click” first, which is why I highly encourage an in-person get-acquainted session.
So if you’re a chronic skeptic, experiencing a debt-crisis, or cannot grasp the value of what a professional wedding planner can do to assist, then this is not going to be a good fit. It’s okay
if you think you may be in this category but I’d like to gently remind you that until you have a true introspection of your values and what matters to you, it can be difficult
to acknowledge the gifts of what others may have to offer.
Do you take credit cards and do you offer payment
plans?
Currently, we accept credit cards via PayPal. We absolutely can arrange for a
payment plan, and we can even set-up an automatic payment system where you never have to worry about making a payment, or writing a check. What also makes us unique is that we require only a 1/3
“up front”—not half—for your initial investment and if for any reason you decide to cancel within 30 days, your initial investment is fully refundable.
Will you work with the vendors I’ve already found, or do you just work with those you’re accustomed to working
with?
No worries, we will gladly work with the service providers you’ve already selected and will make sure that not only are they the right fit, but that you get what they’ve been contracted for—we've got your back!
It is not required that we only work with people we’ve planned with in the past; however, we
do have amazing contacts at our fingertips that we can easily customize a match to your needs.
But The Venue Says They Have A Planner—Isn’t That The Same Thing?
Many venues have a coordinator or catering manager that specializes in sales of their establishment, which they refer to themselves as “wedding planners”. This is slightly misleading, because while you may think you now have a “wedding planner” as part of your venue package, they mainly oversee the internal operations of the venue itself on the wedding day.
And as for all the endless calls between you and them, they won’t necessarily pick up the phone to make calls on
your behalf to other vendors (musicians, photographer, stationer, etc.) that you have booked, nor will they become involved when there is oversight on anything outside of their venue (the
photographer or DJ pulls a “no show”). On the other hand, when you hire us, you hire us to report to only you for the entire wedding
planning process and the day itself.
Do you take more than one wedding per day?
Nope. We don’t even take more than one wedding per weekend. We attend the wedding rehearsal too, and there are just too many details to nail down to try to juggle more than one wedding simultaneously on the same weekend.
This sounds like everything we’ve been looking for. What happens next to start the
planning process?
Fabulous! The next step is for you to call or text me at 860-916-7493 or you can email me to set up a complimentary
get-acquainted session. I want to hear all about your vision for the most romantic milestone of your life!
May we contact some of your former clients to see what it’s like to work with
you?
Yes, absolutely! Our past brides and grooms, family members, and vendors would highly recommend us, and would love to speak with other potential brides about their experiences with Down The Aisle. You can also look at our testimonials to read more.
Photo: Gwen Pellegrino Photography
We have a couple more questions before getting started… Can I call you to discuss this
further?
Yes, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Every single couple that we have planned and designed with is distinctive, unique and completely customized to the individual need. Please feel free to call or text me at 860-916-7493 or email with any questions.
I can’t wait to meet you, and congratulations on your engagement!
Cheers!
Christine
Member, Association of Bridal Consultants
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