“I would love to hire you and I appreciate you sending over a proposal for your services, but unfortunately I can’t afford you right now.”
These are words that we will never forget, not because of their content, but moreso because of the despair and defeat in this bride’s voice when she said them. She was roughly one-month away from her wedding date and barely had anything in place for her big day past reserving the venue. Between juggling a full-time job and a one-year old, she just lost track of time as her wedding date approached. In her own words she described the overwhelming anxiety she felt whenever she found a few free moments to pull out her iPad and start to do wedding research. “There were so many wedding sites and I just didn’t know where where to start.” After this transparent display of honesty from this bride, we sat there and offered to talk with this soon to be bride and give her some suggestions on where she should start and what she needed to do to get to the altar. We talked through her logistical timeline, color palette, and floral likes and dislikes. As we chatted, we offered suggestions on what she should consider doing in all the various aspects of her wedding. You could almost hear the tears of joy coming down her face as she seemed to regain not just her confidence and composure, but more importantly, her belief that her wedding day was still going to be just as she pictured.
This experience with this bride really made us think about the “Why” in why we plan weddings. Every year millions of brides plan their own weddings and end up in this same situation, where they get overwhelmed and reach a point of despair where they end up not getting the wedding they have been dreaming about. But what if there was another way? What if there was a way to connect brides in need to a wedding planner when they had questions? What if this could be an on-demand service that Brides could use from the palm of their hand? Answering these questions was the moment the Bridal Helpline was born. We've made it our mission to connect every bride with the expert wedding advice she deserves. So we gathered a talented group of certified wedding planners from around the nation and convinced them to talk with brides who need help while planning. We made the service on-demand because you never know when a wedding emergency will pop-up and we made this service low cost because we don’t want any bride to ever feel like the bride that came to us in despair. Wedding planning should be a journey and we want to make sure every bride is equipped for their path to the altar.
HERE’S A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE FOUNDERS
Brandi and Brandon Carson are married Couplepreneurs who have been planning weddings and special events nationwide for about 15 years. They have a passion for helping couples reach the altar and love finding novel ways to make the wedding planning process easier for brides everywhere. Learn more about their likes, dislikes and of course their favorite ‘90s jam.
What’s the last thing you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it?
BRANDI: The Golden Girls because it one of the best shows of all time and one can only hope to be that spunky when they are seasoned like Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia.
BRANDON: The Golden Girls because Brandi controls the remote in our house. No, but I’m serious.
What inspires you?
BRANDI: Seeing people achieve their dreams and goals - from the small things like
BRANDON: Helping people however I can.
How would you rate your memory?
BRANDI: On a scale of 1-10, my memory would be a 4. I have to write EVERYTHING down. And it’s worse if I’m not focused on whoever is talking to me smh
BRANDON: What was the question again?
What are you known for?
BRANDI: Being direct and to the point - namely because I’ll forget what I’m saying (see question 3)
BRANDON: Being friendly, welcoming, and supporting my friends and family.
Who would win a fight between Spiderman and Batman?
BRANDI: I’m going to go with Wonder Woman! #girlpower
BRANDON: The real question is why would they be fighting?
What is one thing you refuse to share?
BRANDI: My pizza crust. And even ask people for theirs...
BRANDON: Good Scotch.
Which would be harder for you to give up: coffee or alcohol?
BRANDI: Cofalcohol. Is that a thing?
BRANDON: Caffeine is a need. Alcohol is a want.
What’s your favorite ’90s jam?
BRANDI: There.are.so.many.good.ones. Ugh - But if I had to choose 1, I would say “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. I know all the parts, ad-libs and runs. As I matter of fact, I had to go You-Tube it while finishing up this post.
BRANDON: Decades ago in the 90’s, Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It” was always at the top of my list.
What was your favorite toy as a child?
BRANDI: Mall Madness was my absolute FAVORITE game/toy of all time. If they had a version now, I would likely buy it and make my nieces play with me.
BRANDON: I was kind of a nerd, so I REALLY like my Rubik’s snake… #DontJudgeMe
What was your first CD and when did you get it?
BRANDI: BACKSTREET BOYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
BRANDON: 4th Grade - Kris Kross, Totally Krossed Out
Have you ever chased down an ice cream truck as an adult?
BRANDI: No, but I’m not above that AT all.
BRANDON: At what age do you officially become an adult? You know what, nevermind...
