The Professionals

I've been absent from posting the past few weeks while I wrap up the details for the upcoming wedding of Phoenix Arizona Bride Amy Willeford and her Groom Tyler Sepp, November 2nd at the Arrowhead Country Club. Hand glittering candles, designing place cards that look like airline boarding passes, and stringing 25 pounds of crystals for the show-stopper crystal tree, it's been a busy run up to this most important day.

In the process of checking and re-checking the mountain of details for Amy and Tyler's wedding, I had a lengthy conversation with their wedding photographer Tasha Lamb, a highly creative, and talented young woman who just happens to be my daughter-in-law. Our conversation got me thinking about something I wrote in an earlier post regarding choosing your wedding photographer.

In that post, I advised couples to ask prospective wedding photographers about the professional organizations and associations they belong to before signing on the dotted line. It's true, there are some very highly respected organizations out there, not just for photographers, but for wedding planners as well. And while I pride myself on providing a positive and professional experience for brides and grooms, I personally don't belong to any professional organizations or associations, and it's quite possible I may never join one.

Professionalism doesn't come from simply joining an organization and adding that organizations name to your business cards. It comes from making and honoring your committments to the client. It comes from meeting deadlines and delivering the goods. Professionalism is arriving on-time for appointments, showing creativity and flexibility, it's being honest and caring deeply and personally about the satisfaction of your client. Industry organizations can and do encourage professionalism, but in and of themselves, they can't guarantee that their members will consistently BE professional in all business endeavors.

For me, being a professional is a bit like being a lady; you either are or you aren't.

The professionals I work with and recommend may not have the special insignia of an industry organization on their business cards, but they are consumate professionals with a sincere passion for their work. If they were anything less, Love U Mean It wouldn't be working with them.

You have my name on that!

Lori Lamb
Wedding Planner, Owner
Love U Mean It