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A PLANNER'S VIEW

INTO OUR MINDSET
​

A Winning Year, After All!

12/1/2020

2 Comments

 
PRESS RELEASE
15th Annual Best of Weddings Awards Honor Top Wedding Vendors
​Across America

I am so pleased and proud to announce that we have been selected as a 2021 —winner of The Knot Best of Weddings, an accolade representing the highest- and most-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, their families and wedding guests on The Knot, a leading wedding planning and registry brand and app. 

Despite COVID-19 interrupting many 2020 weddings and social events, wedding professionals around the nation continued to support to-be-weds throughout their wedding planning journeys. From adjusting future schedules to make way for postponed weddings, to helping couples host socially distanced weddings following state and local guidelines and restrictions with an increased focus on health and safety, wedding pros—and the industry as a whole—rallied together in 2020, ultimately helping couples continue to celebrate life and love. The Knot 2021 Best of Weddings recognition honors the vendors who went above and beyond to help to-be-weds navigate the global pandemic. 
 In 2021, five percent of hundreds of thousands of local wedding professionals listed on The Knot received this distinguished award.
In its fifteenth annual year, The Knot continues its long-standing tradition of supporting local wedding vendors with The Knot Best of Weddings 2021, an annual by-couples, for-couples guide to the top wedding professionals across the country. 

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​WOW!
This year, we certainly ran our hardest to the end of the marathon (one in which we never signed up for, none the less, trained for). What a tremendous honor and delight to have been recognized by this outstanding industry leader, The Knot, and by all the folks that we took extra care of and that, in turn, took time to write raving 5-star reviews for us. Thank you so much for this recognition!
 
We all know what this year entailed so I need not go back in time to relive how to navigate event planning in a pandemic. Yet I do want to thank and highlight our clients that trusted us to work through the challenges by guiding and supporting them in the midst of this compromised and unpredictable year. Some went ahead and wed on their day (anyway and in unexpected ways!) and others opted to push out to 2021 with the same plan or perhaps a "new & improved" one. Each scenario was unique and personal. Each situation allowed us to work exponentially closer with our clients and to get to know them on a deeper level. In some cases, even "virtually" meeting parents that we normally shake hands with at the rehearsal. The anxiety-ridden conversations and decisions through peak pandemic stretches, forged relationships that we never expected. In reflection, I see now that this year presented opportunities to see each other in a truer sense, hear each other more closely and witness weakness and strengths that all lead to a much deeper appreciation and knowing. I often think of my couples as my flock, but this year, they all feel like my family. 
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We all found ways to stay afloat mentally as we plodded through the uncertainties.
​Many catch phrases sprung forth this year, one in particular for me, “silver linings”.
They were there in the midst of all the clammer but I had to stop, quiet myself and seek them out. When I did, I found seeds of optimism which I needed in order to remain positive and focused on any given day. As a wedding and event planner, the silver linings that allowed me rise above the distractions were the client relationships that solidified and gave me a sense of purpose each day when I walked across my path to the studio.  Working alongside my couples and our vendors via Zoom, phone calls, emails or the occasional masked-6 foot-distanced meeting,  figuring out how to get through, plan and replan and most importantly, how to support each other—made the work unfiltered, and sometime raw, yet equally as rich and fulfilling.
 
So, a deep and heartfelt thank you goes out “my flock”. I feel blessed to know that I will look back to 2020 in the years ahead with memories of you as my bright spots, my motivation, my silver linings. We never let up, never caved and kept our eyes on the trophy that you all so deservingly earned…your day, your way! For some of you, cheers to celebrating anyway this year and for celebrating “again” next year. For others, cheers to knowing that all good things are worth the wait! Regardless, I am so thrilled to know my time with you is extended into 2021! Thank you again for making this year a win in ways we never expect! 
Hugs and best wishes for our next adventures together!

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Photography Credits: 
Danila Mednikov  | @danilamednikov
Luke Wayne Photography | @lukewaynephotography
Spagnola Photography | @spagnolaphotography
Undressed Moments   |   @undressedmoments
YMvisuals - Yannis Malevitas Photos & Videography | @yannismalevitisweddings


2 Comments
Judy Laffey
12/9/2020 03:38:29 pm

Congratulations! If anyone could bring beauty and joy to people during a pandemic - it is you, Paula!!

Reply
Paula Smith
12/9/2020 08:52:49 pm

Thank you Judy! You are so kind and generous in spirit and support. I truly appreciate these words.

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