Hi, my name is Ria...
Photo credit: Gerritsen Photography
and I’m a wedding planner/coordinator/bridal consultant-whatever term makes sense at the moment. I’m here because I fell into the wedding industry a little by accident. The story starts approximately 6 years ago when friends and family started getting married and invitations were prolific in my mailbox. I’d been fascinated by weddings as long as I can remember, so when a close friend asked me to be involved in her wedding as a ceremony coordinator, I was thrilled. In her wedding, I got my first taste of directing a rehearsal & ceremony. I got my first sigh of relief when all the members of the bridal party were in position at the right place at the right time. In the aftermath of that experience, I offered to assist another friend “when the time came for her.” She remembered that offer when her boyfriend proposed, which brought me to my second wedding. This wedding landed at a time when I was working as a barista and was considering what I’d like my long-term career path to become. With the satisfaction of giving my friends the ability to be in the moment at their weddings by taking the questions and keeping track of the details, the idea of merging my need for a career and my love for planning and coordinating weddings took root. Radiant Events was born in May 2016 and I got a real life crash course on the wedding industry and business ownership. In the months that followed, I took a course to become a Certified Wedding Planner and booked my first official wedding for the summer of 2017.
A few weddings into that 2017 season, I worked with an attractive and single photographer. After a few months of strictly professional communication, I invited him to a contra dance as my partner (not date!). However, he read into the invitation a little farther than I intended and asked me out. We dated for the next 9.5 months through the busyness of wedding season. On September 16th he proposed. Our wedding followed 6 months later on March 16, 2019, and, if I’ve counted correctly, it was the 25th wedding of which I’ve been involved with the planning and/or coordination process. The experience of being a bride has brought a new perspective and passion to my work as a planner. I’ve gained a deeper sense of how sacred a wedding is, as the beginning of a marriage and the moment that marks that lifelong commitment. My greatest privilege in the work I do is to allow my clients the ability to step fully into that moment while the details of the celebration are attended to. I fully believe that weddings are a day to be honored and treasured.
Since Joe and I believe that peaceful wedding planning should be accessible to everyone, we will be adding wedding tips and strategies here on the blog as well on our vlog. Whether you’re planning a wedding or you’re a wedding junkie, or you’re just curious, we’d love to have you along for the fun!