** Wedding Planner Angie Pinkerton **"I Do" Wedding Ideas is the brainchild and passion of Angie Pinkerton, a talented South African wedding planner. Angie explains how she got started as a wedding planner:
Barbie had beach weddings, garden weddings, formal, informal, red carpet - you name it, she had it. With fresh flower arrangements from my mother's garden, a playroom full of guests eating plastic food and Ken often dressed up as a sailor or in a tux depending on where the theme would take them that week! I have always wanted to be married - I am more of a team player kind of person and the idea of having your best friend by your side for ever and ever was most appealing. An ally in conflict, comrade in adventure, a place to call home. I am a romantic at heart and fell in love with the idea of finding the perfect partner and being married. That and oh...getting married - the actual event - now the thought of that was exciting! I was a flower girl for two uncle's weddings and being part of a bridal party further let my imagination soar! To be a princess for a day - with a gorgeous dress and sparkly tiara...that's what childhood dreams were made of!"
From A Little Girl's Dreams To Organising Large Scale Events ...Of course, things change, Angie grew up and the princess aspirations and wedding ideas were packed away with Barbie and her ensemble as her interests grew with her. New dreams, new goals, new ideals. It was a natural progression for Angie to occupy her adult time in planning events. She started arranging training seminars and trade shows at Pastel, a large South African accounting software company, and then moved on to organising large scale events for up to 5000 people at a production company she'd moved to. Angie then proceeded to head up the marketing department for ComutaNet, a busy media company which forms part of the Primedia group. Among other marketing responsibilities, she did all events from breakfasts to golf days, horse racing events to gala dinners and even some heart-pounding off-road-racing experiential extravaganzas! She even spent a considerable amount of time in television production working on the SABC 1 & SABC 3 accounts as well as the Weather Channel for DSTV More recently, Angie was involved in organising the 2008 Pirelli Calender launch and SABC's Stars of Mzansi Awards show. Through all this events planning experience, she learned that events, from the start, are all about budgets and timing and planning and checklists. She says that once you have all that in place...all you need to add is creativity, imagination and fun (with a few hurdles and some hiccups along the way for good measure!)
And Finally ... The Wedding Of Her Dreams ... Which Leads To Angie Becoming A Wedding PlannerAngie's decision to actually become a Wedding Planner was sparked when her dream of getting married finally came true.As Angie says: "And then it happened - my boyfriend of 7 months fell on one knee (in his hired plastic and foam armour!), offered me a jewel, and with that the promise of a life-time of sunsets and picnics, a relationship of love and laughter". That moment was the start of a thrilling journey to become a South African Wedding Planner for Angie: "As soon as that jewel was slipped on my finger, as if by some magical force - wedding Barbie and her ensemble was mentally unpacked and the princess bride dreams came gushing to the fore and the excitement and imagination of that little girl's wedding ideas were again brought to life. I am sure it is like this for most girls. Organising my own wedding was quite the eye-opener. It takes a lot of time and effort. Luckily, it didn't cost me an arm and leg because I knew the tricks of the trade and being a creative soul, I was able to make everything myself from the invites to the flowers." Angie got married to the man of her dreams in August 2007, in the picturesque town of Pilgrim's Rest. The wedding theme was in keeping with the style of Pilgrim's Rest; all guests were dressed in Victorian-era clothes, and everything down to the music was period. Angie absolutely loved it: "It was my perfect day. I was the princess and my prince is everything I could dream him to be with a bit extra thrown in that I didn't think of! Our wedding was a blast, and guests are still talking about it." Of course, word got out, and Angie was soon referred to other couples planning their wedding, and called upon to wave her magic wand. What started out as a part-time hobby quickly grew into a full time career as a South African Wedding Planner. Angie says it's very rewarding in the sense that she is helping people make wise decisions, teaching people skills that could help them save money and helping to create a princess bride's dream come true time after time after time!"
If You're Looking For A Talented Wedding Planner, Look No FurtherFor most of us, getting married is a once in a life-time event and you may not have the privilege of being the center of attention again.But remember, even though a wedding is all about the celebration of your union - and before you get to the fun, the creativity and the imaginative wedding ideas - it all starts with planning and finances and priorities (with some bumps and bruises along the way the keep it real!). That's where the services of an experienced events organizer are worth their weight in gold. As an experienced events manager and wedding planner, Angie believes that she has a lot to offer to brides and grooms-to-be. Angie has experienced first hand that wedding suppliers are going to capitalise on the fact that you want to have the wedding of your dreams, almost at whatever the cost: "Wedding suppliers hear the word 'wedding' and have, from experience, learned that usually there are no holds barred when it comes to spending. They also know that they are dealing with clients that often have not had the pleasure of organising an event before so would not know if the item in question should be priced at R1000 or R7000. They also know that you will be purchasing with your heart and not your head and will take full advantage of this. Business is business. Don't get me wrong. It is your special day, and you do deserve it. But you don't want to get so carried away that you pay way more than you should. I am hoping that I will be able to help you see (and avoid) the hurdles, bumps and bruises along the way so that your dream day is everything you envisioned it would be!" Interested in getting a Wedding Planner? To enquire about Angie's wedding planning service, please go to Angie also holds regular 4 hour Wedding Workshops in Johannesburg, where she shows brides to be how to successfully plan a wedding. To find out more about these wedding workshops, and check the dates, please go to the "Bride Ideas" Do It Yourself Wedding Planning Workshops From Wedding Planner Angie back to "I Do" Wedding Ideas homepage |
"I have been planning weddings since I got that wedding Barbie for my 7th birthday. That Barbie had so many weddings - her divorce lawyer must have made a killing and is most likely retired on a plastic beach drinking plastic pina-coladas! The wedding ideas were endless! 