Loaned Inventory & Property of Wendy Wortham…
My team and I had traveled to meet Jennifer and give her the dress donated to her Dream Event by our friends a few weeks ago. While with her, I showed her the Bridal Bouquet and Maid of Honor bouquet that I had crafted to loan to this event.
When Brides come to me and have nothing- I spend my own money to ensure beauty at their event when no one else will. This is a remarkable “fringe benefit” of using our services and apparently- a problem for folks who assume I’m rich enough to just give everything away- I’m not.
Hours of labor and investment were put into my inventory. No one donates flowers to me or gives me grants to do the events we do.
Yesterday afternoon my multigeneral team and I arrived in Mineral Wells for the wedding of Jennifer Alexander Irwin. I had brought two bouquets that were painstakingly created by me in order to loan to the Bride and her Maid of Honor. Loaned Bouquets aren’t kept by clients- they are borrowed. This issue continues to “pop up.” If you are borrowing items from my inventory, please be advised that ALL inventory MUST be returned to me upon the conclusion of your ceremony.
Tossing a “loaned bouquet” beautiful bride Jennifer probably had no idea that the guest would be intent on keeping it. Warily I watched this “toss” knowing a guest would want to keep it as a souvenir. Apparently, this guest decided that since she had caught it “fair and square she was going to keep it!” Unless you have paid me for my floral designs- no one is going to keep them except me.
I decided to create an inventory at great expense and hours of my time to help families who had no money. My intention has never been to continue to replace my inventory simply because people want to keep it. No one in this industry “loans” anything to anyone without a security deposit and compensation. I am “loaning” you something at no cost to you and would appreciate everyone assuming that you can keep it to wake up and smell the coffee. Nothing is free to me and nothing is free to you either. My husband and I work hard to pay our bills around here and while I’ve created three unique businesses to help others- I didn’t invest everything into these businesses expecting to lose money and therefore and going over the loaned items issue one more time in order to clarify this issue.
Forty to sixty percent of my client base “borrows” loaned items so if you are using my items, please make sure that everything “borrowed” gets returned to either myself or my team so other families have the opportunity to borrow too.
Jennifer and her new husband surprised my team and I by bartering a Noritake service for 4 China set and explaining that if we couldn’t flip the set-to give it to another family as a gift. This act of generosity was most unexpected as we had planned to sponsor the entire event at our own expense.
If you are planning to toss a bouquet- please provide one or I can make one for you at $25-$35 as my bridal bouquets easily run $125-$225 based on the flowers I’ve purchased and the time I’ve put in to create them. Special order designs are available for SALE through my storefront Texas Twins Treasures- Visit My Treasure Chest.
My son and his wife donated their time to gift the couple wedding photos. Our darling twins, Maryssa and Makenna Mahaney were in the procession as flower girls.
We had a “Wedding Wild Card” when the issue of music came up at the park yesterday. I have a committed team of family members to overcome issues on location for a very good reason- sometimes it does take a village.
Public parks are public places and we can’t expect everyone to be quiet during the ceremony but preparation and planning can keep things flowing smoothly Chaos Minutes Before The Wedding can and does happen but as you can see Jennifer Alexander Irwin Wedding worked out well and both the bride and groom were thrilled that we provided “extras” to ensure beauty at their event. Special thanks to Debbie and Hannah Poteet for “gifting” the dress worn by the Maid of Honor.
It isn’t “easy” to argue why you cannot keep my property that I bought and created to give your ceremony beauty.
Occasionally when we are working with families, these redhead twins encounter a few rednecks! Dedicating your time and your money along with your entire family in order to do something for someone, I don’t tolerate hecklers who think “they know it all.”
Ironically-the guests at sponsored events have no idea how much time and effort we put into an event or realize that no one else was going to do this for free. I’ve yet to get a thank you from the mothers or fathers. For doing something that no one else was willing to for their children.
I’ve officiated at high end venues and free venues for five years and I’ve got to tell you that my client base runs from one end to the other!
Ironically, it’s the sponsored events that bring out the most offensive guests. That’s right- free events that we bend over backwards for are often the “wild card weddings.”
Let’s take Joanna Magee who appreciated everything we had done to accommodate her but had a thankless family which included the rudest guest we’ve ever encountered Joanna Magee Dream Event blog details everything my entire team went through to give Joanna a beautiful wedding completely free which is what a sponsored event actually is at no charge to the client. I even drive her to the venue myself! So for those of you who believe in going on a rant here- walk a mile in my shoes doing everything humanly possible including giving her a wedding dress to be treated badly by the inlaws and outlaws who bothered to show up and didn’t bother to do anything else! The folks in her wedding party using my floral designs also wanted to keep them and argued “why did you let me use it if I can’t keep it?”
Occasionally, it’s the events that are at our own expense that continue to hold truth to the “no good deed goes unpunished” theory. I don’t want to be forced to not loan my inventory but, it’s getting close to that.
My family and I could’ve been at home with our families and doing something else other than trying to help your family and if you don’t appreciate someone dropping everything to do something for your family at little or no cost to them- don’t kid yourself because you are an outlaw if you cannot have good manners at the event and behave yourself.
Changing the wedding and events industry one family at a time and helping hundreds of families by offering low cost services and ceremonies these past 5 years has never been “easy.” It required hard work and dedication and the help of my entire family.
We are dedicated to giving anyone regardless of their income a dream event but, even we have limits on tolerating bad behavior.
Wendy M Wortham