Kelly Arndt takes care of the bride, the mother, the dress and the cake - even when it's full of sand.
Planning weddings and events is what Arndt loves to do. As the owner of Cochel's Weddings & Events in Grand Forks, she started more than 10 years ago and has coordinated about 40 weddings in North Dakota and Florida where she once lived.
"I like to create what someone has in their mind and make it come to life for them," Arndt said.
While most brides are easy to work with, some succumb to stress and act out of line. Arndt's love for her job was first tested when planning a Florida wedding.
It started with eyeliner.
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Every bridesmaid had to wear a specific color and brand of eyeliner dictated by the bride, Arndt notes.
While soothing the nerves of upset bridesmaids, Arndt had another issue to attend to. The bride adamantly wanted her cake close to the ceremony. And, like most of Arndt's Florida weddings, the location was on the beach.
"She wanted to see her cake as she turned to walk up the isle," Arndt said. "Everyone tried to talk her out of it."
As Murphy's law would have it, the wind picked up and flung sand on the cake. The bride, upset by the sight of a half sand-covered cake, threw her bouquet at the cake and nearly knocked it over.
"Lucky for her the photographer caught the cake," Arndt said.
Emergency cake surgery was performed by the banquet manager who salvaged the cake by taking off a big chunk of the icing.
"She was out of control. Finally the banquet manager put her in her place by saying, 'Are you stupid?'" Arndt said.
Though the bride created an entertaining time for her guests, the people working to hold the wedding together were exhausted keeping up with the bride's demands.
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"Even her parents said they can't believe I stuck it out with her," Arndt said.
A week after the wedding, Arndt received a thank-you letter from the bride apologizing for the way she acted.
"I've always gotten an apology with a thank you" from every difficult bride, Arndt said.
There's really only one "bridezilla" out of every 10 brides, Arndt notes.
"Brides have called me some pretty colorful names, but I'd rather it be me than the mother," Arndt said.
Having a dream wedding is fine, says Arndt, but brides need to understand things are going to happen, that no wedding is perfect.
People also need to understand that their families are part of the wedding and brides shouldn't say things to shut them out. Even grandparents have been in the line of fire, Arndt notes.
Many emotions are mixed in on the wedding day and the wedding planner's job is to take the stress off the couple by being the "go-to" person.
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"I see 'bridezillas' as a challenge that are worth the effort, especially when I get the thank you," Arndt said.
