Elaine Parker, Director of Élan Consultants and Weddings With Élan has been conducting wedding directing workshops for over twelve years at hotels, churches, synagogues, mansions and country clubs as well as wedding professionals including assistants to photographers, florists, caterers and wedding guilds.

As a professional wedding consultant and planner for over twenty-five years, Elaine has arranged for many bridal families to have a personal director/coordinator at their wedding ceremony and reception site.

Her background in teaching, counseling, catering and administration as well as writing newspaper articles, appearing on talk show and answering questions from the stages at bridal shows has connected her skills to developing training manuals for hotels, religious facilities, mansions, wedding halls and country clubs.

Elaine is an active member of The Association of Bridal Consultants, The Association for Wedding Professionals, International, The Tennessee Wedding Specialists Association and the American Culinary Federation.

Contact Elan Consultants for workshop training at your facility. To train your staff, in addition to this manual, there are wedding rehearsal kits with sixteen or thirty-five figurines ranging in size 2" to 4" available in Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic or ethnically mixed sets.

Everyone loves a wedding! No doubt you've been a guest at several; perhaps you've been an attendant for one friend (or many); or maybe you've been part of the happy couple that was reason for celebration. Now you are thinking that everything flowed so smoothly and it looked like fun: Why not work as a wedding professional?

The director is the wedding professional most intimately involved with the Bridal Party and the "Wedding Day." In the world of weddings, a "day" is a relative term; the director may be on call from the time of the rehearsal, through the ceremony, and sometimes hired to help guide the reception. While a wedding consultant works to get everyone ready for the big day, the director (or coordinator) makes sure the day of the ceremony goes as planned--and is ready to improvise should it be necessary.

As you probably know, not every personality is suited to every profession. Beyond having a certain type of personality, a wedding director needs the kind of temperament that can withstand the stress of working with many new people, managing deadlines, and staying calm when other's nerves are frazzled.

• Am I able to handle pressure?
• Do I like meeting and working with new people?
• Am I well-organized?
• Can I be "in charge" without being "bossy?"
• Does my schedule permit availability?

If you answered "yes" to these questions,you may indeed have the characteristics to be a successful and sought after wedding director. You may want to start your own business, or look into being an "on site" wedding director, employed by a hotel, reception facility or house of worship.

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You have done all your preparation and the weekend has arrived. Having complete written instructions will help you oversee the ceremony – and will also serve, as a quick guide should something be amiss.

The following forms are samples of what you might use to organize information you’ll want at your fingertips. This is a basic INFORMATION sheet – a quick way to reference people and phone numbers. Other forms detail the PROCESSIONAL and RECESSIONAL, MEMORIAL and UNITY CANDLE LIGHTING procedures: an absolute knowledge you must have before the wedding rehearsal ceremony. Remember, though, that there are several variations on the processional. Religious customs may dictate how the processional is arranged; family configurations, including stepparents, may cause changes in what was thought of as "standard." You have already consulted wedding etiquette guides for the latest protocol, or asked the Officiant to make suggestions. No matter what you have planned, be prepared that families often change plans and want more people in the processional, or may want to change your well-designed schedule.

Draw diagrams of the processional and recessional, as they will take place, mapping out the wedding site. It’s another way to help you anticipate any pitfalls, from a too-narrow aisle to too few seats. Especially for those who are not "visually minded," having a schematic is helpful

You will need a different schedule for every wedding you direct, unless the facility prescribes a special pattern not to be changed. You must respect the Officiant or the Wedding Guild, if this is the way they prefer. You are a guest in their facility. You may need to discuss some of the changes that the family wants, if the wedding family did not previously determine them.

Elaine Parker, Director of Élan Consultants has been conducting wedding directing workshops for over twelve years at churches, synagogues, adult education programs and colleges. She has trained catering staffs at hotels and country clubs as well as wedding professionals including assistants to photographers, florists, caterers and wedding guilds.

Her twenty-five years background in teaching, counseling, catering, and administration connected with her travels to more than forty countries, where she observed and assisted in many weddings, enables her to contribute much pertinent information.

She has appeared as a speaker at professional association conferences, to audiences at bridal shows, for TV interviews and radio programs as well as contributing articles for newspapers and special bridal magazines.

"My goal is to help as many consultants, churches, synagogues, clubs, mansions, wedding halls and hotels have qualified persons who will render appropriate services for the wedding event. The joy the bridal family feels when a wedding runs smoothly, after the ‘sometimes difficult’ planning period, makes me realize that being a well trained professional wedding director is a needed and appreciated service".