Last week, I was in the Canadian Rocky Mountains – Lake Louise to be exact – to meet with some amazing Wedding Planners in a Mastermind Group. It was an awesome experience and I’ll share more about my trip in upcoming blogs. On my way home from Lake Louise, I stayed overnight in Calgary and planned out all the shopping stops I would make the next day before heading back home to Saskatoon.
Bright and early the next day (well, maybe 9:30 a.m. isn’t that bright and early!!), I checked out of my hotel room and drove to the first stop on my list. As I drove from place to place on my shopping expedition (Tim Horton’s for coffee – check, Chapters Bookstore for the latest wedding magazines and newest books on entertaining and parties – check, The Pottery Barn – check, Williams-Sonoma - check), I eventually pointed my vehicle in the direction of 17h Avenue SE to make a stop at The Social Page on 16th Avenue SE to see what this store had to offer. After looking at some pretty stationery, I got back into my car, looked over my list and saw that there was only one more stop left to make – Home Sense. I love Home Sense! This store has very cool home décor items and great prices on crystal, glassware, serving pieces, and so on. You just have to make sure that if you find something you like, you have to buy it because it won’t be there the next time you come to the store. So anyway, off I go! I headed back east on 17th Avenue SE. As I approached the end of this long street, I realized that I had missed the turn-off on to Macleod Trail heading south so now I had no choice but to turn north onto Macleod Trail because I had reached the end of the road (so to speak). “No problem!” I thought to myself. "I’ll just take Macleod Trail heading north and turn east at the first major intersection. Then I’ll just find an access road onto the Deerfoot Trail and head off to Home Sense and after that I’ll be on my way back home."
I turned right onto the next major street and drove past the Stampede Park and the Saddledome. Eventually, I reached a fork in the road. I could have kept on following this road but I would probably have ended up downtown, which is not where I was going. My other option was to turn right and keep driving east and hopefully hook up with the Deerfoot Trail. So, I thought to myself, “Okay! If I head cross this little bridge, at least I’m heading in the right direction.” After I crossed the bridge and drove a bit further, I realized that nothing was looking familiar to me and I wasn’t sure that I would be able to get onto a main throughway that would get me to where I want to go. I started patting my right hand on the passenger seat to see if I could find the Calgary map – nope, not there. I reached down between the driver’s seat and the console, then I reached into the backseat to poke around back there – nope, the map wasn’t there either. What the heck?!?! As I kept on driving, heading in the direction that I thought was the correct way, I kept seeing unfamiliar streets in the industrial area and I knew that I was definitely in the wrong area. Every once in a while, I could see the traffic on Deerfoot Trail off in the distance but I just couldn’t find the right road to access the entry ramp. I could see where I wanted to be, but I just couldn’t figure out how to get there.
As I drove back and forth (and in circles), I ended up driving further off the beaten path and wound up in a residential area; which I knew was not where Home Sense was located. I continued to drive down neighborhood streets until I reached a stop sign. At last! An indication that I had found a more major street that than the one I was just on! I eventually ended up at an intersection where I saw a gas station. Halleluiah!! I decided to fill up the gas tank and buy a city map and figure out where I was!
As I took a look at the Calgary map and found where I was (boy, was I ever way, way off the trail), I was quickly able to find out where I wanted to go and I planned out the easiest and quickest route to get there.
So, what does this story about getting lost in Calgary have to do with weddings and why I am starting off my blog with this epic tale of travelling trials and tribulations? Well, planning a wedding is a lot like planning a road trip. With travelling, you need to have clear, precise directions with a plan to guide you from where you are to where you want to be. With a wedding, you need a clear vision of what you want your wedding to look like and feel like so that you end up with the wedding of your dreams. It’s like that old adage: “If you don’t know where you are going, you may not like where you wind up!!”
Save yourself the waste of time and money, the headache of keeping on-budget, and the frustration of not getting the results you were hoping for. Give me a call at (306) 244-8482 or email me at info@vivaweddingsandevents.com or vivaweddings@hotmail.com and let’s talk about your wedding!
PS: By the way, I did eventually make it to Home Sense and found some fabulous décor items – but that is a story for another day!
PPS: I’m a lot better at planning weddings than I am at driving through the unknown parts of Calgary without a map!
Thought for the day….
Ask and you will receive.
Search and you will find.
Knock and the door will be opened for you.
- Matthew 7:7
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