We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jacqueline Oxford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jacqueline below.
Jacqueline, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?
What never ceases to amaze ME is the amazement my clients experience when they’re given my “permission” to have creative freedom. More often than not – in fact, almost 100% of the time – the bride and groom to be are under some sort of impression that there are several traditions and customs that absolutely have to be incorporated into their wedding day in order to make it legitimate or real… but this couldn’t be further from the truth. What couples who plan to marry really need to know is that there is no such thing as “must do’s” when it comes to the start of your marriage. I can’t speak for every single wedding planner in the world when I say this, but I do know most of us within the industry love hearing the sigh of relief when our clients realize they don’t have to do a bouquet/garter toss in the middle of their reception if they don’t want to. They don’t have to include a flower girl or ring bearer in their ceremony if that simply isn’t their style. They don’t have to write their own vows, wear a white dress, incorporate speeches, etc. The fact of the matter is, a wedding day is only made unique and special when it truly represents the couples wants and desires as two people coming together as one, and that is done by ditching the idea that you’re obligated to do things you really don’t want to do.
Jacqueline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Jacque of all Trades was a company found by chance. A few year ago I was working as a wedding videographer for a separate company that one day announced that a client of ours was looking for a coordinator for her big day and I was appointed the job. Truth be told, I accepted the job apprehensively and only because I knew that I had very little choice in the matter – if any at all. Long story short, when the time finally came for me to perform my newly appointed duties, I was hooked and fell in love with the process of it all almost instantly. I remember that day as if it happened last week. Working with the bride, the groom, and all of their closest friends and family members in that new light was something I never thought would make me shine as a professional – and without honking my horn too hard – I did. Not long after that day I decided to leave the company I was working with prior so that I could start my own and focus primarily on this new profession that I fell in love with so profoundly. Jacque of all Trades just recently celebrated its second year as an official company, making my time in this form of the industry about 3 years old in total. While my main job offer is wedding planning and coordination, I do offer services for events of any types, as well as photography and videography.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
One of my favorite parts of the job are the relationships I establish outside of the one curated between myself and the bride + groom. I love growing close with not only them, but their parents and bridal party members as well. What’s proven to be really great outside of the simplicity of gaining more relationships with people in general are the potential future clients I obtain during this time as well. A lot of my clients have been previous bridal members from clients before – and that’s something that is so incredibly special to me that it’s actually difficult to put down into words. It’s a tiny glimpse into how small this gigantic world can be and, call me cheesy, but when the one thing that makes it so small is the enormous power of love…well, that’s always something worth talking about to me.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I recently did a wedding that was out of state. I have an inclusive package titled THE NOLA that I offer my clients whom want a small wedding or an elopement held in New Orleans, Louisiana and I had performed it for couples before, so the idea of an out-of-state wedding was not essentially “new” or scary to me – but outside of THE NOLA, this was my very first out of state wedding as a planner/coordinator and I expecting things to be a bit different, as each wedding is anyway. To say it was one of the most difficult jobs i’ve had to date would be an understatement. The bride and groom were as lovely as ever and I still have a wonderful relationship with the both of them and their friends/family members to this day. But something about one of the VERY important vendors made my incredibly nervous – and as it turns out, with reason.
To be completely candid, i’d never had any major issues with vendor management until this marriage. I was cast out, given push back, treated poorly, and taken advantage of almost every turn of almost every corner. And because I wasn’t local and therefore couldn’t handle the situation in person as I normally would, most of our professional issues came to head on the weekend of the wedding – a time i’m sure you can imagine makes my work incredibly stressful. Regardless, I was resilient because I had to be. My client’s, every single one of them, deserve the wedding day of their dreams and it is my job to give it to them. That’s something I would and will go to the ends of the world to do every single time. So I did. As hard as I always work, I worked even harder and as sensitive as I can be, I stood against it. The wedding, thank goodness, was of course a success for my clients but I walked away from that weekend with my head held low. I genuinely contemplated quitting my job after the positions I was put in by people should be working with me, not against me. Luckily, the couple congratulated me on my work and before long I was back to my cheery self, but that experience is something I will never forget and continue to carry with me for all of my future work.
Contact Info:
- Website: jacquetrades.com
- Instagram: jacquetrades
- Facebook: jacquetrades