We recently connected with Marie Miller and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Marie, thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

When I transitioned out of teaching to start my own business, I thought I would be working 24/7 to get my business off the ground. Just in the few short months of the start up, I have learned that taking a “vacation”, or at least time to rest, makes me more productive and driven when it is time to get back to work.

Starting my own business has been overwhelming and exhilarating: from learning how to market my brand, to networking, and following up on leads. I became absorbed in my new endeavor, never wanting to put my phone down or be away from my computer in fear of missing a possible lead. I began to feel overwhelmed with the day to day details of each new piece of the business puzzle I was putting together, and would routinely start work early and work late trying to make up the ground I thought I was losing by taking breaks.

My husband helped me realize my unhealthy work/life balance when I wasn’t spending quality time doing the things that helped me relax and destress from the day. He mentioned that my phone call to the bride’s vendor COULD wait until business hours the next day, and that vendor would still respond. I began to prioritize my tasks for the week and add to my baseline to do list each day. I would roll over non-priority projects to the next morning, and work at it a little bit at a time instead of trying to get each project finished right then. Since I have started to set clear boundaries for when I work, I feel more driven to reach my next goal without feeling bogged down and burnt out. I organize and prioritize my time. When I am working, I am more productive, and when it is time to rest, I feel content knowing I have taken care of what I need to and looked ahead to be well prepared.

Marie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Imagine this: It’s your wedding day, you have worked with a planner on every detail, sent song lists, photo lists, and everything is ready. The music starts, and you get into position to walk down the aisle. You walk through a doorway, but your dress snags! There is now a rip in your dress! Your planner (me) rushes to you with her sewing kit and begins to reattach the lace and train just in time for your grand entrance.

I am passionate about serving couples and guiding them in their wedding journey through wedding planning and coordination. Planning a wedding is a lot of work! People often underestimate the amount of decisions it takes, and that primarily is the overwhelming part of wedding planning and execution. That is why I, as your wedding planner and coordinator, anticipate problems or changes that may arise before going to the couple to explain what happened, so they are aware of a change, but not stressed about making one more decision. Being in the service industry, I give my clients individualized and detailed attention to make sure their wedding vision becomes their reality. I am organized and attentive to every part of your big day, from planning bachelorette/ bachelor parties, to rehearsals, everything the day of your wedding, and even vendor follow up if needed.

I love to work with budget conscious couples, who want the best service for their budget. I have trusted vendors that I recommend to clients within multiple budget ranges, and my services are affordable as well.

I am proud of my attention to detail and careful planning, so when there is an unexpected moment during the wedding, I have a plan A, B, and C ready to execute. I want my couples to feel served and taken care of from the moment they book with me, to our post- wedding follow up.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I always thought I wanted to be a teacher. From 4th grade talking in the back of class because I was bored, to graduating with a degree in Elementary Education, I wanted to reimagine what it was like for those students like me. I taught for 5 years in two different schools, and both were very different experiences that led me to consider alternate career paths.

I started working at a wedding venue on the side just because I love weddings and helping the couples start out their big day with a smile and can do attitude. After several months with the wedding venue, a position to move into their in-house coordinator role opened up and they offered me the position.

Knowing how important a good day of coordinator is from personal experience, I wanted to jump in head first serving my couples AND my students at the school at the same time. My husband and I prayed a lot about the rest of the school year and if we would be able to make it work to have me transition into a wedding planner and coordinator role exclusively because I was enjoying it so much. I made the leap of faith and decided to give teaching a break after that school year ended.

Thankfully, my organizational, people, and planning skills have come in very handy when I contract couples for weddings full time. I am able to communicate with a wide variety of clients to address their needs and wishes for their wedding day. This transition has been exhilarating and I have not looked back!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I started working at a wedding venue on the weekends just because I love weddings and helping the couples start out their big day with a smile and can do attitude. After several months with the wedding venue, a position to move into their in-house coordinator role opened up and they offered me the position.

I was eased into Day of Coordinator gradually as I was still teaching, and my priority was my students. But as soon as the school year finished, I jumped in head first to wedding planning and coordinating! I took on as many brides as the venue would give me, launched my business on social media, and put my business on the local wedding website.

Being connected to a wedding venue has helped to grow my name recognition tremendously. I get to work with couples who are already contracted with the venue, and I can showcase my skill set and get referrals from first hand experiences instead of someone just coming across my name on a wedding website.

My next step is to market to a wider audience and to attract my own clients who desire my services independently, without the help of a venue.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://threestrandcordwed.wixsite.com/three-strand-cord
• Instagram: three_strand_cord_weddings
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/threestrandcordweddings

Image Credits
Alison Heffington George Negata