Weddings – Usually A Bed of Roses

Behind the Bridal Veil with W. Donnie Brown – Planner Extraordinaire from
Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Perhaps you have seen wedding planner and floral artist W. Donnie Brown on Style Network's hit show Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? A quick wit, sharp wardrobe and panning for the camera are some of this Dallas gent's trademarks. Toss in a healthy dose of southern hospitality and a sincere desire to do whatever it takes to make each and every one of his events the best it can be.

Brown has outlasted many of his Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? wedding planner peers and is currently in production for a sixth season. A straight shooter when calling a spade a spade (or atrocious, atrocious), the 27-year event veteran keeps busy managing two businesses, W. Donnie Brown Weddings and Five Star Floral Design and Events. Aside from involvement with Whose Wedding , he's landed a plum assignment with Style Network's new destination wedding show Married Away, is in the midst or research and writing three books including a cookbook at this time.

On a recent visit to San Francisco for an industry event (at the magnificent St. Regis) hosted by June Wedding, Inc. (JWI), www.junewedding.com, Brown shared a few moments with us prior to his presentation to laud and applaud, to diss and discuss weddings. Brown, who served as the Dallas chapter president of June Wedding for several terms, candidly commented on all that he loves about the industry. Items on most minds included how he got started in the business and would he give some scoop for Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

Landing On Camera

Brown's relationship with Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? started several seasons ago. He states, “The producers called me one day and asked me to take a screen test. They had heard about me from many people in the industry who were all familiar with my work due to my role as a longtime leader of JWI.” Brown also gives credit to a few industry peers who gave excellent personal references. “They sent in my screen test and offered me the job the next day.” Right place, right time? Yes, and many years working the business, plus the right on-air personality potential the producers needed.

Brown reports that he loves meeting the Whose Wedding couples, their families and guests. Just as he discovers in working with his own private clients, each event is a new experience. In the myriad years planning weddings and events there is only one couple where he'd barricade the door if they popped in for a visit.

So what's it take to get on the show? For starters all participants must be 21 years of age or older. There are also date and regional requirements to meet. In the past Brown has submitted various client couples for consideration. He notes the following criteria are important:

Having a wedding date to coincide with the filming schedule for that season
Personality
Wedding vision and budget
Ability to be vibrant on camera
Someone I want to be associated with for the next ten or so years in the eyes of my fans!

“I am told all the time that they (the couple) are so happy to have been able to be on the show,” he notes. “People see it as a good experience and generally enjoy the process.” The show is really unobtrusive and allows the wedding to take place without a lot of interference. The producers are cognoscente of the importance of the day and do not want to take away from the moment. The main filming is in the days leading up to the wedding and there are various filming opportunities that take place based on the bride and groom's individual story.

Mixing Wedding Cocktails

When not filming for the Style Network, Brown busies himself serving his many wedding and special event clients. As an event planner, one of his key roles is to make certain that all details of his events run as flawless as a diamond. Over the years Brown has experienced just about anything that can happen at a wedding and it seems the most colorful situations usually involve a combination of two sins. Advice to brides: “Don't let alcohol and drugs mix at your wedding. It's just wrought with problems.” Brown says this with a smile so you can tell he's got some good stories to share.

But discretion prevails and he talks in broad terms. “I once had a mother of the bride get totally drunk and trip while walking down the aisle during the processional. The mother of the groom came to her aid and attempted to help her up but was greeted with a deep throat tongue kiss,” he recounts. “That was fun. Not much you can do about that but pray!” He's also had to retrieve and round up members of the wedding party sitting in their cars “smoking a doobie” and get them to join the ceremony.

Alcohol and drugs are not always at blame for wedding blunders – there are nerves, nervousness, jitters, panic, fear…. Brown shares another anecdote. “I once had a bride lock herself in the dressing room bathroom and wouldn't come out. I had to talk to her through the closed door for thirty minutes and convince her to come out. Meanwhile her wedding party was going into hysterics.”

What's the most outlandish request he has fulfilled for a wedding? “I had a groom that wanted to enter the ceremony and walk down the aisle under a mobile spotlight in a cape to the tune of Superman.” How did this turn out? “I set it up and he did it,” affirms Brown, who fondly recalls great amusement and tolerance from the bride with a front-of-church vantage point watching him power down the aisle. Brown's not telling how the wedding night went, but the ceremony and reception were a success. “I enjoy working with couples who want a bit of personality injected into their day.”

Ask An Expert -- Do I Really Need A Wedding Planner?

Layered between the joy and hysteria is a wedding planner just doing his job. Which leads to the question posed most often: “Do I really need a wedding planner?” It's speculative that Brown will indeed reply with an affirmative, after all he's carved his life in more than butter cream frosting. Shoot, someone had to help the groom find his super hero cape!

“A planner will assist you in maneuvering through the murky waters of the wedding industry. Most people don't know how complicated this industry is or how it operates until they are in it -- it's different than they expect,” he states. “And a planner can assist in making decisions that can save money. Oftentimes a planner can save a couple the equivalent amount of the planner's fees and then some.”

Brown continues, “A planner will also manage the day for you so that you can enjoy your wedding and not worry about things all day. A good planner can handle all of the issues and protect the bride from the stresses of the day's production details.”

His recommendations for selecting a planner -- shop around, get referrals and references. “The best way to select a wedding planner is to talk to other people in the industry that you have faith in. I believe the best way to locate any professional is to listen to what others have to say about that business or individual. When people work with others in the same industry they begin to learn who is worth their weight and not just blowing smoke.”

Walking Down His Aisle

“I began my career by helping a family friend who had a floral business when I was sixteen years old. I learned the trade and then put myself through college to get a BBA in finance,” he comments. While earning his degree, Brown continued working in the floral industry, but ultimately chose the wedding planning side of the industry for his career. “The success of the television show shifted my focus to wedding and event planning about four years ago. The event planning work is a great supplement to my floral and décor business.” Brown loves nearly every minute of it.

His two businesses, W. Donnie Brown Weddings and Five Star Floral Design and Events, primarily serve clients in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area, but he's created stunners in other states plus the Caribbean; he'll travel wherever a client may need him. His wedding planning company W. Donnie Brown Weddings offers A to Z service for intimate through lavish huge affairs. And his second company, Five Star Floral Design and Events, fashions floral and décor for wedding and special event celebrations. Over the years he and his staff have also created beautiful floral creations that have graced local hotels, restaurants and office buildings.