The Wedding Planner, page 2
She lived on what she had inherited from her family and never worked. She didn’t have a huge amount of money, but enough to live very comfortably. She took a few trips a year to visit friends, mostly in Palm Beach or Newport in the summer. She had a trust, which enabled her to send the girls to private schools in Manhattan when they were younger, and she rented a house in the Hamptons in the summer. They’d had everything they needed, without being ostentatious or living in great luxury. But Marianne was financially secure, without worries. She had just enough money to attract men who were after it, like the twins’ father and the Italian count.
Marianne was proud of how successful Faith’s business was, and of Hope’s modeling career. They’d had an easy, happy life as children, with a devoted mother and a father who was seldom around. He’d had an insignificant banking job while he was married to their mother, and wanted a wife who didn’t expect him to work and would support him. He had finally found it with Beata.
Their mother still lived in the apartment on Park Avenue where they’d grown up, and stayed after their father left. Marianne was sixty-seven now, and careful with the money she had. It was comforting to know that she had enough to live on, and could be independent, but there would be no big inheritance waiting for her daughters at the end of her life. They didn’t expect it and had done well themselves, and had invested their earnings well and wisely. And Angus was successful as a writer, and had family money. It pained Hope at times knowing that their mother was alone. Faith always said she was better off than if she were married to a bad guy who’d spend her money or interfere with her life, which was what she felt for herself too. Hope reminded her that not everyone was as self-sufficient as she was, or preferred to be alone. Her mother preferred to have companionship but after three tries hadn’t found the right man.
“Why would Mom want to marry now? She has everything she needs. A man would just screw it all up at this point. She’s better off the way she is,” Faith said matter-of-factly. They disagreed on that point. Hope always suspected that their mother would have preferred to have a man in her life rather than be alone, but she hadn’t had anyone for a long time. She’d been devoted to her daughters when they were young. She had always amply made up for their father’s rare appearances, visiting New York with Beata once or twice a year, to see friends. The girls had never liked visiting him in Germany in the summer. They always felt unwelcome and out of place. Beata was polite to them, but she wasn’t a warm person, and had no children of her own. They had always understood that their father had married her lifestyle, which he enjoyed, and preferred it to working, but he wasn’t madly in love with her. He played his role of devoted husband well, and they had been married for almost thirty years. It was an arrangement that seemed to work for them. He was a handsome, distinguished husband for Beata, and he traveled a lot on his own. His family had gone through their money when he was young. And the second time, he had married well. He hadn’t worked since he’d married Beata. He was from an old New York social family. He’d been a good example of what neither of the twins wanted. Hope had married Angus for love and was happy. And Faith was perfectly happy unmarried, with occasional companionship, which never lasted long. She didn’t want a husband telling her what to do, spending her money, or running her life.
* * *
—
The twins chatted for half an hour, and then Faith made her way to her office. Her desk was impeccably organized, as she left it every night. She’d had two big weddings to do right before the Christmas holidays, and then there was always a lull. No one seemed to get married in January. But they planned their summer weddings immediately after Christmas, and she knew that she’d be busy soon, particularly if she took on the three new clients she was scheduled to see this week. Faith could pick and choose which weddings she would do. She was the best in the city. Anything too splashy and too vulgar, or in seriously bad taste, she always gracefully declined, explaining to the client that her schedule was so overloaded that she couldn’t do them justice. She had a feeling that the first client she would be seeing was planning a big affair. The client who had recommended them had spent nearly two million dollars on their daughter’s wedding at their estate on Long Island the year before. It had been spectacular, with six hundred guests, and a very sizable fee for her. Weddings like that always brought in new clients. She’d already had two excellent referrals from them.
The one thing she hated was destination weddings. They were so hard to organize and do well, with local suppliers she didn’t know, depending on the location. She avoided destination weddings whenever possible. She loved weddings in people’s homes, if their homes were large enough. She’d done many at magnificent estates. She did simpler weddings too, if she liked the people, and the budget was workable. She loved making people’s dreams come true. Weddings were all about fantasy, understanding what people wanted, and making magic happen for them.
She always loved the look on the groom’s face when he first saw the bride and watched her come down the aisle, often with tears in his eyes. It was like watching a carpet roll out toward their future, with everything they hoped would happen. It was a very special day, and she loved being part of it. It was a dream she no longer had or wanted for herself, but she loved giving it away to others who still believed in the dream. No longer having that dream was a choice she had made, not a disappointment for her. Giving a successful wedding was also a question of imagination and logistics, and having the best suppliers in the world, who never let her down.
She heard Violet, her assistant, come in, while she was making herself another cup of tea. Faith didn’t like having a lot of staff underfoot and was satisfied with a housekeeper, who came in daily, and one assistant in the office. She did the rest herself. She was sitting at her desk when Violet came into the room. She was a bright, smiling young woman who loved her job, and made every day better for Faith in some way. She was twenty-nine years old and had worked for Faith for three years. They worked well together, and Violet dealt beautifully with their brides, and handled their mothers with discretion and patience whenever things got tense, which happened often between mothers and daughters while planning their Big Day. The fathers rarely cared about the details, only the bills. But coming to Faith to do a wedding was never going to be an inexpensive event. They knew her reputation before they came to her. They were going to have an unforgettable wedding, at a serious price. And it would be well worth it.
Faith was wearing a simple black pantsuit with high heels for the meeting. She always dressed respectfully for her meetings with clients. It didn’t matter who they were. Violet had worn a black skirt with a simple white cashmere sweater, and high heels as well. She could wear jeans when she worked on-site, but never in the office. She never disappointed Faith.
“What do we know about the Alberts?” she asked Faith as she took away her empty cup of tea, and Faith smiled.
“Not much. He’s a big real estate developer. They were referred by the Ferdinands, so I have a feeling it’s going to be a big event. We’ll know in a few minutes.” They were due in five minutes, and Faith expected clients to be prompt.
Half an hour later, they were still waiting for the Alberts. They hadn’t called to say they’d be late, as Faith looked at her watch again. The doorbell rang forty minutes after the appointed time, and Violet went to let them in.
She ushered them into the living room on the main floor that Faith used to see clients during work hours. Faith gathered up several folders and a pad in a leather folio to make notes during the meeting. She walked in just as they sat down, and Violet left to hang up their coats. Mrs. Albert’s was a bright red mink.
Faith could already guess the size and style of the wedding as soon as she saw them. Jack Albert, the father of the bride, was heavyset, wearing an expensive suit, with a large gold watch on his wrist. His wife, Miriam, was wearing a red Chanel suit, a large diamond ring, and too much jewelry and perfume for so early in the day. In contrast, their daughter, presumably the bride, was wearing leggings, combat boots, and an ancient gray sweater with holes in it. She had a tattoo of a rose noticeable on her left wrist, and her blond hair was held in a tangled mass with a clip. She appeared not to care how she looked, and seemed uncomfortable. She was an attractive girl, and she didn’t look particularly happy to be there with her parents. Faith guessed her to be in her late twenties, thirty at most, around her assistant’s age. Jack made a point of saying that Annabelle didn’t work. She’d gone to college but never got a job. He said she didn’t need one. And Jeremy, the groom, worked in his father’s business occasionally when he felt like it. Jack was generous with the information.
Faith handed a folder to each of them, with some sample photographs and ideas and her basic materials, so they could go home and get a feeling for the kind of weddings she did. The photographs showed a range of them, both city and country weddings, a few of the more famous ones for celebrities. She could see from looking at the Alberts that one of her missions would be to keep the wedding within the bounds of good taste. It was often one of her most important functions, as well as being a mediator between the bride and her parents if their visions differed. She wondered whose idea it had been to come to her. She suspected in this case it was the parents, not the bride. She knew she had guessed right when Jack Albert explained that their older daughter, Eloise, had eloped five years before. He said they weren’t about to be cheated of a wedding again. They were clearly planning to make up for what they had missed.
“She was divorced in a year,” he said, with a disapproving look, and Annabelle, the bride, rolled her eyes. She had heard it all before. The implication was that the failure of the marriage had been a certainty since her sister didn’t have a big wedding to show their stamp of approval. He made an odd comment too about Annabelle’s fiancé, that he had needed some “convincing to step up to the plate.” Faith wondered what that meant. Money, a Ferrari, Jack’s connections for a better job, or threats. Faith wondered if the groom was after money or just not ready to get married. In any case, they had apparently convinced him or they wouldn’t be there.
Faith could already sense that they wanted a wedding to show off for their friends, and maybe even business associates. Jack Albert was a very successful real estate developer, and had built several skyscrapers in the city. They said that they wanted the wedding at their estate in East Hampton.
“They want seven hundred guests,” Annabelle said with an angry look, and Faith smiled at the three of them, while Miriam Albert studied the art on the walls. Faith’s home was simple, modern, and beautifully decorated. She had done it all herself, and the art was by well-known artists.
“Maybe we can compromise at three or four hundred. How does that sound to you?” she asked the bride, as though they were alone in the room, and Annabelle smiled for the first time.
“Better. I wanted a small wedding. That’s why my sister eloped. She didn’t want a circus, and neither do I.”
“The wedding is going to be on July fourth.” Miriam Albert spoke for the first time. “And we want fireworks.” She didn’t ask her daughter’s approval. It was her decision. Annabelle didn’t comment, but rolled her eyes again.
“Anything is possible.” Faith smiled pleasantly. “We just don’t want to draw the attention away from the happy couple by having too much going on,” she said, and she could see Annabelle start to relax. Faith needed to win her trust by the time they planned the wedding. She was competent and calm and not unduly swayed by Annabelle’s parents, which gained her the bride’s faith.
“And we want a crystal tent with chandeliers,” the mother of the bride went on. “And two bands.”
“I’d like to do a site visit, if that’s all right with you, and then I can make some suggestions. That’s hard to do before I’ve seen where the wedding is going to be.” Jack nodded at that, and Annabelle did too. It made sense. Aside from talented, Faith was practical and wanted everything to run smoothly, which her weddings always did. She was known for that too.
Faith jotted down a few notes about what they’d said, the fireworks, the tent, the chandeliers. She spent an hour getting a feel for what each of them wanted. Jack and Miriam clearly wanted show. Annabelle wanted something more meaningful, and not as overwhelming as they had in mind. It was Faith’s job to blend the two and come up with a wedding that Annabelle would love, and would make her parents feel that they’d gotten their money’s worth and all the bang for their buck she could provide.
“If we do the fireworks at the very end, it won’t distract from the wedding, and will give the couple an exciting send-off into their new life,” she suggested. She could see that they had their hearts set on it, and she had to find a way to make it palatable to Annabelle. “Have you looked for a dress yet?” Annabelle shook her head.
“We’re thinking Dior couture,” Miriam said, and Annabelle didn’t comment. She clearly hadn’t made up her mind yet about what she wanted. All she knew was what she didn’t want, most of which was high on her parents’ list of requirements. “With a long train and an embroidered veil,” Miriam added. “We’re going to Paris in three weeks to see the couture shows.”
“And some other designers,” Annabelle said, as Faith wondered how many other tattoos she had. She had a feeling there were more, which might dictate what style dress she wore, unless she wanted to show them off, which some girls did.
“We have lots of work to do,” Faith said, smiling. When they left, she gave them each a copy of each of her three books. They had set a date for Faith’s site visit to their Long Island estate, and she invited them to call if they had any questions, and she was sure they would. Jack implied that money was no object, which was usually a sign of some serious bad taste to come. But she was ready for it and reining things in to keep the wedding tasteful, even if lavish, was what she did best. Her events were never vulgar. She wouldn’t let them go overboard.
It was starting to snow when they left, and as she saw them to the door, she noticed a driver waiting in a Mercedes Maybach outside. She had guessed that it would be something like that, or a Rolls.
She could still smell Miriam’s perfume lingering after they left.
“How was it?” Violet asked her when she walked back into her office, and Faith sighed with a smile.
“Interesting. They want lots of show, seven hundred guests and fireworks, on the Fourth of July. The bride wants something smaller. She’s not going to win this one, but we can try and tone it down a little. I’m going to see their estate next week. They’re thinking Caesars Palace, I’m thinking Versailles,” she said, and Violet laughed. She reached out for Faith’s leather-bound notepad, and Faith immediately noticed a sparkle on her left hand.
“What’s that? Something new?” Faith looked surprised, and Violet blushed.
“It just happened. Jordan proposed on New Year’s Eve. But don’t worry, we can’t afford a honeymoon, I’ll only take a week off.” She looked instantly concerned, she didn’t want to upset Faith.
“And when is this supposed to happen?” Faith asked her. “Hopefully not in high season, in June, July, or August.”
“We’re thinking about sometime in May. I know how busy it gets in June. I was going to ask you about it later today.”
“That’s perfect.” Faith smiled, happy for her. It was still too chilly for most weddings in May in New York. “Do you have a location?”
“There’s an Italian restaurant near my parents’ that my dad thought would be okay.”
“Let’s see if we can come up with some other ideas he’d like and might be more your style. I’ll give it some thought.” Faith loved a challenge, and Violet smiled. She couldn’t afford a Faith Ferguson wedding, but maybe Faith would have some good suggestions in their budget. She loved working for her. She was someone Violet knew she could count on, and the job was fun and exciting. She had learned a lot from Faith. “Best wishes, Violet,” she said properly, since it wasn’t appropriate to “congratulate” the bride, which was in her book. “I hope you’ll both be very happy.” She had met the groom once and he seemed like a nice boy. He had trained as an accountant, and worked for a startup, and you never knew these days who would be successful one day. Some big success stories started small.
They’d been dating for over a year, and Faith made a note to herself to look up some locations for them, since she knew they had very little money to spend on a wedding, and maybe she could help, and even get discounts for Violet, at least on a dress.
After that, she sat at her desk making preliminary notes for the Albert wedding on the Fourth of July. There was a lot to think about, and it would be a big moneymaker for her, but it was Violet’s wedding that made her smile and warmed her heart. She wasn’t quite as hard-nosed and cynical as people thought. The kind of wedding Violet was going to have was what weddings were supposed to be about. Two people in love on a very special day, with their life together shining like a bright star ahead of them. With Faith walking ahead to lead the way and help her to have a wedding that would be a precious memory forever. Whether for a million-dollar wedding or for her assistant on a tight budget, Faith loved her job, and making magic for her brides, as long as she never had to be one of them.
Chapter 2
Faith met with the second couple after lunch. The groom had made the appointment. They were an attractive couple. Douglas Kirk was in his early forties, he was tall and athletic-looking with a decisive manner and a quick smile. He had dark hair, blue eyes, and chiseled features. And Phoebe Smith, the bride-to-be, was a very pretty blonde with a great figure, she was thirty-two. He was a very successful plastic surgeon, and he made a point of telling Faith that Phoebe worked for him, and was a surgical nurse. She had a gentle manner, and let Doug do all the talking when they first sat down. He also made it clear that he was paying for the wedding, which translated to his making it clear that he also wanted to call all the shots.
