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Day in the Life of a Wedding & Event Planner with Cillia Marion
Welcome to our “Day in the Life” series! We feature wedding and event planners from around the world with many different levels of experience. If you would like to be featured, download our questionnaire here and email your responses and photos to info@plannerslounge.com. We are excited to feature Cillia Marion from San Antonio/Austin, TX
Name: Cillia Marion
Business Name & Location: Marion Matrimony Events San Antonio/Austin, TX
Years Working in the Event Industry: 7
Years Owning Your Event Planning Business: 7
Website: www.marion-events.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/marionmatrimony
Instagram: www.instagram.com/marionevents
What is your typical day like?
I am a mom of 5 and an Army wife, so my days start early. I get up between 530 and 6 am. I get the kids ready and off to school by 730am, and then I head back home with the cutest, most terrible coworker in the world, my 4-year-old. (Her name is Anaiah, and she is absolutely precious.) I have something caffeinated and spend some time with my baby. By 0930 I am checking emails and reviewing client files. I revisit my running spreadsheet of work checklists and calendar events and tend to my items one at a time. I like to play music or a book as background noise. In an ideal world, my baby would be content with her bribe/game/movie for the next two hours. Realistically, she typically ends up in my lap or right next to me within 30 minutes. We work/play/battle for dominance until around noon, when I make a light lunch (with more caffeine.) Then I devote some brain power to my personal/family goals for a bit until it is time to get my other four children from school. I start something for dinner while they all start their nighttime routine.
I handle any client meetings needed or continue the morning work from 4 pm-6 pm. I make sure everyone is fed and bathed and pitch in with tidying the house. When they finish their nighttime routine, we read a story from the Children’s Bible, and if all of this is done by 8 pm, they can have 30 min-1 hour of play time. Once the kids go to bed around 9 pm, I head back to find a good stopping place for a day’s work and try to be asleep by 1030pm. Does that happen every night? Absolutely not. The 4-year-old will need 25 glasses of water, 18 hugs, and 12 band-aids and kisses or imaginary boo-boos. The ten year old will complain about having to wash dishes and require a good amount of affection to get him started. The tweenager will be somewhere listening to music, chatting on her cell phone, or generally brooding. And the 7-year-old will be doing literally anything but her assigned task until I come check on her. I do my best, and for a group of feral children, I think they do their best as well. If my husband is home, he uses his Staff Sergeant voice to help manage the house while I work. If not, we still make it happen.
How did you get started in the industry?
I got started while planning my own wedding. I was Army and engaged to another soldier. I got called to Iraq a few days after maternity leave ended for my third child, and I was exhausted. I have always been the person in the family who organizes the trips, plans the parties, helps orchestrate surprises, etc. However, I never considered working events full-time because of all the unknowns. What if I cannot handle my own business and my family? What if no one trusts me? What if I make no money? My then fiancé brought it up more and more often as he watched me work on our wedding while finishing college and working full time in Iraq. I continued to protest until one day when he just blurted out that he was going to give me start-up money. I was in the middle of telling him the basics of another hard day at war when he said he really needed me to do something that brought me joy. So, I took the money and invested in the last year of my Management degree, a course in flowers, a course in SEO, and a course in Inclusive Wedding Planning. By the time I came home from Iraq, I had an exit strategy from the Army, my first paying client booked, a bachelor’s degree, and the start of something beautiful. I never looked back.
What inspires you?
Joy inspires me. In my previous profession, I spent years analyzing the worst people could do to each other. Now, I dig into what makes clients tick and curate a day full of joy that feels personal to them. It is pretty much a dream job.
Aside from wedding and event planning, how do you spend your time?
My favorite way to spend free time is with my smoking-hot husband. I know that is not the correct Mom answer, I was supposed to say my kids. But kids get older and stop thinking you’re cool. My husband still treats me like an absolute queen. After him are, of course, the wild little animals we raise. For myself, I enjoy reading fantasy romances, listening to music, cosplaying, drinking wine, eating good food, and getting outdoors.
Cillia, thank you so much for sharing your story and a day in your life. If you are a wedding or event planner and would like to be featured, download our questionnaire today and email it to us along with a photo. If you aren’t sure about being featured, take a few minutes to read how it can help your business.
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