Snap and Chat with Lucia from Guiding Star Events

Trish met Lucia at the fantastic wedding of Lauren and Ben last year. When she got back to the office on Monday she told me all about the wedding and how seamlessly it all went thanks to the talents and patience of Lucia (wedding planner, organizer, and executor extraordinaire). I couldn't wait to meet her too, so we figured she'd be the perfect candidate for a snap! and chat.

We asked Lucia how long she's been organizing events... "Ten years! Well, if you include the proms in high school- 13! I've always wanted to do it, in high school I'd ask my parents if I could have a party, and then I'd theme it!"

Lucia has a ton of experience planning all types of events. In high school and college at BU she was involved in theatre, and was concentrating on stage management. She later moved on to communications thinking she would work in concert promoting. In fact, she did work in that field for a while, at Great Woods, which is now the Tweeter Center. We couldn't resist asking her a little about the "stars" she encountered... her favorite? Bon Jovi! Biggest Diva? Mariah Carey (no shocks here). She was also hit in the head by Alex Van Halen (long story). Anyway, clearly any difficult client would be a breeze for Lucia after that lineup!

From there, she worked in corporate events in DC, and did planning for friends and family as well. Lucky for us, she moved back to Rhody... where she met her husband and went to JWU and earned a masters degree in Event Leadership. Impressive!

Here's Lucia showing us her "Event Box", or as she affectionately calls it, the "oh sh#*t!" box.

What's in there you wonder?.... Ummm, everything! This box is incredible. I think you could survive on a deserted island for at least a few weeks living solely on the contents of this box. In fact, Lucia has even managed to cram an inflatable life raft into this box, so you wouldn't have to stay on that deserted island if you didn't want to.

Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration- but she could seriously save your wedding day ten times over with the contents of this box.... duck tape, ribbon, shoe polish, sunscreen, Tylenol, lint roller, sewing kit, hydro cortisone cream (in case the bride gets hives!), Benadryl, shout wipes, a whistle (?!).... etc. etc.

Here's the most popular item in the box... go figure.

What is Lucia's favorite thing about her profession? "The celebrations! I love to make people happy and watch them having a good time."

Lucia works closely with the other vendors involved in the event. She always contacts them before the event and also makes herself available to them the day of. This lovely arrangement was done by Sayles Livingston..

Here's Lucia hard at work at Lauren and Ben's wedding ( notice the curly haired lady in the background of the photo trying hard to coax the flower girl down the aisle). Lucia's main selling point is the wedding day itself. She says, "Having me at the wedding takes the stresses off of the bride- her headaches become my headaches."(this is where that Tylenol comes in handy!)

Lucia has different packages available that equal different levels of involvement. She has large packages that take you from the engagement through the reception with all the details involved, or small packages to cover the rehearsal and day of details.

Lucia says she enjoys the "day of" work most of all. "I thrive on chaos! I love to fix it, I love every ones smiling faces, it feels nice to be the hero!" Oh and by the way, Lucia isn't kidding about that hero part, she plans to get certified in life saving this year... you never know when that could come in handy.

Luckily Lauren and Ben did not fall into this pool, so they did not require Lucia's life saving talents... but if they had....

End of the evening at Lauren and Ben's wedding- which was a huge success! Lots of smiling faces for Lucia to enjoy here.


Here's Lucia sharing some of her awards and accolades with us... I didn't mention this earlier- but Lucia and her husband Vinnie (her silent partner) are expecting their first baby this summer. Congratulations! Doesn't she look fantastic?!

Lucia can help point you in the direction of terrific vendors if you catch her early on in your planning... like this invitation designer http://www.designbysofia.com/ I thinks she'd make a good snap and chat too!

A lovely person, and a queen of organization... Lucia has a great sense of humor and a sweet disposition... combine that with knowing how to get things done and you have the perfect personality for event planning!

We joked that we would have Lucia come into the Snap! office and straighten us out... but maybe that's not such a bad idea! Who couldn't use a little more organization in their life?

Thanks for meeting with us Lucia (and lugging that box all over Providence!).

Can't wait to see you out there this season organizing and planning, planning and organizing..
events all over Rhode Island are running more smoothly thanks to your finesse!

Lucia can be reached at http://www.guidingstarevents.com/