Barbara Hearne, Owner, Lead Planner and Certified Wedding Specialist:

It is sometimes hard for Barbara to believe she's been working with brides for more than 25 years and still loves her job. Her career started at country clubs and hotels before she took a leap of faith to begin “Barbara's Brides”. She considers it such a blessing to be able to help couples by bringing all their ideas or visions together in order to create a dream event. Barbara loves the magic of weddings and how unique each one is.

Barbara's favorite moment at weddings is the couple's first dance as they begin their lives together and are lost in each other's eyes. She also loves that she is able to alleviate so much stress for the bride, by guiding them through the planning process to create their dream weddings whether on a limited budget or one without boundaries. Barbara is a natural at stress relief with her calm demeanor and firm direct approach to the many different situations that arise at weddings. Being a wedding planner has given her the true happiness she always wanted in a career. There is nothing better than sharing what you do well with others and loving it along the way.

Barbara's vendors and brides use to get such a kick out of her living on Bridal Path and were shocked she actually moved. She admits to loving wedding planning, but she did need to move regardless of a street name, sorry. With so much wedding experience, Barbara is often asked if she will ever write a book about all the amazing wedding moments, how to plan a wedding in weeks, near catastrophes she was able to fix, a few bridezilla stories for fun, along with the million other tips she shares with her brides to keep their wedding day running smooth. Who knows, maybe someday!

Kristi Treadwell , Certified Wedding Specialist:

Kristi began her wedding planning career at none other than the Salt Lick. It was such a great experience, but she was thrilled to become part of Barbara's Brides so now she is able to take care of brides regardless of their venue choice.  Kristi is always ready with a smile, stays focused on a task and diligently takes on any new challenge as it comes up.
 
Kristi describes her favorite part of weddings: “Seeing the look on the bride and grooms face when they see each for the first time on their wedding day.  There is nothing like it!  You can feel the love between them and see how happy they are that their day has finally arrived.  It makes me teary every time!”  
 
Kristi's favorite wedding moment was when she assisted Barbara at one of her weddings. The bride's father was very ill and the couple decided to move their wedding date up so the bride's dad could be a part of the wedding.  Barbara did such an amazing job planning their wedding in just two weeks. As Kristi held the bride's train as she walked with her dad just before the ceremony started, she was able to share in the very special bond between the bride and her father. Kristi was so touched by this and will never forget it. Knowing that the bride's father passed away shortly after that makes her realize just how special that day was and how honored she felt to have been a part of it. 

Next Steps:

Should you hire a wedding coordinators, an event planner, a bridal consultant or may be an event designer. It depends on what you want them to do. Are they primarily a resource to plan the entire event or just handle the day of details of the day? In Austin alone, you have over 30 consultants to choose from ranging from the newly certified coordinators, who are eager to help you for a fraction of the price of the more experienced and seasoned planners. This diversity gives you the chance to find the perfect match for your personality, budget and wedding style. One of the most important qualifications to consider when hiring your coordinator is that they have an extensive knowledge of quality Austin wedding vendors based on their experience working wedding together. Your planner needs to be current on bridal trends and how to work within your budget.

If you are beginning to wonder where to begin searching for a wedding coordinator with creative suggestions, a respected reputation with vendors, hands on experience and problem solving at its best, look no farther! Call us today, so we can meet over coffee to see if you begin to feel at ease immediately. If the answer is yes, things are about to fall into place because you have just found your coordinator.