26/06/2026
46 Years Later... I'd Still Choose Weddings.
Yesterday, I celebrated my 46th birthday exactly where my heart feels most at home.
Not at a restaurant. Not on a vacation. But at a wedding.
When our couple asked if they could move their wedding to my birthday, my answer came instantly.
The only person I wanted to tell was my husband— because after all these years, he has always understood that this is more than my profession. It is part of who I am. As always, he said "Go".
That kind of support is something I will never take for granted.
After being a wife & a mother, being a wedding planner is the role that fills another part of my heart.
So spending my birthday helping create someone else's forever didn't feel like giving up my birthday - It gave it even more meaning.
I couldn't think of a more beautiful way to celebrate. And somehow it never even felt like I was away from home.
Shangri-La has become our second home through the years—a place filled not only with beautiful weddings, but with people who have become family.
My Shangri-La family.
My Belle Mariée family.
Friends from the wedding industry. People I've shared countless weddings, impossible timelines, laughter, victories, & unforgettable memories with.
Then came the surprise.
My Belle Mariée team had quietly planned a birthday surprise. They always find a way to make me feel appreciated, celebrated, & deeply loved.
As I stood there, surrounded by the people who have shaped this journey with me, I realized this:
As we grow older, birthdays stop being about where you celebrate.
They become reminders of the life you've built.
A family who understands your calling. A team that shares your heart. Friends who become family. Work that no longer feels like work.
For over two decades, Belle Mariée has never simply been a wedding planning company to me.
It has become an extension of my heart. A place where excellence & empathy coexist. Where timelines matter - but people matter even more. Where kindness, intention, & love matter.
At 46, my greatest blessing isn't success, it is finding work that gives my life purpose. As long as God allows me, I'll keep helping couples begin their forever.
