Planning the perfect day

Pros sweat the small stuff

Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by EMILY BARNES Janice Thomas, owner of Serendipity Bridal & Events in White Plains, shows a wedding dress to Debra Cooke, consultant with Chair Covers & Linens, as they talk about the events that Thomas plans. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Something special: Janice Thomas picked cheerful butter-colored cloth for most of her tables, but she couldn't help but feel one set of linens at an upcoming wedding should look a little different.

Flipping through her book of fabric swatches — her favorite collection is a shimmery, multi-toned line called "Galaxy" — Thomas scanned for something special, bending the pages so she can compare one cloth with another.

"And this is the stuff I do," said Thomas, owner of Serendipity Bridal & Events. "Play with these things all day long."

Thomas started her event-planning business about five years ago, but only opened her White Plains shop in September. The store includes chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, a "paper parlor" featuring an array of invitation options and, of course, racks of flowing bridal dresses set against angled pink and cyan walls.

"We can meet your needs reasonably for everything," Thomas said. "There are a lot of lovely, classy people who live in this area, and there's no reason not to have something lovely and classy and quality."

Getting the words right: Thomas said she has always been creative, and organizing school musicals helped her hone some of the skills she now uses in event planning. She also has training in interior design. And after she garnered praise for helping pull off her daughter's wedding, Thomas started her business, called Serendipity because it was an "unexpected pleasure."

Although her boutique is crammed with bridal supplies, Thomas also plans other events, including birthday and retirement parties and corporate gatherings. In many ways, these parties follow the same principle as weddings.

"You are trying to express something. The question is, what are you trying to say?" Thomas said. "People feel it when it's sincere."

For weddings, she said, it's all about putting a twist on the traditional bouquet tosses and cake cuttings.

"There's a way to do it where people walk away and go, ‘Wow,'" she said.

The little things: Providing an impact doesn't always have to be costly. The very first wedding Thomas planned, she worked inside an $800 budget. That meant growing her flowers, paperwhites and amaryllis to fit in with a star theme, and doing embroidery herself.

The point is, the details are vital, Thomas said, mentioning one of her weddings that featured monogrammed toilet paper in the bathrooms.

One necessary skill for event planning is sighting a mistake from a mile away. Thomas is now an expert in the logistics of making sure there's enough ice for every cup or getting the microphone into the right person's hand before toasting begins.

The secret is to "set people up for success, not for failure," she said.

So, Thomas said a big part of her job is helping brides and party planners think inside a budget and streamline their visions. The people Thomas works with often have more good ideas than they can use, especially brides, many of whom have been dreaming of their wedding day for years.

"If they did it without help, they'd have this mish-mash of 2,000 different things," she said, adding that she loves working with creative brides to pick out their best plans.

But Thomas said her favorite part of the job is slipping into the special moments in people's lives. She remembers hearing an 80-year-old man take some time to reflect on his life while she was working at his birthday party.

"He just started talking and going, ‘Wow, I'm 80.' And I got to sit there and be a part of that. It just made me cry," she said.

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