They help brides and grooms navigate the sometimes confusing and overwhelming world of wedding planning. 

They are wedding planners, and whether they help the bride and groom from the beginning or just for the rehearsal and ceremony, they make the process of putting together a wedding less stressful. 

Connie Amos-Parsons, owner of At Your Service Events Planner in Forest, is a professional bridal consultant with the Association of Bridal Consultants. 

She said as a wedding planner, she helps the bride and groom work out a budget, provides a wealth of resources to help pick a venue and vendors, can go with the bride to interview vendors, gives advice on wedding etiquette and on handling special family situations, helps with the timeline, helps the couple save money and helps with coordination on the wedding day. 

She can take the couple from the early planning stages through the end of the reception, she said. 
Amos-Parsons recommends that couples start planning a wedding nine months to a year prior to the selected date. 

The groom’s level of participation varies with each couple, but most attend the first consultation with the wedding planner, she said. 

During that consultation, she asks questions about the style and theme the couple wants. She also asks what their dream wedding is. 

After that, often it is the bride and her mother or the maid of honor that attend to the details of the wedding planning.La Femme dress 
Amos-Parsons said it’s important to do a few things up front: pick a venue, line up a photographer and book a caterer and cake baker. Those items need to be booked in advance, and they take up about one-third of the budget. 

She said she knows about different venues in the area and so can help the couple find one that fits their budget. 

Flowers are also an important part of the ceremony, but five to six months is enough time to get that part of the wedding planned, she said. 

For the bridal dresses, she refers brides to bridal salons in the area. 
She said a wedding can be planned more quickly, but it makes the whole process more stressful. 

She tries to make the process easier. She can talk with vendors and make arrangements, which saves the bride, who may be working or going to school, time and effort. 

She said she also prides herself on helping the couple save money. She helps them find do-it-yourself projects that help keep the spending lower. 

Amos-Parsons also recommends brides go online to get ideas and inspiration. Some of the sites she suggested are Pinterest, Etsy and The Knot. 

When asked about trends, she said she recently went to a bridal show, and last year’s colors,Pick-up gown tangerine and fuchsia, are still popular. Other popular colors include blue, yellow and emerald green. 

The vintage look is in, she said. Some brides are going to antique stores and finding things to use for decorations. Also,one shoulder wedding dresses modern dresses might be paired with hairpin brooches. 

Amos-Parsons can be reached at her business at 434-525-1805. 
Lynchburg’s Ashley Willis studied events planning for a while in college, and she interned with Amos-Parsons. 

On her own,wedding dresses from china she has provided what she called “day-of” wedding planning services to friends.Sweetheart neckline dress 

Willis is the wife of Zach Willis and the daughter-in-law of the Rev. Brady Willis, minister at New Prospect Baptist Church in Hurt. 

She and Zach Willis got married last October in a wedding at City Stadium. She said it was a baseball wedding, a fall wedding and was a very relaxed event.

One thing that she asks couples before the wedding is what type of wedding they want, formal or less formal. Her role is to make sure what they want happens, she said.