Wedding planner Jessica Moore celebrates a decade in the industry.
By Elizabeth Ucles, Photos by Angela King Photography and Chip Gillespie
Jessica Moore’s love for weddings began when she was just 10 years old. From the lights to the music to the starry-eyed couples, she was fascinated with the splendor of it all.
“My childhood was seeing weddings and being part of weddings,” Moore recalls.
When it came time for college, she decided to pursue a degree in music education at San Antonio’s Trinity University, but her adoration for weddings never lessened. Throughout her undergraduate years, Moore continued to play a role in countless weddings, serving as a flower girl, maid of honor, reader, singer and officiant on varying occasions. But even with all the hats she wore and high-heeled shoes she filled, Moore’s trajectory toward the wedding industry still wasn’t on target.
After obtaining her degree, she moved to Austin, where she took a job as a middle-school choir director. But in March 2005, everything changed.
Moore’s co-worker was getting married and asked her to play a very important role: day-of-wedding coordinator. It was the first time Moore viewed wedding planning as a career rather than as just a hobby.
“I looked online at a bulleted list of what a wedding planner would do and realized this is what I’ve been doing since I was 10,” Moore says.
Moore filled the role with ease, and while she admits the wedding was not perfect, she finally embraced her undeniable knack for wedding planning. Moore launched her business, Something to Celebrate, later that month.
“I enjoyed teaching, but with helping people with weddings, it’s a very intimate experience,” Moore says of her career change. “You know how you have a friend and you feel like you know them really well, but then you meet their family and it’s just a whole new level of intimacy? That’s how I feel with every client because I get to meet all the people they love most at their wedding.”
When deciding on a name for her new business, Moore noticed other wedding-planning business names often took after the owner, with the mission reflecting a fairytale feel. But Moore desired a name that would convey reality and reflect that while weddings are exciting, they are also unpredictable.
“I don’t want the weddings to be about me or any of my planners. It shouldn’t reflect us. It should 100 percent reflect the client,” Moore says. “We don’t attract clients who are looking for a perfect day because at the end of the day, Uncle Bill is going to be there and you never know what he’s going to do. There are humans involved.”
Moore believes Something to Celebrate clearly represents its mission through its name, celebrating and remembering the day for years to come.
Jessica Moore is President of the Associated Wedding Planners of Austin (AWPA).