Susan Meier - Milllionaire Dad, Nanny Needed!

The Wedding Planners

Planning perfect weddings…

finding happy endings!

It’s the biggest and most important day o f a woman’s life—and it has to be perfect.

At least, that’s what The Wedding Belles believe, and that’s why they’re Boston’s top wedding planner agency. But amidst the beautiful bouquets, divine dresses and rose petal confetti, these six wedding planners long to be planning their own big day!

But first they have to find Mr Right…

This month: Susan Meier MILLIONAIRE DAD, NANNY NEEDED! Accountant: will Audra’s budget for the big day include a millionaire groom?

And don’t miss the exciting wedding planner tips and author reminiscences that accompany each book!

Susan tells us all about the unexpected twist to her ow n big day:

‘The day of my wedding a blizzard pounded our side of the state. Only about half the expected guests showed up and they were rowdy—if only because they were thrilled to be out of the storm. After the bridal dance, my aunt took my shoe for luck. So when our car slid off the icy road and got stuck in a snow drift on the drive home, we couldn’t walk. I only had one shoe.

‘Eventually, a Good Samaritan stopped to help—and he just happened to be one of my former bosses. He gave us a ride to a gas station, and the attendant and my husband took the tow truck to get our car. I walked into the garage in my wedding gown, with one bare foot, not sure how long I’d have to wait or how to explain to customers why I was partially shoeless.

‘My husband and I were so tired when we got home that we ended up playing gin rummy most of the night. It seemed like a horrible way to start a marriage, but considering that the marriage has been filled with love and laughter it must not have been. Standing in the garage with one shoe, I never realised I’d come to love that story.

‘Plus, when anybody wants to talk about weddings, I have the best story!’

Catch up with Susan and her latest projects at www.susanmeier.com

Visit http://harlequin-theweddingplanners.blogspot.co m to find out more…

BY

SUSAN MEIER

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Audra is the accountant at The Wedding Belle s and has some great tips on sticking to a weddin g budget, no matter how big or small:

Create a budget. Determine the amount of money you have to spend and apportion it appropriately. Figure out how much you can afford to spend on your dress, the decorations, the caterer…and everything else needed to make your day perfect. Don’t forget the little things, like paying the singers and clergy at the ceremony.

Don’t stop with a budget! Once you determine how much you have to spend, keep track of your real expenditures on a spreadsheet. Review the sheet regularly to have a clear picture of where your money is going and how much you have left to spend.

Bargain shop. Wedding shops frequently run sales on bridal gowns. There are places on the internet to purchase inexpensive invitations. Rather than buy from the first shop, do a little investigating and you may just find exactly what you want at a lower price.

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CHAPTER ONE

THE Wedding Belles’ three-story townhouse in the heart of Boston was always a flurry of activity, but that Friday, the number of people and the noise level they created had hit new heights. Brides—accompanied by their attendants and clucking mothers—filled the offices and spilled into the hallways. The scent of chocolate cake wafted through the air. A rainbow of color flowed from gowns through flower arrangements and favors for the reception dinner tables. Sequins on white bride dresses and veils caught the morning sun pouring in through the windows and sent flashes of light through the foyer, into the corridors, up the stairs.

Audra Greene, accountant for Wedding Belles, worked her way through a gaggle of giggling bridesmaids, creating a rustle of satin and lace. She edged around the wedding party considering various shades of blue and the party trying on dresses in pinks and lavenders, smiling politely and saying, “Hello,” and “Excuse me,” on her way to her third-floor office.

Finally there, she closed the thick wooden door and leaned against it with a sigh.

The Belles’ copper-haired, pixie-featured general assistant, Julie Montgomery, laughed. “It’s a jungle out there.”

Removing her navy blue coat, Audra strode to her antique desk. “How many weddings are they working on?”

“Let’s see. The weddings for June of next year are in the initial planning stages. September brides are finalizing details.”

“And April brides are panicking?” Audra hung her coat in the closet before she slid onto her tall-backed brown suede chair in front of the billowing yellow silk drapes that gave the room the rich, elegant feel that she loved.

Julie tilted her head, considering that. “The Belles like to think of it as maximizing last-minute opportunities.” With a chuckle, she went back to inputting invoices into the computer to pay that month’s bills.

Audra’s chest tightened as she watched Julie. The assistant—and the Belles for that matter—had no reason to check into the most recent deposit in the business account and discover it was actually every cent of Audra’s savings. Or that the estimated income taxes they’d sent in wouldn’t cover this year’s bill. Paying the difference would drain the Wedding Belles’ coffers and they wouldn’t have enough money for the wedding they’d promised to Julie. But Audra knew.

Still, she didn’t immediately turn on her computer and begin writing the e-mail to the other Belles about their dire financial straits. She needed to tell them—this morning—before Julie’s wedding plans went any further. But she couldn’t do it in front of Julie.

“Julie, would you do me a favor?”

Always eager to please, Julie quickly glanced up. “Sure.”

“I should have grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen, but I have something I have to do right now. It can’t wait—” Loath to ask the Belles’ assistant to run this kind of personal errand, Audra had no choice. She needed a few minutes of privacy, and when Julie entered invoices for payment she shared Audra’s office. “Could you get me a bottle of water?”

“Sure!”

Julie sprang from her seat. “I can’t believe you’d hesitate to ask me! I’m so indebted to you guys. I’d do anything for any of you.”

At the gratitude and affection she heard in Julie’s voice, Audra winced. “Please, you don’t need to say that.”