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A Wedding Planner. I`m not talking about the book, a planning calendar or any other kind of hard copy that helps you organise a wedding better. I`m talking about myself. I`ve decided I wanted a career with a difference - and now I`m all set to be a wedding planner - and organiser.

It all started with a big party I had thrown to celebrate my wedding anniversary -it was a super success. People were talking about it for days. A few weeks later, a friend called. It was her son`s first birthday - could I help her organise a theme party? Would I ever! I jumped in with both feet and enjoyed myself hugely. So did all the guests - from what I heard. Another success.

My mother grinned sardonically when I told her about it. "If you made a career out of this - maybe you`d be a successful business woman." I knew she was being sarcastic at my lack of success in my career - when my siblings were doing so well. But unknowingly she had sown a seed in my mind.

I thought about it - and discussed it with my husband. A computer geek - he couldn`t understand my need to rush around town - meeting up with people and getting things done. His world lay at his fingertips. But I had made up my mind. It was commonly acknowledged that my present career wasn`t going places - why don`t I do something I would enjoy? I had nothing to lose, after all.

Within a few weeks, I was all set. Let me tell you what my career as a wedding planner entailed.

First of all, one needs to have a people friendly disposition. I loved meeting with people and organising things for them. Of course, there are endless discussions and they change their mind very often about how they want things to be done - but it`s all a part of the game. A game I love playing.

A wedding planner should also be well versed in the vital aspects of a wedding. The different venues, flower arrangements, food, caterers, clothes, photography, transportation, jewellery etc. And that`s just the tip of the iceberg. You need to know the different vendors, the rates they charge and how reliable they are. Striking a good relationship with these people will make your job that much easier.

Aggressiveness doesn`t work well - you might as well accept that small things will keep going awry in a wedding. It`s the big things that you need to watch out for. If something doesn`t work out well - learn to make quick alternative arrangements. Panicking will get you nowhere. You should always give the impression of control and capability.

A couple of years later - not only had I made a mark for myself in this field, I had a set up of my own. And I had assistants who wanted to work with me before they set up their own business! And the best bit of all was - I was enjoying myself hugely!