Before I became a wedding planner, I didn’t have a clue about paper products or flower types. I definitely wouldn’t have considered myself a “foodie”. Little did I know how much I would learn about these things and how it would affect my entire life.

Here are my favorite ways that being a wedding planner has changed my life:

• Appreciating and recognizing amazing photography – After learning the ins-and-outs of good photography (through planning weddings) and seeing so many great (and a few not-so-great) wedding photos, I can easily tell good wedding photos from great wedding photos. Instead of going to a generic portrait studio for my family photos, I must have one of my amazing photographer friends do our family photos each year. I see a huge difference and greatly value how an experienced professional photographer can capture the emotion and feeling of my family which just doesn’t happen in a JCPenney portrait studio. Seeing and experiencing great cinematography has also given me such appreciation of having amazing videos for both my clients and my own projects. Prior to becoming a wedding planner, I simply didn’t have the experience or knowledge to understand and appreciate photography and video.

• Love of flowers – In an effort to understand more about floral design for weddings, I took a one-day class on flower arranging. I would never have considered this before becoming a wedding planner. Now I can make grocery store bouquets look beautiful on my kitchen counter and I recognize and appreciate so many flower types. Before planning weddings, I had no idea what ranunculus was nor did I care. Now it’s one of my very favorite flowers.

• Fine food and wine – Since becoming a wedding planner, I have been totally spoiled by going to amazing catering tastings and helping clients choose food and wine. It has made me become a bit of a foodie. This goes for cake and dessert too. I can’t believe I ever purchased and consumed a grocery store cake now that I have eaten so many incredible wedding cakes and desserts. I have a major appreciation and taste for fabulous food, wine and desserts that is so far beyond what I had prior to my career in wedding planning.

• Appreciation of entertaining – I have always loved entertaining but now I take it to a whole new level. I can’t use plastic tablecloths or throw a party with commercial-theme paper products from the party store. It would actually cause me physical pain. It simply must be well designed and well done now that I have so much event design experience under my belt.

• Stationery, etiquette & paper – Prior to my wedding and event planning career, I had a general understanding of etiquette but not even close to what I have now. Not only do I understand the importance of responding promptly to any and all invites, I appreciate the printing process, paper thickness, fonts, and style of any paper products that come across my desk. And I can’t get enough of downloading free fun fonts to play with.

• Pinterest and Instagram – I’m sure I would love Pinterest and Instagram even if I wasn’t into planning events, however, I am so thankful to both of those platforms for not only making event design much easier but also for providing so much inspiration for life and home. My cooking repertoire, as well as my home interior design, have improved so much, thanks to Pinterest and Instagram.

• Passion – It’s unbelievable to me that I work in an industry where most people love their jobs. I tend to forget that this isn’t normal for all industries. I feel so lucky to be working with mostly happy clients and mostly happy wedding professionals on a regular basis. It’s like living in a career bubble and I quite like it.

How has your career in wedding planning influenced your life? Share with us in the comments below.