Nicole decided it was best to remove her sister to their hotel room when security began to give them both meaningful glares.
"I don't want to leave," Evette groaned wistfully as they hailed a cab back to the airport the next day.
"All good things must come to an end," Nicole sighed.
"Did you enjoy your honeymoon, sis?"
"It was the best honeymoon I could ever have wished for. My batteries are completely rejuvenated. I'm looking forward to getting back to work and organising some dream weddings."
Chapter 8
"I'm exhausted," Evette groaned.
"I think we may have had one too many cocktails," Nicole agreed.
She handed her sister some painkillers and a mug of strong black coffee.
"We've got a lot of work to do today so we'd better get stuck in."
Evette opened her notebook and scrambled to find a pen while Nicole opened her laptop.
"I think we made the right decision to focus on our wedding planning agency for now," Evette mused.
"Yeah, we can work on the dating agency idea at a later date. It's usually best to focus on one plan at a time," Nicole agreed.
It was late afternoon and the sisters had been working on their business ideas for most of the day. They'd vaguely thought about adding a dating agency to their business but after much debate they'd decided against the idea. They had made the commercial decision of focusing on the wedding planning agency side of the business and possibly developing the dating agency at a later stage, which they hoped would naturally evolve anyway. They'd roped Ben in to help with their planning and were busy quizzing him for his marketing expertise. There were sketches and plans strewn over the dining room table.
"I feel like I'm going cross-eyed from staring at the computer," Nicole complained.
"I never knew there were so many wedding planning websites out there."
"Well, it's obviously a brilliant idea, or else there wouldn't be so many of them," Evette said optimistically.
"Clearly there are a lot of people looking for help in planning their big day," Ben agreed.
"I know I'd welcome the idea of having someone else plan my wedding for me. It would take a lot of pressure off the bride and groom."
"Are you back on the market again, Ben?" Evette teased her friend.
"You only broke up with Genevieve last month."
"Yes, but I haven't had a date since," he protested. "Anyway, I've got my eye on someone else."
He glanced at Nicole, who immediately blushed under his steady gaze. She looked away quickly.
"I don't want our wedding planning agency to be like the rest of the agencies out there," Nicole said thoughtfully, as she pottered about in the kitchen making tea.
"I get the impression that computers do a lot of the work for most of the agencies online. It seems that all you need to do is fill in a questionnaire, take a personality test, upload your profile pictures and make a list of your requirements and the computer does the rest. It's very cold and clinical. I don't want us to be like that.
I want us to be known as the wedding planners with the personal touch. I want us to meet our clients face to face, get to know them as a couple, and really get a feel for what they want and need. After all, most people get married with the belief and hope that it's for life. I want to make it their best day ever; a once in a lifetime occasion."
"Interesting," Evette nodded.
"I think it might be a good idea that we ask the couples to post their photos to the website. We'll be able to look at them and have a quick read through their profile to see if we'd be interested in taking them on," Ben interjected.
"I don't know," Nicole said doubtfully. "It seems cold to me. An image on a computer can't account for the chemistry between two people. Maybe they uploaded an unflattering photo of themselves or maybe they don't look good in photos. I'd imagine it's difficult to think of something witty and catchy to say in the small space they have in their profile description.