We love weddings. A lot. We love them for one of the most beautiful of reasons—it’s the celebration of two people committing their lives to one another. It is the moment when a couple embarks on their new life together. But what goes into the making of a beautifully executed wedding? To find out, Dempsey & Carroll event curator Austin Ackles sat down with Xochitl Gonzalez of AaB Creates to discuss her 2014 wedding season.

AA: This summer, was there a venue you were not initially excited about that ended up exceeding your greatest expectations?

XG: Yes!  I had booked a wedding for a client at the Metropolitan Club and had been a little bit apprehensive about making the traditional space not only fit our clients’ more quirky style, but also if we would be able to help bring in a bit of summer to the rich space.   Ultimately we ended up really playing with the legacy of the space of setting the dining room with long king’s tables with garlands of greens on the back of each chair.  The staff and team there were so flexible and accommodating with putting together a menu that evoked the season and were beyond helpful accommodating a lot of our unique details that helped to make the venue seem not only exciting, but the absolutely perfect location for our clients.

AA: Is there a piece of advice you give every bride that almost all seem to ignore?

XG: Fall in love with your rain plan.  Spend the energy getting just as comfortable with it as with your fair weather plan. Not only is it simply no fun spending the days leading up to your wedding obsessing about something over which you have no control, but you should wake up on your wedding day delighted and excited, not anxious.

AA: It was a very cool summer in much of the U.S. Did this create any surprises?

AA: Next summer, what do you hope to do differently with your schedule?

XG: Because we do a lot of destination weddings, I found myself traveling in and out of the city seemingly constantly this summer: Hudson Valley, Hamptons, New England, California, etc.  Next year instead of rushing back and forth, I’m hoping to have my office as mobile as possible so I can extend my trips and comfortably mix work and pleasure a bit more.

(image: Xochitl and her partner Mayra)