Reporter Becky Bloomwood sits down with January Mae Tan, the lady behind Debuts and I Do’s, and gives us a glimpse of the girl behind the name.

I’ve always been great at organizing events and organizations. For example, in high school, my best friends and I from Manila Science High School organized an outreach program for the underprivileged children in our area. We started with four kids, and by the time we ended, we had almost fifty. We were giving them remedial classes in Math, Science and English.

I started hosting events for friends in college and later professionally. As the host, I became the de-facto coordinator, troubleshooting other items related to the event. It was easy to make the shift from event host to event planner. I guess I fell into my niche by accident.

I still host for my intimate weddings. I’m a Toastmaster and I have several national awards under my belt, so it’s always great when I have the opportunity to put myself in front of a crowd.

When I got pregnant, I couldn’t keep an 8-to-5 job. So, I capitalized on my hobby.

I thought I had a really cool name and someone told me that, if I registered with DTI, no one else would be able to use the name. I registered with DTI, which is one of the smartest moves I have ever done in my life. I had no idea Debuts and I Do’s would grow the way it has.

Debuts and I Do’s is slightly older than my son. He is five and a half now.

First, I was home-based which led to lower overhead costs and allowed me to offer my services at competitive rates. Two, I decided early on that I wanted to focus on quality not quantity, so I set a limit that I would only ever handle three weddings in a month. Third, I just kept at it. I was having fun making people happy. I took it one wedding at a time, and just did my best. Lastly, it helped that I was an IT system administrator, too.

I often think that an IT system administrator and an event planner have related jobs. Basically, we are there to troubleshoot issues. So, it helps to be able to apply that same kind of logic-based thinking to event planning, too.

Each wedding done well is an achievement.

Some of the issues I was able to troubleshoot and resolve satisfactorily stand out, too.

For example, for one couple in the US, their photographer reneged on a part of their contract. I was able to successfully negotiate for the original bargain to be honored, without offending either the bride or the photographer.

Recently, there was a city-wide black-out on one of my weddings. Worse, the hotel where the reception dinner was going to be at had their generator conk three hours before the . I told them to start looking for another generator and to begin calling all the other possible venues in the city because in forty-five minutes we were going to move out of the place. Luckily, the back-up generator arrived before the time limit I set.

Then, there was the time that… well, I have many of these stories to tell. I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, I am now trying to learn how to generate power from a car battery, just in case. (laughing)

What I love best of all is getting caught up in the festive and romantic mood of an event. Here is a chance for people to put on their best clothes and their best behavior and I want to make sure they have a wonderful evening. I love hearing about someone’s dream wedding and then helping to make their dream a reality.

I also enjoy it when I work with people who tell me that something I designed can’t be done. In several instances, crew men have insisted that a floor plan I drew up couldn’t be implemented. With the hugest smile on, I told them to do it anyway and they would, but glaring and muttering under their breaths only to sheepishly find out, an hour later, that I was right all along and it could be done.

What I don’t tell people is that before I became an event planner, I was first an engineer. Isn’t it great for a woman to be underestimated then proven right?

Diplomacy is my strong suite. It helps when I have to negotiate contracts in behalf of someone else outside the country.

A wedding planner is often stereotyped as the whirlwind bossy woman who sweeps into a room and starts snapping her fingers and barking orders, a bit like the woman in The Devil Wears Prada.

I prefer to think of myself as a happy, smiling pink elephant.

An elephant doesn’t need to be rude to be followed. She can smile and lean on you and you would have no choice but to follow. So, that would be my totem animal: a pink elephant.

If that fails, then my backup mantra is “Speak softly but keep speaking until it gets done.” (laughter)

Yes, it is cool, isn’t it? There’s a story behind it, too.

This logo was actually the theme for a pop-up invitation I did for a very special couple. We copied it from a bridal magazine, but changed it so that the couple was sitting on a bench instead of standing, because both the bride and groom are physically handicapped. After the wedding, they gave me their blessing to use their design for my logo. They are now blessed with a beautiful baby girl.

I’m not married but I have been a parent for five years now. I think it’s important to remember that it’s nice to have a beautiful wedding, but it’s better to have a great marriage. I have seen so many couples dissolve into fits and fights in planning their wedding. The best weddings I ever handled had amazing teamwork between the groom and bride.

See you around, Becky. I look forward to that call.

-- January