A/N: Okay - I admit I shamelessly stole this idea from the movie, "The Wedding Planner," at least snippets of it since I have only seen small parts of it. Hope you won't mind - no infringement intended on that movie nor with the boys!
East Side of Pittsburgh – In front of the "It's Not the Same" Store
Robert Chagall glanced up over the shop's door to confirm he had the right address; of course, a quick, cursory study of the shop's large display windows would have been all it took to make sure. Both windows on either side of the door were chock full of wedding ideas: one area held elaborately-designed cakes, complete with all sorts of topper ideas for everything from the well-tailored, expensively-dressed groom to the casual, Hawaiian-shirted, shorts-clad man wearing a flower garland and holding another man in his arms. He had to chuckle a little as he saw the bottom of the topper base with the words "I'm going to get lei'd," underneath.
On the other side of the door were examples of foods available for the wedding reception and prototypes of wedding invitations, running the gamut from elegantly-scrolled, fine-bond paper models etched in calligraphy from more casual, funky ones written on top of a rectangular-shaped, edible chocolate tablet. The window display was tastefully decorated with fabric bunting, which complimented the place settings perfectly that had been placed near the reception foods.
He had been given the name of this shop from a friend of Brian's, Emmett Honeycutt. From the occasionally sarcastic, almost ridiculing remarks Brian had made about Honeycutt from time to time when the man wasn't around, Robert had the idea the man and his fiancé weren't exactly good friends, however; after all, they did not exactly travel in the same socio-economic circles. But the two of them ran into Honeycutt often enough, either in the diner Brian preferred to eat at, or at their favorite club, Babylon, and the man seemed congenial enough, although somewhat too prissy for his liking. But at least, the man seemed to know a good wedding planner when he saw one, apparently, because Robert decided he was distinctly impressed so far by what he saw in the windows.
The other day at the diner while Robert had waited for Brian to show up for dinner, Honeycutt had mentioned that a friend of his, who had recently gotten married, had used the newly-established shop for his wedding and had been delighted with the results. Hearing that he needed someone for his own wedding, Honeycutt had mentioned the name to him and given him a business card for reference. Knowing that Brian was totally uninterested in helping to plan all of the intricate details required of a wedding that would be discussed in all the most influential gay social circles, it had fallen upon Robert's shoulders to take care of all the planning alone.
Glancing at the business card in his hand and the name of the proprietor, Justin Taylor, he pushed the door open as a chime alerted the occupant that someone was entering the shop. As he waited for someone to appear to help him, Robert took a few moments to look around. The inside of the shop was actually an older, Victorian two-story home that had been remodeled to hold the business's operation. There were two main areas visible on the first floor – an office-type space with a desk, laptop, bookshelves, and filing cabinets, along with what appeared to be a drafting table, and another area separated casually by a furniture grouping of two overstuffed chairs, a sofa, a flat-screen television hanging on the opposite wall, side tables and some more bookshelves. There were three leather-bound books – apparently photo albums – lying on top of the coffee table directly in front of the sofa.
"Good Morning," he heard someone say as he turned in the direction of the voice coming from the back of the store. He smiled politely at the rather slender, trim blond-haired, blue-eyed man who had just opened a door separating the front area from the rear of the home. He was dressed in a rather worn, long-sleeved, red tee shirt and a pair of slightly baggy chinos but was neatly groomed. Robert did notice with curiosity what appeared to be splotches of paint on the man's shirt, along with an attractive smile that seemed to light up the man's entire face.
"Good Morning," Robert greeted the other man, nodding as they shook hands.
"I'm Justin Taylor," the blond told him. "May I help you?"
"Yes…..An acquaintance of my fiancé's gave me your name," Robert explained. "I'd like to talk you about planning my wedding."
Justin nodded. "I'd be glad to help," he said, motioning with his hand over toward the seating area. "Would you like to sit down?" he asked as Robert nodded and followed him over to the other area of the shop. "Can I get you some coffee?" he offered, pointing over to a nearby coffeemaker.
"No, thank you," Robert responded; Justin nodded and indicated for him to take a seat at the sofa while he sat down in one the chairs angled toward it. "So, Mr. …"
"Chagall, Robert Chagall."
"Mr. Chagall…what did you have in mind?"
"Well, my fiancé and I are getting married in two months, and I pretty much haven't even gotten started," Robert admitted.
Justin's eyebrows rose slightly. "Well, normally you need at least a good six months to plan all of the details adequately," he counseled the other man. Smiling, though, he said, "But let's see what I can do. Do you and your fiancé have a certain type of ceremony and reception in mind?"
Robert nodded, relieved that the planner could hopefully pull off what he had in mind in the rather-short time span he had been presented with. "Well, something tasteful, elegant…." he began. "Something unforgettable and unique," he added.
Justin nodded. "And you don't have any particular venue in mind for either the ceremony or the reception? Are you wanting to get married, for example, in a church?"
Robert guffawed. "Hardly," he responded. "Brian would be the last person to want to be married in a church, believe me."
Justin twisted his mouth in amusement; normally that was one of the two types of responses he usually got. Either the grooms belonged to a contemporary, liberal-minded church and wanted to use their own minister, or they wanted nothing to do with structured religion and preferred, instead, to have the ceremony performed in a much more non-traditional setting. He was always prepared for both contingencies, however.
"Okay," he answered. "Can you tell me if you have a particular setting in mind? And how many people do you anticipate inviting to your ceremony and reception?"
"Well, Brian is a very influential person in advertising," Robert said rather smugly, at least he sounded that way to Justin. "And I have a large amount of friends and colleagues in the restaurant industry, so I'm estimating between his group of business colleagues and friends, as well as my own, that we will have at least 500 attending. I own six high-end restaurants in the city," he added almost boastfully. "You've never heard of me?" he asked inquisitively. His name popped up frequently in the paper, especially in the business or social sections, so it wasn't unusual for either his face and/or his name to be instantly recognizable when he met someone for the first time. In fact, he was surprised that with the business this man was engaged in, he hadn't apparently recognized him yet.
Justin, though, shook his head. "No, I'm sorry," he admitted politely. "I just opened my shop here six months, though," he explained. "I moved from Chicago to Pittsburgh to be closer to my family." Justin had thoroughly enjoyed living in the more bustling, larger city, having attended a prestigious art school there before electing to open up a business on his own afterward, but his mother's desire to live closer together had finally persuaded him to move back home recently. Now, unfortunately, that was forcing him to also begin building a local client base all over again, although sales over the Internet had helped him stay somewhat afloat so far.
Robert digested that information, at least a little appeased as to the reason why this man wouldn't have heard of him. Hopefully that didn't mean he wasn't talented; the displays he had seen so far seemed to indicate he knew what he was doing. "I see," he said a little cautiously. "I hope you don't mind, then, Mr. Taylor, but before I get too involved with your business, I'd like to obtain some referrals. I trust you can understand my reasoning." Robert was a very affluent businessman, but he didn't get that way by being naïve – he could certainly afford the services of the most prestigious and expensive wedding planner on earth, but at the same time he didn't want to throw his money away, either.
Justin nodded. "Of course," he said perceptively. "I have several names of references I can give you," he assured him. "Before you leave, I'll provide you with a list so before you sign any agreements with my shop, you can check them out. I'm sure you'll be satisfied with their reports."
Robert nodded, satisfied at least that the man seemed to be forthright about his abilities, otherwise he wouldn't be offering the names of his references so freely. "Sounds good," he told him.
Justin reached over to the nearby bookcase and retrieved a yellow legal pad and a pen. "Okay, then – let me just get some additional preliminary information so I can get started with some ideas. Then if you decide to hire me, I can be ready to get going right way, okay?"
Robert nodded. "Okay – what else do you need to know?"
"Well, you indicated you wanted something tasteful and elegant, and you would be expecting about 500 guests," he verified as the other man nodded in confirmation. "Do you and your fiancé – Brian, you said? Do you and your fiancé have a certain amount budgeted for this event?"
Robert considered that question in his mind. He and Brian could pretty much afford whatever amount the planner needed, provided of course that the cost was worth the expenditure.
"Not really," he responded finally. "We are willing to spend whatever it takes to pull off the biggest, most lavish gay wedding of the decade., as long as the cost is warranted."
Justin absorbed that information as he subtly studied the rather pompous man. He was attractive enough, he supposed. He had a wavy head of dark-brown hair that set off his green eyes and a small, light growth of beard which was appealing in a sort of scruffy, scoundrel kind of way. His body was toned and lean, while his clothes were certainly well-made and custom tailored no doubt. But he certainly didn't have an overabundance of modesty or humility, though. He decided to not concentrate on that issue, however; it wasn't his job to make another person more likeable, his job was to simply provide the best wedding planner service he could and make the client happy.
"Okay," he acknowledged. "But what about the venue for the reception? You mentioned you own six restaurants in town. Are any of them big enough to accommodate that large a group of people? It would save you considerable expense if you decided to have at least the reception in one of your own facilities."
Robert shook his head. "No…..my restaurants aren't big enough to hold that many people – besides, I want something unique and different for my wedding reception to Brian. This is going to be a one-of-a-kind blowout."
Justin plastered on a nonchalant face, not wanting his feelings to show outwardly to the other man, before he turned his attention back to the subject and nodded. "Okay…..good enough. We'll probably have to concentrate, then, on looking into some of the high-end banquet facilities around Pittsburgh – once you rule out the larger churches, only those types of venues would be able to hold the number of wedding guests you're anticipating."
Robert stood up. "Sounds like a good idea," he agreed. "If you'll get me those references, then, I need to get going. I'll call you once I've made up my mind if I want to hire you as our planner."
Justin nodded as he, too, stood up and began to walk over toward his office area. He reached down to pull out one of the desk drawers and retrieve a burgundy-colored folder with the business's name on the cover. Closing the drawer, he turned to hand the item to Robert. "Here's the list," he told him, "along with some ideas on what types of weddings and receptions I can provide. There's also a detailed price list as well for some of the specific services and items I can handle, but the total amount of the wedding and reception will depend, of course, on how elaborate and unique you want it to be. The more one-of-a-kind you make it, obviously the more expensive it will be."
Robert nodded as he peered back studiously at the slender blond. "And just so I'm clear on this – I've never needed a wedding planner before, of course – you will handle all aspects of the wedding and reception? The DJ, photos, flowers, and everything?"
Justin nodded. "That's right – I can even handle all the details of the honeymoon as well, if you want." Justin had worked hard over the past three years to firmly establish his business and to obtain a wide base of references to draw from; the result had been a well-executed, broad base of vendors and supplies from which to fully implement anyone's idea of a grand wedding experience, although for now he would have to contact them indirectly until he could expand his base more locally.
He reached out to shake the other man's hand as Robert said, "I'll be in touch, then, Mr. Taylor."
As the man walked toward the shop's door and opened it, Justin watched the well-dressed man walk down the sidewalk and out of sight. Whenever one of the grooms came in alone, he always found himself wondering what the fiancé was like based on his perceptions of the potential client. Now he found himself doing the same as he pondered just what sort of man would be attracted to this handsome, albeit rather self-centered individual. Probably MOST people, he chided himself. After all, money seems to be the most attractive quality of all. At least to most men, but not to him. Oh, money was nice all right, but to Justin, what made a man most alluring of all after the necessary physical chemistry was passion and drive.
Shaking his head, he walked back over to his desk and picked up the legal pad. Sitting down at his desk, he opened his laptop and turned it on, starting the preliminary work for what he hoped would be his next client.