With today’s lifestyle, soon to be wed couples find it very difficult to find time to prepare for their dream wedding. With the hundreds of details that has to be attended to, the planning, the preparations and the actual wedding day itself could be a tiresome, stressful exercise specially for the bride who should be stress-free and radiant on her big day.

The need for a professional to handle the nitty gritty of planning and executing wedding plans had become a necessity. This professional is what we call the wedding planner or coordinator.

Just as the wedding planning business was taking off in the Philippines about five years ago, a pretty face but with a lot of confidence and ingenuity came to the scene. With some experience from another events company as head coordinator, Ana Marie Tueres in so little time gathered her courage to form her own company, Solutions Events. Asked why the name, “ Its what clients need – solutions.”

Starting with only a few thousand pesos, Ana rented a small office in West Avenue, Quezon City with only a table, some colorful chairs and a telefax machine to begin with. To get exposure, she joined a bridal fair at SM Megatrade where she got her first clients. Not long after, business has never stopped. “ I get 50% of my business from referrals . I have many clients from the US and the UK”, Ana proudly states. “They like my best seller. It is a budget conscious package but still an elegant wedding.”

The secret of her success? “Many: hard work, patience, entrepreneurial spirit, satisfying clients’ needs, and most of all, divine blessing.” Ana is an Ilongga. This is the reason why she is “malambing” which endears her to clients. At work, Ana is well focused but graceful under pressure. A trait of a professional. She is also a stern advocate of time management. “Event Management is a career itself, a full time job. You must stay on top of the situation and always updated with the changing times. My job is like a symphony conductor. Make sure that all elements in an event are in harmony with each other. ”

Today, Ana is also the owner of Phases 'n Faces Wedding Essentials, a one stop shop and photography studio in Commonwealth, Quezon City. From sole worker, Ana today has a full complement of staff to assist her not only in weddings, but also debuts and corporate events. Both companies are now in demand not only from soon to be wed couples but also from debutantes because of her unique debut themes .

The common impression of soon to be wed couples with Ana’s services is the full dedication and her big heart to make their dream wedding come true by getting the best deals from suppliers. “ I always put myself in the shoes of my client. I don’t want them to wake up with regrets of spending beyond their budget. I’m a practical planner and consider the principles of wise and prudent spending.”

Ana is also into corporate events. She has also organized several homecomings ( De La Salle and AIM)and a number of golf tournaments most notable of which are the First Australian Ambassador’s Golf Cup, Philippines Australia Friendship Golf Tournament, Splash Foundation Invitational Golf Tournament and social and corporate events of multi- national companies like Fluor Daniel, an American engineering & petrochemical consultancy firm and the Shell Select Dealers Convention.

Ana still keeps a low profile but remains to be sought after. The stress of handling events through these years has made her not only a better planner but also a more matured person.

This August 2006, Ana will fly to San Francisco to be a resource speaker at Kasal Pilipinas, a bridal and wedding forum. She plans to organize her own big event also but this time she will gather all her previous brides, grooms and debutantes. Someday, writing a book and sharing the legacy she earned as a full pledged Event Planner is the top priority in her own event timeline.