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Planning for perfection 完美婚礼达人

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When Ashley agreed to marry Aaron six months ago, they agreed to start planning the wedding right away. ___1___ And so, in the midst of yet another argument about the size of the reception, Aaron came up with a second thing they could agree upon immediately: hire a wedding planner.

六个月前，当艾希莉答应嫁给艾伦时，他们便同意立刻着手准备婚礼。但从那时起，双方的意见一直没有甚么太大的交集。因此，在另一次关于婚宴规模的争吵中，艾伦提出了第二项两人都会立刻同意的建议：聘请一位婚礼顾问。

They knew it had to be Kate, wedding planner extraordinaire. ___2___ Then she started to organize details: flower bouquets (white lilies); the font for the invitations (classic calligraphy); and the perfect cake (three tiered, each a different flavor).

他们知道杰出的婚礼顾问—凯特是不二人选。凯特首先帮艾希莉和艾伦做了有关婚礼场地及规模等关键决定，然后开始筹划细项：花束(白百合)、邀请函字型(古典手写体)及完美的结婚蛋糕(三层蛋糕，每层各有着不同口味)。

___3___ She is organized and detail oriented. She has a sense of fashion, is good with budgeting (not all clients have deep pockets), and has connections in the industry to negotiate the best rate on everything from photographers to caterers. ___4___ She knows just what to say when clients like Ashley and Aaron start panicking about this or that.

一个优秀的婚礼顾问需要具备某些特质和能力，凯特则是样样具备。她做事很有条理且注重细节；对流行很敏锐、擅长编列预算(并非所有客户都是口袋满满的)；她在业界也有门路，从摄影到酒席承办等所有细项都能交涉出合理的价钱。最重要的是，她有良好的交际手腕，很清楚该怎么安抚像艾希莉和艾伦这种开始对婚礼大小事感到惊慌的客户。

Next time you go to a wedding, look at the bride and groom. ___5___ If not, then there may be a wedding planner like Kate working his or her magic in the background.

下次你去参加婚礼时，看看新娘和新郎是否正为像是来宾要把车停哪儿等琐事苦恼。如果没有，那么他们的背后可能就有个像凯特一样的婚礼顾问正在施展魔法呢!

−By Amy Lovestrand

(A) Kate first helped Ashley and Aaron make the crucial decisions on the location and size of the wedding.

(B) But they have not agreed on much since.

(C) Certain traits and skills are needed to be a good wedding planner, and Kate has them in spades.

(D) Are they fretting over details such as where people are parking their cars?

(E) Most importantly, she has people skills

Vocabulary

reception [rɪˋsɛpʃən] n. 接待会；宴会

oriented [ˋɑrɪɛntɪd] adj. 以……为方向的，以……为目的的

negotiate [nɪˋgoʃɪ͵et] v. 谈判，协商，洽谈

panic [ˋpænɪk] v. 恐慌

crucial [ˋkruʃəl] adj. 决定性的

trait [tret] n. 特点，特性

More Information

extraordinaire [ɛkstrɔrdiˋnɛr] adj. 【法】（用作后置定语）特别的，非凡的

bouquet [buˋke] n. 花束

font [fɑnt] n. 字型，字体

calligraphy [kəˋlɪgrəfɪ] n. 书法

tier [tɪr] n. 一层

organized [ˋɔrgən͵aɪzd] adj. 有组织[条理]的

deep pocket: 【俚】财富；财源 a source of substantial wealth or financial support

caterer [ˋketərɚ] n. 备办食物者,备办宴席者

groom [grum] n. 新郎

agree on: 就...取得一致意见  to agree to the choice of someone or something

since [sɪns] adv. 此后；从那时到现在

in spades: 确实,肯定地,无疑地  in the best or most extreme way possible; extravagantly

fret [frɛt] v. 苦恼；烦躁；发愁 [（+about/at/for/over）]