Angela Renick knows a wedding planner is a luxury. But even in these tough economic times, this seasoned planner of 20 years thinks it's a luxury any bride-to-be can't live without.OK, you've planned it all, but who's going to execute it?" Renick says. "You can't do that and get ready and enjoy yourself."

Renick may have a new business, Adore Events, with co-owner and fellow planner, Amy Keene, but one thing has remained the same over the last two decades: She stays prepared for every disaster or new discovery on the big day. Whether it's a photographer who gets so busy she becomes dehydrated during the shoot, or a cake that's in unexpected pieces, Renick and her team are ready to find a fix.

One wedding's surprise groom's cake was shaped like a cooler with actual beer in it. The beer busted through the cake on the drive over to the reception hall. "We did have to get rid of half of it, but all the guests thought it was the best thing. Not even the bride or groom knew what had happened," Renick says

Keeping secrets from the bride and groom, especially those in the form of a surprise, is one of Renick's favorite parts of modern weddings. In an October wedding, a guest close to the couple arranged for No Southern Accent, a UF a capella group, to sing The Beatles' classic "All You Need Is Love," one of the bride's favorites. The singers were mixed in with the rest of the audience and after the first kiss as Mr. and Mrs., the couple turned around to the serenade.

"The bride just melted," Renick says.

Although attention to detail is what has kept her successful, it was Renick's adaptability and calm-in-the-storm personality that got her into the business. In high school, Renick was an office manager for photographer Skip Stowers in her hometown of Kissimmee. One day he asked her to step in when his second photographer canceled.

"He explained that I could just grab the camera," Renick says with dread. "This was back when we had the F-stops and apertures, and I was like, 'Oh no.'"

Instead of standing behind the camera lens, she spent the day organizing groups for photos and keeping everyone on schedule.

"At the end of the day, we got done earlier, the pictures were better than ever and he was like, 'You need to be doing this.'"

At 16 years old, Renick had fallen in love with the job, a part-time calling that would eventually become a full-time lifestyle. In college, while balancing school, a young marriage and a part-time job, she found time to plan six to seven weddings a year.

After graduating from UF with a bachelor's of science in microbiology, Renick found herself leaning toward her natural career: not in a laboratory, but over the shoulders of hundreds of brides and grooms as she helped them plan their dream event.

"I thought, 'Why can't I do this for a career? Why am I going to go into a career that I know I would like, but would I actually love it?'" Renick says. "So I ended up coming back to the event world and saying, 'I would rather do this than do other things.'"

Still married to Chris, her husband of 18 and a half years, and still planning weddings, Renick now has four kids ranging in age from 7 to 13 years old. And the thrill of the big day still keeps her going.

"To see the look on their face is so rewarding — the hours don't matter," says Renick, who averages a 14- to 16-hour work day on the day of the wedding. "I so love seeing the joy that it brings when the bride walks in and sees the cake she's envisioned and it's spectacular. That makes it worth it."

And though she tries to keep her opinions to a minimum, Renick does have some advice for newlywed couples.

"Enjoy the first several years of marriage and get to know each other. Don't rush into having a family," she says. "You need to have that foundation of communication and to have yourself be focused."