Infomercial queen Suzanne Paul is trying to have a wedding. But in these Covid times it is not so much a case of “wait there’s more” but more waiting.
She and her fiancé Patrick Kuhtze have had to cancel their wedding plans twice. “Patrick will be my third-time-lucky husband and so we’re hoping it will be our third-time-lucky wedding,” says Suzanne.
The original wedding was scheduled for October last year but had to be cancelled due to Auckland’s lockdown. Their next ceremony was to take place on April 10, but with the country being in the red setting and in the middle of an Omicron outbreak, the couple had to make the decision to delay it again.
Suzanne also didn’t want to be in the position of hiring a bouncer to check vaccination passes at the door. “It’s my wedding day and I’m not having someone turned away because they forgot to bring their pass. I’d be mortified.”
Suzanne and Patrick are both vaccinated, but she tries to avoid getting involved in the vaccination debate that is sweeping through New Zealand at the moment. She says she doesn’t want to get into a situation where it’s a matter of “us” and “them”.
Suzanne’s glitzy mask caused quite a stir on social media.
“The other day, I posted what I thought was a nice picture on social media of me wearing a sparkly face mask, mainly because a lot of people had asked me where I got it. The next thing I was being attacked by the anti-vaxxers and I didn’t want to even defend myself. It was just a fashion statement, not a political statement!”
Suzanne is trying to be positive about her wedding plans. She says that now she has all the planning done, it is in her “wedding book”, so she will just have to get that out and start booking again if November this year seems like a good time.
“I have changed my mind about my wedding dress though,” she laughs. “The last dress was a traditional little number, but now I’ve gone all blingy with a Trelise Cooper creation!”
She has also gone off her healthy eating plan. “We were both on a diet for the April wedding because you have to look your best, so we were starving!” It is quite early in the morning when Suzanne chats to the Weekly and she is beautifully presented, with her hair and make-up done, and she looks a lot younger than 65. That’s because she’s off to work.
Over lockdown, Suzanne has started a new business, which will launch in March. She’s taking her sales skills to the many products or services that have suffered due to Covid lockdowns and closures. “I’ve always done demonstrations at shows and on TV, but now there are no shows and there are no television programmes where you can book a four-minute slot and talk about something amazing.”
Suzanne calls her work “shoppable entertainment” and ensures it’s like chatting over the fence to an old friend.
So Suzanne will be taking these products to social media, YouTube, TikTok and TV, with that trademark sales talk we all love.
“It’s very exciting because at the moment we’re doing a lot of computer work and organisation, and building sets. I can’t wait to be talking to people who can tell me what they are passionate about and why it’s better than anything else!”
Suzanne calls her work “shoppable entertainment” and ensures it’s like chatting over the fence to an old friend.
When Suzanne last spoke to the Weekly, she’d recently had a health scare in which she fainted on a Zoom call. She says she is now feeling great, and full of vim and vigour, but works hard to keep on top of things.
Suzanne and Patrick are crossing their fingers for a November wedding and a big party
“I’ve been really good and I’m looking after myself. It’s more mentally that you’ve got to keep making the conscious effort to not get too involved in the news or any of those updates, and I don’t get into discussions on Facebook.”
It’s going to be a busy year for our favourite infomercial queen, but she’ll be crossing her fingers for a November wedding and a big party.
“Last year I couldn’t have my 65th birthday bash, so instead we had fish and chips on the beach at Browns Bay because we were going through our picnic phase then,” she laughs. “Patrick couldn’t have his birthday party either. We missed out on our wedding and our honeymoon, so we’ll be folding it all into one huge party. We’ll probably include Christmas as well.”
Suzanne says some people have suggested they just go to a registry office to tie the knot and have a party later, but she’s not having any of that.
“When I’ve set my heart on something, then that’s it for me. Once I’ve made my mind up, I’m down that path and any obstacles that get in the way I just get through them. That’s been my whole life – never give up and keep going with your plan.”
