This weekend’s show is one of two this spring in Visalia. The other, “A Wedding Style Soiree,” will be March 14.

These shows give couples a chance to comparsion shop and to see what is popular in weddings, said Debbie Mancini, whose business Mancini Production Inc. sponsors “A Bridal Odyssey.” She said brides and wedding professionals are getting more creative than ever because many couples are working on tight budgets.

“There are some things you can cut back on and be OK, but there’s some things you can’t,” Mancini said.

Wedding dresses have proved to be one area in the budget brides aren’t budging on, said Silva Kassouf, owner of Elegant Brides in Fresno.

“For some reason, when it comes to the dress, they’re still looking for their dream dress,” Kassouf said. “They do ask if there’s anything lower, but they will still buy the dress they want.”

For their dresses, brides are turning to ivory with less beading and more details in the material, she said.

“There’s a lot of asymmetrical draping, and ruching, and for fabrics, taffetas are really in,” Kassouf said. “Also what’s popular is dresses with a lot of tucks, which are pickups on the skirt.”

Vintage style featuring lace is also in demand, though a lot of lace with beadwork is not, Kassouf said. Tiaras are no longer all the rage, and are being replaced with hairpieces such as broaches, feathers and flowers.

As for color schemes, she said brides are requesting jewel tones, Tiffany blue and gold — a marked contrast to the more subdued browns and beiges popular last year. These dresses tend to be on the shorter side at tea length.

Also minimized this year are the cakes — many couples are using cupcakes in place of a large wedding cake.

“Cupcakes have become a big deal. They’re using the cupcakes in tiers and still might have a small cake for their pictures,” Mancini said.

Source: www.visaliatimesdelta.com

Original article - Here

Blue Ridge Bridal Shows is on a mission to change the image of a traditional bridal show with a “Hi Tech Digital show” held at The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (ADC) on Sunday, January 24, 2010 from 12-4 pm. This hi tech show is open to the public and will be held at ADC located at 181 Kernstown Commons Boulevard in Winchester, VA 22602. Admission to public is free.Brides are encouraged to register to win prizes including a Honeymoon. This show is ideal for attracting brides from Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as the metropolitan areas of Frederick, Montgomery County, Baltimore, and Washington DC.

The Blue Ridge Winter Bridal Marketplace Show (BRBS) at ADC will showcase leading wedding venues, accommodations, and wedding professionals. For the first time, this wedding show’s emphasis will shift two four theater screens. This is not an “arena” event. The participating wedding professionals will show potential brides and grooms on a 20’ x 50’ cinema screens beautiful wedding destinations in the Blue Ridge Shenandoah Valley. These vary from country inns, golf clubs, restored hotels, museums, vineyards to very unique locations like Shenandoah Caverns and America On Parade to the Charles Town Races and Slots. Also attending the show will be leading experts available to assist the bride in planning a spectacular and unforgettable wedding in the Blue Ridge. All of this will be presented as a Hi Tech Digital Wedding Shopping Experience Event.

“Vendors participating in this show believe that brides today have changed and do their major research and booking of the vendors on the web. For this reason, we want our bridal show to ‘Think Out of the Box’ and give the brides what they want “An Internet experience but in a relaxed theater where they can have a glass of wine or beverage of their choice and see the top the Blue Ridge wedding industry has to offer,” says Nancy Craun, President of Blue Ridge Bridal Shows. “For the brides not from the Blue Ridge but looking for a beautiful wedding destination without adding air fare to their budget, just one hour away or less is the Blue Ridge Shenandoah Valley. Let us introduce you to the best the Blue Ridge has to offer.”

The doors will open at Noon on Sunday January 24, 2010. You, your friends, and family will walk into the show to find a wonderful marketplace that will make coordinating each element of your wedding a breeze. Haven’t found a photographer? A wedding location? No problem, we’ve brought some of the area’s finest vendors to one location for one very special day.

What is a Hi Tech Digital Wedding Shopping Experience?
Wedding Venues and Professionals will show you on the theater screen a Visual Presentation of their product. You will be able to see a full wedding from ceremony to dancing at the most beautiful venues in the Blue Ridge Shenandoah Valley. We will show the latest in wedding fashions from New York and Paris. Looking for decor ideas - see the hottest and latest from florists and party rental companies. What’s new in the tent industry - you will see it on the screen.

And what about the guy in your life - BRBS is giving him his own theater where he can relax with the guys, watch ESPN sports and find out what is on his wedding check off list. He will see honeymoon ideas including the latest on Sandals All Inclusive Resort Bargains as well as cruise ideas! Even Dad can join the group - relax and wait for you to pull him out to see the site where you have always dreamed to have your wedding.

This show is all about the three R’s -
Relax * Read * React!
“We know that brides are very interested in planning their wedding, but have changed how ‘they plan,’” adds Craun. “The wedding industry needs to get in the 21st century of hi tech communication and marketing. We are small and it is much easier for us to change and adapt than the larger bridal shows. The Blue Ridge Bridal Shows offer “Small Town Intimacy with High End Wedding Destinations.” Our Winter Bridal Marketplace will certainly be an exciting show and one not to be missed.”

To pre-register for the show and Silver Suitcase Tea, visit www. Blueridgebridalshow.com. Registration is also being accepted to be the Featured Blue Ridge Bride!

About Blue Ridge Bridal Show: Blue Ridge Bridal Shows mission is to brand the Blue Ridge Shenandoah Valley as a Wedding Destination Region and to brand the client as a Blue Ridge Bride. The region is from Hagerstown to Harrisonburg on Interstate 81, Strasburg to Haymarket on Interstate 66, Route 340 from Elkins to Charles Town West Virginia, and Western Loudoun to Leesburg. Blue Ridge Bridal shows host five shows showcasing this defined region with emphasis on the Wedding Destinations and Venues and the Wedding Professionals serving the Blue Ridge Region. These shows include Charles Town Races and Slots, The Winery at La Grange, The George Washington Hotel, Historic Morven Park and the Winter Marketplace Digital Hi Tech Show in Winchester, Virginia. Each show has a theme that supports the area of the Blue Ridge hosting the show. The Blue Ridge Bridal shows are produced by Encore Event Partners, LLC and are in their sixth year.

Contact:    Nancy Craun, President
      Blue Ridge Bridal Show
      540-533-1853
      www.blueridgebridalshow.com   

Source: www.prweb.com

Original Article - Here

The scaled-down weddings of last year are likely to continue as a trend this year, say industry experts, but that isn’t necessarily bad news.

Lori Stephenson, owner of Chicago-based LOLA Event Productions, says less can be more. Stephenson says a guest list of 150 is now an average size as compared to 200-250 a few years ago.

There is also a noticeable increase in guests turning down wedding invites. The decline rate has gone from an expected 10-20 per cent to 25 per cent or more, Stephenson said.

But smaller wedding sizes open the opportunity to look at creative venues like heritage homes, restaurants and loft spaces, not just traditional hotel ballrooms and halls.

Alternative venues that showcase the bride and groom’s interests and passions can offer a unique setting. Stephenson suggests art lovers should consider a gallery; and wine enthusiasts should investigate a restaurant that specializes in wine and tasting plates.

Stephenson says with fewer people attending, you can also maximize little touches like hotel amenity gifts or inviting out-of-town guests to a pre-nuptial cocktail party the evening before the wedding. Another nice touch is making the weekend about more than just the wedding with a complimentary site-seeing outing like an architectural cruise or a museum visit the morning of the wedding.

Source: Here

By Margaret Fosmoe

 

Tough economic times have affected all areas of American life, including wedding planning, some engaged couples and vendors said Sunday during the Bridal Spectacular at Century Center.

Photographer Pat Brownewell, of Elkhart-based Brownewell Photography, said he’s noticed a trend in the last year or two toward bridal parties demanding rock-bottom rates.

Brownewell said he already offers economical rates, about $900 for a typical wedding.

Still, he said, some bridal parties will hear that price and come back and say: “My budget is $500,” expecting him to match that price. He generally doesn’t.

“I’m already a lower-end photographer,” he said. Cutting those rates means he won’t earn enough money to make the job worth the work, he said.

Bride-to-be Jennifer Burkus, 25, of South Bend, said she and her fiancé intentionally planned a small wedding with about 30 guests for April 3. “Money is tight. I have a daughter,” Burkus said.

To reduce expenses, the couple will be married and have their reception in the same building. The whole event will cost less than $1,000, not including her bridal gown, she said.

Graphic designer Madison Jennifer Clark, of Sturgis, recently started her own business designing wedding invitations. “Everyone seems to be on a budget,” said Clark, a 2009 University of Notre Dame graduate.

“That’s why I started my business. I’m offering a more affordable product,” said Clark, who said she offers competitive prices and relies on a local printer.

She’s also planning her own wedding, which will be July 3. Her parents are paying for the event. “They set a budget and I’m sticking to it,” she said.

Clark’s advice to other brides: “Choose your priorities. Spend most on what you think is most important.”

 For Full Story Click Here

NEW YORK, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ — BridalTweet.com today announced the launch of a new suite of recommended business services for wedding professionals. The online wedding community will now expand its focus by providing wedding vendors with various ways to optimize their wedding businesses within the growing wedding industry.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100111/NY34861)

BridalTweet.com’s creator, Christine Dyer has spent the last few months sharing free wedding business advice in a weekly blog called Supercharge Your Wedding Business. Through blogging and by attentively listening to the members of the BridalTweet.com community, it became apparent to Dyer that there was an even greater need to help wedding professionals to grow their wedding businesses.

“I wanted to create a community that wedding professionals could turn to for all of their wedding business needs,” shared Dyer. Wedding professionals will not only be able to find free business advice and networking opportunities at BridalTweet.com, but they can also receive assistance with business planning, website design, search engine optimization, email marketing, public relations and more. Dyer hand-picked these services based on her own positive experiences with the providers as well as recommendations from other members of the wedding professional community. The new suite of trusted business services can be found at http://www.bridaltweet.com/page/wedding-business-headquarters.

“BridalTweet.com truly revolutionizes the way wedding professionals can grow their businesses,” said Dyer. “After listening to the needs of the BridalTweet.com community, I have turned it into a place that will not only help wedding professionals to network, but it will also save them money, and will help them to run their businesses more effectively. BridalTweet.com’s ultimate goal is to help improve a wedding professional’s productivity and bottom line by giving them easy access to effective wedding business tools.”

About BridalTweet.com: Headquartered in New York, NY, BridalTweet (www.BridalTweet.com) is a free online wedding community where brides, wedding vendors, and wedding bloggers can create meaningful relationships. At BridalTweet.com, brides can find free wedding advice, exclusive offers, giveaways, local events, and more. BridalTweet is also the only place that wedding professionals can turn to for free business advice, business connections, and business services. This is one of the first wedding communities that enables wedding vendors to have a voice - allowing for deeper marketing conversations. Since April 2009, 5,200 members have joined BridalTweet.com and membership increases daily.

Source: www. BridalTweet.com

AWARD-WINNING wedding planner Tammy Bateman says most people are unaware of the economic importance of the wedding industry to the Kempsey shire.

The wedding industry was largely unaffected by the recent economic downturn, and brings in hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to the Macleay Valley economy.

Mrs Bateman’s company Red Jaffer, at South West Rocks, was honoured at the 2009 NSW Australian Bridal Industry Awards in Sydney.

Red Jaffer placed second State wide in the independent wedding planner category, and fifth in the decoration section.

The second place in the wedding planner category makes the business eligible for the national bridal industry awards.

Mrs Bateman was ecstatic at her company’s success.

“When my husband Darren and I started a little more than four years ago we could not have dreamed of this,” she said.

“To beat a company like Decorative Events (a leading Sydney-based wedding planner) who are the absolute best in the business and are my idols is unbelievable.

“To even be considered to be in their league is still a bit overwhelming.”

Mrs Bateman said she had worked hard at marketing the Macleay Valley as an ideal location for what are known as ‘destination weddings’.

“The idea is that if you are going to ask people to travel a long distance from interstate or overseas for your wedding you can reward them by enabling them to combine it with a bit of a holiday,” she said.

“It also makes it a bit more special for the bride and groom.

“The natural beauty of the Macleay Valley coast makes it perfect for this type of event. South West Rocks is a big selling point.”

The financial benefits of a wedding are not just confined to the wedding planner.

“Other business people in the town tell me they know when we have a big wedding by their increased sales,” Mrs Bateman said.

“We have held more than 30 weddings for non-residents; they bring in 80 to 100 guests each who stay for several days at least, spending a few hundred dollars a day.

“The pharmacy sells more make-up, the hair salon has more appointments, and the surf club bar serves more lunches.

“The fruit shop, the bakery, the newsagent, they all benefit. It doesn’t take long to add up.”

Source: www.macleayargus.com

LAS VEGAS, NV–(Marketwire - January 4, 2010) - The 36th Bridal Spectacular will be held Jan 29 & 30 at Cashman Convention Center. This event, known for keeping the bride in touch with the latest trends, is also going to give the bride a touch of the old, with a Vintage Wedding Gown display featuring dresses from the 40’s through the 80’s. The attendees will also be treated to Vignettes of Popular Wedding Colors.

The decision to do a Vintage Collection so that brides could see what type of dresses their mom, grand moms and great-grand moms wore came to be while the show’s producer and her daughter were shopping in antique stores on a recent trip to South Carolina. They fell in love with some of the aging vintage lace and satin dresses left behind by generations of the past. Hansen’s daughter, Laura, having grown up in the business, said, “Mom, if I love looking at these dresses, don’t you think the brides at the show would love this opportunity too?” Twelve dress purchases later, the collection came together.

The Color Vignettes to be seen in the trends section at The Bridal Spectacular, came about as Debra Hansen surveyed one thousand brides and ran polls on Facebook. The brides enjoyed sharing the colors they were planning their weddings around and were looking for floral and décor ideas to accent these colors. Hansen then put together a team of designers comprised of Naakiti Floral Design and Enchanted Florist of Las Vegas. The end result will be eight scenarios of the most popular color combinations for today’s weddings.

For full article Click here

Source: www.marketwire.com

January 5, 2010 — Gone are the days of registering for crystal and china that will only be used a couple of times a year. Instead, enter the era of the wish registry, and a chance for wedding guests to give newly married couples once in a lifetime experiences, a brighter future and a chance to live their life together to the fullest.

Newly launched UponOurStar (www.uponourstar.com) is the industry’s first wish registry site for brides and grooms-to-be. The site gives couples a platform to express their wedding wishes, and gives wedding guests an opportunity to celebrate the couple’s union by investing in their hopes and dreams. Each year, billions of dollars are spent on store-bought wedding gifts, and while luggage and towels can be useful, an investment in a couple’s future is a far more meaningful way to wish a couple well on the most important day of their lives.

“What’s a fairytale wedding without the granting of a wish or two,” said Mariko Takeuchi, managing director of UponOurStar. “Rather than browsing catalogs and stores to come up with a list of ‘stuff’ traditionally viewed as requirements for starting a life together, couples can share their greatest hopes, dreams and wishes with their friends and family, and enlist their help in making them come true.”

Today’s couples are thinking ‘outside the gift box’ when it comes to selecting what should be on their wedding registry. According to recent statistics and research, most couples get married in their late 20s and are already established, thus eliminating the need for common household items that once dominated traditional gift registries. Instead of appliances and linens, most modern couples would much rather have guests contribute to their commitment to a healthy lifestyle or a college education for their future children. And these are exactly the types of wishes and dreams that UponOurStar wants to help make a reality for couples.

To read full article Click here

Source: www.prwed.com

State-Of-The-Art Production Facility Recognized as “A Model of Industrial Production Efficiency”

ENDICOTT, N.Y., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Endicott-based Wedding Gown Preservation Co. received national recognition last week for their state-of-the-art cleaning and preservation facility. American Drycleaner Magazine awarded them a Special Honor in the category of “Outstanding Production Facility” during an annual contest. The business is locally owned and operated by Sue and Michael Schapiro.

The 18,890-square-foot facility is “a model of industrial production efficiency,” according to Ian Murphy, Editor of American Drycleaner Magazine. Custom-made cleaning equipment, a high-tech rail system, and employees certified in the latest cleaning techniques allow team members to preserve the memories of a couple’s special day for years to come. Quality control procedures, along with computerized tracking, allow for exceptional customer service. “Wedding Gown Preservation Co. continues to be the leader in the industry through continuous improvement and innovation,” says owner Michael Schapiro, who is the third generation of the family business which has been in Endicott since 1913.

To see full article Click here

Sorce: www.prnewswire.com