Archive for January, 2009
January 31, 2009
Hi There, I am in Atlanta, Ga. The room is very nice. I flew on USAIR and was hoping to have Sully as my pilot. I don’t know who I had, but it was not Sully. I’m not too impressed with US AIR. The flight was very reasonable, however, they charge for everything including water! The stewardesses were not very nice. We left late because the fuel gauge wasn’t working on the first plane and somebody had to come and physically check the fuel level before we could leave. That caused us to arrive late in Phoenix, AZ where I needed to change planes. We were the last two people on the plane, running to get to the gate. We arrived at gate 5 and left at gate 26. They couldn’t have been further away from each other! The second plane had a problem with running water in one of the restrooms. But, we arrived here safe and sound.
I had no idea how big the airport here in Atlanta is. I was told it is the largest in the United States. You could see multiple planes lined up in the air waiting to come down for landings, while we were landing!!! Unbelievable!
Going to go out and see Atlanta today. The weather is sunny and expected to be in the high 50′s. I looked ahead at the weather, and Tuesday, the day I’m on Everyday Live with Marcus and Lisa, they are expecting snow flurries! OMG! I’m a California girl and I don’t like driving in the snow. I have a rental car with no tire chains. Think good thoughts for me and the weather!
January 30, 2009
Hi There, I am leaving this morning for Atlanta, Ga. I’ll be a guest on the EveryDay Live with Marcus and Lisa show on Tuesday, 2/3/09. The show airs EST from 11 AM – Noon. It is on familynettv. You can go to www.familynettv.com and see whether the show is available in your area. It is a NATIONAL show. I’ll be making a bridal bouquet and centerpiece and answering a lot of questions! Watch me if you can!
January 27, 2009
About 30% of all couples get engaged over the Christmas/Hanukah Holiday and Valentine’s Day. The wedding industry has already seen the first flurry of brides calling to plan their big day. Soon, the second wave of calls will start coming in.
Planning a wedding at any time is very stressful. Planning a wedding during a recession is exponentially more stressful. Angie Zimmerman, owner of Heavenly Flowers & Events in El Dorado Hills, Ca. has found a way to help brides with planning their wedding flowers and saving a ton of money. Zimmerman has written a Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide. Included is a workbook with step by step instructions on how to do EVERYTHING you will need for your wedding and 5 DVD’s showing brides how to do EVERYTHING you will need for your wedding flowers. Zimmerman says a bride can save as much as 75% of the cost of the flowers by doing them yourself.
She cautions that it does take some time and planning and you will need the help of your bridesmaids, moms, aunts, cousins, friends…..anyone willing to help. But, if planned properly, you can walk down the aisle with beautiful flowers that you will be proud to say you did yourself, all the while knowing how much money you saved to boot!
Visit www.doityourselfweddingflowerguide.com for more information. The guide is available in two formats; a download format and a hard copy format.
Zimmerman will be a guest on the EveryDay Live with Marcus and Lisa Show on 2/3/09. The show is a national show airing Monday through Friday out of Atlanta, Ga. on the Familynet TV station. She has been interviewed on the KGBB radio show of Bonnie Graham on 1/2/09. She will be interviewed on WTBQ – The Morning Show with Fran Truatt on 2/4/09.
# # #
http://www.prlog.org/10172748.html
January 26, 2009
Hi There, I’ve been wanting to talk about his for awhile now….what is up with BLUE? I have had so many BLUE weddings lately! Lots of dark blues, like navy blue and midnight blue. There are some Tiffany blues and some Carribean blues, even some baby blue and cornflower blue. I just can’t get over how many blue weddings I’ve had lately. The interesting thing is that there are very few BLUE flowers. Hydrangeas, cornflowers, irises and delphinium are naturally blue. There are some dendrobium orchids that are dyed blue in Tailand. They dye them while they are still in the ground. The result is a royal blue with turquoise hints. Not a favorite of mine….but hey, I’ll do whatever the bride wants!
I’ve seen dyed blue roses and dyed blue daisies also.
The good news here is you typically don’t want to put the same colored flower against the same colored dress. Why? Because you can’t see the flowers. You need a little contrast between the color of the flowers nad the color of the dress. Lots of colors go with blue. You can use pink, yellow, orange, green, white, purple and even red. A few years ago Martha Stewart was pushing a tiffany blue with a brick red color scheme. It sounds kind of weird, but she made it look good!
Pink is still popular and has been for the last couple of years. This year I have a YELLOW wedding – only the second yellow wedding in 18 years!
According to the magazines, GREEN is the new trend color. I find it takes 1-2 years before the predicted trends become actual trends in this part of the country.
Be a trend setter! Use whatever colors float your boat!
January 23, 2009
Today I am sharing 7 Tips for Surviving the Bridal Fair Jungle from my friend Ciara Daykin. Ciara is a bridal consultant in Canada. She offers a Do It Yourself Wedding Planning product that you should check out! Visit her site at www.fireflyoccasions.com
7 Tips For Surviving the Bridal Fair Jungle
By Ciara Daykin
Bridal shows can be completely OVERWHELMING for a bride. There are so many other brides, so many booths, everyone is trying to get from point to point and it can really get crazy. In this special edition of my ezine I’m going to give you some savvy tips and tricks for hitting the bridal fair with style and sass!!
Tip # 1: Wear comfy shoes! – You’re going to be walking a mile on a hard tradeshow floor. Yes, it’s lovely to look fashionable but the brides in stilettos never last long at the bridal fair. If you really want to see everything and be comfortable think about your feet first! (But be a little elegant and leave the stinky gym sneakers at home… opt for some cute supportive flats)
Tip #2: 1000 Brides Gather In 1 Place - You think it might be a bit of a mob scene? Well then you’re absolutely right! If you really want to get some valuable one on one time with the exhibitors I recommend planning the timing of your visit to the Fair. When the fashion show is taking place the booths slow down significantly. This is a great time to chat with an exhibitor or try on dresses at the gown sale. I also recommend first thing in the morning (especially if you want your pick of all those frugally priced gowns).
Tip #3: Your Hand Will Cramp - Many exhibitors will be offering prizes at their booths and you’ll be asked to fill out a ballot form. You waste valuable time writing out your contact info again and AGAIN. So print off a couple sheets of labels that include your name, your groom’s name, your wedding date, your address, phone number and email. Then it will be easy to just peel and stick your info to the ballots. Then you can spend quality time checking out all the cool stuff on display!
Tip #4: Watch Out For Bridezilla! - I often see the dreaded bridezilla at the Bridal Fair. You know her… she’s the girl that pushes your Mom aside so she can get a better look at the booth, she criticizes your wedding colors when she overhears you gushing about them, she muscles her way to the prize box while telling the exhibitor she doesn’t want any information (just the prize!) and she complains loudly about how expensive everything is…. Oh yes… Bridezilla always makes an appearance at the Bridal Fair. But don’t let this kind of bride ruin your good time! She has a bunch of BAD karma surrounding her so just IGNORE HER and have some fun!
Tip #5: Be Patient & Be Nice – Be the opposite of bridezilla. The exhibitors at the show have brought some really great deals with them… some that you won’t even know about unless you talk to them! It’s true! This kind of mentality will get you far with other exhibitors as well. I find myself giving extra nice brides FREE advice! I know other exhibitors do too!! (because we all want to work with nice brides)
Tip #6: Hydrate! – The Round Up Centre with over 1000 people in it at any given time can heat up pretty quick. And you can bet the water ain’t cheap! So bring along some water for your journey. You don’t want to get a headache!!
Tip #7: One Step at a Time – Okay, the truth is that there are going to be A LOT of booths, people, and noise at the Bridal Fair. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. YES, there are a lot of choices but you don’t have to choose EVERYTHING or choose ANYTHING right there and then. Here are a couple of TIPS within my TIPS to dealing with all the choices:
-
Seek And Ye Shall Find – Know what you are looking for and enjoy the rest. Don’t feel like you have to choose ALL your vendors from the Bridal Fair. This is just a sampling of some of Calgary’s finest. You may connect with some vendors, you may not. This is a great opportunity to meet people face to face and figure out if they should be part of your wedding day.
-
One by One - Approach each vendor calmly, ready to hear the sales pitch (yes- the sales pitch). The exhibitors are there to sell to you. You’re there to buy right? So if someone is overwhelming you just ask them politely to SLOW DOWN. You don’t need the info dump! Ask the questions you want answered.
-
Thanks But No Thanks - If you’re not interested thank them and walk away. Don’t take the flyer and load up your bridal bag. Guess what? You’ll quickly rifle through that bag ONCE after the fair, pulling out the vendors you connected with… and then it’ll sit in your closet to be found on your 2 year wedding anniversary!
-
© 2009 Firefly Occasions Inc.
Wedding and event planner Ciara Daykin, “The Event Choreographer,” publishes ‘Beautiful Brides’ bi-weekly ezine with 4,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to take your wedding from ordinary to extraordinary and have more fun planning your wedding, get your FREE tips now at www.fireflyoccasions.com
January 19, 2009
Hi There, If you are in the greater Sacramento, Ca. area, come to the Sogno Winery Bridal Show on 2/7/09, from 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM. Sogno Winery is located in Shingle Springs, Ca. Visit the website at http://www.sognowinery.com/. Their address is 3046 Ponderosa Rd., Shingle Springs, Ca.
Come to the show and meet me! I’ll have floral samples for you to view, a photo album with hundreds of photos and my new book, Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide for you to take a look at. You can even place your orders right there!
I’d love to meet you! Hope you can make it!
January 15, 2009
I heard on the news the other night that a new law was taking affect 1/1/09….it allows men to take their wife’s last name! Yep, men can now take their wife’s last name instead of the wife taking the husband’s last name. It is not retroactive. So, if you are already married, this new law does not apply to you. If, however, you are getting married any time in 2009 or later, you may now take your wife’s last name! At least in California. Very interesting.
January 13, 2009
Hi There, this news flash can’t be shocking to anyone, can it? I just read at the Wedding Report (www.theweddingreport.com) that overall wedding spending was down by 24% for 2008. These numbers are based on National Averages. The National average wedding spending was predicted to be at $28,704. However, the actual spending came in at $21,814. I know my own wedding flower business suffered a 50% decline in revenue last year! That is HUGE! I still did the same number of weddings, the brides just spent WAY LESS than normal. For the most part, the brides opted to not have centerpieces at the reception or to do their own centerpieces. This was a huge impact on me writing the Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide. I just hate to see brides not have centerpieces at the reception! This is where you spend the bulk of your time and should be where the bulk of your money is spent on ambiance. The most memorable aspects of your wedding, for your guests, usually are the food and the flowers, followed closely by the entertainment!
Have you checked out what the Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide has to offer yet? You’re going to LOVE what you will be able to do yourself and you’re going to love the money you save even more!
January 9, 2009
NEW Wedding Flower Guide Makes it Possible to Save 50-75% of the Cost of Your Wedding Flowers
Jan 09, 2009
Heavenly Events announces the release of the Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide for brides planning a wedding on a budget. For more info go to www.doityourselfweddingflowerguide.com
January 7, 2009
Hi There, Did you get a change to listen to my radio interview? The time went by very fast. Bonnie is a great interviewer. She really did her homework. She read the workbook and watched 4 of the DVD’s. Could you tell how much she learned about flowers by the questions she asked?
One of the questions she asked was, if you don’t want to get a business license and resale license, where do I suggest you buy flowers? If you live near a COSTCO, try them. The flower kiosk’s are managed by an individual. Find out who that individual is and talk to them about special ordering your flowers. IF you like the internet, there are many online flower markets. But, the one that I recommend is www.fiftyflowers.com. They specialize in wedding flowers and have people that work for them who will help you figure out your order.
Next Page »
