Monday, April 21, 2008

THE Moment!!

As a wedding planner, I get asked a lot of questions about what it is like, and do I have any things that stand out in my mind. I thought I would share one thing that is always a constant with every wedding that I do.

My favorite moment is that instant before the bride walks down the aisle. Her bridesmaids have all made their journey down the aisle, and she is the last one at the back waiting with her dad or parents and there is that anticipation of what is about to happen. THE moment she has dreamt about since she was a little girl. She has watched all of the brides before her when she was growing up, and thinking that someday… that is going to be her. The months of planning for this big day, and the time has finally arrived. NOW it is finally HER moment to shine, and she is going to meet the man of her dreams at the end of the aisle. She is in her dress that she has meticulously picked out, her hair is a vision and the make-up equally so. Last minute words from her father and/or mother before they take those first timid steps (and maybe some tears, and that gets me EVERYTIME!!), and THEN here it is…. the music starts, the doors open, and VOILA, behold THE BRIDE!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Inspiration boards

I love the idea of these. It is like when you were a kid and you wanted to glue a bunch of pictures on a poster board for a school project.

It becomes particularly handy when planning your wedding as you save an image from a website or scan a photo from a magazine and have all of your ideas saved in one location and can give a really good idea of the theme or mood you are trying to create with your wedding.

I did up a really quick one using a "diamond theme". All of the images I used can be found on my website www.dreammakerwed.com under either the bouquet jewels shopping cart or through the online weddingstar link I have on the site as well.

I know I will have some fun playing around with this little gem. I did this image board in a matter of minutes just to see what it did. Here it is:
http://bighugelabs.com/photos/9ed5c69f932b16141a23f442cd3cb91e/mosaic706124

Now you yourself can make an image board to keep track of all of the wonderful ideas you have for your upcoming wedding. Enjoy!!

Monday, February 25, 2008

No Bride Wants To Be Labeled "Bridezilla!"

Today I’m going to focus on the term “Bridezilla”. It has become a very popular phrase in the wedding industry in the last few of years. Why has this term become so popular??!! What does this mean exactly? And what can you do to stop your inner Bridezilla from rearing her ugly head?

Through some internet research, the term Bridezillas was coined in 1995. It's slang, but one of the official definitions is “a bride-to-be who focuses so much on the event that she becomes difficult and obnoxious.”

One of the more interesting and funny definitions I found was this one from Webster’s: Bridezilla\ bride-zil-a n 1 Horrific, bulging-eyed bride prone to screaming spells and spontaneous fits of hysterical rage. Bridezillas are known to drop blows over seating charts, get bug-eyed at the mere mention of carnations and view hurling champagne at their wedding planners as a form of hazing”.

So what is it with this term “Bridezilla?” Is it a case of a few brides ruining it for the many? Yes, they are out there, these so called Bridezillas. We’ve seen them through TV shows. But are the majority of brides out there really this way? Maybe these Bridezillas aren’t nice people to start with? Maybe they are control freaks in their “real” lives? Or are they like this naturally?

I’ve had clients that are so worried about being labeled a Bridezilla, that they go out of their way to make sure they are not!! They were nice people before planning the wedding, and they will be nice people after the wedding is over. Maybe this is not the case of the dreaded Bridezilla!!

Society and the media as a whole seem to love controversy and negative things. Why not focus on the positives and all the wonderful brides out there? (I don’t mean to exclude the grooms, but it is a “bride specific” term we are discussing).

I have 10+ years of experience as a certified wedding consultant with Dream Maker Wedding Consultants (http://www.dreammakerwed.com), and with that experience under my belt it makes me somewhat of an expert in dealing with brides.

I’ve been fortunate to work with more than 100 clients over the years and they have been really wonderful people. Warm, kind, appreciative, and caring. At first I thought it was the city I live in (Calgary, AB, Canada), but that is not the case. I also sell unique and beautiful Bouquet Jewels through my website (http://www.dreammakerwed.com/bouquet_jewels.html ), and have worked with amazing people from all over the world – places like New York, Australia, Italy, Britain, and Hawaii. They are quick to start conversations through e-mail, and genuinely show their appreciation for the things I do for them.

I often tell my clients not to forget what the day is about. It is about the marriage, and don’t let the small details take away from the bigger picture. If you plan ahead, have help along the way, then Bridzilla never needs to show up. And know that the day will be beautiful whether the flowers are in the right spot or not. You are getting married for a lifetime, and the wedding is just one day of that lifetime.