February 29, 2012

It's Sadie Hawkins Day!  Tradition says it's the one day you can ask HIM to marry you!

February 28, 2012

Here's another example of a "budget" honeymoon.

Disney's Paradise Pier
The modest 48 room Paradise Pier Hotel in Anaheim, CA is a quaint little spot within walking distance of Disneyland.  The most affordable of the Disneyland hotels, it's also the smallest.  It has a few key amenities, which make it a great choice for families, namely a really cool rooftop pool with a waterslide and great views, and on-site character dining.

So, what makes it a good deal?
You can't beat Paradise Pier's location and Disney touches for the price.  Disney offers little incentives to make their properties more appealing than the others, like park re-entry (return to your hotel for meals or naps and then return) and free transportation to and from the park.  You'll also have access to a Disney movie room and in-room babysitting.

Information from:  10 Best Budget-Friendly Resorts
http://www.familyvacationcritic.com/

February 27, 2012

True love never grows old . . Proverb

February 26, 2012

Question:  How do we personalize or customize our wedding?

Response:  Personal vows (personal vows are different from love letters, read the love letters to each other on your honeymoon).  The best personal vows are humorous.

Photos of you as a couple (avoid childhood photos or high school yearbook photos).

A short history of how and when you met on your wedding website page or newsletter or on the back of your ceremony program.

Bring in items that reflect your heritage or background. 

If possible, create a menu that includes some of your favorite foods.  At the wedding of William and Kate last April, Prince William requested that his favorite childhood cookies and cakes be served at of one of their receptions.

One of my personal favorite examples of personalizing a wedding occurred several years ago at a Victorian Bed and Breakfast.  The Bride brought wedding photos of his and her parents and grandparents and placed them throughout the Grand Parlor (where the ceremony took place).  She placed a small nosegay of cream-colored roses next to each photograph.  And not to be outdone, the Groom, who is a professional musician, surprised his Bride by singing an original song written just for her at the end of the ceremony.  And even though this wedding was planned and organized in less than thirty days, it was one of the most personal and memorable.

February 25, 2012

If you wish to have a small, intimate ceremony why don't you consider using a chapel rather than the larger sanctuary.  Chapels can be found in hospitals, colleges, senior nursing homes, and adjacent to larger churches.

You could also . .

Suggest that the guests sit in the choir area so they can be closer to the Bride and Groom.

Have the guests surround the Bride and Groom in a semi-circle.

Use a small church choir or a guitarist or a harpist rather than the church organist.

Honor the Bride or Groom's family or heritage by incorporating music from their homeland.

Include personal vows.

Ask someone from each family to present a poem or a story or a reading.

If both the Bride and Groom live in the same town, ask the clergymen or women from those houses of worship to participate in the ceremony or conduct it jointly.

Have the Bride and Groom include personal touches, such as their favorite song or flower or decorative item.

Have the Bride and Groom and/or the witnesses sign the marriage paperwork in view of all the guests.

If possible, try to incorporate a memorable ending by playing a CD of pealing church bells or a trumpet fanfare or a gospel choir singing.

Have the receiving line outside, weather permitting.

Pass out bubbles so the Bride and Groom can exit with a lovely pictorial background.

Create a reception atmosphere by renting a small banquet room in a restaurant or hotel or event center for the meal so the atmosphere still remains "intimate."

Order cupcakes that match the wedding cake.

February 24, 2012

Looking for a place where your guests can just park their car for the weekend because this venue has so much to offer?

Please consider Bentley's Resort Hotel for your rehearsal dinner, the ceremony, the reception, the morning after brunch, and weekend accommodations.
1660 South Tamiami Trail
Osprey (north of Venice, south of Sarasota), FL

Bentley's has just finished a HUGE renovation, and that alone should direct your curiosity to their website
http://www.bentleyssarasota.com/

Contact Renata Sek at Renata@bentleyssarasota.com OR 941-966-2121

February 23, 2012

How you ever been sent a comment card from a vendor or wedding service provider?  Did you fill it out?

Would you only fill it out if that vendor exceeded your expectations?  Or would you only fill it out if the vendor disappointed you or you experienced a problem?

February 22, 2012

Need a hairdresser or make-up artist at your wedding location or at a photography studio?

Contact My Favorite Make Up & Hair Artistry Group
Bridal - Special Events - Concerts - High Fashion

For a complete list of their services go to http://.www.myfavoritemha.com/

or call 727-481-1510

Met one of their representatives at the Professional Wedding Guild networking meeting on February 8, 2012 at Flemings Steakhouse in Sarasota, FL

February 21, 2012

Why a honeymoon?

Long ago it was a period when the Groom, having bought or captured his Bride, disappeared with her so that her family could not rescue her.  The couple hid for a month (moon) and partook of a honeyed wine, called mead, which was thought to have aphrodisiac properties.  By the sixteenth century, honeymoon referred less to a time period and more to a feeling.  Newlyweds were in the "honey" or full phase of their love.

February 20, 2012

Have you ever seen real lavender growing?
Love the fragrance of real lavender?
Are your bridesmaids wearing lavender gowns?
Need an inexpensive gift for a bridal tea?

Then treat yourself (or your bridesmaids) to one or both of these floral-fragranced soaps . .

Savon Extra-Fin Lavande (from the Provence region of France)
http://www.mistralsoap.com

or the classic Yardley English Lavender from Yardley London Established 1770

February 19, 2012

Love is promise, love is a souvenir.  Once given, never forgotten, never let it disappear.
John Lennon

February 18, 2011

Need a big room for your party?  Need a big room for your wedding reception?  Need a small room for your bridal shower?  Need a small room for your rehearsal dinner?  This venue has small, medium or large rooms.  This facility has also its own in-house catering company, Buffalo Bill's Catering Services.

Please consider the Venice Nokomis Elks-Van Hoose Banquet Hall and Event Center
1021 Discovery Way
North Venice, FL

Phone:  941-486-1854
E-mail:  LucyS012561@yahoo.com
Website:  http://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?lodgenumber=1854

February 17, 2012

Would you get married if one of you has a very good credit report and their other one has a very poor credit report?  Did you know that once you are married your scores will affect each other, especially if you wish to apply for a car loan or a mortgage?

February 16, 2012

Met this fine gentleman at the Professional Wedding Guild meeting at Flemings Steakhouse in Sarasota, FL on February 8, 2012.

Michael Fuhrmann, High Definition Wedding and Event FilmMaker

Website:  http://www.artisticmediaonline.com

Phone:  727-784-1188

E-mail:  Mike@artisticmediaonline.com

http://www.artisticmediaonline.com

February 15, 2012

Why is the wedding ring worn on the fourth finger?

There is a beautiful and convincing explanation given by the Chinese . .

Thumb represents your parents
Second (or index) finger represents your siblings
Middle finger represents YOU
Fourth (or ring) finger represents your life partner
And the last (or little) finger represents your children.

Open your palms (face to face), bend the middle fingers and hold them together, back to back.

Then, open and hold the remaining three fingers and the thumb, tip to tip.

Now, try to separate your thumbs (representing your parents), they will open, because your parents are not destined to live with you lifelong, and you will have to leave sooner or later.

Please join your thumbs as before and separate your index fingers (representing your siblings), they will also open, because your brothers and sister will have their own families and will have to lead their own separate lives.

Now join the index fingers and separate your little fingers (representing your children), their will open too, because the children also will get married and settle down on their own some day.

Finally, join your little fingers and try to separate your ring fingers (representing your spouse).  You will be surprised to see that you just CANNOT do that because Husband and Wife have to remain together all their lives, through thick and thin.

Explanation from:  Revered Deb, June 28, 2007, AAWO Digest 1652

February 14, 2012

How beautiful is the day that is touched by L O V E

Happy Valentine's Day!

February 13, 2012

Would you scheduled your wedding for 8AM if you  found a a reception venue that reduces the normal room rental fee by fifty percent and takes off one-third off the normal per person meal fee if the reception starts at 9AM and ends at Noon?

February 12, 2011

Looking for something Cute?  Adorable?  Clever?  Theme oriented?  And Seasonal? 

Than you will be impressed with the cake pops, cake truffles, and pretzel pops by Becky Schultes of "Sweet Teeth."

Becky can be reached at at 856-381-1117 or Sweetteethcakepops@yahoo.com

Website:  Sweetteethcakepops.com   http://www.sweetteethcakepops.com

Applause Applause to Becky Schultes for a job well done!

February 11, 2012

And what does rain on your wedding day mean?

A number of cultures believe that rain on the day of the wedding is VERY GOOD LUCK.

Some believe it washes away any past sins or transgressions so the couple can begin their new life together with a fresh, clean slate.

Some see it as an omen of fertility, since rain helps crops to grow and flowers to bloom, that concept can be extended to love and procreation.

Other take that and run with it, believing that the nourishing rain is a promise of fruitfulness in general (children, prosperity, good health, etc).

Remember . . even the worst storm is only temporary.  The sky will clear, and the sun will shine again.

From:  Reverend Ron, August 23, 2007, American Association of Wedding Officiants

February 10, 2012

I give you my love, forever true

February 9, 2012

Question from a Bride and Groom . .
We signed a contract with a wedding "professional" that we no longer want to use, we did not like the way  that person treated our friends, another engaged couple, when they called for information.  Should we tell them why we are cancelling the contract or just break the contract and ask for our deposit back.

Response . .
First of all, and most importantly, will you regret cancelling this contract?  Do you really want to do business with this person?  If it is not that important to do business with this person than cancel the contract and tell them why you are cancelling the contract (and make sure your get your deposit back unless it is too late).

February 8, 2012

In 2011 an engaged couple attended several weddings, and out of all of those weddings, two of those ceremonies were conducted by someone the Bride and Groom did not know or meet until the day of the ceremony.  And in the words of the engaged couple, both of those ceremonies were "a joke" or poorly prepared and/or organized.  Now, this may have been intentional but if that is true that shows poor judgment on the Bride's part, the Groom's part and the officiant's part.

How a ceremony proceeds, and how it is presented is a direct reflection of the officiant.  Your guests should be envious of the words spoken and the process or actions, your guests should come away from your ceremony wishing that their ceremony was just as moving and memorable as the one they just witnessed.

Keep in mind . . as with other service providers in your life, you get what you pay for.  On more than one occasion I have witnessed a Bride or a Groom or a parent being very disappointed at the cupcakes that were delivered or by the equipment the disc jockey used or the condition of the hall they contracted for the reception.

February 7, 2012

Need a great place where your out-of-town guests can relax and enjoy during your wedding weekend?
Need a hotel/motel that's going to be easy to locate?

Please consider the new Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott
2935 Executive Drive
Venice, FL

Please contact Deborah Petty at 941-488-4343
E-mail:  Deborah.petty@marriott.com

The newest hotel in Venice featuring 103 smoke free guestrooms and suites.  Free breakfast, heated pool/spa, a 24/7 market pantry, and fitness and business center areas.

February 6, 2012

Just recently a Bride and Groom invited over 350 people to their wedding which was scheduled to occur on a three day holiday weekend at a resort about 400 miles from the Bride and Groom's hometown.  The Bride and Groom thought this was a great idea for several reasons. 

Well, apparently, only a few close friends, family members and the wedding party supported this idea because only 75 out of 350 people attended this wedding weekend.  And why, do you ask?  Because the Bride and Groom did not realize that the lodging rates increased on a holiday weekend plus there was a two night minimum.

So, how would you react if less that 25% of your invited guests attended your wedding and reception?

February 5, 2012

Do you need help with your bridal make-up?  Would you like someone to put your make-up on the day of your wedding?  Would you like someone to show you how to apply make-up for your engagement photos or your wedding wedding photographs?

Contact Lisa Gullick independent consultant for Mary Kay Cosmetics
E Forest Lake Drive, Sarasota, FL

Phone:  941-321-6973
E-mail:  LisaGullick@marykay.com

Lisa is very knowledgeable and helpful.

February 4, 2012

A heart that loves is always young . . Greek proverb

February 2, 2012

Question from a Bride and Groom . .

How do we get "a great deal" on a cruise?

Response . .

Choose your timing.  Book as soon as possible for deals and/or upgrades.  There may also be some "last minute specials" if you are willing to take that chance.

Use a travel agent.  They'll tell you where to go and when to go . . and what to avoid.

Consider your itinerary.

Pick you cabin location carefully.  Sometimes moving from Deck 9 to Deck 8 can save you a substantial amount of money.

Watch the airfares.  Check out the airfares with both the cruise line and on your own.

Book your next trip on ship.  Planning your next cruise while on board has long had its benefits with either onboard credits or a percent off the next cruise price.

Get on everyone's list.  Sign up for E-mail blasts or loyalty programs.

Protect your investment.  If you book early, consider paying in full at that time because many lines offer additional savings.  You should ask ask about a price guarantee if the rate drops.

February 1, 2012

If you have old magnetic photo albums, remove your photos, the acid in the glue can cause pictures to deteriorate.  How do you pry them off the sticky pages in one piece?

Here's two ways to free your snapshots safely . .

Slip unwaxed dental floss under an edge of the photo, then slowly slide it back and forth all the way down through the glue.

Use a microspatula to carefully pry up the photo.  This tiny metal blade is available at art supply stores or through http://www.gaylord.com.

From an article by Angela Ebron in Womansday.com in the August 2010 issue.