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The Wedding and Event Planners Blog 
Wednesday, 29 April 2009

"People wait for opportunity to come along yet it is there every morning."

Dennis the Menace

POSTED BY: AT 08:00 am   |  Permalink   |  E-mail this
Saturday, 25 April 2009

Would you be interested in buying an already established wedding planning business in Melbourne?  Then take a look at the information below, or download the PDF, and contact Frances directly to talk futher.

POSTED BY: AT 08:02 am   |  Permalink   |  E-mail this
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
"Find what you love to do. Find your passion. Know what makes you want to get up in the morning, that's all you need."

Condoleeza Rice
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Sunday, 19 April 2009

There's been a lot of action around the world on the wedding front this week.  Here's what's been going on ...

Cathy Freeman Got Married
And she sold the rights to the photos to a women's magazine to raise money for her foundation.  We'll have to wait for the photos, but one journalist isn't sure that the money raised is worth it.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25324462-5000117,00.html

Roger Federer was Married
http://tennistalk.com/en/news/20090414/Federer_on_marriage:_%22I_love_being_a_Swiss%22

Salma Hayak is planning a $2million wedding ... or is she
Gossip was hot this week that after a quite Paris wedding on Valentine's Day, Salma Hayak was now planning a stunning $2million celebration.  However, the star herself has denied the rumour.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.
http://www.theinsider.com/news/2019283_Latin_beauty_Salma_Hayek_to_throw_a_2_million_wedding_bash
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20272708,00.html

The Japanese Emperor and Empress celebrated 50 year of marriage. 
Imagine the challenges and changes they have been through in the last 50 years.  The Emperor and Empress have changed the Chrysanthemum Throne in many ways, brining them closer to the people and going to much effort to be portrayed as an "ordinary couple", given that before 1945 the Emperor never even spoke in public and, when on the throne, the current Emperor's father was worshiped as a demi-god.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jRJ90B83R6W-KJEbmt32vE_ObmiA

US wedding budgets are being slashed.  Will Australia follow?
Fox Business reports that 75% of couples are scaling back their wedding spend.  According to the "What's on Bride's Minds" survey by David's Bridal,  over half of all brides do not plan to spend more than $USD25,000 ($AUD34,000) on their nuptials, and 77% of those saving money said that paying off debts took precedence over throwing a lavish wedding.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/brides-budget-weddings-slashed/

CNN Reports on a Bride who Bartered Her Way To a Dream Wedding
One California couple was determined that a bad economy was not going to stop them from having their dream wedding. They decided to trade their skills and time for what they wanted.  Luckily, they were in the industry and were able to barter the videotaping and editing services of their production company, Major Diamond Productions, for the goods and services they needed for their wedding and reception.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/04/10/bartering.wedding/

$USD1.5M Peacock feather wedding gown unveiled
A Chinese wedding dress factory unveiled  their peacock feather wedding dress at a recent expo.  Said to have taken eight workers 40 days creating, the dress is valued at $1.5 million dress and has 2,009 peacock feathers.
http://www.luxuo.com/fashion/peacock-feather-wedding-dress-china.html

A slice of 138 year old royal wedding cake goes on sale
From one of the most controversial of British royal weddings ... don't think it'd taste so good now.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/5158418/Royal-wedding-cake-from-1871-goes-on-sale.html

Prices on Vera Wang wedding gowns drop up to 40%
The 2010 collection was released this week with prices starting at up to 40% lower than last year's collection.  Does this make a Vera Wang dress affordable?  I guess it's relative to your budget.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/luxe-life/2009/04/15/affordable-vera-wang-wedding-gowns-in-2010.html
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/04/vera_wangs_wedding_dresses_now.html

 

POSTED BY: AT 10:30 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Wednesday, 15 April 2009

The Wedding Ladies are Yvonne & Denise.  Located in Menai in Sydney's Southern suburbs, they've taken a friendship into a successful business and are enjoying themselves immensely.  We recently spoke to Yvonne about their business, and are very honoured to have The Wedding Ladies as our first "Meet Our Members" participant.

When & how did you get started in wedding planning/the wedding industry?
The Wedding Ladies was started in 2006 by friends Yvonne and Denise.  Yvonne had always wanted to work in event coordination, and had organised many weddings & debutantes.  After seeing an add in the paper, she did a short course and then opened up The Wedding Ladies with her close friend Denise.  Both Yvonne and Denise had worked in events in various capacities and used their experience and friendship to start a successful business as The Wedding Ladies.

What type of weddings/services/products do you specialise in?
The Wedding Ladies provide full service wedding planning and coordination. This year, they have introduced a hire service as well to supply linens and accessories to local brides and event planners who want to do the work themselves.  This has proved very popular and they are always adding to their inventory.

If you had to start over what one thing would you do differently? 
Advertise more appropriately.

What's your favourite item in your emergency kit?
Bandaids, for the blisters on feet caused by all those lovely new shoes, and Hollywood tape.

What is the best piece of business advice you've ever received?
There’s no need to tell everyone the full extent of your business.  It’s OK to keep them thinking sometimes.  In respect of what you do, and what your capabilities are, you should let people know that as they can then refer possible clients to you.  But as far as the financials and other business management details, there’s no need to be so open about that with friends and family, and certainly not clients.

What are your three favourite websites/blogs?
Google.  Easy Weddings.  American wedding websites.

What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year?
Tom Cruise: An Unauthorised Biography by Andrew Morton

What music are you currently listening to?
Seal

What’s your hidden talent?
Decorating

Who are you inspired by?
Each other.

Check out The Wedding Ladies at www.theweddingladies.com.au

 

If you are a member and would like to be showcased on Meet Our Members, emai the answers to the above questions, a photo of yourself, and your company logo to members@awepn.com.au.

POSTED BY: AT 10:30 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
"The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer."

Nolan Bushnell
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Friday, 10 April 2009
Welcome to our first Real Wedding segment.  We've all seen enough bridal magazines and websites to know that the real weddings sections are super popular.  But what about a Real Wedding from the planners perspective?  That's what our Real Wedding's are all about.

Our first real wedding is from Jeannie at Stradbroke Weddings.  I think she's one of the luckiest planners I know getting to work in such an idylic location all the time.  So, here's her Real Wedding ...

How did the couple and planner meet?
 
The first contact was through an enquiry via the website, followed by a face to face meeting.

What services were used?

We provided them with a full wedding coordination including a beach marquee reception.

What was the wow factor?
A marquee installed on the beach is always the WOW factor and this one was no exception.  The ceremony was held on the beach just outside the marquee and at the end of the ceremony, we had the DJ play “Kashmir” by Led Zeplin.  It was a stormy day and with that fantastic music playing across the beach and the waves, the stormy clouds and the champagne flowing, there was nowhere else you would have wanted to have been– Fantastic!  I love it went my clients do things a little out of the ordinary.  I get a bit tired of hearing the same old ceremony songs.

Colour scheme/theme & how you incorporated it:
Red and white.  The clients were not the creative type.  They just stipulated red Roses so we went to town with the flowers and lanterns in the marquee.  Outside we had a chill out area with ottomans and all around the perimeter of the marquee, we installed white Willow and Bamboo tripod ‘trees’ which were lit with red lights buried into the sand.  It was very effective.

Venue review:
A beach marquee is always gorgeous.  The bad points are sore calf muscles from running around in the sand all day and night!

Three main components of the wedding: 
Fabulous food, soft lighting and great music.

Three biggest areas of spend: 
Food, marquee and decorations.

Catering style:
Buffet style catering (it’s easier on the beach than an alternate drop), lots of fresh seafood for which the Island is famous.

Entertainment:
Ceremony & reception - A DJ provided all the music.  I have a small group of very loyal DJS whom I know well.  They are very flexible and will play from the first glass of champagne until the last person is left standing and they are very unobtrusive.  The perfect recipe for a DJ!

Overall budget:
$45,000



POSTED BY: Fiona Wilkinson AT 06:00 am   |  Permalink   |  0 Comments  |  E-mail this
Wednesday, 08 April 2009
"Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude."

Timothy Bentley
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Wednesday, 01 April 2009

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.

Sarah Caldwell

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