Wish Upon A Wedding Philadelphia-Your chance to give back!

One of the most rewarding parts of being in the special events industry, aside from the relationships formed, is the ability to make our client's event dreams come true. As an advocate of giving back, I'm extremely proud to announce our support and involvement in Wish Upon A Wedding Philadelphia.

Wish Upon a Wedding is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization that provides weddings and vow renewals to couples facing terminal illness or other serious life-altering circumstances, regardless of sexual orientation. Often, couples facing such situations do not have the energy, time, money, or resources needed to plan their wedding. The organization takes care of all the details, offering couples a chance to relax and enjoy a very special day while surrounded by the love of their closest family and friends.

We have been extremely fortunate thus far and received a huge amount of support from our local colleagues at the Chapter launch party last month. As we continue to grow the organization, will continue to ask for your support. The best part, rather you are a wedding professional or not, there are many ways to get involved in this organization.

Since there were many people who did not get to join us for the launch party, we are having a meet and greet at Germantown Cricket Club, next Tuesday March 1st, so you can learn more about the organization and how you can get involved!

The Club is located at 411 West Manheim Street Philadelphia, PA 19144 and is truly a remarkable space to tour if you have never been.

This informal meet and greet will be a great time for you to chat with the board members one-on-one to discuss and address any questions you may have. A brief presentation will also be made highlighting some of the work done by other chapters across the country.

Please RSVP to this event posting on Facebook or to our Chapter President at: philadelphiapresident@wishuponawedding.org so we know how many to expect!

Hope to see you there!

SNEAK PEEK: Jennifer married David

Two words: High Society.

I'm so excited to share with you a sneak peak of one of our 2010 weddings provided by the phenomenal Kea Taylor of Imagine Photography .

Jennifer & David were married at the Philadelphia Cathedral with their lavish reception held at the Loews Philadelphia. The couple managed to throw one of the most amazing celebrations we've had the opportunity to assist with with a vendor team and guest list of some the best in the industry.

Additional details to follow, but for now, I will leave you with this image.



Happy Thursday!

A Planner Plans: The Good Life

Oh blog, how I've missed thee. I can't believe it's been over a month since my last confession.

I took a short hiatus from the blog to really buckle down and concentrate on life as a Bride and not just a planner. The truth is, during the majority of the year, I spent more time being a planner, than a bride. I wanted to make sure I didn't blink and miss the moments that count.

I have so much to catch up on and lots to share both from our wedding and those of my gorgeous 2010 couples. In the meantime I leave you with one sneak peak from our awesome videographers (yes, you read that correctly videographers) at Illumimoto Cinema and a heartfelt, Happy New Year!

A Planner plans: Words of Wisdom

As the wedding date approaches Mr. Charming and I have received an ASTRONOMICAL amount of advice. Mostly unsolicited.

We always take notes.

What I've learned over the course of our engagement, and courtship in general, is that your relationship is what you make it. There's no road map to the "perfect" marriage because in my eyes it just doesn't exist. If it does, it's usually just on the surface. The reality is, when you join two lives, there will be differences of opinions and approach, it's what will typically strengthen your relationship over time.

During our last counseling session, our Reverend gave us some real words of wisdom. When you love someone, don't love them to "death". Love them to life. Enjoy the life that you build with them, cherish their existence, pray for their well being more than your own, worship with them and recognize that your time on this earth is not promised.

Mr. Charming and I have had an interesting relationship. Not perfect by any means but the imperfection is what makes him truly charming. You see, I'm marrying the person who makes me feel everyday like I want to be better. For him, myself and my family. The one person who sees beyond the "surface", walks this walk of reality with me everyday and loves me, regardless.

The best advice I've heard so far...Marriage is a constant verb.

21.

A Planner Plans: The dress

I'm not one for superstition. Mr. Charming and I are seeing each other the night before. We're are seeing either other prior to the ceremony. He has seen my dress. Although I actually wanted him to come with me on the shopping trip, he didn't because it's where he drew the line. He would like some element of surprise and I'm ok with that.

But traditional I pretty much am not.

The hunt for the perfect dress was a short one. In fact, it took about 10% of the effort it took to find my shoes.

My first stop on the journey was Country Way Bridals in Haddonfield, NJ. The ladies over there are fabulous and it was where I ultimately selected my bridesmaid dresses. It was there that I met my first love:


Melissa Sweet Mila (Source www.preownedweddingdresses.com)

I adored her from afar for days. I contemplated the purchase mainly due to budget. Although pricewise she was within my dress budget, logically, I just couldn't wrap my head around the cost of the dress. Something I'd only be wearing for 10 hours of my life. (Says the women with $835 shoes). A little crazy? Maybe. But I couldn't, so I moved on.

The next stops were pretty much all of the local bridal salons within a 30 mile radius and a few on a random trip to New York. Verdict? Ehh.

I found myself running into the same problem. The dreaded bridal sample gown.

A few things never worked in my favor. #1 Height. I'm a little under 5' 2". There is no podium in the world that will make me look like anything other than swallowed in a dress made for someone seven inches taller.

#2. Well endowed. I have a fairly petite frame, but am quite generously endowed in areas. The bottom half of my bottom is comfortable in an 8. If I was interested in seeing how half of the dress looked, I would have struck gold.

#3. Lack of imagination. I'm just not one for imagining how a dress is going to look. I need to actually SEE it to get the feel.

----I wanted to take a minute to let you in on something I forgot to mention at the beginning of the post. I went shopping by myslef. GASP. I know---

After about two weeks time, one Saturday I ventured into Kay Bridal in Maple Shade, NJ. I've passed the salon a million times as it's off of a major highway I frequent. That day I figured, what the heck and went in.

I had an amazing experience. First, there was no rushing. There were many brides there but my saleswoman took great care of me. Two, they had the dress that met all of my requirements:

One shoulder, comfortable, affordable, sophisticated yet not over embellished. Oh...and buttons. I am a sucker for a wedding gown that buttons down the back.

When we entered the fitting room, the consultant took one look at the gown and said-that one is yours. She encouraged me to try on the others that we had already grabbed but reiterated, it's this one. She was right.

So, without further ado, internet meet my Maggie. Fiorella is what I call her.





Source (Recycled Bride)