This year I was lucky enough to attend The Special Event Trade Show. There were tons and tons of booths! They had elaborate tables set up decorated with linens, and other odds and ends. Some of my favorite vendors at the trade show were FreezeFrame, BloomBeads, and Dress my Cupcake. FreezeFrame/Bloombeads specializes in freezing your bouquet from your wedding and putting into a frame, that a memory that will last a lifetime. Also another service they provide it BloomBeads, which is jewelry made from your wedding flowers. They crush the flower into a powder and put it into a bead, and then they make a necklace, earrings, or bracelet out of it! I absolutely loved this idea! Another great vendor was Dress My Cupcake. They have reusable and non reusable liners for your cupcakes after they are baked for display. They can customize liners too if you want to use them for your big day! This event was a blast, and I’m so glad I got to attend!
Get Married
Get Married is a show on the Lifetime channel that airs Monday thru Friday at 7:30 am in the Morning. Colin Cowie is the host along with Deanna Pappas. They have a unique format to the show because they use experts from around the country to help share tips and ideas for planning your dream wedding. Colin always has a few tips that he shares himself on each episode that you are able to use when planning your own wedding… Special Moments has been featured on several of the episodes of Get Married and are proud to be a part of the show.
We have included below a sample of 3 of the various episodes we have been featured on. Each subject has the live video streaming link for you to click on below it a watch it.
Unique Venues:
http://getmarried.com/video/UniqueVenues.htm
Top Tips- Cover Yourself:
http://getmarried.com/video/Cover_Yourself.htm
Unique wedding entertainment:
http://getmarried.com/video/Unique_Entertainment.htm
And Now we are proud to annouce that Get Married is launching a new Magazine that debuts in October of 2009. You can pre-order a complimentary copy on their website that will be mailed to you when the magazine is printed.
Special Moments, Get Married and Colin Cowie are all members of the Association of Bridal Consultants.
“The Standard for Wedding Excellence”
The Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) is the oldest and largest group of wedding professionals in the world, they have been making wedding dreams come true since 1955.
ABC offers the most detailed and comprehensive training in the industry for all it’s wedding professionals. Also, all ABC members agree to uphold the ABC Code of Ethics and Professional Standards of Membership.
To locate a ABC Wedding Professional in your area visit:
The Truth About Wedding Planners
There is a difference between planners and coordinators, although most who claim to be either one are actually both. To start with, coordinators do just that, coordinate! She* may be there just for the day of your event, although you should meet with her a few times before the big day so that she understands your vision and has all the information she needs.
Planners can be involved from the beginning or jump in whenever you need them. They are more involved in the gathering of information, booking of vendors, keeping of budgets, and planning of timelines. They can be involved in just about every decision you make, or just help out when you need them. And of course, they are there on the day of your wedding to make sure things run smoothly.
Both are a wealth of knowledge and should be able to help you with almost every aspect of the wedding, from laying out a budget to knowing the right questions to ask when you meet with 
vendors to planning a detailed schedule for the big day. They are great to have around when you have random questions that need answers or wedding-related tasks that just do not fit on to your To Do list.
Getting what you pay for:
Whether you have planned a wedding, are in the process of planning one, or have been involved in some other way, you know weddings take up a lot of time. Whether it is having the bridal party meet to discuss plans, meeting with vendors, or trying to troubleshoot via phone and email, it seems like the planning process never ends. That is where a wedding planner can step in.
A planner has all the information you need from reliable vendors to work with to where to get your marriage license. They know where and how to get what you want, as well what is hot in the industry and how to make it work with your wedding day vision.
Even though you may meet with your planner a limited number of times, she does a lot more work than you might think. The average wedding takes about 80 hours to plan. Working with a wedding planner can cut several hours out of your planning process because your planner can do much of the busy work for you. Plus, she should know the best people to work with, allowing you to bypass the hours of combing through vendors to find one you think you can trust.
Professionals from Hobbyists:
There are those who claim to be wedding planners, and then there are those who really have what it takes. There is a difference between planners who are in it for the business and those who plan for fun. When looking to hire a planner, consider the differences. You may not have any problems with hiring a hobbyist planner, after all, she may be cheaper, but it is possible that she lacks the professionalism and experience a professional wedding planner should have.
There are professional associations and organizations for wedding professionals, such as the 
Association of Bridal Consultants, but just because your planner is a member does not necessarily mean she is better than someone who does not belong. She does, however, have a separate network of like professionals to go to for advice or help.
Finding The One:
You have already found the person you plan to spend the rest of your live with, so the hardest part is over. Finding someone to take charge and be the ringleader of all the wedding madness should not be so difficult. When looking to hire a wedding planner, first and foremost, hire someone with whom you get along and trust. You will spend a lot of time and place a great amount of trust in you planner throughout your planning period. 
Equally important is that your wedding planner understands that she is there to serve you. After all, it is your wedding day and it is all about what you and your loved ones want. If your planner is not asking what she can do for you, then find someone new!
And do not forget things like organization, professionalism, and the ability to understand your ideas. Clearly, organization is the crux of the job, and handling situations and relationships professionally speaks wonderfully about the care you planner has for all those involved. If she can visualize your ideas and understands the overall feel you are going for during you planning and wedding day, then you have found a great wedding planner!
*Wedding planners and coordinators can be women or men! Both are capable of doing fabulous work. We stick with one gender in this blog post only for easy reading.
Nobody Moves and Nobody Gets Hurt
So, you have the weight of the wedding world on your shoulders, not to mention the expectations of family and friends, and best of all, the in-laws. One more delay in gown alterations, one more meeting with the caterer, one more critique of the wedding invitation, one more late vendor appointment. What is a bride (or groom) to do?
STOP and take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay.
The first thing you MUST realize about your perfect day is that no matter how much you have to do, or force others to do for you, there are some things that you just can not control. Maybe the flowers from South America are not growing as beautifully as usual from certain pesticides. Maybe the company that your baker gets its fondant from is running low on its special sugar. There are so many things that you can not make happen or keep from happening. But there is hope! Realizing this important bit of information can help you prepare yourself to roll with the punches. Take things as they come and then think of your options, which is the second thing you should do to keep calm in those stressful wedding situations.
That is right! You do have options. Believe it or not, your wedding day vision can be carried out a number of different ways. Perhaps your rental company is out of ivory cloth napkins, the ones you had your heart set on, but they do have more then enough cream napkins. Try them out and see what the cream looks like on the place settings before flipping out and threatening to rip up your contract. Maybe the place you had always dreamt of having your reception is already booked on the date you want to get married (which is much too important to change). Take the opportunity to look around and see what the area venues have to offer. You might just find a place you like much better, or has more to offer. The best part in all of this? No one will know (unless you complain to them) that you have to go to plan B or switch to choice C. Your guests will only see the final product, not all the little bumps in the road along the way.
Another thing you should pay special attention to is your organization. I find that what scares a lot of couples is that they feel like they are forgetting something or they are worried because 
they think things will not be finished in time. Staying on top of your organizational game will help you to relax and reassure you that you have got a good grip on things. How do you stay organized? Let me count the ways! Surly you have some sort of wedding planning checklist. Create a special calendar with your tasks on it and write when they are due by. Then take yourself seriously. Do not think to yourself, Oh, the invitations can wait another week. If you need to have your invites ordered by the 7th of June, then make sure they are ordered by the 7th of June! Or if you already have a planner/organizer that contains your entire life (like me) get a special pen (try picking one that is one of the colors you are using in your wedding) and write in all the tasks with that pen. That way you can easily see wedding-related tasks and have less of a chance of skipping over them. In the end, do whatever you need to stay organized. We all have our different ways, do what works best for you!
Although there are other things you can do to help stay calm and relaxed during the planning 
process, here is the last one we will talk about today. Do not forget the reason all of this planning and excitement is taking place! You are getting married to the love of your life, the person you will spend the rest of your life with! That should not stress you out at all. If you are feeling weighed down by wedding things, take a day or two off to just relax with your future spouse. No wedding planning. No post-wedding plans. No work. Nothing stressful. Do something the two of you enjoy together and just let yourselves rest. The time together should help you stay attached and remember the reasons why you are getting married.
Bottom line? Hire a wedding planner. Okay, okay, so I have a biased opinion, but lets be honest. Planning a wedding can (and should!) be fun. If you are feeling stressed or just do not know what to do, hiring a planner might just be the thing for you. A good planner should be able and willing to do just about anything wedding-related for you. Of course, there is a cost involved, but it is well worth it for piece of mind.
To keep in mind as you work with a wedding planner…
1. She* can’t read your mind. Just like your fiance couldn’t give you one good reason why you’re mad at him, your wedding planner won’t know exactly what you want unless you tell 
her. She may be able to figure some things out, but, unless you’re giving up all control to her on this important day, make sure she knows about all of your expectations and all the little details she needs to take care of. (Bottom line: Good communication is key. Keep the paths of communication open and functioning. Don’t be afraid to tell her what you don’t like or what needs to be changed. Don’t be afraid to call or send her an email. She is there to answer your questions. Also, don’t hesitate to ask her for updates. It’s her job!)
2. She asks to meet with you and for certain information for specific reasons. Your wedding 
planner doens’t want to waste your time or hers. When she asks to schedule a meeting, it’s for a reason. Perhaps she wants to make positively certain that she has the day’s schedule of events down or wants to tripple check the list of songs, or a plethera of other minute details that have very likely left your mind completely. So meet with her that one last time, and don’t be late! (Some planners will charge you for being late to appointments, so ask in advance, just in case time slips away from you easily.)
3. She is your advocate, but can’t get you absolutely anything you want. While yes, she may be able to pull all of her strings for you, she still can’t get Michael Buble to sing at your 
wedding for a mere five grand. Also, she is working for you and wants to make you a very happy customer, so if she is any good, she’ll go above and beyond to get you what you ask for, but at the same time, when she says something just won’t work, listen to her. Chances are, she’s already tried it.
4. She can’t keep some things from happening. Like rain. Or an ice storm. However, you’ve 
hired her to make sure if these things do happen, you’ll have a back up plan. So, while it’s easy to be upset that it’s raining on your wedding day (which some believe is good luck!), don’t take it out on your planner. Be happy that she arranged for a back up tent to be set up or that she has made special arrangements for an attendant to be ready and waiting with an umbrella and other rain-repellant objects to transport you from the limo to the reception building.
5. Assistants are more than just good company. Weddings are a big ordeal. If you’ve hired a 
wedding planner, you’ve probably already felt the weight upon your shoulders that a wedding can bring. Now imagine you are the only one that needs to set up for the reception and ceremony and check in with all the vendors and make sure your day progresses with as little hiccups as possible. Yeah! Stressful! That’s where assistants come in. They do more work than you see and are definitely a necessary helper.
6. She puts in more work than you’d think. You may only meet four or five times before your 
wedding day, but that doesn’t mean that she’s only putting five or six hours into your day! Before you met for the first time she made sure she was prepared to meet with you and answer your questions. Between meetings she contacted vendors, built schedules, organized people and various other little details. And even after the event, there is follow up work involved. So while you may not have a lot of face time, she is definitely hard at work.
All in all, if you have a wedding planner that you just click with, things will go a lot more smoothly. But even then, as the wedding date approaches and nerves raise, remember the things above to keep your relationship with her great!
*Or he
The oh-so-popular Wedding Planner, J.Lo. She put wedding planners in a new light!
Nova 535 -Vegas Themed Networking Meeting
On Thursday , March 26th, 2009…. Nova 535 was the location for the Association of Bridal Consultants Central Florida West Local Networking meeting. We decided it would be fun to do a Vegas themed meeting complete with BlackJack tables… We were also able to showcase a new caterer in town. Ken Jurgenson from Chives Catering. Fabulous Food, Amazing location,awesome entertainment and great people in attendance.
Thank you again to these amazing vendors for helping put on this event!
Connie Duglin Linens- Toni Tassoni
Chives Catering- Ken Jurgenson
DanMar Productions-( Blackjack Tables) Mary Spikes
Nova 535- ( Location) Courtney Caton
Jemstar Entertainment- Jeff Mufson
Centerpieces- Special Moments
Cocktail Tables- Coast to Coast Event Rentals- Jesse Caya
Rolls Royce- Ambassador Limousines- Michael DeArruda
Photography- Britt McAllister
Enjoy the photos below courtesy of Britt McAllister
Brides against Breast Cancer
We at Special Moments, work with the Making Memories Foundation each year to help with the Brides Against Breast Cancer Gown sale that is brought to the Tampa Bay Area.. What is Brides against Breast Cancer you say? Or What can you do to Help? We have included several videos below of Brides against Breast Cancer sales in Atlanta, Chicago and also the video from Last years sale that was made in Tampa.
The gown sale this year is March 6th and 7th, 2009 and a VIP night on Thursday evening. If you want to volunteer, attend or donate…
GO TO WWW.BRIDESAGAINSTBREASTCANCER.ORG
HERE ARE THE VIDEOS BELOW:
Colin Cowie appearance at ABC Conference 2008
The entire Special Moments Team attended the Association of Bridal Consultants annual conference 2008 in California in November. ( You can read the day by day activities of our team along with pictures in the November blog entries) We have included a brief video below of the conference, which includes Colin Cowie’s fabulous luncheon. Enjoy!
A-La Carte Event Pavilion -Bridal Show
Special Moments was involved in a Bridal Show Booth with the Association of Bridal Consultant Members this weekend. The Bridal Show was located at the A-La-Carte Event Pavilion and was put on by Keith LaMotte from Your Wedding TV. Thanks to all of the Participating ABC Members who all contributed money towards the booth and their time. With the money from ABC Members, we were able to have a Making Memories Booth also. Making Memories is the sponsor of Brides Against Breast Cancer Gown Sale. We were able to get the word out to all of the many Brides in attendance about the Gown sale and that purchasing a gown from the Sale helps the Making Memories Foundation grant wishes to people with terminal breast cancer. A great gown at a unbelievable price, that also gives a last wish to a terminal breast cancer patient’s family. For further information about the Brides against Breast cancer Gown Sale go to:
www.BridesAgainstBreastCancer.org
A Big Thanks to all Participating ABC ( Association of Bridal Consultants) Members: 
B&O Photography
Ola & Bartek
727-488-1650
Champagne Wishes
Debbie Riviera
813-690-4448
Grand Events
Lovelynn Jensen
813-248-0200
Jemstar Entertainment
Jeff Mufson
813-962-4653
Loving Unity
Rev. Virginia Bishop
727-532-6186
Simply Divine Events LLC
Lori Randall
813-843-8358
Jessica Meiczinger
813-244-7110
www.simplydivineevents.com
Special Moments
Tammy Waterman
Erin Duffy
727-343-0800
www.eventsbyspecialmoments.com
TampaBayDJ.com
Chuck Weirich
813-425-2782
www.TampaBayDJ.com
The Michele Renee Makeup Group
Michele Renee
727-642-8017
www.michelereneehairandmakeup.com
Wedding Wows
Dawn Gurley
727-430-2030
www.weddingwows.net
Below are pictures taken by B & O Photography of the show. Thank you Ola and Bartek for the fabulous pictures and your time spent helping.
ABC Annual Conference 2008- Day 3 -November 11th, 2008
The Tuesday night last event of the Conference was the OC Seaside Soiree. It was held at the Ocean Institute located in Dana Point Harbor. We were transported by chartered motorcoaches to the Institute.( 45 minute drive). The food was set-up in stations for the attendees that consisted of a Mini grill cheese and tomato soup station, seared ahi-tuna station served on a bed of specialty cole-slaw, martini glass salad station and a beef short ribs with mashed potato station. The specialty drinks consisted of California-tini’s , mojito’s and maragrita’s. There was also a photobooth to dress up and get photos taken. We had a great time playing in the photo booth, enjoying the beautiful oceanside and dancing the night away to the Dj. We made it all the way until the end of the party and were sad when we realized it was all over and that we would spend all of Wednesday traveling home. Enjoy the pictures from the photobooth and the pictures of the event that we took also.
