Vicki's Blog

Looking forward to meeting with a bunch of great wedding professionals tonight at the Glenpool  Conf. Ctr.  Lots of new people, especially looking forward to meeting Alexa Wright and seeing her gorgeous button bouquets in person!  Check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tomorrowsheirlooms.

1.  Do you deserve to step out of your car in front of the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and have it valet parked for you?

2.  Do you want to see The Tulsa Wedding Show in the company of a select few V.I.B.’s – with NO CROWDS and plenty of personal attention from all the exhibitors?

3.   Would you enjoy a champagne brunch?  How about a private fashion show and Trend Talk with Jeffrey Horn, celebrity event planner from Dallas, featuring our Premiere Providers and all the latest trends in wedding design?

4.  Do you think you would enjoy receiving an exclusive gift bag filled with fabulous gifts from the Premiere Providers and national companies like MAC and Chanel?.

If you answered yes to the above questions, then Congratulations!  You’re a V.I.B. !  Go immediately to the V.I.B. page of The Tulsa Wedding Show website to learn more and purchase your tickets.  We look forward to seeing you at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, Jan. 7!

Saw this on Preston Bailey’s blog and had to pass it on.  Always something new and this is the latest!  A wedding cake made of graduated sizes of cheese wheels with fruit to go with it.  Give the guests a cheese knife and let them go at it!  What do you think?

I saw an article in the USA Weekend magazine that was really interesting.  I didn’t know the status that marriage affords Haitian women, but it gives them respectability in the community.  People begin calling them Madame and it makes them an accepted part of society.  The problem is that so many of them cannot afford to get married, even to buy the marriage license.  That’s where Diane Cornelius, owner of Ruth’s Bridal Shop in Lexington, KY comes in.  A friend approached her in 2008 about taking her unsold gowns to NW Haiti to help out.  Since then she has dressed 109 brides and is helping to set up a gown rental business there.  Kudos to you, Diane!  You can visit her website to find out more and to donate.

We sent out a survey to the brides this weekend.  We asked them for their comments and this is one we received back. I don’t know who sent it since the answers are anonymous,but I wanted to address it.  This bride wanted to see “More reasonably priced vendors of all types. I left feeling completely defeated about being able to even have any type of wedding due to the expenses of the vendors presented.” I can completely sympathize with the bride who wrote this and I imagine her thoughts are shared by a lot of brides.  But the good news is that I think we can help!  Yes, if you go to all the booths and see the incredible array of items and services and start adding things up in your head you are going to be completely discouraged. But here’s a great strategy that will work for you:  When you are sitting down with pencil and paper in hand, determining your budget, at the same time decide what your priorities are.  Maybe you don’t care about the flowers much – you’d be happy carrying some zinnias from your Aunt’s garden.  So you can take most of what you might have budgeted for flowers and move it to photography if that’s a big priority for you.  Or maybe you want the church sanctuary filled with flowers but want to have a minimum of photos, just something to chronicle the day.  Every facet of your wedding doesn’t have to have the same emphasis.  Think about what is going to give you and your guests the most pleasure that day.

And be sure to ask your favorite wedding professional, even though you think their prices are way beyond your reach, if they have any options that are more affordable.  Lynn Wheatly at Lasting Impressions does some really high-end weddings.  But she also has something called Bride in a Box that is great!  Wedding experts like to showcase their most elaborate work of course, because they are artists and love creating the most beautiful, over-the-top creations they can.  But that doesn’t mean they can’t scale back some or even alot.  They really want to help you make it your perfect day.

Brides filling out our surveys after the Show asked for more makeup artists and we are giving it to them. Lynda Hocker from Von’s Makeup is on board ready to bring out your most beautiful best. Come see what she can do on Aug. 7th!

So excited! – our own Ann’s Bakery will be on the “Man V. Food Nation” episode Wednesday night, 8:00 on Cox cable 59.  I was just on their site and they are carrying all kinds of wedding items now – cake knives, servers, cake toppers, attendant gifts, etc.

I knew feather extensions for hair were a big trend but I couldn’t help laughing when I read an article in the Tulsa World the other day.  This was a partial quote from a salon owner in Boise who was looking to raid her husband’s tackle box.  Apparently we’re snapping up all the feathers that fly fishing shops need to make flys.  And the fishermen aren’t happy, calling us “feather ladies” on message boards.  But the feather suppliers are laughing all the way to the bank – prices are way up.

Jo Slaughter is the mother of Paula Evans, head of the wedding dept. at Men’s Wearhouse.  She lived in an apt. in Joplin.  Notice the past tense.  We are so grateful that she is safe but her apt. complex was destroyed and everything Mrs. Slaughter owned with it.  She now faces starting over from scratch.  So, at the  Tulsa Wedding Merchants Group meeting last night at the Renaissance Hotel, the wedding community came together to help her with food, money and household items.  Ashley, Kami and Carri from Brides of Oklahoma brought a new coffee maker, Share Carr from EventBiz brought assorted household items, etc.  Thanks to everyone!

I talked to Lisa Givens from Dickey’s Barbecue Pit today. She used to work at our own Party Pro Rents and is now the Catering Dir. for Dickey’s.   Found out they had a fabulous Grand Opening on Friday – 900 sandwiches sold in 2 hours!  Congratulations, Lisa and Dickey’s! Then our assistant, Molly, told me that she had one of those 900 sandwich baskets and it was fabulous.  She is somewhat of a BBQ connoisseur so she has some authority on the subject.  She also said she would go back for the pickles alone, they were so good.  Looking forward to Dickey’s being in the Show to cater all your wedding events.