Vicki's Blog

I admit that we took a few days off this past weekend for a short trip out of town. My husband, myself, our daughter and son-in-law took a delightful dinner cruise on a yacht that went up the White River for about an hour. It was really relaxing – we saw eagles roosting in trees on the shore, gobs of herons and quite a few deer. It was a cool night in August, a rarity, and we enjoyed every minute of it. My husband chatted with the Captain, which was really interesting. Even though this small boat just went up and down the river he still had to be licensed and rated for the boat, which was equipped with radar and sonar.

What really struck me though, was something the Captain said as the cruise was winding down and he was preparing to bring the boat in. He said, “I never approach the dock any faster than I would want to hit it.” That’s a quote to put on the front of a a tee-shirt if I ever heard one! What great advice. Being impulsive is fun sometimes – just don’t be flinging yourself headlong so fast that, if you crashed, it would be a disaster. That’s true for your choice of a mate and a million other aspects of life. Not to mention planning your wedding. This is a time when careful planning, with an eye on the dock is in order. If you need some help to approach the dock smoothly, don’t hesitate to click through to the wedding planners on the site. They can help you with as little or as much as you need.

Smooth Sailing!!

Vicki

All the 100+ exhibitors of The Tulsa Wedding Show appreciate you! We had a great time at the Show on the 9th and are looking forward to the next Show on Sat., Jan. 9, 2010.

I know sometimes you can feel overwhelmed by the number of contacts you get from wedding businesses in the weeks and months after your engagement. But I want to encourage you to give each one of them a few moments of your time. These business owners are so anxious to help you and get really excited about what they do. I coordinate a networking group for people in the wedding business and we meet every other month at a different venue each time. Our most recent meeting was last Thursday at the Silo Event Center and there were over 40 people there. The Silo is a fabulous venue you should consider for any wedding event. And the Chef there is inspired! Each and every merchant there comes to share what they offer in wedding services. Sean Fuhrman from Millenium Ice, along with Dress-a-Chair, debuted individual ice carvings. We had one on each table – different shapes with flowers frozen inside. Sweet Tooth Candy on Harvard does candy buffets and brought some chocolate covered almonds that looked like olives. They were darling and delicious. G Note played for us and we all just wished we had a dance floor!

There are lots of choices out there and we want you to know about all of them. So when the exhibitors email you, call you or send you a piece of mail, stop and see what they have to say. They just might be offering you a discount for coming to The Tulsa Wedding Show!

Just had to say a quick word about the Show on Sunday. We tried some new things and were really pleased at how it all went. Thunder-N-Lightning and Integrity Lighting did a fabulous job with the lighting at the Show. We had the most spectacular setup at the runway. Screens with the fashions being projected in real time, neon lights, LCD screens above the runway, etc. We’ll have photos up on the website soon. Also, Von Wedding Films, a fabulous videography company, took footage of the Show and we are anxiously awaiting the final film. That will be posted on our site as well. We gave out 3 prize packages worth over $3000 each and were excited to have three big winners this Show instead of just one!

If you weren’t able to attend the Show, you can click through to check out the website of everyone who exhibited by going to the Exhibitors List page. They are listed alphabetically and by category. If you did attend and need a reminder of who an exhibitor was, go to the Bridal Shows page and click on the Show Floor diagram. You can link to websites directly from there as well.

There is a fun new page on the site called Fun Wedding Surveys. It’s on our site at this time but will be located on its own site soon. You’ll enjoy it!

I’d love to hear from you with any comments about the Show. Keep checking The Tulsa Wedding Show site – there’s always something new!

Blessings and Best Wishes,

Vicki

There’s a lot of excitement building before the Show. I talk to many of the exhibitors in the days before the Show and just had to tell you about them. There are only a very few booths in the Show that are done by national companies. And we love to have them. But the vast majority of the exhibitors in the Show are small business people that live and work here in Oklahoma. Actually some of them are couples who came to the Show several years ago when they were engaged and then start businesses of their own and participate in the Show on the other side of the table. Adam and Stacy Teague of Letter Keepsakes are one of those couples. They do beautiful work – you will love it and their creations make great gifts. They really will become family heirlooms. Check out Unity Crosses. Michael Letney’s design is something new instead of unity candles and it’s a meaningful, beautiful alternative.

Gwen Mead of Dress-a-Chair started her chair cover business after she and her daughter planned a wedding and couldn’t find what they wanted. Stephanie and Scott Layson of Party Pro started years ago with some inflatables and now have one of the largest rental companies in the region. They have a new monogrammable table runner you will want to check out. Victoria Lane does beautiful calligraphy and I can personally recommend her decorated cookies. They are delicious and gorgeous. I could go on and on but I wanted you to know that all the people you will meet at the Show have put their heart and soul into their businesses and their booths. I have personally sat down with almost every one and they are nice people, building small businesses here and want nothing more than to help you make your wedding dreams come true.

See you Sunday!

My husband and I were honored to attend the engagement part of Kristin Dickerson and her fiance a few weeks ago. It was a tropical themed party at a friend’s home and was casual and low-key. Kristin has interviewed me many times for the segments we do for The Tulsa Wedding Show on Good Day Tulsa and she is absolutely delightful. We were so excited to hear of her engagement and wish her the very best.

What has always impressed me about Kristin is her gracious manner. At the party her main concern was that her guests were enjoying themselves. But what struck me most was her genuine surprise that anyone brought gifts. She is very unassuming for someone in the public eye. It was so refreshing in an atmosphere of TV shows like Bridezilla and the many horror stories that go around, to be reminded of all the lovely brides-to-be out there that are planning their weddings with the enjoyment of their guests in mind and not only thinking of themselves.

You have the privilege of planning an event that brings your personal community of family and friends together for what is becoming too rare – a time of relaxed conversation with loved ones. So remember that, whether the roses are the exact shade of pink you ordered or the chair sash is slightly wider than you thought it would be, you and your guests will have a wonderful time celebrating your life-changing event!

Enjoy!