Weddingstar Warehouse - WOW!

During the first week of January, I was out in Medicine Hat, Alberta visiting family - and I found out that Medicine Hat is the headquarters for one of my favourite wedding catalogues - Weddingstar.   And - my brother in law knows the owner/president!   Before I realized it - I found myself meeting the President, Mr. Rick Brink and enjoying a fantastic tour of their 90,000 sq foot warehouse! 

I knew that Weddingstar provided thousands of great wedding products - but I had no idea they distribute over 3000 products and that they ship to brides in 70 countries around the world!  This company is truly committed to making every bride's dream of a unique, personal and special wedding a reality.    Quality control is very important to this company and they have excellent processes in place to ensure that every order they receive is filled exactly as expected.

Weddingstar is one of the world’s leading designers, manufactures and retailers of wedding accessories and they are celebrating 30 years in business this year.  They specialize in personalized accessories... everything from candles to stationary, glassware to favours, stickers to ribbons, napkins to cake toppers (and more!) can be personalized.

Recently, Weddingstar has formed a fantastic partnership with prestigeous wedding and event planner, Preston Bailey.  Preston has planned weddings for celebrities, dignitaries, CEO's, sports stars and royalty.  He will be launching his "Preston Bailey Tabletop Collection" with Weddingstar early in 2013, offering brides unique tabletop accessories for their weddings. 

It was an eye-opening experience to tour the Weddingstar facility and to learn all about the great services that they provide to their customers. 
It was truly a highlight of my visit to Medicine Hat.

For amazing ideas, great tips and excellent products, be sure to check out their website - or pick up their catalogue at your local bookstore (magazine section).
www.weddingstar.com

And of course, for more information about the creative Mr Bailey - check out his site as well....
www.prestonbailey.com.

Ancaster Wedding Show A Big Success

KUDOS to Tiffany Walsh & Team members for putting on a great 1st ever Ancaster Wedding Show! Most vendors entering the show were a big uncertain as to what to expect - with this being the first show by this organizer in this location in this month!! But personally, I thought it was a great show.

The morning started off with a huge influx of brides along with their moms, future mother-in-laws, bridal parties, friends, family members - and even quite a few grooms! The afternoon was slower, but in my experience this fairly typical.

Brides were treated to some new vendors (including Jason Matos of Jason Matos Photography - yup, he's my son!), some vendors who are "regulars" at local shows, and of course, lots of great ideas, inspiration, samples and handouts!
To check out what vendors were at the show, go to: www.ancasterweddingshow.com
Congratulations to all the brides (& grooms) who attended - we hope that you went home with MANY great ideas for your upcoming wedding and that you found the perfect vendors to meet your wedding needs!

Don't forget Brides.... "Leave the Details to Me..." is offering a WEDDING SHOW SPECIAL - book by Oct 31, 2010 for your future wedding and lock in at 2010 rates!! (This offer is available to ANY brides - whether you attended the show or not!)

Thanks Tiffany for a "show well done!"

Fun Wedding with Sri Lankin and Trinidadian Grooves!

Malki & Gary survived the terrible humidity and a few passing showers on Sunday as they joined together as husband and wife. The day had a few highlights in my mind...

At the start of the service, Gary & Malki ended up standing kind of far apart -
but when musician Andrea Gal began to sing, Gary stepped forward & took Malki's hand -just in time to the song lyrics, "Draw me close to you...never let me go".... oh boy - I think a few tears were shed at the timing of that move!!

The reception hall was gorgeous! Tall elegant palm trees were set up around the room with uplights on them. The centerpieces were tall glass vases filled with tropical flowers & leaves, surrounded by 3 tulip votive holders. A steel pan player entertained guests during the cocktail hour & dinner... so there was a very tropical, "caribbean" feeling in the air!

After the guests enjoyed the receiving line, favours, shooters & picked up their custom-made "leopard print" place cards (in honour of Malki's love of this print!) the bridal party were ready for their introductions - and they all certainly made a Grand Entrance with funky dance moves... even the Ring Bearer did a few "break-dance" moves on his way in!! The party played up the entrance by doing a "soul train" routine.... and then this led to Malki & Gary's first dance together as husband & wife. Following that, they cut their cake, which was a spectacular creation on a gorgeous table display.

The kissing of the bride & groom was done with great fun - as they had to kiss for as long as a guest could keep a hoola hoop going! After a fabulous meal and a few speeches, Malki had a big surprise for Gary.... Caribana Dancers!! Three stunning dancers arrived and put on an incredible show, which of course included getting the bridal party and guests involved! What fun! After that - the party was well on its way.

Later that night, Gary & Malki changed into traditional "Sri Lankin going away outfits". Gary wore a very classy suit with a hot pink vest and Malki was adorned in splendor in her hot pink & gold sari & jewellry!

The day was a wonderful success! Congratulations Gary & Malki!

VENDORS:
Ceremony Site: Parkwoods United Church, Don Mills (Rev. Ellen Redcliffe)www.parkwoodsunitedchurch.com
Photo Site: Glendon College Campus www.glendon.yorku.ca
Reception Site: Venetian Banquet Hall, Vaughan www.thevenetian.ca
Ceremony Musician: Andrea Gal www.andreagal.ca
Photographer: Chuck of Pickering Photo www.pickeringphoto.com
Videographer: Dan of ChiliPepper Videography www.chilipepper.ca
Request Limosines: www.requestlimo.com
Cake Decorator: X-quisitte - Stacey Fernandes www.xgxcentral.com
DJ & MC - X-quisitte - Shaun Fernandes & Brian www.xgxcentral.com
Steel Pan Player - Kenn Lewis www.kennlewis.com
R.S. Divas Dance Troupe: www.rsdivas.com
Florist - Laurel Munro Floral Design www.laurelmunro.com
Decorator - Terri-Anne of TASAJ: www.Tasaj.com
Palm Tree Rentals - Amhurst Greenhouses: www.amherstgreenhouses.com
Hair Stylist: Angela Gale of Gorgias Hair Salon (friend of Malki's)
Makeup Artist: www.skmakeupartistry.com
Sari Dresser: Sobi Thiru www.luxurycakes.ca
Place Cards Designer/Calligrapher: Aliza Latta (friend of Gayla's)
Ceremony Decor: Heather Pearson (friend of Malki's)

Two Unique Wedding Vendor Networking Events this week!

I had the privilege of attending two unique networking opportunities this week.

On Monday evening, "Let Them Eat Cakes" had an open house/cake tasting event that brides were invited to - and several other vendors were on hand to meet & greet brides & offer their unique services to them.
At the event were:
Let Them Eat Cakes www.letthemeatcakes.com
From Me To You (cookie creations) frommetoyou@bell.net
Picture Perfect Cake Art www.pictureperfectcakeart.com
She's So Beautiful Consignment & Bridal Boutique www.shessobeautiful.ca
Social Notes Custom Invitations www.socialnotes.ca
These vendors were very friendly and offered wonderful services to the brides who came. And the cake-tasting - OH MY -talk about delicious cakes with some very unique & unusual (but yummy) cake flavours!


This evening, Jason Matos of Jason Matos Photography, and I attended a Wedding Industy Vendor Networking event at the Courtyard Inn in Mississauga. There were quite a few different vendors on hand - enjoying complimentary cocktails & appetizers while chatting, meeting and exchanging business cards with each other. It was a great opportunity for Jason to promote his newly updated website with special pages dedicated to weddings, couples & families! As a vendor, its always a good business practice to get out & meet others who work in the industry! Both of us came away with some great new contacts. (by the way - check out Jason's site at: www.jasonmatosphotography.com )