Let it snow!

If you live in Wisconsin, you'll know it's been a crazy week and a half. We have feet, yes FEET, of snow on the ground. It puts a hindrance in wedding planning, that's for sure. Measuring the ground for tent placement is not as easy when you can't see the ground!

Besides dealing with the weather, I've been working diligently to plan my booth for the Wedding Planner & Guide show in January. It will be my first booth at Madison's largest wedding show and so I want to make sure I go all out. Please stop by my booth to see beautiful tabletop designs and pickup a custom fortune cookie that will give you 10% off my services if you book within a month after the bridal show. January 12 & 13 at the Alliant Energy Center.

As I prepare for my booth, I've been going through all my past clients' wedding photos and wanted to share with you a few of my 2007 brides - all lovely and wonderful people - enjoy!

Courtesy of Michael Krakora Photography

Courtesy of Angelic Angles Photography

Courtesy of Northern Lights Photography

Courtesy of Expressive Photography

Courtesy of Spottswood Photography

Conference Recap

I'm safely back in my chilly Wisconsin home. The Florida weather was everything I had hoped it would be (which, turns out is uncommon) - warm, dry, sunny and fabulous! This conference was not the best yet, but still full of beautiful design ideas and interesting topics. I've posted some images below of tabletop environments, appetizer serving ideas, and a picture of my roommate (an up and coming WI consultant in the Milwaukee area) and I at the off-site "Gala at the Grove." Enjoy!


As a small business owner, the work never ends. Even at the conference, where access to email was not as easy (no wi-fi in the hotel, who doesn't have wi-fi these days?), I was answering questions, scheduling vendor appointments for my brides, and finding dates to meet and network with other vendors. It's easy to see why wedding consultants, and other small business owners, can easily put in 60+ hours a week! I suppose it's a good thing that I love this business and enjoy working with all of my fabulous clients.

Happy Thanksgiving!

ABC Annual Conference

It's that time of year again, for the annual conference of the Association of Bridal Consultants. I take great pride in my membership of the Association. I joined three years ago this October and went to that very first conference a month later in Atlanta. I didn't even have a business name yet, but I learned so much from new and seasoned consultants, the special guest speakers, and staff. As one former ABC consultant said, "you can't afford NOT to attend the annual conference." I look forward to each conference because if I had a busy summer and am feeling burned out, this conference helps reboot my drive and reminds why I love this business so much.

This year's conference features David Tutera, a celebrity wedding designer who has a new daily morning show on Lifetime about weddings. We're also hearing from Mary Dann, a California based celebrity wedding planner. The market in Madison and the Midwest in general is far behind those on the east and west coasts. Over there, clients come to the wedding planner, give them ideas of what they want, and the planner pulls it all together on their own to present the dream wedding to the bride. The planner already has a team of vendors in place, so there's no question about which florist to use, where the linens are coming from, who is doing lighting - they are all already contracted by the planner.

Back to ABC - did I mention the conference is in Orlando this year? It's in the upper 70s, lower 80s - heaven! I could go on about how great the conference will be, but you can check out the website for yourself: www.businessofbrides.com. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say when I return!

Welcome!

Hi there, and welcome to my blog. Being a wedding consultant is a profession in which a lot women and men dream of. I thought I would take this opportunity to share my experiences, my interactions with my clients, and all the special moments that happen when the wedding day finally arrives.

The season is over for me this year. I had several lovely weddings this summer and met hundreds of wonderful people. The best part of weddings is all the family and friends of the couple that are gathering together on a celebratory day. Everyone is happy, wanting to have a good time, and it's my job to ensure that all those guests, but especially the bride, groom, and their parents, are able to enjoy it and be with their guests. When the day is over and the happy couple are glowing because they had such a wonderful, stress-free day, that is my biggest reward.

I have been planning all types of events for over 10 years. They range from small social parties, fundraising events to public events for over 250,000 people. By far, weddings are the best and that's why I started my business to focus solely on that demographic. So, here's to you my future bride and grooms, past clients, business associates, friends and family!

All my best,

Angela