Wow, it’s been awhile since my last post, but things have been pretty busy! But I definitely wanted to share some exciting news. We will be participating for the first time in the Wedding Show – the state’s longest running and most popular Wedding Show. Its’s a great way to get wedding planning off to a great start in the new year!

It will be a two-day event held at the Jim Graham Building at the NC State Fairgrounds on January 3 & 4 2009.

We will be displaying our award-winning Candy Buffet and also have an entry in the Table Top Design Gallery! We’re so excited!
Stop by our booth and come meet our team. We’ll also have a couple show specials going on so be sure to stop by.
We look forward to seeing you there!

More info:
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Tickets valid for both days.

A fairly new wedding trend that I absolutely love is the first dance with a twist. I just returned from Florida from a wedding of a very close friend of mine. She and her new husband’s first dance was the best I’ve seen in a long time.

They started out dancing to a very nice slow song and then all of a sudden….. it seems like the CD had a scratch and the music stopped. The couple turned to the DJ’s booth as if to say , “What happened?!!! I can’t believe you just ruined our first dance!” But then as all eyes are on the DJ, the music returns. But not the “nice slow dance” song as guests would expect. No, far from it. They broke out into a full coreographed dance routine joined by the brides’ sister and another friend. The songs ranged from reggae to hip-hop. Every one thought it was fabulous!

Even though this trend has been around for a couple years, I still love to see it done. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to do it, but by all means, if your guests won’t be too offended, go for it!

Here’s a couple links of more popular wedding dance surprises:
The Robot
Today Show Clip

Enjoy!

Caroline Sewell of Encore Events, Inc. was our guest speaker last night. Caroline, sporting a fabulous zebra print sweater, was a hit! She shared so many experiences and great mentoring tips with my students on the best way to start a business. Caroline always says- “I don’t do weddings” but she is an awesome events planner & designer. She also shared her event portfolio with the class and has pictures with the great event industry names such as David Tutera and Preston Bailey!
Thanks Caroline for sharing your knowledge with us!
Last week we had the priviledge of having Jennifer Kidd of Kidd Photography and Tamra Pope of Tamra’s Camera present. They really work great together and shared hints and tips about photography and videography. The class definitely learned a lot and got to see a few fabulous samples of their work. Thanks Jennifer and Tamra!

As I’m sure you’re aware, I have the wonderful privilege to be the Wedding Planning Instructor at Wake Tech Community College. Last evening was the last class of the 2008 Fall Semester. I must say that this group of students truly touched my heart!
At the beginning of class last night, I noticed that one of my students, Peg, was wearing what has come to be known as my favorite color combination – hot pink and lime green. And as students started to come in, Peg actually handed out small hot pink and lime green stickers that everyone proudly wore on their respective clothing! I felt so special!
And then…….at the end of the class, Peg asked for me to take a seat. She then presented on behalf of the class a “Certificate of Appreciation”. It went on to say, “This award is presented to Tamera Davis. For your outstanding leadership as our class instructor in the ten week course – ‘Start Your Own Wedding Consultant Business’. Thank you for making this class alot of fun! We will never forget you! – From the Class of 2008 – Fall Session.” Can you say – Wow! I was truly honored. And then, to top it all off, the class had actually pulled together to get me a gift. A cute Chartreuse green tote with my initials monogrammed in hot pink. How sweet!
Wow! It brought tears to my eyes. I truly do enjoy teaching and educating my students on the joys and challenges of wedding planning. And it was just so touching to see that my students appreciated me.
Here’s to you – Fall Semester of 2008 – I love you guys! I wish you much success and it would be a privilege to work along side you one day. And in your honor, I am wearing green and pink today and proudly carrying my tote.

Are you recently engaged and have NO IDEA of what weddings cost? Don’t worry, you’re not alone!
Use the Wedding Cost Estimator Tool to estimate what your dream wedding will actually cost and also what weddings typically cost in your zip code!
Click here to access the tool: Wedding Cost Estimator
If you would like to get the most out of your wedding budget, consider hiring a wedding consultant. Your wedding consultant will help you plan your dream wedding and keep you within your budget by suggesting ways to stretch your dollar.
A wedding consultant is experienced in negotiating contracts with venues, caterers, photographers, florists, and many other vendors. She can save valuable time and money and can help you to avoid costly mistakes, while turning your dreams into reality.
Remember our motto: “Let us take your worries away, so that you can enjoy your special day! ”
Happy wedding planning!

Exciting news! Here is a preview of the magazine ad that we will be featured in!

My wedding planning class recently had 3 great guest speakers. Mary Greiner of Musician’s Booking Agency spoke about the many offerings that are available for musical entertainment for wedding ceremonies and receptions. Mary was very prepared with great handouts and a CD of wedding music for all of my students!
Next, we had Kayelily Middleton, wedding officiant. Kayelily was wonderful and taught the class all about marriage laws in NC, wedding rehearsals, and she also shared some great stores of weddings that she has officiated.
Last week, we had a special class with a hands-on floral design workshop presented by Teri Freeland-Jones of Floral Alternatives. Teri designed a bridal bouquet, groom’s bout, a couple centerpiece designs and even a placecard design using a green apple!
Many thanks to all of our guest speakers!

I received a couple more pictures from the Grand Opening Bridal Show at La Grande Maison from Contonna Peterson, so I thought I’d post them. Thanks Contonna!
Here is Rebecca’s dazzling display of all of her custom jewelry!

Here are two beautiful designs from Keepsake Bouquets:

Here is Contonna’s display for Bartending Unlimited:
Also harpist, Amy Kortis, played sweet sounds throughout the show:

Again, I was able to work with wonderful vendors and I look forward to working with them again in the future!

We had a great time this past Sunday at the Grand Opening bridal show at La Grande Maison. We, along with about 40 preferred vendors, were setup on the 30-acre property located in beautiful in Mebane, NC. Our booth was a hit with the vendors! Everyone loved making their own candy box to-go!
We had the privilege to be setup near the pool and gazebo area.
Here are some pictures of the area from La Grande Maison’s website:

Here is a pic of our candy buffet:

Around the pool area was Rebecca Baltzer of Beautiful Creations. Rebecca had a dazzling display of all of her custom jewelry!
Also located around the pool were Barbara Pardue and Cindy Singleton of Keepsake Bouquets and Jaime Gilliam of Perfect Wedding Guide.
Under the gazebo area, (also pics from their website)

were very talented vendors! Leslie Koehn of Gloss Photographic along with Ashley Plegar, makeup artist, and Contonna Peterson with Bartending Unlimited.

We also had the pleasure to work with Patricia with Perfection by Patricia, Mark McCoy and his wife of Mark McCoy Photography, and Denise Monks of Classy Hair. Poor Denise had laryngitis, but she hung in there!
Special thanks goes to Howard Conyers of Concept Seventeen for his assistance! Howard offers a unique gift idea – picture weaving!

Denisa Harvey, the GM of La Grande Maison, overall did a wonderful job in putting this event together! Thanks Denisa!

Here are a couple more pics of our booth:

One of my recent clients posted a wonderful review of our company on The Wedding Wire. Click here to view!
Her wedding was on a gorgeous summer day and the ceremony was held in her father’s beautiful back yard overlooking the golf course. I’ll have to post pictures soon. Stay tuned!