Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010

Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm

Location: Homewood Suites by Hilton - 4750 E. Cotton Center Blvd, Phoenix, 85040

Bridal Open House

The Valley's premier wedding professionals will be on hand to help you plan the details of your wedding. There will be the hottest trends, special offers and give a ways and much more!

A sample of the Sponsoring Vendors:

Asaré Event Planning

Snap Booth

My Fantasy Florals

Harley Bonham Photography

Homewood Suites by Hilton

Slice Cake Designs

Got you Covered

Cookie Couture Comapny

Magnetic Expressions

AZ Bartenders

Plan your wedding in one day!

The Knot Inc. the premier media company devoted to weddings and the owners of The Knot Wedding Network releases its annual Real Weddings Survey of over 21,000 US couples married in 2009 to capture detailed feedback on wedding spending, style preferences, event characteristics, and other key information related to the bridal demographic.

The fourth annual The Knot Real Weddings Survey, the largest survey of its kind conducted in the bridal industry, was administered by third-party research firm Decipher.

2009 WEDDING BUDGET SURVEY RESULTS

In 2009, $28,385 was the average wedding budget in the US (not including the honeymoon) reflecting less than a 5% decrease from 2008.

“As the economy continues to affect consumer spending, brides remain committed to planning a memorable event and are thoughtfully cutting back,” said Carley Roney, editor in chief of The Knot Inc. “Approximately one third of brides who had a wedding in 2009 said that the economy had impacted their overall wedding plans.”

Average Spend 2009

Reception Venue: $12,838

Reception Band: $3,288

Reception DJ: $892

Photographer: $2,444

Videographer: $1,481

Wedding/Event Planner: $1,728

Wedding Gown: $1,134

Florist/Decor: $2,093

Invitations: $509

Wedding Cake: $559

Ceremony Musicians: $451

Catering (cost per head): $63

Wedding Day Transportation: $692

Favors: $292

Rehearsal Dinner: $1,163

Engagement Ring: $5,847

GENERAL WEDDING STATISTICS

• Number of guests: 149 (nearly the same as 2008)

• Number of bridesmaids: 5

• Number of groomsmen: 5

• Length of engagement: 13.4 months

• Most popular month to get engaged: December (16%)

• Most popular month to have wedding: June (17%)

TOP 10 NATIONAL 2009 HIGHLIGHTS

1. TOP PRIORITIES: Venue, Band/ DJ and Photography: The bulk of the average wedding budget is still dominated by the reception venue ($12,838); followed by the reception band and or DJ ($3,288 and $892 on average); and photography ($2,444 on average).

2. WEDDING-RELATED EVENTS: Extra Parties and Extra Price Tags: Weddings continue to become multiple-day affairs (average is three days). Approximately 87% of couples had a rehearsal dinner costing $1,163 on average and nearly 30% of couples hosted an after-party the day of their wedding (an increase over 11.5% over 2008).

3. BUDGETS: Everyone’s Contributing: In today’s challenging economic climate, the bride’s parents are contributing somewhat more to the wedding budget, on average (46% of the budget, a 4.5% increase over 2008) followed by the bride and groom (40% of the budget). Grooms’ parents also contributed (12% of the budget).

4. MUSIC: Couples Want a Bit of Everything: In 2009, couples who hired a band chose a mix of music styles, including oldies and pop (26%) followed by rock and ’80s (24% and 17%).

5. FORMALITY: Weddings Remain More Casual: Weddings continue to be less formal with only 20% of weddings in 2009 being characterized as “formal/black tie.”

6. PLANNERS: Brides Still Turn to Professional Help: Of the 19% of brides who hire a professional wedding planner, the results were split fairly evenly between day-of coordination (48%) and full service (41%).

7. CAKE: Inventive New Flavors: Although traditional flavors like vanilla and chocolate remain most popular (50%), couples are also choosing more unusual flavors for their wedding cakes such as lemon, cream cheese, and red velvet (13%, 10%, and 10% respectively).

8. COLORS: Brides Chose More Jewel Tones: Taking a cue from the fashion runways, brides are increasingly incorporating more jewel tones, like purple, into their weddings (a 50% increase over 2008) and forgoing historically popular shades like brown (a decline of 19% over 2008).

9. WEDDING THEME: Brides Make It Unique: Over 29% of brides incorporate a wedding logo or monogram into their wedding day details; 15% include special signature cocktails at the reception (a 25% increase from 2008).

10. DIY: Most Brides Have at Least One DIY Element: The average number of DIY elements was three; the top DIY categories were ceremony programs (54%), favors (50%), and escort cards (44%).

Nicole and Kyle had a wonderful wedding day! Nicole was so gorgeous and their was so much love in the air!

Missy Wilson was thier photographer and she has so kindly shared some pictures of their day for me to share!

www.missywilsonphotography.com

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Burns!!!

Happy New Year!

 As 2010 gets started many great things are in motion!

We need your vote... Could you please go to the link below and vote for Asaré Event Planning!

http://www.arizonabridemag.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&type=InfoRequest&mod=Informatoin+Request&id=6F72606B78E24207926089EC3CEF1C1F&level=1&tier=1&AudID=02450CAE1184409EB70DE44CDBFCF9C4

Every year Arizona Bride Magazine has a Best of the Best Award for vendors and this year I am hoping we can  be a winner.

Since you need to vote for at least 6 vendors, I have some suggestions for you...

Caterer: Santa Barbara

Bridal Gowns: Lillian Lottie & Twirl Boutique

Live Band: The Shine

Officiant: Rev. Giovanni

Floral: My Fantasy Florals

Cake: Piece of Cake or Slice

Rental and Decor: Arch de Belle, Tri Rentals or ProEM

Photographer: Jacqueline Hanna Photography, Harley Bonham or DeL'oeil Photography

Makeup: Adrianna Fontes

Wedding Planning: Asaré Event Planning

These are just some suggestions of people that I have had the opportunity to work with and would recommend; I'm sure you have others that you will feel deserve your vote.

Thanks for your help!

Wishing you a happy and successful 2010!

$200.00 Shopping Spree – Winter Giveaway

Favors By Serendipity is offering a $200.00 Shopping Spree towards anything on their site – including Cake Jewelry, Bridesmaids Gifts, Bridal Shower Favors, Wedding and Party Favors, Candy Buffet Packaging and more…..just for giving your opinion.

With Winter approaching, they want to know if you will be using winter theme favors or what your favorite favor is and would love to win. Visit Favors By Serendipity and then post a comment here and be entered into the drawing.\

Giveaway ends November 20 at midnight PST.

Winner is chosen randomly and will be notified Monday, November 21st and announced here as soon as they accept the prize.

Details are provided on: http://yourweddingwhisperer.com/

Good Luck!