Bridal Affairs

Angel of Hearts Weddings offers unique and comprehensive assistance to the discerning bride in planning her wedding, with a full range of services tailored to her needs. Making magic is my passion.

Angel of Hearts Weddings--Watching Over Your Big Day!

Here is a place to share all things wedding! Please share your ideas with me.


Saturday, February 05, 2011

FOR THE GROOM

This one is for the groom and his groomsmen. Calvin Klein has just unveiled a new look for the men of the wedding. All focus is usually on the bride, but in these tuxes, eyes will certainly glance and the groom as well. Paul Pannone explains:


By Paul Pannone

They say that love is blind-- and how good a model looks is subjective to personal taste. If that is the case, perhaps love is blind-- but the neighbors certainly aren’t; and neither is the general public. In an ongoing eWedNews investigation dating back over ten years, the days of buyers that have always placed ordered based on their own personal taste rather than consumer demand could be coming to an end.

For years manufacturers, sales people and everyone involved in the selling of products have created new items, made samples and built entire campaigns around selling them without taking the end-consumer into account. Most of the times they are successful but with shrinking markets and price compression it is no longer feasible to have a losing year or even a losing line. Time, effort and company resources that go into producing products are expended and when the goods do not sell, or even worse, not wanted by the end consumers, the results are often catastrophic.

Backed by some of the world’s best thinkers, companies like Calvin Klein understand the importance of image, quality and most important how their customers think. According to TheStreet.com Total revenue for the Calvin Klein business grew 16% in the quarter to $272.6 million, with strong growth in sales, royalties and advertising revenue. The Calvin Klein brand continued to experience global growth during the quarter, with an increase in royalty revenue of 13% as compared to the prior year's third quarter. This increase was driven by strong performance across virtually all product categories, with jeans, underwear, fragrance, watches, women’s sportswear and dresses continuing to perform particularly well. Sales for the Calvin Klein wholesale and retail businesses increased 15% as compared to the prior year's third quarter, with the Company’s retail comparable store sales growing 12% as compared to the same period.

“That is why we invest so heavily into their success, the brands are a quality assurance and a way to connect with consumers” says Jeff Weintraub of George Weintraub and Sons. Weintraub’s licensing agreements with major labels like Calvin Klein allows the name to be used on men’s formal wear products.

“That’s what people look for; they always have and they always will. Grooms in tuxedos are such a great complement to the bride! Think "the most special day of your life." The operative word is special. Make it a day to remember and dress to commemorate it. To me the word wedding or special event denotes a man in a tux, dressed appropriately next to the bride,” according to Sheryl Davies.

VP Publisher and Fashion expert at Bridal Guide, Jim Duhe, told eWedNews “Calvin Klein is among the most successful and recognized brand names in the world. The company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars shaping its image. While this doesn't mean that the highly subjective opinions of the men's formal wear rental specialists have no merit, it does mean that Calvin Klein has far more experience in addressing the customer base. Given the success of Calvin Klein compared with the success of the men's formal wear specialists throughout the country, my money is on Calvin Klein.”

Upcoming issues of Bridal Guide will be featuring men's formal wear products by Calvin Klein. Updates to the Tuxedos.com website will also include the new images and help customers find products in their area. New Calvin Klein products are also being promoted to brides and consumers in a new Social Media campaign that was just launched.




Friday, February 04, 2011

ETSY FINDS VALENTINES

Today I went "shopping" at Etsy for Valentines. This is some of what I found. From personalized sweetheart candies, to flowers and hairpins for your hair, to baskets for the flower girls, Etsy has it all. I love these cake toppers- the pandas are so cute and the lovebirds are very nostalgic.
How lovely is this Swarovski crystal pendant? If feathers are your thing, try this bouquet. I also love the heart shaped lovebirds to use as a napkin ring or on a package. So many of my brides have shopped at Etsy for their weddings. You can find everything there to make your wedding special. Happy shopping!



ANTHROPOLOGIE WEDDINGS

Coming soon to Anthropologie! I am so excited to see the new line of wedding gowns being revealed on Valentine's Day. I have loved shopping at Anthropologie for a long time, but now I can't wait to see what they have in store for my brides. Just the tease on the web page is enough to get me all wound up. So, stay tuned! We are close to being wowed!

VALENTINE, WILL YOU MARRY ME?















If you are planning an engagement for Valentine's Day, let me tell you a few of the sweet ways to "pop the question".
Of course, there is the box of chocolates, but what is in that box? Replace one of those velvety truffles with a diamond ring and a note that says "will you?" When she opens the box she will see it and say "YES" right away. What woman can resist chocolate and diamonds? Or, take her out for dinner and plan ahead to have dessert brought to the table with the ring sitting on top of the confection you order ahead of time. Make sure you have a bottle of champagne ready to toast after she says "yes". Maybe you are handy in the kitchen. A romantic meal and a luscious dessert with a diamond on the plate will surely get a "yes". How about roses in the snow spelling out "will you marry me"? Picture this- the two of you on the top of the ski slope, the gondola coming up the mountain with a sign that asks the question. The ring in your gloved hand. Then, a bottle of champagne and roses by the fire when you return to the lodge. The possibilities are endless. Put on your thinking cap, use your imagination, make it special! Even if she suspects, you can still make it a wonderful surprise, just in the presentation. Good luck! And, let me know your story after the 14th and I will post it here.!


Wednesday, February 02, 2011

I HEART VALENTINES

Are you looking for that perfect favor or something special for your candy bar? At The Flour Pot you will find these adorable Valentine themed cookies. Whether you like this cute little tin full of mini hearts or these red and pink heart lollipops, The Flour Pot has cookies for any occasion.



























JANNIE BALTZER

Are you looking for a headpiece that isn't a veil and tiara? If so, you want to head on over to Jannie Baltzer. These are a few of the hip, modern headpieces available for the bride who wants to make a statement and finish the look of the "modern bride".
Thanks to Connie Wong and Moderne Press for these photos and for letting me know about Jannie Baltzer.




Tuesday, February 01, 2011

LITRATO = PICTURE

The first time I met Ron Soliman was at the Hyatt Philadelphia on Memorial Day weekend in 2007. We were about to embark on quite an adventure with a very unhappy bride. Ron was great! When she opened the door to the hotel room- 2 hours late, we were waiting for her. Ron had his camera ready. She announced "No Pictures", so he waited for her go- ahead and did some shots of the girls.. Ron never flinched. He shot amazing pictures, he never lost his head and he was a true hero to me that day. Ron owns Litrato Photography. Litrato means "picture" in Filipino. Just look at these images! When you are looking for the photographer for your wedding, you have to ask yourself "what style of photography do I want". Do you want traditional photos? Do you want candids and formal shots? Do you want the photojournalistic style that Ron produces so beautifully. The photographer you choose should understand your vision and be able to produce the kind of memories that you desire. I asked Ron some questions about his style, his background and what he wants you to know about him. Here is what he had to say:
BA: How did you get started?
RON: Before I went full time in wedding photography, I'd been a newspaper/magazine photojournalist for more than 12 years. My assignments and jobs have brought me around the country and even around the world. And my last stop was the East Coast. I call my last job as the director of photography at Delaware's The News Journal my retirement from my newspaper career. Since then, I switched gears to full time wedding photojournalist.

BA: What is your inspiration?

RON: I love documenting people's lives as a photojournalist. And documenting that one happy moment in one's life, the wedding day, inspires me.

BA: What do you want brides to know about you?

RON: I want them to know that photographing and documenting weddings for me is not just a job, it's my passion.

BA:
Tell me about your business philosophy


RON: I always go out and beyond when I deal with brides and grooms for their wedding day. I make sure they are over satisfied when I do my work.

BA: Tell me a little about your style of photography

RON: I do photojournalistic style of photography...meaning I capture those moments in your wedding in a candid and unobtrusive way.

BA:
What should a bride look for in a photographer?

RON: Talent is first, and personality is second. Remember, among all your vendors in your wedding, you will work with your photographer the longest, even until months after your wedding when you begin to prepare your wedding album. So having a photographer, who is easy to work with will make things go smoothly for you.

BA: Why should a bride choose your company?

RON: Because when you hire Ron Soliman Photojournalism, you are not only hiring "a photographer" but you are hiring someone who cares about the quality of your pictures, and who loves capturing the moments during your special day.
BA: Describe one of your favorite weddings.
RON: This might sound a little corny, but it's the truth...every wedding I shot is my favorite. Because each one is different...you cannot duplicate the kind of emotions captured, and the kind of fun recorded in my images. If you look at my blog- www.litratophoto.com/blog, you will realize what I mean. And each of these weddings are special to me as a photojournalist.
BA: Anything else you would like to talk about
RON: Yes, one of the things that differ us from our competition out there, is our ability to showcase the wedding images we've have taken during the wedding day at the wedding reception. We bring our 30 inch Apple monitor to do this, and it's usually a big hit among your wedding guests. And the best part of this is, we give this to our clients as a gift on their wedding day.
And in this SOCIAL NETWORKING age, we make sure we burn a CD of the images we showed during the wedding reception, so the next day the bride and groom can share these images in their FACEBOOK pages. That you can't beat! =)

Thank you, Ron, for giving me your time and sharing you talent with me. I enjoy working with you and hope that I have inspired my readers to contact you.