Local Resource = Big Savings...

...and it's eco-chic. What could be better than this?




Gosh, I'm getting ahead of myself I better explain - I'm so excited to be working with Mari Bern of MBellish a wonderful company she founded over four years ago {and ahead of the eco-friendly curve I might add} which rents unique, stylish and reusable wedding decor.

She is located in Newport {a St. Paul suburb} however will come to you with her beautiful samples which is an added bonus when you and your wedding planner are selecting linens on the other end of town and having a hard time imagining how everything will coordinate. Mari has a great sense of style and creativity which is why many of her weddings have been featured in Minnesota Bride and The Knot.

Many of these pieces can be stand-alone or MBellish-ed with flowers... they're lovely either way. Two GREEN thumbs up to Mari Bern of MBellish for her contribution to the eco-chic world of weddings and providing less wedding waste.

part!02: the inspiration

So what was my inspiration as a result of my attendance at engage!08: the encore? Simply put, "I Do Vow To". How did engage!08: the encore bring about such an inspiration? It started with a question I posed to Carley Roney and David Liu, founders of The Knot, the largest and most successful wedding planning website in the world.

As a wedding planner and owner of my own business, Fete Perfection, I am cognizant of concerns couples have about excess and waste and benevolent causes when planning their wedding. I asked Carley and David if they would consider featuring stories about wedding professionals who do more than provide goods or services to couples. For example, I am well acquainted with many wedding pros who donate their time to building homes and schools in third world countries, or contribute a sizable percentage of their fee towards community service projects, benefits or charities. And I work with vendors who are committed to minimizing waste, minimizing harm to the environment and giving back to community as thanks to their good fortunes.

Although Carley and David agreed my suggestion is good, the focus of their publication is to provide inspiration and updates on wedding trends, planning tools and useful new ideas to their brides. They didn't see stories about some of these benevolent vendors fitting their audience needs.

At first I thought, "oh well, I tried" but after hearing encouragement from a number of the engage!08 attendees, I thought "oh well...I'll try again! After returning home I began researching and developing my idea into what is "I Do Vow To" helping engaged couples and wedding planners to positively impact community through thoughtful planning and educated decisions. My goal is to meet the needs of couples who want to work with those wedding professionals who build homes or schools for the underprivileged, or those who sponsor a child through World Vision. My goal is to find florists and caterers who will work to find the freshest ingredients from local sustainable farms or purchase flowers, when possible from local cooperatives or small local greenhouses so jet fuel isn't consumed sending flowers from South America.

For now "I Do Vow To" is my newest blog and with continued research and networking look for "I Do Vow To" the website and team of wedding consultants dedicated to helping couples committed to making a positive difference locally and globally while planning their wedding.

Thanks to Donna von Bruening of DVB Photo for all the great candid photos posted here.

engage!08: the inspiration

The true name for this outstanding symposium I attended in October is engage!08: the encore, however for me it should be engage!08: the inspiration...why you might ask? Well in order to truly answer I need to explain what this opportunity meant to me.

The one-day symposium was held at the Ritz-Carlton of Grande Lakes in Orlando, which of course set the stage for perfection from luxurious accommodations to fabulous food and first-class service. Engage!08 successfully debuted in June 2008 as a "high impact wedding business symposium designed to take you and your company to the next level" as outlined by founders Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce both of Engaging Concepts.

I was fortunate to be able to attend encore in conjunction with planning meetings with Disney Fairytale Weddings and was able to meet and network with 80 wedding professionals from 5 countries and 25 states. In addition to meeting new friends and colleagues, I had the good fortune to hear from dynamic leaders in the wedding industry starting with Rebecca Grinnals, co-founder of Disney Fairytale Weddings and founder of Engaging Concepts which provides expert consulting to the wedding and honeymoon industry.

Other featured speakers included Carley Roney and David Liu of The Knot, Sylvia Weinstock, Bee Kim of the Wedding Bee, Sean Low, President of Preston Bailey Designs and Simon T. Bailey renowned author of Release Your Brilliance. We had an entire day of interaction with these industry innovators and learned some of their secrets to success. Everyone of them challenged us to push our potential beyond all boundaries and to release the inhibitions that may have been a road-block to future success.

So what does this have to do with engage!08: the inspiration? Stay tuned to part!2: the inspiration.