Engagement Season…"it's the most wonderful time of the year!!"

Did you get engaged over the holidays? Well if you did you are not alone, based on recent estimates it is predicted that 1/3 of all engagements for the entire year will take place over the holiday season. That amounts to nearly one million couples! The reason for this is that the holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, present an abundance of opportunities for memorable proposals to take place.

With engagement season in full swing below are a few fun engagement and wedding statistics from the Association of Bridal Consultants.

• The average American engagement is 16 months.
• June is the most popular month for weddings, then August, September, October and May
• Every year an average of 2.4 million weddings are performed

• Average age for first-time brides is 25 years, for grooms it's 27.5
• 175 guests are invited to an average wedding
• An average honeymoon vacation is one week
• Average size of wedding party: 12
• Most brides (30%) plan their weddings for 7 to 12 months
• About 15% of weddings include ethnic customs
• $22,000 is the average amount spent on a traditional American wedding

MARRIAGES BY MONTH
• January 4.7%
• February 7.0%
• March 6.1%
• April 7.4%
• May 9.8%
• June 10.8%
• July 9.7%
• August 10.2%
• September 9.6%
• October 9.4%
• November 7.4%
• December 7.8%

Feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start?

The best and most productive way to get started is to write down all your questions and concerns that you may have and meet with a wedding consultant, such as myself (shameless plug). I'd be happy to set up a time to talk about your upcoming wedding. Please feel free to call me or email me to schedule a complimentary consultation for us to meet face to face. At this meeting we’ll get to know one another better and you’ll know right away if there is a good match between us. You must feel completely comfortable with us and us with you. Together, we will discuss your event or wedding plans, details and your vision of what you imagine your special day to be.

Pamela Gibson
Wedding Consultant and Event Manager
248-709-6996
info@eventsbypam.com

The Wedding Express

Last Sunday Lia and I attended our first "Wedding Express". The event was held at the Community House in Birmingham and was for wedding designers and consultants as a way to network with vendors in the Metro Detroit area. It pretty much was speed dating for wedding planners and vendors! We got five minutes with each vendor before the we had to move on to the next. Overall it was a successful and positive venture for Lia and I. We met a lot of great people and ate way too much wedding cake...but if you ever get a chance to sample cakes made by Erin from Classic Confections you'll understand why we had trouble controlling ourselves.

Below is a picture of Lia and I with the ladies from Emplume and their awesome feather bouquets. Check out Lia's Blog Part 1 & Part 2 for the full account of the day...I figure there is no need for us to both write the same thing. So I am going to give my fingers a rest...thanks Lia for posting first :)

Are You The $20K And Under Bride???

Are you a bride who has a fabulous $20,000 budget or less? Do you feel clueless on what to do, where to start or how much you should be paying for your wedding overall?

We have the perfect solution!!!

Honestly, you just need the right tools and a great partner in crime.

I have spent the last 2 months compiling a list of professional vendors and venues who are willing to work with you! This includes all of Southeast Michigan. Only catch...you have to be a 2010 bride and a bit flexible with dates. There's no reason why you can't have a $40,000 wedding for $20,000 right?

This sounds way too much like an infomercial...I am sorry! I cannot express in words how excited I am about the venues and vendors who have substantially lowered their fees to assist our clients during the tough economy! This thrills me more than you know! I love a challenging budget!

Bottom line gals, I know people who want to assist!! They just haven't found you yet! I'm just here to connect the dots!

Please call me to set a complimentary one hour appointment with me and my planners who will be able to show you the many ways to save and have the wedding day you have been dreaming about.

248.709.6996
or
info@eventsbypam.com

Twilight Inspired Wedding

This one is for my fellow TwiHards. With New Moon stirring up our Twilight obsession once more, I was thrilled when Lia from Full Circle Eventi , who is my best friend and business partner...however NOT a TwiHard, sent me a link to Pure Photography's blog where they created a Twilight inspired theme wedding. I've posted a few pics below. Click here to see all the Twilight inspired pics!!

Brides.com Networking Event

Last Wednesday Lia and I attended the Michigan Brides.com networking event held at The Crofoot in downtown Pontiac. We met a lot of great vendors and contacts to share with all of you. We also got some great ideas from some of the displays.

Brides.com did a great job in arranging a great team of vendors for the event as well. The décor was decked out in shades of purple and silver. Parsonage Events took care of the beautiful flower arrangements, while The Whole 9 Yards, Fabulous Events, and Display Group contributed to the drapery, linens, and furniture.

Although we didn't have the greatest camera in the world, here are a few images from the night.

And the winners are....

Congratulations to Ruth Podowski and Jesi Whitaker, you are the winners of our table drawing from the Brides-to-Be bridal show.

We can't wait to begin working with you to create the wedding of your dreams!!

Brides-To-Be Show

On Sunday Lia and I attended the Brides-To-Be Bridal Show in Troy. It was our first time attending with a booth and we had a great time and met a lot of great brides and grooms. The winner of our table prize drawing, which was a Black & Blue bridal survival bag and a complementary "Day-of" wedding package, has been drawn and will be contacted this week. We will be posting our winner soon!!

Check out our Tiffany inspired booth below...

October 21, 2006 - My Wedding Day

Three years ago today, on a crisp Autumn evening, I walked down the aisle and said "I do". That day was truly the best day of my life. I got to see all my planning and vision come together to create the wedding of my dreams and most importantly I shared it all with my friends and family.

It was also the day that I knew I wanted to become not only an event planner, but a wedding planner. At that time I had been a corporate event planner for many years, but had never been interested in planning weddings. In fact, I once thought weddings were all the same...and boring. Boy was I wrong :)

Now that I have been involved in creating weddings, I can say that I have never been so inspired as when I am envisioning the perfect wedding for a couple in love.

The one bad thing about weddings is that they become dated quickly. Looking at my wedding pics from only 3 years ago I can already see that. I always say, "I wish I knew then what I know now"...I could have had so much more for so much less. But hey...that's what I am here for now...to give that advice to any bride who may want it!!

Rock Star Party

One of the first social events I hosted was a Rock Star Themed 30th Birthday Party. It was held at the Mill Street Grille in Pontiac Michigan. We had a great Beatles Tribute Band, "The Apples", travel up from Ohio to party with us. Everyone came dressed up and had a great time!!