Results for brides Tag

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Dear Preston: How Do You Figure Out What Your Brides Really Want?

Dear Preston, (Image via smoothdude) How do you get all of the information you need from a bride in order to make her wedding vision a reality? Sincerely, Curious Dear Curious, Thanks for the great question. Determining a bride’s vision is sometimes very easy. Other times it’s a huge pain in the neck! There is [...]

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on the phone

WEDDING PLANNING: WHICH VENDOR SHOULD A BRIDE CALL FIRST?

(Image via fiktura) A common mistake I see many vendors make is thinking that when a bride begins to plan her wedding, she should always call them first, no matter what their speciality. But does this really make the most sense? When Ivanka Trump got engaged, I was one of the first people she called. [...]

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preston bailey floral sculpture sylvia weinstock cake

DEAR PRESTON: HOW DO I GET RECOGNITION FOR MY WORK?

(Cake Image via Sylvia Weinstock Cake Blog) Dear Preston, My team and I do a lot of weddings and events, and they’ve all been amazing. Our brides and their guests love our work. But, for some reason, I feel like credit is not being given where it’s due. The venues seem to get a lot [...]

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crumpled piece of paper

WEDDING AND EVENT JOB BIDS: VENTING ABOUT REJECTION

(Image via David Chu) Over the years, many big corporations and brides shopping for the best deal have requested bids from me. But every time I bid on a new job, I can’t stand it. Why? The reason is simple: I take my designs very seriously. When I’m designing a job, I invest a lot [...]

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low floral wedding centerpiece

ARE DREAM WEDDINGS A REALITY AGAIN?

(Image via Preston Bailey) Everyone knows summertime is big wedding season, but I’m also very busy with all of my fall and winter brides, who are in the middle of intently planning their own upcoming weddings. With the bad economy the last two years, many of my brides requested understated designs. They wanted elegance but [...]

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Melissa Rivers Winter Wonderland Wedding

WHAT’S THE POINT OF BEING A DESIGNER IF YOU DON’T DESIGN?

(Image via Preston Bailey) When you create a great design that you and your clients love, how often do you repeat it? Do new clients come in, see this great design, and ask that you do the same for them? When Joan Rivers’ daughter, Melissa Rivers, got married, I created the winter wonderland wedding design [...]

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sad woman

DEAR PRESTON: WHY IS MY RACE SUCH AN ISSUE?

(Image via Poofy) Dear Preston, As an African American in the wedding and event industry, I’m encountering a problem that’s weighing heavily on my heart. I live in Pennsylvania. Brides see my work, love my work, get referred by other brides, and make an appointment to see me. But then they discover that I’m African [...]

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listening to clients in the wedding and event planning industry

LEARNING THE BUSINESS OF MONEY THE HARD WAY

(Image via ky_olsen) Yesterday, I promised to explain how I handled those three difficult payment situations. So, here’s what I did: In the first situation, everything came to a head the day before the event. My client was simply unable to come up with the money he owed me. I was angry. I was also [...]

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budget-conscious brides

CONVINCING POTENTIAL CLIENTS TO MEET IN PERSON

(Image via pshegubj) Today’s venting post is in response to one of you, my lovely readers, who wrote in asking for my help with brides who want a price quote before they’ll agree to meet with a vendor. We vendors typically prefer to meet with a potential client before quoting any prices. The reader who [...]

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