The Wedding Planners

Dessert: A Sweet Concept

2009-08-31T05:17:00.001-07:00

Today, I blogged over on eHarlequin about the concept of dessert as a motivator to get work done. Considering I work for myself and I'm probably the easiest boss eva, I need SOMETHING to make myself keep on writing on the days when the sun is shining. To the left there is the dessert that kept my butt in the chair yesterday--a Mixed Berry Pavlova I had made for company a couple days prior (there was like, no lie, two tablespoons left over, but being a dessert freak, I saved all two tablespoons for later, LOL). So check out the post, and then have a little chocolate!

Shirley

What Happened to August?

2009-08-24T20:49:00.001-07:00

I have no idea where this month went (well, actually I do. Many things, none of them weddings, took place and the month just disappeared before I even knew it). I haven't even been to a store to see if my book is on the shelves, but my relatives and friends tell me that it is, so...here's the cover.

I have to say that I loved this book and I feared it, too. It deals with a sensitive subject and I really wasn't sure that I was capable of giving it everything that it needed. But in the end, I just...put my heart into it and wrote the book that my characters demanded I write. I only hope that it touches a few hearts along the way.

Have a wonderful last week in August! (I hope your month didn't fly by as quickly as mine seemed to do).

Myrna

My September Release

2009-07-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

Last night, one of our blog readers, Julie Hilton Steele, let me know my upcoming release, Memo: The Billionaire's Proposal received 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times!

I'm very excited and once I can find the actual review I'll post it here. A big thanks to Julie for letting me know!

Hope you're enjoying your summer!

Melissa McClone

Christmas in July!

2009-07-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Just got the cover for my November book and thought I'd share!

susan meier
THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS...coming out in November.

Walk down the aisle...

2009-07-23T08:10:00.000-07:00

Not so much.

Check out this wedding's party entrance into the church. Very cool and so much fun.

Thanks to Fiona Harper who Tweeted the link!

What do you think? Fun or not traditional enough?

Bouquet Toss

2009-07-19T19:02:00.001-07:00

When I saw this LOLcat pic at one of my fave sites icanhascheeseburger.com, I immediately thought about the my book for the Wedding Planners series, SOS Marry Me, as well as my first Silhouette Romance, If the Ring Fits.... Both books end with a bouquet toss though neither bridesmaid was trying this hard to catch it. In fact, neither wanted to catch the bouquet!

I caught the bouquet at a wedding and was the next to get married, but then again it could be all coincidental! Do you think there's anything to the legend/superstition about catching the wedding bouquet or garter?

We're glad to be back at The Wedding Planners to share our news and other things we find that are wedding related. If you or anyone else you know are planning a wedding or have recently gotten married and would like to guest blog about your experience or share a helpful hint to others out there, just leave a comment with your email and we'll get in touch with you!

Hope you're enjoying your summer and getting lots of reading in, too!

Melissa McClone

We're Back!

2009-07-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

We've decided to reopen The Wedding Planners Blog to share news with you (and we've missed getting to connect with all of you)! I'll start out with some good news I received. My book, Her Millionaire, His Miracle just won the Bookseller's Best award! I'm very excited, to say the least.

I hope you're all having a great summer! Check back here for more news of upcoming books (and other things) in the weeks ahead.

(Oh, and hop on over to my website at www.myrnamackenzie.com. I have a contest running, and it ends August 2nd, so there's still time to enter. (Or, if you leave a comment here, I'll automatically enter you). The prize is a book and a bracelet from Spokespeople at Etsy.

Best Wishes!
Myrna Mackenzie

Thank You for Visiting

2009-05-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's been more than a year since The Wedding Planners blog began, but it has. During that time all of us here at The Wedding Planners have met some wonderful people, we've learned a lot and shared a lot.

And although the time has come for the blog to fade away (because yes, this is a farewell message), we'd hate to lose track of all of you. So, please continue to visit us at our websites (some of those also link to author blogs).

Thank you so much for visiting!

Best Wishes to All,
from Linda Goodnight, Melissa James, Shirley Jump, Melissa McClone, Susan Meier and Myrna Mackenzie

Me? A Bridesmaid?

2009-04-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's guest blogger is Kimberly Lang who made the Walden's Best Seller list for category romances with her first Harlequin Presents, The Secret Mistress Arrangement. Congrats!

Thanks for inviting me back to the blog!

Last time I visited here, I made the mistake of saying my bridesmaid days were pretty much over. I bragged how my days of hand-holding my friends in the midst of emotional bridal breakdowns were over.

Seems I jinxed myself.

Of course, no sooner than I said it one of my oldest and dearest friends had to get herself engaged and it seems I’ll be wearing taffeta again. Probably something long and froofy with a sweetheart neckline and the potential for puffy sleeves. Oh, please, just let it not be fuchsia. Anything but fuchsia. It’s not a good color for me.

With my luck, the dress will have a butt bow as well.

Sigh.

Why are bridesmaid dresses hideous by nature? Oh, the bride is always so quick to claim “you’ll be able to wear it again,” but has anyone ever actually been able to wear a bridesmaid dress again? No matter how you try to shorten it or tailor it or put a jacket over it, it will forever scream BRIDESMAID.

I’ve been lucky that my friends, for the most part, have always had good taste and I was never stuck wearing something just too horrid to believe (fuchsia butt bows aside – I think that’s just standard). They just weren’t what you’d call particularly flattering.

One of my favorite websites – Etiquette Hell – has a Bridesmaid Dress Incinerator. Those are some pretty bad dresses. It’s enough to make me feel downright fortunate in my bridesmaid attire.

It’s a good thing we’re talking about friends. Can you imagine what your enemies would do to you?

So my nightmare is fuchsia with a butt bow. Do you have a bridesmaid’s dress horror to share? (And keep your fingers crossed for my upcoming dress, okay? Thanks.)

Kimberly

**** I’m celebrating the release of TWO books this month. My first book, The Secret Mistress Arrangement, from Harlequin Presents is out this month in the US. My second book, The Millionaire’s Misbehaving Mistress, from Mills and Boon Modern Heat, is out in the UK. Drop by my website for details and contests this month.

Browse this book

Add to your site

Buy this book

A New Continuity

2009-03-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

The Wedding Planners continuity debuted last April. It's hard to believe a year has gone by already. This April, you can find a brand new Harlequin Romance continuity, a trilogy actually, called Blind Date Brides on sale. It's centered around an online dating site called blinddatebrides.com, and I'm the author of book 3 which will be out in June.

April 09 - Nine-to-Five Bride by Jennie Adams
May 09 - Blind-Date Baby by Fiona Harper
June 09 - Dream Date with the Millionaire by Melissa McClone

To find out more about each book, read the heroine's dating profiles and read excerpts and story background, go to blinddatebrides.com!

~Three women, three countries, three exciting love stories!~

Coming up this week!

2009-03-29T09:22:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. A couple of us have April 1 deadlines and the others are busy writing away. We have a guest blogger, Kimberly Lang, dropping by on Thursday, April 2nd. I hope you'll stop by to say hi!

I'll have a preview of a new trilogy that will start in April. And if I can find my wedding album, I hope to scan in a few pics and post them this week in celebration of my wedding anniversary this week.

Take care!

Melissa

Build Your Dream Wedding Dress

2009-03-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

I found a page on iVillage where you can design your own wedding dress. It's fun to play with the different styles of skirts, bodices, trims, veils, etc. Go here if you want to be like Serena James of the Wedding Belles and design wedding gowns!

Even if You're Not Irish...

2009-03-16T01:08:00.000-07:00

They say that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day and it must be true, because here's a video put together by my (not Irish) husband. Lots of beautiful shots of Ireland and a choir singing Danny Boy (the recording is from a concert choir where my son was a baritone five years ago).

And since we are a blog that deals in romance (lots of gorgeous and romantic men and women), here's a link to a video of the gorgeous men of Celtic Thunder singing Ireland's Call.

And a video of one of the beautiful women of Celtic Woman.

Have a fantastic St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

Coming Up This Week...

2009-03-15T12:50:00.001-07:00

St. Patrick's Day is Tuesday, so on Monday we'll have a small tribute to the day. Even if you're not Irish, I promise there will be pretty scenery and good looking men, so we'll have some fun.

Then on Wednesday, Melissa James will be posting. She might be talking about the history of the Marriage of Convenience (one of my favorite storylines), so it's sure to be interesting.

And on Friday, Linda Goodnight will be here, and Linda always has something intriguing to share, so come back and see us.

Myrna Mackenzie

A Wedding Movie on DVD

2009-03-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

If you didn't catch Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married in the theaters, the movie came out on DVD and Blu-ray this week. This one totally missed my wedding movie radar. That is, I remember hearing about it, but promptly forgot about it. It's not your typical wedding romantic comedy with lots of fluff. It's shot with multiple cameras and there's plenty of dysfunction to go around. Still it looks interesting and Anne Hathaway did receive an Academy Award nomination for her role.

I saw a review of the DVD here on the Washington Post that makes me want to rent it so I can say my 2008 wedding movie watching binge is complete. Or rather, it will be once I see Mamma Mia, too!

Have a great weekend!

Memories For Sale

2009-03-11T04:51:00.001-07:00

Our old house is up on the market finally, and though I'm glad to be moved into the new one, I'm also sad to see this one go. Like the very first house we owned, years and years ago, this one has its own set of memories.

After all, it's the first house my son lived in. We brought him home from the hospital to this house, saw him take his first steps there. Had to wallpaper the kitchen because he threw so much food around (he was a very messy eater, LOL). Now the wallpaper is gone, because he's older now, but the footprint of the memories remain.

Our very first house, in Massachusetts, was a money pit, but my husband and I loved it because it was OURS. We sank a ridiculous amount of money and sweat equity into that place, renovating it into what we dreamed. When we sold it, I cried and cried.

I didn't shed tears this time, but I did leave the house the other day with a heavier heart. It wasn't for the last time--that won't happen until someone buys it--but I know the days when I'll walk through that door and remember my kids playing in the yard or running through the living room, or helping me bake cookies at the kitchen counter are numbered.

Some other family will make their own memories in that house, and I hope they have just as many as we have had. We've left behind the playground for the next owners, and staged it with a few toys in the kids' bedrooms, so they can imagine all the fun their children might have.

Meanwhile, we'll be working on making memories in our new place :-)

Shirley

Janet Tronstad and The Dropped Stitches series

2009-03-09T01:00:00.000-07:00

First, let me introduce myself. I am Janet Tronstad, the author of close to twenty novels published through Steeple Hill, the inspirational line at Harlequin. I am delighted to blog with your group today, partly because I’ve grown to have a new appreciation for wedding locations while writing my latest book.

A wedding is one of the most memorable days in a woman’s life – that’s true even for imaginary weddings that happen in books. That’s why I gave a great deal of thought to how to make a wedding dramatic in my March ‘09 book, “A Dropped Stitches Wedding.” This is the last book in a four-part series that has a very attached readership so I knew the end of the book had to have a really Big Moment that would leave the readers with a sigh of contentment. It’s the same challenge a bride faces in real life. My question was how to pull that off.

My heroines (there were four heroines in a knitting group and they all played a part in the final book) were young so the wedding would be short on cash, but it also needed to be long on romance. The bride had a weakness for fluffy white chic that she couldn’t afford. In fact, she couldn’t afford much of anything. I decided the cheapest way to pull off a memorable wedding was to find a unique location.

My series is set in California’s Old Town Pasadena, a restored area filled with turn-of-the-century brick buildings, trendy cafes, and – for some reason – shops carrying scented candles and soaps. We were too far away from the beach to do an ocean wedding (since the rest of the books were all set in Pasadena, I thought it was cheating the reader to find my location anywhere else).

And then I remembered there is an old brick building that used to be a firehouse. The location got better when I discovered that an old firehouse in northern California had an old light bulb that had been burning continuously since 1901 (an inventor donated it so that the firemen wouldn’t have to waste time lighting kerosene lanterns at night before they could pull their boots on to go fight the fires). I took the liberty of moving that light bulb to Old Town Pasadena (and made a note of that in the dedication) and instantly I had a dramatic location for a wedding.

Because of the attention that the light bulb was getting, the marriage that was to take place under its glow started to get some buzz, too. The bride’s wedding gown was borrowed, a carriage ride to the firehouse was donated, and the reporters were there to cover it all for the local paper.
It was a perfect wedding (in print at least).

My efforts were rewarded when Romantic Times reviewed my book and said it was a ‘joyous conclusion’ to the series. That’s exactly what I wanted that wedding to feel like and I know the location had a part in it.

I’m anxious to know if any of you have found unique wedding locations (either in real life or books you’ve written or read).

Coming up this week!

2009-03-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

This week, we're thrilled to have Love Inspired author Janet Tronstad visiting us! Janet does the "Dry Creek" Series and "The Dropped Stitches" series. Her books are warm and witty and I'm sure Monday's blog will be fun and entertaining.

With additional posts Shirley Jump and Melissa McClone, this week promises to be a good one!

See you tomorrow for Janet Tronstad.

susan
MAID IN MONTANA, Harlequin Romance, 6/09

Calling All Princesses...

2009-03-06T01:08:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up I was all about the princess thing. At Halloween, I never wanted to be something clever. I had to be a character who wore a pretty dress, preferably a long dress. And then of course there's the "romance writer" thing. That goes along with the princess fantasy perfectly.

Still, despite my childhood princess goals and the fact that I've been writing romance novels for years, I had never written a book with a princess heroine until now. Next month, The Cowboy and the Princess will make it to the shelves. I’m pretty psyched about it (more about the book in the weeks to come). And since I wanted to run a contest at my website that plays into the princess/cowboy theme, I hit the Internet.

All I can say is the princess fantasy has certainly picked up steam over the years. As the mother of two boys I missed out on this, but there are all kinds of princess gear a girl can buy to make that dream a reality (or as close to a reality as us non-royals can get). There are actually entire stores dedicated to selling princess gear as well as one called Tiara Town where you can get (among other things) replicas of various tiaras worn by Princess Diana, including the one she wore on her wedding day. Or, you can get scepters!

Would-be princesses (children and adults) can buy dresses.

Or jewelry, room décor, party favors, princess outfits for your dog and storage trunks and carousels to hold all those princess outfits.

I wonder if it's too late to act out that princess fantasy…

Maybe next Halloween. Or maybe I'll just write another princess book. Keep watching.

So…if you could be any fairy tale princess which one would it be?

Myrna
www.myrnamackenzie.com

New book! - Home to Crossroads Ranch

2009-03-02T01:00:00.000-08:00

Linda Goodnight's latest book, HOME TO CROSSROADS RANCH hits the stands March 1 or is available at Amazon.

Even though the cover is hokey and 1950's, I promise the book is better!! Let me know what you think.

Here's a sneak preview:

Nate Del Rio heard screams the minute he stepped out of his Super Crew Cab and started up the flower-lined sidewalk leading to Rainy Jernagen's house. He double-checked the address scribbled on the back of a bill for horse feed. Sure enough, this was the place.

Adjusting his Stetson against a gust of March wind, he rang the doorbell expecting the noise to subside. It didn't.

Somewhere inside the modest, tidy-looking brick house at least two kids were screaming their heads off in what sounded to his experienced ears like fits of temper. A television blasted out Saturday-morning cartoons.

He punched the doorbell again. Instead of the expected ding-dong, a raucous alternative Christian rock band added a few more decibels to the noise level.

Nate shifted the toolbox to his opposite hand and considered running for his life while he had the chance.

Too late. The bright red door whipped open. Nate's mouth fell open with it.

When the men's ministry coordinator from Bible Fellowship had called him, he'd somehow gotten the impression that he was coming to help a little old schoolteacher. In his mind, that meant the kind who only drove to school and church and had a big, fat cat.

Not so. The woman standing before him with taffy-blond hair sprouting out from a disheveled ponytail couldn't possibly be any older than his thirty-one years. A big blotch of something purple stained the front of her white sweatshirt, and she was barefoot. Plus, she had a crying baby on each hip and a little red-haired girl hanging on one leg, bawling like a sick calf. And there wasn't a cat in sight.

What had he gotten himself into?

May I help you?" she asked over the racket. Her blue-gray eyes were a little too unfocused and bewildered for his comfort.

Raising his voice, he asked, "Are you Ms. Jernagen?"

"Yes," she said cautiously. "I'm Rainy Jernagen. And you are…?"

"Nate Del Rio."

She blinked, uncomprehending, all the while jiggling both babies up and down. One grabbed a hunk of her hair. She flinched, her head angling to one side, as she said, still cautiously, "Okaaay."

Nate reached out and untwined the baby's sticky fingers.

A relieved smile rewarded him. "Thanks. Is there something I can help you with?"

He hefted the red toolbox to chest level so she could see it. "From the Handyman Ministry. Jack Martin called. Said you had a washer problem."

Understanding dawned. "Oh my goodness. Yes. I'm so sorry. You aren't what I expected. Please forgive me."

She wasn't what he expected, either. Not in the least. Young and with a houseful of kids. He suppressed a shiver. Kids, even grown ones, could drive a person to distraction. He should know. His adult sister and brother were, at this moment, making his life as miserable as possible. The worst part was they did it all the time. Only this morning his sister Janine had finally packed up and gone back to Sal, giving Nate a few days' reprieve.

"Come in, come in," the woman was saying. "It's been a crazy morning, what with the babies showing up at 3 a.m. and Katie having a sick stomach. Then while I was doing the laundry, the washing machine went crazy. Water everywhere." She jerked her chin toward the inside of the house. "You're truly a godsend."

He wasn't so sure about that, but he'd signed up for his church's ministry to help single women and the elderly with those pesky little handyman chores like oil changes and leaky faucets. Most of his visits had been to older ladies who plied him with sweet tea and jars of homemade jam and talked about the good old days while he replaced a fuse or unstopped the sink. And their houses had been quiet. Real quiet.

Rainy Jernagen stepped back, motioning him in, and Nate very cautiously entered a room that should have had flashing red lights and a Danger Zone sign.

Menus for Love

2009-02-27T06:05:00.000-08:00

I've been cooking a lot since moving into the new house (partly because I LOVE to cook and partly because we spent three weeks going back and forth between houses, which meant a lot of drive-thru and takeout food. Ugh).

DH has been in heaven. He loves it when I cook, and this last couple weeks has been a regular restaurant around here -- cherry glazed chicken, wild rice and mushroom soup, baked fettuccini, homemade maple bacon baked beans, beef chili, individual chicken pot pies...and even dessert. I had apricot-glazed apple crisp one night, peanut butter and jelly bars another.

That got me thinking about what kind of menus others prepare for those they love. I started at Rachael Ray, who posted the menu from her wedding day, along with the recipes.

There's even advice on cooking together from one website. Speaking from personal experience, none of those tips work if you have a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, which my last one was. In that case, all I wanted was for other people to GET OUT of the kitchen while I did my thing.

Another woman has started a thing called The Husband Project, which is all about learning to cook meals for your husband (me, I love to eat, so these are as much for me as anyone else in this house).

Do you do the cooking in your house? Do you enjoy it? Or is it a chore? What's your specialty meal?

Shirley

Create Memories, Not Regrets:

2009-02-25T04:33:00.000-08:00

Hi! Susan here. I'm pleased to have Mary Jo Rulnick, a wedding planner as today's guest! I saw Mary Jo on Pittsburgh's morning talk show and knew she'd make a great addition to our blog.

Here's Mary Jo...

Eight Tips to Keep Wedding Planning from Becoming Stressful
By Mary Jo Rulnick, founder of www.GoodBrideBadBride.com

1. Know your personality and the way you work. Knowing the way you work will help you plan your wedding day more efficiently and it will be less stressful. Do you get excited, jump into action, then lose your interest as time goes on? If so, tackle the most time-consuming tasks in the beginning and work your way to the easier ones. For brides who are perfectionists and never seem to finish a job, ask your groom to give you a deadline or a stopping point. Now, if too many decisions overwhelm you, ask mom or another trusted person to narrow down your options. With only three or four choices, it will be easier to handle. For brides who want to make everyone happy, you'll have to remember this is your and your groom's day. Thank family and friends for their suggestions and tell them how much you appreciate their interest, but do what works best for you and your groom.

2. Know the vision you both want for your reception before booking vendors. Sometimes couples start booking vendors and such without grasping the vision of their wedding day. What do you want to remember? What do you want your guests to remember? For instance, if the bride and groom, as well as most of the guests, are reserved, your reception might be more like a dinner party with a jazz band in the background. If you’re both outgoing, your entertainment needs to be as lively as the two of you. This is crucial if you plan to dance the night away. Maybe you’d like to bring in your ethnic background. Besides the typical parts of a ceremony and reception, what else might you want to include? This includes everything from favors to shuttles to welcome bags for out-of-town guests.

3. Know where to spend your money and where to cut back, according to your priorities and budget. Once you know your vision, you’ll know where your priorities are. There are numerous web sites and books that recommend a designated percentage of the budget to various categories. Rather than follow the predetermined percentage, prioritize the wedding categories. Then, divide the money in your budget accordingly. Also, take a look at what you have on your list, and then consider how you can do it for less. You might have in your head you want a slide show of your engagement, but it can run upwards of $900. You can still have a photo montage without spending a lot of money. A digital frame set up near the bar area can achieve the same result on a smaller scale and it can then be incorporated into your home. Or possibly a friend is a graphic designer and would love to create a slide show as his or her gift to you. And always ask the venue what equipment is available.

4. Read contracts thoroughly. If you don’t read the contract thoroughly, it could cost you extra money you hadn’t counted on spending. For instance, do you need to supply a hot meal for your photographer or other vendors? Does your band/DJ charge per hour or for the night? How many breaks will they take? Are your floral vases rented and must be returned? Are there additional charges for set up and break down?

5. Put a twist on the traditional. Instead of having the typical guest book or other wedding items, put your own unique spin on it. For anyone who was engaged in Disney World, consider buying a Disney, Disney World or Florida book and having your guests sign it instead of the traditional white bridal guest book.

6. Avoid turning a theme into chaos. Choose a focus with one or two additions to the reception. Instead of trying to do every unique thing, such as an ice cream bar, wine tent, photo booth, or artist, you’ve seen at a recent bridal expo, use your escort cards, guest book and favors to carry out your theme. For a chocolate theme, escort cards can be created with mini candy bars, skip table numbers and name the tables after favorite chocolates, and make your cookie table a candy table. Then, if you still want something different, add one "fun" thing to the reception.

7. Realize you don’t have to do everything. Initiate a task list for family and friends to help alleviate some of the responsibilities and stress. Give others, from your parents to your future in-laws to friends, tasks to do. If you’re searching for favors, see if a computer savvy friend can surf the Internet for the best company and price. Enlist help for tasks such as calling venues and vendors, making signage, stuffing invitations, organizing the cookie table, baking cookies, and dropping off items at the reception place.

8. Create a timeline. There’s a lot to accomplish during your reception, which is usually five hour time span. Work through your timeline with your banquet manager, venue coordinator, photographer and DJ/Band. Plan what you want to accomplish from what photos you want taken to when you want to cut the cake. Make sure someone, a coordinator, trusted friend or a hired planner, is overseeing this timeline. Two things can happen if you don’t. One, you take too long at the front part of reception and have little time for the socializing, dancing, and enjoying the night. Two, you’re so caught up in the festivities that you wait too long for the traditions, such as father/daughter or mother/son dance and most of the guests have departed before you get around to it.

Mary Jo Rulnick coordinates more than 50 weddings a year from budget conscious to high end. During her fifteen-ye ar career as an events planner, she has organized more than 400 events for all ages including White House staff members, NBA families and NFL players. Mary Jo is the author of The Frantic Woman’s Guide to Feeding Family and Friends (Grand Central, formerly Time Warner Book Group), co-author of The Frantic Woman’s Guide to Life (Grand Central), The Frantic Mom’s Countdown to Easter (Amazon Shorts) and The Frantic Cook’s Countdown to Thanksgiving Dinner (Amazon Shorts). She’s a regular TV and radio guest, appearing on stations across the country and has been quoted in national magazines, such as Allure, Better Homes and Garden, Family Circle, Real Simple, and Woman’s Day. Visit Mary Jo at www.GoodBrideBadBride.com or www.MaryJoRulnick.com.

Dresses

2009-02-23T00:08:00.000-08:00

Serena James Wiley, dress designer for The Wedding Belles, here to say hello. It's been awhile since I stopped by. My husband, Kane, and I have been traveling lately. He just loves to fly around in his plane, but we're back in Boston for a bit. It's great to see everyone at The Wedding Belles. I've missed them so.

I wanted to see if any of you watched the Oscars last night? If so, did you notice all the white gowns? Several of the designs looked as if they belonged walking down the aisle not just the red carpet. You can see pictures of some here. I can only imagine brides wanting to copy several of those designs. What do you think?

In case you're wondering what brides this spring and summer might be wearing, check out this clip:

Well, Kane's calling me so I'd better run. Take care!

Serena

This week....

2009-02-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

We've got a few things in store for you this week on the Wedding Planners!

I'll be blogging on Monday. Susan Meier has an actual wedding planner guest blogging for her on Wednesday so be sure to stop in and hear what Mary Jo Rulnick has to say. And the always entertaining Shirley Jump rounds out the week on Friday!

Hope you have a great day!

A Two-fold Love Story

2009-02-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

In this month of love, I thought it might be fun to share about how I met my own hero. Even though I never had a wedding or a honeymoon, I got something better (besides a great hubby, I mean.) I got a mother-in-law who adored me.

In this day of mother-in-law jokes and stories of couples with mother-in-law problems, that's no easy feat. Here’s how I got so lucky:

I was working as a ‘team-leader’ nurse on a surgical wing. One of my nurse’s aides was a mature woman named Lorene. She was one of the kindest, hardest working people on staff. I loved working with her and we became friends. Over the months, we talked about our shared faith, our families, basically everything. When her son’s wife left him, she was broken-hearted and told me about it. Later, after the divorce, she started telling me what a great guy he was. I never dreamed she had an ulterior motive for talking him up, until the evening he ‘stopped by’ the hospital during our break. Boy, was he cute! She introduced us and he began to show up at break time on a regular basis. Pretty soon, we went out for coffee after work, and seven months later, he proposed.

I later discovered that while Lorene was telling me all about this terrific son of hers, she was telling him about me! After Gene and I married, Lorene always told people that she could never complain about his choice of wives because she picked me before he did. She was a fabulous mother-in-law who treated me like a daughter all the days of her life. Lorene passed away last summer. I will always miss her.

Okay, your turn. How did you meet your sweetie?

And the Award Goes To....

2009-02-16T01:08:00.000-08:00

Last week the RNA (the Romantic Novelists' Association) voted Richard Armitage the Sexiest Thing on Two Legs, and someone posted a video on YouTube of some of his most romantic moments:

Lots of touching scenes there. I'm not really familiar with this actor (although I'd love to see the entire shows some of those clips came from). Maybe I'm living in a cave or perhaps those of us who live in the U.S. don't get to see much of his work, but here's the article, complete with the top ten males on the list. Enjoy!
Romantic Novelists vote Richard Armitage Sexiest Thing On Two Legs

What a great list!

I hope that started your day off right. Have a great one!

Myrna Mackenzie

Well...February is the Month of Love and Romance

2009-02-15T01:08:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is over, but we still have lots of February to go! I hope all of you had a wonderful day.

This week Linda Goodnight, Melissa James and I will be posting (and I'll be here on Monday),

Also, I know this has been mentioned here before, but it bears repeating. Harlequin is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, and to thank readers for years of readership, Harlequin is giving away free books, 16 in all, that can be downloaded.

To find the free books, go to www.harlequincelebrates.com
The titles are available as a PDF and in all eBook formats. There is no drm (digital rights management)
The titles are also available as a Stanza App for the iPhone and iPod Touch
The titles can also be found at all the online retailers like Sony, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Fictionwise.com, eReader.com, etc.
The 16 free books (one for every series) will be available throughout 2009.

Enjoy! And come back and visit us here at The Wedding Planners where we'll continue to talk books and love.

Superstitious?

2009-02-13T03:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Friday the 13th.

When I saw the date of my blog post, I laughed. Every time I think of wedding superstitions I think of my Aunt Phyllis. It's a tradition in our area to have a big, family-oriented wedding, which ends with a bridal dance. A polka. People pay at least a dollar to dance for approximately fifteen seconds with the bride. After your dance you're handed a piece of wedding cake and a shot of whiskey. When the line is down to only one or two people, the groom runs in, sweeps the bride off her feet and carries her out to the waiting car and off they go on their honeymoon.

It's a big rowdy fun tradition, but my Aunt Phillis's family also added a bit to the tradition. They believed it was good luck to take one of the bride's shoes. I'm not entirely sure how walking with only one shoe made a bride lucky, but Aunt Phyllis saw the point and she took one of my shoes.

Now, what I neglected to tell you was that my husband and I were married in a blizzard. So when she took my shoe, one of my feet was bare. Didn't matter. My husband was carrying me to the car. But we slammed into a snow drift and I couldn't even get out of the car...considering that I didn't have two shoes.

http://www.blissweddings.com/library/superstitions2.asp lists a hundred or so wedding superstitions that I thought were amazing! I'm not a fan of the negative ones...Like if it rains on your wedding day you'll cry through most of your marriage. I'm a bigger fan of the positive ones. Like arrange all your bows from your gifts around the door of your first house and it will bring you luck. It's not very convenient if you're in a family that likes to give money...but maybe you could ask everybody to put a ribbon on their cold, hard cash.

Another of my favorite superstitions is the one about saying vows when the minute hand of the clock is moving upward. To say the vows when the hand is pointing down is bad luck...but say them when the hand is pointed up...and guess what? You'll work together. Not sure how someone figured all that out.

Someone submitted that it was bad luck to receive knives as a wedding gift. I laughed when I read that because at my niece's shower, all the little girls of the family were seated in front of Kelli, adordingly watching her as she opened gifts. When she came to a lovely set of knives, one of the girls gasped and said, "Oh my mom says it's not good to give knives to newlyweds. It's too tempting for them to kill each other." My sister has never lived that one down.

Someone from Houston, Texas submitted that it was good luck for a bride to be kissed by a chimney sweep on her wedding day. Really? Her groom won't mind? LOL Or how about having the housecat eat out of your left shoe for good luck? Hummmm.....I'm thinking that one might have started in the days when finding a mouse in your shoe was a possibility.

Chinese superstition says that carrying a red umbrella over the head of the bride wards off evil spirits, while another claims that the rice you throw is to distract them and third claims that bridesmaids are dressed up to confuse evil spirits, so they won't know which person is the bride.

Have you ever heard that you're not supposed to let another woman try on your engagement ring? I actually worked with a few gals who wouldn't let anyone even touch their rings. Now I know why. Apparently, if another woman tries on your ring, she'll steal your finacee! LOL

I had a bit of a laugh reading some of these, but I have to confess that my husband and I have been very happily married for decades and I can't help but wonder if Aunt Phyllis didn't give us a shove in the lucky direction when she took my shoe!

susan

3 days and counting

2009-02-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

February 14th is right around the corner. I know some people don't like Valentine's day, but I think the idea of celebrating a day of love is very cool.

I thought I'd get us all in the mood for hearts, chocolate and romance with a little pre-Valentine fun.

Here's a Valentine music video to watch:

A Valentine Lolcat to see:

more animals

A Valentine quiz to take:

Your Candy Heart Says "Hug Me"

A total sweetheart, you always have a lot of love to give out.

Your heart is open to where ever love takes you!

Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a surprise romantic evening that you've planned out

Your flirting style: lots of listening and talking

What turns you off: fighting and conflict

Why you're hot: you're fearless about falling in love

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Do you know what you'll be doing on Valentine's day? I do and unfortunately it's not very romantic. Oh, well, there's always next year!

Meet Kane Lennox!

2009-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

This week, I have an excerpt from my February release, THE BRIDESMAID AND THE BILLIONAIRE.

The book is in stores now, so be sure to pick up your copy! Read on for an excerpt, and if you want to get to know my hero, Kane Lennox, a little better, pop on over to eHarlequin and read his Hero blog this week!

From THE BRIDESMAID AND THE BILLIONAIRE, February 2009, Diamond Brides series

Kane Lennox’s bare feet sank into the new spring grass, his toes disappearing between the thick green blades like shy mice. He’d slept on mattresses that cost as much as a small sedan, walked on carpet that had been hand-loomed in the Orient, and worn shoes made to order specifically for his feet by a cobbler in Italy. But those experiences paled in comparison to this one. Comfort slid through his veins, washing over him in a wave, lapping at the stress that normally constricted his heart, easing the emotion’s death grip on his arteries.

He halted mid-step, tossing the conundrum around in his mind. How could something so simple, so basic, as walking barefoot on grass, feel so wonderful?

“What on earth do you think you’re doing?”

Kane whirled around at the sound of the woman’s voice. Tall and thin, her blond hair hung in a long straight curtain to her waist, flanked by tight fists propped on her hips. Her features were delicate, classic, with wide green eyes and lush dark pink lips, but right now, her face had been transformed by a mask of confusion and annoyance. In one hand, she held a cell phone, her thumb over the send button. 9-1-1 just a push away.

Not that he could blame her. Even he had to admit what he was doing looked…odd. Out of place. Kane put up both hands. The see, I’m okay, not carrying any lethal weapons posture. “There’s a perfectly logical explanation for my behavior,” he said. “And my presence.”

She raised a dubious brow, but looked a bit worried, even apprehensive. “A total stranger. Barefoot. On my sister’s lawn. In the middle of the day. Uh-huh. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for that.” She turned, casting a hand over her eyes, shading them from the sun. “Either there’s some cameraman waiting to jump out of the shrubbery with a ‘Surprise, you’re on “Candid Camera”’ announcement, or you’re here on some loony bin field trip.”

He laughed. “I assure you, I’m not crazy.”

Though the last few weeks had driven him nearly to insanity. Which had pushed him to this point. To the small town of Chapel Ridge, in the middle of Indiana. To--

Being barefoot, on, as she had said, her sister’s lawn, in the middle of a bright April day. Okay, so it was mildly crazy.

“That leaves the “Candid Camera” option, which I’m definitely not in the mood for, or…trespassing.” She held up the phone like a barrier against a vampire. “Either way, I’m calling the cops…”

“Wait.” He took a step forward, thought better of it, and backed up. As his gaze swept over her a second time, he realized she looked familiar, and now knew why. “You must be…” He racked his brain. Usually he was so good at names. But this time, he couldn’t come up with hers. “The sister of the bride. Jackie’s sister.”

“I get it. You’re a detective who does his best thinking in his bare feet, is that it?” She gave him a sardonic grin. “Must have been tough, putting all the puzzle pieces together, what with the ‘Congratulations Jackie and Paul’ sign out front, the paper wedding bells hanging on the mailbox. Oh, and the happiness emanating from the house like cheap perfume.” She paused mid-tirade. “Wait. How do you know who I am?”

Kane gave her an assessing glance, avoiding the question. “What’s made you so disagreeable? Are you allergic to white or something?”

She sighed and lowered the phone. “I’ve had a rough day. A rough life and--“ She cut herself off again. “How do you do that? I’m not telling you a single thing about me.”

“Listen, I’ll just get out of here and leave you to your day. I’ve clearly come at a bad time.” He bent over, picked up his Tanini Crisci Italian leather dress shoes and started to leave.

“Wait.” She let out a gust.

He turned back and for a second, Kane swore he heard a spark of himself--of the last few months, the days that had driven him to this town, to this crazy idea--in that sound. Then, just as quickly, it was gone, and the spark of distrust had returned.

“You still haven’t told me why you’re on my sister’s lawn, barefoot, in the middle of the day.”

Kane’s jaw hardened. “We’re back to that again?”

“When did we ever leave that topic?” She parked her fists back on her hips, the cell phone dangling between two fingers.

Telling her why he was here, and what he was doing, involved getting into far too many personal details. If he started opening up about his problems, he’d have all of Chapel Ridge--all four thousand, nine hundred and ten residents, as it were--knowing his identity--and there’d go his plan to enjoy some much-needed R&R.

He had no intentions of telling anyone anything. Particularly Jackie’s sister.

Susannah Wilson. That was her name. Suzie-Q, Paul called her, like the packaged dessert.

Before she could question him further, he headed over to his little blue rental car, a cheap American model, light years away from the silver convertible Bentley Azure he usually drove. The rental was non-descript, plain. Like something anyone else in the world would be driving. And perfect.

Susannah followed him. Not one to give up easily, that was clear. “You still didn’t answer my question. Who are you? And why are you here?”

“That’s two questions. And I don’t have to tell you anything, either. It’s a free country.”

He could almost hear her internal scream of frustration. Oh, this was going to be fun.

She scowled. “Trespassing is a crime, you know.”

He grinned. When he’d booked this trip, he’d had no idea there’d be a fringe benefit of this little fireball. “Only if you’re not invited. And I was invited.” He paused a beat, watching her eyes widen in surprise at the word ‘invited,’ waiting to deliver the last punch of surprise. “I’m the best man, after all.”

Want to know what happens next? Buy the book!

Also, be sure to enter Harlequin's Diamond Brides Proposal Contest!

Shirley

Coming up this week..

2009-02-08T05:56:00.000-08:00

This week should be a fun week on the blog. On Monday, you'll get to meet my hero, Kane Lennox, who is the billionaire in my February release, THE BRIDESMAID AND THE BILLIONAIRE, out this month from Harlequin Romance. He's a man who has everything that money can buy...until he meets the one woman he can't have, and realizes money hasn't given him true happiness.

Look for a post from Melissa, and also one from Susan this week. And since Susan is up on Friday...and Friday is Friday the 13th, I bet she's going to post something all about superstitions. Hmm...wonder if there's a way to tie all that in to romance? Like, if you walk under a ladder, your about to meet Mr. Wrong? LOL.

This month is the month for romantics, so if you have a romantic story you'd like to share, let us know!

Shirley

I wonder how many people get engaged in February

2009-02-04T01:17:00.000-08:00

Every time I think that I'm going to move away from weddings (and talk more about love in general), something comes along that I want to share. I found this earlier and meant to post it, but I ended up posting something else instead. So here you are. It's a proposal and the title indicates that it's genuine, although I don't know if it really is, since it appears to be advertising a camera. Either way, it's clever and sweet and romantic, so of course I had to share:

I hope your February is starting out wonderfully!

Myrna

A Halo Wedding

2009-01-30T00:03:00.000-08:00

We've had a few posts on wedding themes here at the Wedding Planners, but a wedding held in Orlando, Florida on January 17th was a new one for me. This bride and groom themed their wedding on a video game.

The newlyweds met playing Halo so the gamers thought a Halo-themed wedding would be perfect. I know nothing about the game, but one of the characters named Master Chief presided over the ceremony. I suppose this is no different than any of the other themes people pick, except this one sure generated a lot of publicity.

Here's a peek from MTV who covered the Halo nuptials:

MTV Shows

Is there a game you love enough to make it the theme of your wedding? And if you had to choose between a Halo or a Hello Kitty wedding, what would you pick?

Melissa M

It's Like Starting Over All Over Again

2009-01-28T05:44:00.000-08:00

DH and I bought a new house last week, which will make for our first big move in 11 years. We're not moving far--just about 10 minutes away from where we live now--but we are making a big change.

The house we bought is currently an empty palatte. It's all white inside. White paint, white floors, white tile, white cabinets. We looked at that and thought "cool," we can give it our own stamp.

Uh-huh. Easier said than done.

We started with the furniture. We've been married nearly two decades, and still had a lot of Early Marriage Furniture. You know the kind--the stuff donated by well-meaning relatives, or the stuff you find at garage sales or on the side of the road (that is where my dining room "hutch," really an overgrown bookcase, came from). We wanted stuff that matched. That was meant for the room it went in, i.e., a real hutch ;-)

Furniture took us through a lot of uh...heated discussions. Yeah, they were discussions. Ahem. Really. We survived enough to choose appliances. Then we moved on to paint.

Don't get me started on THAT. Took us nearly two weeks to decide on paint, and we finally nailed down all but one color last night -- when the painter arrived to pick up our final choices because he's starting today. Between him and the interior decorator/flooring designer we had called, we had enough people (think mediators ;-) to make decisions.

It's kind of like when we first got married and had to merge our two highly divergent personalities and tastes in one tiny apartment. It took us weeks to make decisions on everything, and we ended up painting over a few rooms because our compromises turned out to be awful decisions, LOL. We lived and learned, and eventually settled on beige the longer we stayed together (the true compromise ;-). But now we want something vibrant, some real color to go with all those windows and height, and so we had to start at Ground Zero, merging two different views to find a compromise.

So, by next Friday we should have replaced the white with color--a bold step, for beige people--and then be living in our new house a few days after that.

And I'm sure we'll never have another uh...discussion about decorating again ;-)

Shirley

Wedding Planners

2009-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sort of a idiot when it comes to the Internet and/or anything technological. So this morning when I needed to write a new post for this blog, I googled weddingplanners@blogspot.com. Which is our URL...or so I think. I never really know.

Because I didn't get our blog. Instead I got a list of blogs on "how to become a wedding planner".

I was a bit surprised, but then I was intrigued. Wedding Planning would be fun. Sort of. Maybe. If you could deal with all the insanity that surrounds a wedding. LOL

On further investigation, I found a wedding planner course, a school for wedding planners and a wedding planner institute.

But the site I found on FabJob.com was by far the best site I found. Partially because it has tons of information, but also there's a link to a book you can purchase.

http://www.fabjob.com/weddingplanner.asp?affiliate=1180

I found that site by going to this site...

http://how-to-become-a-wedding-planner.blogspot.com/

It's a blog by wedding planner Max. Max gives practical advice for how to learn to become a wedding planner. Nitty gritty, nuts-and-bolts stuff he learned along the way. You can "hear" his enthusiasm all through the post. It's obvious he loves his job!

I especially love the quote in his profile, "I never regret for being able to help brides' create the ultimate experience for life's grandest celebration."

Weddings are life's grandest celebration! And if you're interested in a career in wedding planning, checking out Max's blog might be a great place to start.

susan meier

The Week Ahead

2009-01-25T05:34:00.000-08:00

Good Morning

Unless I misheard our weatherman last night, windchill took our temperatures far enough below zero that only incredibly foolish people went outside! I notice the Midwest is in a deep freeze too! We're not expecting a warm up until the end of the week, so it seems to me this is the perfect time to get caught up on blog reading!

Shirley, Melissa and I are posting this week. So it should be fun!

Grab your cocoa, hot coffee or tea and join us.

susan meier

Does that wedding ring come with guacamole?

2009-01-23T01:01:00.000-08:00

I really didn't intend to post another wedding message right now. Certainly not another "unusual wedding" post. But then I saw this and I just had to share it. Just let me begin by saying that I am a frugal woman. I really am, so I am, of course, impressed at the cost of the dress in this video. Furthermore, I love unique and creative ideas. And yet...unusual wedding setting might be a bit too unique for even me. Or maybe not. If I was really strapped for cash, maybe I would do this. At least everyone seems to be having a good time. What do you think?

WEDDING MEMORIES

2009-01-20T05:56:00.000-08:00

Note from Linda: I mistakenly referred to Merrillee as the M.O.G. when, in faact, she was the M.O.B. Please join me in welcoming Love Inspired author and Mother of the Bride, Merrillee Wren!

This past Monday the photographer who took the photos of my daughter’s wedding called to let me know the wedding albums were ready. I rushed right over to get them. Although we have plenty of snapshots and 4 x 6 prints from the wedding that friends took as well as those of the photographer, there is something about the official wedding album that captures all the moments that meant the most to the bride and groom. After all, they spent hours going over four hundred plus photos to choose ten percent of them to put in an album that would capsulize the memories of that day.
Even though I had already seen the photos my daughter and her new husband had chosen, seeing the photos in the album with the special matting and trim made the pictures stand out. Also looking at the photos again took me back to that special day in October 2008 when they exchanged vows on the beach near our home.

My other daughter got married on that same beach a couple of years ago, and I blogged about that experience here in May 2008 if you’d like to check out the archives. Since I already had the experience planning a beach wedding, I was convinced that this time around would be a piece of cake—wedding cake that is. We would use the same caterer, photographer, florist and rental place for the tent, tables and chair for the reception. However, we found it easier to use a Bose system with an iPod dock for all the music from the processional on the beach to the dance music at the reception. It worked beautifully. We had no worries about getting sand and salt air in any instruments on the beach or wiring speakers for the reception.

The wedding day arrived, but it was overcast and looked like rain—not a welcome sight for the bride whose heart was set on getting married on the beach. The beach had also been torn up by storms and covered with dried seaweed—not the same beautiful beach conditions that had greeted our other daughter’s wedding in May 2006.

The ceremony was set for five o’clock so we were praying that the skies would clear by then. When I took my daughter to get her hair done at one o’clock, sprinkles of rain dotted the windshield. My daughter looked as gloomy as the clouds overhead, but our prayers were answered. When I picked her up about an hour later, the sun peeked through those clouds. By the time we had loaded the wedding cake in the trunk of my mother-in-law’s car, the sun was shining and the sky was a bright autumn blue.

After delivering the cake, we showered and headed to my mother-in-law’s house to dress for the ceremony. My son-in-law and brother-in-law were out on the beach raking away seaweed. I carried a couple of torches and the table for the sand ceremony, but we were running out of time. The guests were arriving, and I had to get dressed. Where had all the time gone?

As the guests arrived, I directed them through the gate toward the path that led to the beach and handed them each a torch to carry and place in the sand to form the aisle down which the bride would walk. Despite the seeming chaos of the last hour before the ceremony, everything turned out.

Was this wedding a piece of cake? Not exactly, but what would we have to talk about if everything had gone smoothly? I finally came to the conclusion that even though I had done this all before, if you are the wedding planner and have the reception at your house, the wedding day will be chaotic no matter how well you plan.

In my book, Mommy’s Hometown Hero, a January 2009 release from Steeple Hill, my hero and heroine attend the wedding of the hero’s brother, who happens to be the hero of my February 2008 book, Four Little Blessings. I used the some of the memories of my daughter’s beach wedding while I wrote that scene. What would a romance be without a wedding?

Do you have some wedding memories?

Linda's Note again: Arent't these wedding photos and this cover just lovely?

WE’VE GONE TO THE DOGS!

2009-01-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

I have a new puppy!

Yes, I hear you out there, asking what in the world does this have to do with weddings or romance or even books. Bear with me. I’ll explain.

But first let me introduce Moki, a Jack-rat mix adopted from a kill shelter two weeks ago. Some time past, Melissa McClone told me about Petfinders and after our wonderful old rat terrier died, we decided to adopt a shelter dog. I searched for a while but when Moki’s sad little face appeared, (above photo) I knew he was for us. A little battered from mistreatment, but eager to love, Moki is now thriving.

That’s the thing about dogs-a lot of love and attention garner a pet owner an enormous return. Such is the case in my current Harlequin Romance, THE SNOW-KISSED BRIDE. (See, I told you I’d get around to the wedding and romance part.) The book’s heroine, Melody has two search and rescue dogs that she considers family. Ace and Chili play big roles in the book, so of course, when it comes time for the wedding, guess what two, loveable canines step up to do their part?

So, tell us, have you ever been to a wedding that included a pet? Or maybe you’ve read a book or seen a movie with a dog that stole the show?

One last thing, I have to know. How many of you have seen the new comedy movie, “Marley and Me”? Did you cry?

Coming up this week

2009-01-18T11:58:00.000-08:00

It's cold out there! January winds are fierce and the temperatures painful, so instead of fighting the chill, why not stay inside, curl up with a cup of cocoa and enjoy some blog time with thet Wedding Planner authors? We'll be right here waiting. I'll even share my marshmallows.....

Monday - Please come by and meet the new addition to Linda Goodnight's family!

Special Guest! One day this week (Tuesday if all goes well) we're scheduled to host author and recent M.O.G. (Mother of the Groom) Merrillee Wren. Please be here to say hello.

Wednesday - Melissa James will be posting from the beautiful land of the Swiss.

Friday - You won't want to miss Friday when Myrna McKenzie shares "Does this wedding ring come with guacomole?"

Is that an intriguing title, or what?

From Brides to Bridesmaids

2009-01-16T05:57:00.000-08:00

In my next book, The Bridesmaid and the Billionaire, I got to switch gears a little bit and write about a bridesmaid (actually the maid of honor). It was a lot of fun doing the perspective of the maid of honor -- and pairing her with the best man, an out-of-town and undercover billionaire.

The coolest part about this book is Harlequin's promotion for it. It's being released during Harlequin's Diamond Anniversary, and to celebrate, they're giving away a really cool diamond necklace and a spot in a book to the person who shares the coolest wedding proposal. Check out the contest here.

Anyone can enter -- not just a new bride or to-be bride. So polish off your pen and get your entry in ;-)

Ironically, during the month that The Bridesmaid and the Billionaire is in stores, I'm writing a novella -- about a best man, to be released in a two-book compilation featuring the bridesmaid in one story and the best man in the other. :-) I think I'm going to have to go into the wedding business after this!

Seriously, though, it's been fun. I've been married so long that writing these books lets me relive all that wedding magic. It's sort of like having a little Christmas with each book--all the glitter and glam, without the work or expense ;-)

Shirley

Weight Wars

2009-01-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those defining moments in your life when it suddenly felt like the whole world stopped while you caught up?

I had one this holiday. I knew I had been gaining weight over the past few years, but when my sister showed me a picture of me with a few of my thin sisters, I gasped, then choked and dropped the cookie in my hand. I've never been thin. I honest to God have big bones. I know what you're thinking. Everybody says that. But I seriously have big bones. At 108 pounds (and almost 5'6") I wore a size 8. I've never been smaller than that. And with my recent weight gain, well let's just say that if I wrapped my boobs and put on a helment any professional football team would be proud to have me on their defensive line.

I seriously gave dieting a good shot. The day after Christmas I started on the treadmill, working to get my butt off the back of my knees and rather than buy the expensive frozen meals from the company on TV, I bought lunches and suppers from the freezer section of my local supermarket. For a week, I was diligent (and hungry) and eagerly jumped on the scale, only to discover I'd not lost an ounce.

Nada. Nothing.

I tried another verion of eating less and added a few minutes to the treadmill and again nothing. I felt like Tim Allen in the Santa Claus movie and scoured the want ads just in case the old Santa had died and they were looking for a female replacement.

Luckily, over the weekend, someone on one of my loops suggested that I had to build muscle mass before I could lose weight. Ah. Now things were beginning to make sense. I broke out my Ten-Minute Trainer tapes and started working to bring my muscles back to life because muscle burns more fat.

So for all you brides out there who are hoping to wear a size smaller for your wedding day...and mothers of the bride, hoping to look good for pictures...let me suggest you start now! Eat right, don't starve. Get some healthy exercise and start slowly as I did. Don't think you can jog for an hour if you haven't exercised in years! See your doctor for an exam to be sure you're in good enough shape to begin exercising.

Don't wait until the last minute in case your body's like mine, in need of a bit of coaxing before it will let go of its (obviously beloved) fat rolls!

susan

Rehersals and Weddings

2009-01-13T00:04:00.000-08:00

Today's guest blogger is Harlequin Romance author Donna Alward. Donna also oversees the Harlequin Romance Authors blog for which of all of Wedding Planners are most grateful for. We think you'll like Donna, too, once you read her post today. Enjoy!

Like most events in life surrounded by romance and hype and sentimentality, (Christmas anyone?) weddings are the most beautiful and also one of the most stressful events we’ll ever go through.

To be honest, most of my wedding planning was stress free. I had my dress well in advance and I loved it. We booked the church and the reception venue with a minimum of fuss. We had a few moments of head exploding frustration as we did our own invitations (and spent an outrageous amount of money on a colour inkjet printer, long since obsolete). We were so on the ball that my mum even went on a trip for the entire month before the wedding, coming back only 10 days before the big day.

But as most brides know, that’s all the easy stuff. Because it’s the last 24 hours that everything comes together and when there is the most potential for things to go wrong.

The first thing that happened was we realized that the cake topper I’d bought wouldn’t work with the cake we had AT ALL. Cue a 2 hour delay as I had to drive into town and had a florist make up a fresh flower top. I didn’t want fresh flowers. And while it sounds like a small detail, when you have everything scheduled just so, two hours is a big deal. I will admit though that the flowers looked just right and the cake was beautiful.

Then there was going to the church to decorate. We were married the week after Thanksgiving and the windowsills were decorated with apples, Indian corn, preserves. It actually looked very nice and we kept much of it but added a cloth, took out the jars and replaced them with fresh cut mums and asters. But there’d been a mess as there was a squirrel getting into the church and one of the jars had been knocked over and broken leaving a sticky mess behind. Then there was the fact that many of the apples had bites out of them. I had horrible visions of the squirrel running up the aisle during the ceremony a la Mississippi Squirrel Revival by Ray Stevens.

But we got it all sorted and I loved the harvest feel to the decorations. Being a farm girl, it just felt right. (I should also note a lovely bit of symmetry. The fresh flowers came from the garden of a family friend, Ethel. Ethel died a few years ago, and I’m very lucky her husband is now my step dad. It’s another thing that feels right – the connection that goes so far back between the families.)

But really the stress really happened at the rehearsal.

It was bedlam. I’m an organized person and the chaos was so disconcerting. My pew markers were not cooperating and I handed the job over to my sister in law and aunt. There were arguments and noise and it was bad enough the minister patted my hand and said, “I’m so sorry.” At one point I ended up on the back steps just trying to breathe. If it was all going so very wrong the night before, how could anything come together the next day?

We departed for my inlaws house for a rehearsal buffet and then I was told – perhaps a fabricated saying to calm my nerves – that a bad rehearsal meant a flawless wedding day.

They were right. No crazy rodents scurried up the aisle. The music was lovely, everyone walked up the aisle just right, the day was lovely and sunny and warm. After the ceremony we climbed into a limo with our best man and maid of honour and drank champagne as we drove to a park for pictures.

I don’t know if that saying about bad rehearsals is true, but it was true for us, and we definitely had a magical day.

I have a book out this month with Harlequin Romance, The Rancher’s Runaway Princess. The nice thing about writing is that you only have to make special moments stressful if you want to. You can leave the stress behind and create something magical if you want, and that’s just what I did for my heroine, Lucy Farnsworth, AKA Princess Luciana Navarro of Marazur. There was a little bit of fairy dust as I wrote the ball scene, a time when everything just seemed to fit. As a writer, it is one of my favourite scenes. As a reader, I hope you enjoy it too. Here’s a snippet:

Alexander met her at her door and escorted her down the long curving stairs to the foyer and then to the doors of the ballroom. “Happy Birthday, Luciana,” he murmured, and then nodded at the footmen. The doors swung open and she entered on his arm, everything in a haze, including being announced as Luciana Navarro, Princess of Marazur.

Never had she been in such a place. Liveried servants circulated among the guests, and Lucy, her father and brothers formed an official receiving line where she could be properly – and personally – introduced. It was very surreal as she was addressed as Princess Luciana or Your Highness. She smiled, thinking she should really just be called “Lucy of the Stables” but then her father squeezed her elbow and smiled at her and she was suddenly glad she had him there at her side. And if her thoughts drifted to Brody now and then, that was okay. One didn’t get over a broken heart in a few weeks.

There was cake, a frothy concoction of vanilla fluff and real flowers, and enough champagne to float the entire island of Marazur. Lucy was holding a glass when Alexander touched her elbow and said, “We are ready to start the dancing.”

He cued the orchestra and held out his hand. She took it in her gloved one and bit down on her lip at the look in his eyes. And when he pulled her into his arms and guided her steps, she leaned ahead and whispered, “Thank you, Papa,” in his ear.

At the end of that dance she was paired of with Raoul, who complemented her on her dancing, and then Diego, who made a joke about her wild hair and the tiara and which caused her to snort in a most unladylike way. Grandma’s shoes made several more turns with the heads of influential families in Europe before she was passed back to Alexander once more.

“Are you tired?” he asked, as their waltz was nearly over.

“A little.”

“And your feet?”

She smiled. “I’ve been on them all night.”

His smile broadened suddenly. “Do you think they can manage one more dance?”

“I suppose, but why…”

“Your birthday present has just arrived.”

He turned her a half turn towards the doors.

Brody.

Everything in her slammed to her chest. He was here. In Marazur. Standing twenty feet away from her in a tuxedo, his hat nowhere to be found, his dark eyes glittering at her dangerously. Instead of a bow, a bolo tie gleamed at his throat.
To her, he was perfect.

Alexander leaned ahead, still holding on to one shaking, gloved hand. “When there is a choice to be made, my darling, one should always choose love.” And he let her go, stepped back.

Everything in her wanted to race across the floor and fling herself into his arms. Yet she held herself back and waited, heart pounding, as he took step after torturous step until he was before her, in the middle of the ballroom, with three hundred pairs of eyes on them.

And when the orchestra started playing Let Me Call You Sweetheart, he took her in his arms without a word and turned her around the floor.

Oh glorious, glorious day. Her heart swelled to bursting, she soaked in the feeling of his hand at her waist, the way his fingers curled around hers and the heat of his body as he led her across the floor in the effortless waltz. She looked into his eyes, unable to look away from what she saw there. “This was what was missing,” she whispered, as he executed a sweeping turn.

“What?”

“You. Just you.”

Donna Alward is one of two Canadians writing for the Harlequin Romance line. Her debut Romance, Hired By The Cowboy, won the Bookseller’s Best Award – Traditional this past August. The Rancher’s Runaway Princess is the first of her books set in her fictional town of Larch Valley.

Donna lives with her husband, kids and spoiled dog just outside Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can learn more about Donna at her website and her blog.

Valentine's Day Gift Giving Prep for the Guys

2009-01-12T00:03:00.000-08:00

My husband never shops until the last minute. It's a man thing, I know. But this year, due to a ten-day winter storm, he found himself braving crowds, ice and snow in order to buy Christmas gifts. A few of my local female friends found themselves with empty stockings and no presents under the tree because their significant others had waited to buy gifts, too, and couldn't get out to go shopping due to the "arctic freeze." You can bet all their men had plenty of gifts to open on Christmas morning.

Even when the weather cooperates, it's rare to find a man who doesn't need a little direction (and/or a push) buying gifts. I hate to generalize because I do have one friend, Mike, who always gave me the most perfect gifts. His wife is so lucky. But in general, my experience hasn't been all that great so I couldn't stop laughing the first time I saw this commercial. You may have seen it before, but in this holiday season and with February right around the corner, I thought it would be good to give the guys a little primer on what not to buy their loves so they can stay out of the doghouse.

So this is for all the grooms, husbands and boyfriends out there. This is about what happen when you find yourself in the proverbial doghouse after some thoughtless gift-giving and/or not-totally-thought-out words.

So guys, you might want to think about staying out of the doghouse when you shop for Valentine's day. Remember...it's only a little over a month away!

And to help you out, here are a couple gifts you should avoid buying the woman in your life for Valentine's Day:

1) Any appliance that plugs into the wall and is meant for cleaning
2) A membership to a weight loss center or a diet book

Do any of you blog readers have other suggestions of what not to buy for a Valentine's gift? I'm planning to send a link to this post to my hubby, so please help me out here!

Melissa M

This week....

2009-01-11T07:16:00.001-08:00

I'll be blogging on Monday about men and gift buying. It could be a post you might want to send to the guy in your life with Valentine's right around the corner ;)

Harlequin Romance author Donna Alward will be guest blogging on Tuesday.

Susan Meier is up on Wednesday with another one of her great posts.

And Shirley Jump rounds out the week on Friday.

Sorry, I don't have more details on the posts, but I was sick most of last week and forgot to ask the other Wedding Planners what they were blogging about!

Hope you have a great Sunday and we look forward to seeing you this week!

Melissa McClone

Just off the plane...

2009-01-08T06:09:00.000-08:00

Hi, it's my day for a blog but just off a flight from Australia back home to Europe this morning, so I honestly can't think of a wedding topic.

Trying to readjust to time zones, I'm staying awake watching one flick after another with my son, who fortunately (for him as well as me, the girls love knowing a guy who'll watch girly films without making fun of them!) likes chick flicks and is always ready to watch anything. So I put on A Walk in The Clouds which has to be one of the most romantic movies I know. I love the Mexican theme, the settings, the war hero suffering recurring nightmares, the funny grandfather, the notions of honor and love unspoken, both by the father and the hero, and the generational wedding-night bed, the dancing in the wine vat, the butterfly wings putting heat on threatened grapes - and finding a family. It has visual beauty, romance, sadness and strength. I'm so glad I revisited a favourite of mine.

What's your favourite romantic movie?

Melissa

LINDA'S NEW 'BRIDE' BOOK

2009-01-07T03:00:00.000-08:00

THE SNOW-KISSED BRIDE
by Linda Goodnight

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission of Harlequin Enterprises. All rights reserved.

The call for help came late at night. They usually did.

Only this one was the worst kind. A child. Lost in the unforgiving Colorado mountains.
Melody Crawford replaced the receiver and rolled out of the bed, shoving her feet into heavy boots as she pushed to stand. She'd been asleep less than thirty minutes.
Within another ten minutes, she was wide-awake, dressed for the frigid temperatures and rummaging in her "rescue closet" for the equipment she might need on the snow-covered trail. In more than fifteen years of rescue work, she'd never stopped feeling the adrenaline rush that came with a call.

Backpack always loaded and ready, she reached for her dog's leash and vest and heard the soft pad of canine footsteps crossing the kitchen and coming toward her in the narrow hallway.

It was Ace.

A little piece of her heart broke off.

Smile wide, thick fur fluffed and ready with one hard shake of his muscular form, the big, black-and-silver German shepherd gazed up at her in question. As always, Ace was ready to work, ready to run, ready to rescue the lost.

"Sorry, old chum," she said, laying one hand on the wide, intelligent head. "Not tonight."

Not any night in the near future, although Ace was the best air-scent search and rescue dog she'd ever trained.

As if he understood, the dog whined softly and collapsed at her feet to stare up at her with sad eyes.

"As soon as I get the money, boy. We'll have you fixed up and good as new."

But money, for Melody, was hard to come by. Even by training and boarding other people's dogs, her income was limited. The monthly check from her father's insurance barely covered necessities, and the surgery to correct Ace's damaged hind knees was expensive, far over her budget. But he'd sustained the injuries in the line of duty and deserved a chance to work again. Somehow, even if she had to take an outside job, she'd find a way to help her partner and friend.

The idea of working at a regular job made her shudder. Not that she was lazy. She worked long and hard up here in her secluded section of the mountains. It wasn't work that bothered her. It was people.

"Chili," she called softly and was not surprised to find the affable, reddish-brown Lab waiting quietly in the doorway behind her. Trained to search by air and ground, Chili was an excellent rescue dog who loved kids. With a little luck and by moving quickly, he had the best chance of finding the missing child.

With regrets to the depressed Ace, she snapped Chili into his bright orange rescue vest and, flashlight in hand, headed for her truck.

One step outside and she burrowed deeper into the muffler around her neck, thinking of the search to come.

The night was still as death and ten times as cold. Unless the lost kid was well dressed or found shelter, he was in serious trouble. The colder he became, the less scent he gave off. Without scent particles floating into Chili's incredible olfactory glands, the dog couldn't do his job.

The knowledge spurred Melody to work faster. If anyone could find the boy, she and Chili could do it. They were the best in the mountains. Maybe the best in the country. They never quit until the victim was found—alive or dead. She preferred alive.

As she passed the snug kennels, the rest of the dogs, all boarders in training, slipped out of their houses to stretch and shake beneath the white moon. Silver vapor puffed around their wide, sturdy heads. Like Ace, none of them would make the trip tonight. They weren't her dogs. They were brought to her by folks too busy or disinclined to do their own initial obedience training. Melody didn't mind. Working with dogs, anyone's dogs, was her life's work and ambition.

Ace and Chili, on the other hand, were her babies, her children, her family. She took care of them and they took care of her. Together, they didn't need anyone else, but a lot of people needed them. Occasionally. And when the need was met, people faded away from her wilderness cabin like the foggy vapor faded into the night.

People.

She touched the barely visible scar at her hairline.

Not her favorite species.

Intentionally, she turned her thoughts to the little boy lost somewhere beneath the flat white moon. He would be scared. Scared of the black, inky darkness. Scared of the night cries of wolf and owl. Scared even of the bare aspen limbs rubbing together like dead bones.

Kids were a different matter. She didn't consider them people yet. They didn't have prejudices and ulterior motives. They were at the mercy of adults, just as she'd been.

But no more. She was captain of her own fate, in control of her life, which did not include people most of the time. Thank God and Grandma Perkins, who'd left her this remote cabin more than sixteen years ago when life had been hell.

She opened the truck door and waited for Chili to leap easily into the passenger side, ready for the trip to a ranger station four miles down the mountain. As she climbed in behind her dog and cranked the engine, Melody wondered why she'd awakened tonight with the old memories so sharp.

But memories were okay, occasionally. They kept her focused, kept her mindful of why she'd never permanently leave this mountain again.

4 1/2 Stars from Romantic Times Magazine.

A reader writes: "I read the last chapter over and over, not wanting the book to end. A very unexpected read. I always appreciate your books but this one goes on the top of the top of the top of my keeper pile."

Available January 13 from Linda Goodnight. Order now.

Meet new author Kimberly Lang

2009-01-06T00:06:00.000-08:00

We'd like to introduce to you Kimberly Lang, a new Harlequin author who has a book out in the UK. She'll be stopping back by when her book hits the shelves in April in the US.

I’m so tickled to be here on the Wedding Planners blog because, once upon a time, I wanted to be a wedding planner. Of course, I’d never actually planned a wedding (not even my own because I eloped), but I’d been a guest at several. I was working as a conference and event planner at the time, so I knew how to organize events, negotiate with hotels and caterers, and I was a hopeless romantic at heart. It seemed like the perfect idea – I had the basic training, how hard could it possibly be?

Then my friends started getting married, and I got to see the inner workings of wedding planning up close and personal. It was an eye-opening experience, to say the least. I hadn’t realized what emotional minefields weddings could be. When I’d planned scientific conferences, it didn’t matter that the napkins were more mauve than lilac. No one burst into tears at the sight of carnations in centerpieces or spent hours debating bow ties versus ascots. It didn’t matter what kind of stamps went on the envelopes or if someone got a strange haircut at the last minute.

My pride in my professional credentials started taking a beating. I – the person who’d managed to get 250 non-English speaking scientists to a conference being held an hour from the nearest airport without losing any of them – couldn’t manage to get my best friend into the shower on her wedding day. As I forcefully threw my BFF into the bathtub over her wails of “I don’t want it to be my special day anymore,” I knew that whatever I was going to be when I grew up, it sure wasn’t going to have anything to do with planning any weddings.

With that in mind, you might find it a little amusing that my first book, The Secret Mistress Arrangement (Mills and Boon Modern Heat – on sale in the UK now!), opens at a wedding, where the frazzled Maid of Honor is at the end of her tether and about to snap. There’s certainly a little bit of me in my heroine, Ella Mackenzie, in that first chapter, but I think anyone who has ever been involved with planning a wedding will be able to sympathize with Ella.

Most of my friends are married now, so my bridesmaid days and all the wonderful book fodder they provided have come to an end. However, I had such a great time writing the wedding in The Secret Mistress Arrangement, don’t be surprised if more weddings show up in later books. Give me some inspiration by sharing your favorite (or worst, depending how you look at it, I guess) wedding snafu!

Oh, and to celebrate the release of my first book, I’m running a couple of contests this month. Visit my website for details.

Kimberly

Starting the Year Off...Romantically

2009-01-05T01:05:00.000-08:00

For some reason, movies and the beginning of a new year are inextricably linked in my mind. Whether it's because I finally have a chance to slow down and see a movie or two after all the frenzy of the Christmas season has passed or because it's a time of year when we all tend to reflect on what we want for the coming year and I, being a romantic, always want romance, I'm not sure. But, I love to catch a romantic movie or two to start the year off right.

So, in the spirit of ushering in a romantic new year, here's a montage I discovered.

Enjoy and have a wonderful beginning to your new year!

The Week to Come

2009-01-04T01:08:00.000-08:00

This is my first official post of the new year, and I get to invite you to visit with us this week.

I'll be posting tomorrow (I think it's a romantic movie montage, but that might change since several new ideas have been swirling through my thoughts), and on Wednesday and Friday there will be posts with Linda Goodnight and Melissa James. With our new expanded format, I know they'll have some interesting things to offer.

Plus, join us on Tuesday when our guest will be Kimberly Lang.

See you all then!

The Internet and Brides

2009-01-02T03:42:00.000-08:00

As I've posted before, one of my nieces is getting married this summer. On Sunday night, we had a movie night and the Bride's sister showed us the gowns for the wedding simply by going to the designer's site. In a few keystokes we went from saying, "I can't wait to see her gown --" to "Oh, that's so beautiful!"

Brides can find ideas for anything from flower arrangements to unusual (or inexpensive) favors to gifts for their attendants. Some of these things can even be ordered online!

Some department stores allow you to register for gifts online.

Email can keep an entire list of people "in the loop" about plans. A savvy bride can even create a Yahoo loop to ensure that nobody's name is accidentally dropped.

Realsimple.com has basically everything from wedding invitation timetables to a basic list of what needs to be done for your wedding.

The day after the wonderful day you get your ring, go online! There is no easier way to prevent mistakes than learning from someone else's experience! So take advantage of all the sites and services online to make your wedding absolutely perfect.

susan meier
HER BABY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS, Harlequin Romance 12/08

New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T00:03:00.000-08:00

As 2008 comes to a close, I can't help but think about how the Wedding Planners were so much a part of my year. The blog debuted, the books went on sale and the friendship between the six of us authors deepened. Our Yahoo group loop is as busy as it was when this whole thing started. We talk about writing, but also our lives-our families and our dreams.

I can't tell you how much Shirley, Myrna, Linda, Susan and Lisa mean to me. When we talked about friends writing about friends we weren't kidding! That's one reason we plan on continuing this blog into 2009! I don't think any of us are ready to say goodbye to the Wedding Planners or each other even though we're all concentrating on our own stories now.

I hope you'll join us here at the Wedding Planners in 2009 as we not only continue talking about weddings, but expand the blog to other topics that might be our minds at the moment!

In honor of New Year's Eve, I thought I'd share a romantic scene from a movie that takes place as the clock strikes twelve and the new year arrives. Enjoy!

Happy New Year from all of us at The Wedding Planners!

Melissa M

Magical Cookies make for a Magical Love Story

2008-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

This month, I have a new release, Marry-Me Christmas, which is still in stores, if you're looking for a Christmas read with a mix of yummy treats (lots and lots of cookies in this story, including some magical ones, rumored to make people fall in love) and a snowstorm or two. Not to mention a hunky hero who has quit believing in Christmas, and a heroine who loves the holiday.

I always write my Christmas stories during the Christmas season (I just finished writing next year's A Princess for Christmas a week or so ago) because it's so much easier for me to get into that holiday mood. I'm already wrapped up in decorations and Bing Crosby tunes, and last year was no exception.

It helps, of course, if there's a nice little snowstorm brewing outside (which keeps me from venturing out to the mall too often ;-). And, when the holiday is over and I'm not quite ready to give up the tree or the ornaments, writing or reading a holiday story helps me to hold onto Christmas just a little longer. Not just the love stories, but the best of the spirit and the happiness that is the wonderfulness of the season.

I hope all of you and yours had a wonderful holiday season!

Shirley

The Last Blogs of 2008...

2008-12-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

This has been an amazing year with these ladies and with our readers! We've truly enjoyed each and every post, and every comment! And yes, we are continuing the blog next year, with more guests and more from our team of authors.

As we come to a close this year, we have blog posts this week from me :-), Melissa and Susan. Melissa always has the most interesting topics (climbing...something I couldn't imagine doing because I'm a high heel girl ;-) and Susan always got something helpful to say :-). Me, I'm...not, LOL. But I try my best!

So let me say thank you for reading with us this year and I hope you stay with us into 2009!

Shirley

'Tis the day after Christmas...

2008-12-26T02:00:00.000-08:00

‘Tis the day after Christmas and all through the house,
Everyone is chillin’, including my spouse…..

Okay, I admit it. Bad poetry. But it’s the day after a wonderful, wonderful Christmas at the Goodnight house and I’m not thinking about weddings. My mind is still on that special day that our family sets aside to celebrate Christ’s birth and about the incredible flow of love that circulates through my house each Christmas.

As I reflect back on the day, something occurred to me. Though many nice gifts were exchanged, it wasn’t what I got that made the day so special (for me), it was what I did. Last night, my daughter and I attended a candlelight church service and then came home to watch the movie, The Nativity Story, with my husband. It was lovely and set the tone for the best, most peaceful, content, and joyous Christmas I can remember in a long time.

One of my sons received a special gift this Christmas. But even though the gift was phenomenal, he admits that the best thing about it was the way his wife worked so hard to keep it secret and surprise him in an unusual way (with a little help from the rest of our big, crazy family.)

I hope you found something special to enjoy about Christmas this year. If you did, please tell us. Was it a gift? Something you did? Something someone did for you? Please share. It’s the day after Christmas. I’m feeling all mellow and would love to hear all about it.

Merry Christmas to All of You!

2008-12-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas can be such a romantic time of the year and here at The Wedding Planners we're all about romance. Here's a montage of (mostly) romantic scenes from movies.

Wishing all of you joys of the season and a very Merry Christmas from The Wedding Planners!

More Wedding Movies!

2008-12-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

I have two wedding movies for you to check out.

The first is a made-for-TV movie that premieres on Lifetime Saturday December 20th at 9:00 pm et/pt. It's called A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride. Here's the description from mylifetime.com:

A twenty-something wedding planner disapproves of her forty-something widowed mother's whirlwind romance. Her mother has been a devoted single parent, but now she wants to create a fulfilling new life for herself. Unable to stop the wedding, the daughter decides to take control of it, and hopefully find a way to persuade her mother this is a bad idea. It takes comedic disasters and emotional confessions before the daughter discovers that letting go works both ways. An unexpected romantic development in her own life, makes her truly understand how her mom feels, and motivates her to whole-heartedly give her mom away.

A Christmas movie with a wedding! Sounds right up my alley.

Coming to theaters on January 9th is Bride Wars. It looks like it'll be a funny movie, but boy, oh, boy would I not want to be the wedding planner for these two. Check out the trailer:

I'll wait for the reviews to see if this is something I see in the theaters or wait for the DVD, but I do like the actresses in it. Candice Bergen as a wedding planner should be good, too!

Any movies on your must-see list?

Melissa McClone

Winner of the Countdown to Christmas Contest

2008-12-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to announce that Brandy is the winner of the third Countdown to Christmas Contest I've been running (a book and a grab bag), so Brandy, congratulations! Email me at myrnamackenzie@yahoo.com with the title of the book you'd like and an address I can send your prize to.

Thank you, everyone, for your comments!
Myrna

It's a Wonderful...Movie

2008-12-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I admit it, I’m a sucker for “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s the first movie I set up to tape as soon as the holiday season arrives, and the only one I’ll watch more than once. I do indulge in “Rudolph” and “Frosty” (the original Animatronic versions), but they’re not on my have-to-see list like the original Frank Capra version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

I’m not sure why that movie is on my must-see list. There are plenty of other movies I love, plenty of others that scream Christmas, but this one…

It just seems to grab me in a way none of the others do. Maybe it’s Zuzu’s petals. Maybe it’s the way the whole town comes together at the end, and how it just grabs my heart. Maybe it’s the simple love story between George and Mary, the kind of elemental romance that every romance in the world must be based upon.

Or maybe it’s the lessons in the movie. The basic good versus evil, home is where your heart is, and finding gratitude and happiness in what you have and where you are, rather than always looking for the greener grass elsewhere. Not to mention the message about coming together to support the ones you love. One of my all-time favorite scenes is the one when Officer Bert and cab driver Ernie create a honeymoon “retreat” in the abandoned house (which looks an awful lot like the first house my husband and I bought, LOL), and do their best to bring poor, hard-working George a night to remember with his beautiful bride—after the bridal couple had to abandon their original honeymoon plans. Those are true friends, and that town is the kind we all wish we could live in, isn’t it?

So this Christmas season, I’ll be cozying up with a glass of wine, a thick blanket and my daughter (who also loves this movie) to watch George and Mary fall in love all over again, and to see Bedford Falls come together for one of their own. Once again, we’ll count our blessings, and our gratitude for the special people in our lives.

After all, isn’t that what Christmas is all about, after all?

Tell me, what’s your favorite, can’t miss holiday movie?

Shirley

This Week!

2008-12-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

I was staring at my calendar this morning, wondering why the day looked "important" and suddenly realized I wasn't merely supposed to post a blog today; yesterday, I was also supposed to introduce the blogs for the week.

I have no excuse except that I got involved in J R Ward's new book! LOL

I'm also burning out on the wedding theme. Worse, I'm burning out on Christmas!

I hate when this happens. In July, I'll be huming Christmas songs and sipping hot cocoa, wishing for December. But the actual running around, shopping, wrapping, gift buying overwhelms me around right now.

So I felt really lucky this morning as I was cruising our local discount department store, buying cookie ingredients. I found the cutest pair of monkey slippers for my nephew. $5.

The bargain seriously lifted my spirits. But the fact that the slippers were little monkeys just cracked me up. While all my other nieces and nephews went to the annual Halloween Parade dressed as a member of the Flintstones, my nephew Jake (who is 4) insisted on being a monkey with a banana in his pocket.

None of us can really figure out how a kid's mind works, but finding those slippers gave me back my joy. Right gift, right price, for the perfect kid.

I suppose you're now all wondering how I'm going to bring this around to a wedding theme...It's simple. Brides are going to burn out on planning. Bridesmaids will burn out even more quickly. And moms and dads of the bride and groom...there's probably therapy in your future.

Unless you find a way to laugh. Unless you take time out to celebrate the "other" things that are happening in the year before "the wedding".

So if you're a bride, do yourself -- and your family and wedding party -- a favor and make a vow not to talk about your wedding for the next two weeks.

Celebrate Christmas!

susan meier

2008-12-12T01:31:00.000-08:00

Since we started this blog, I've spent a lot of time taking note of unconventional ways people have chosen to get married (really, I'm amazed at how creative some people can be).

But as the mother of runners I was especially interested in a story about 47 couples who either got married or renewed their vows at the Las Vegas Half Marathon last weekend.

This has apparently been a tradition for several years with the number of couples growing. The runners start off and at the five-mile mark they stop at a drive through wedding chapel for a brief ceremony. This year the pastor ran the race, too. She stopped to don her robes and performed the group wedding ceremony at a pulpit set up outside the chapel.

Some of those getting married were runners who wanted their wedding to reflect their passion for the sport and some saw it as an interesting way to elope. One of my favorite stories from this event was the marriage of Adrian Broca, the fastest blind runner in the country who married his fiancé, Brenda Arechiga, who, in addition to running part of the race and getting married was also in charge of coordinating all the Elvis runners in the race (yes, it's Vegas and lots of people arrive in the costume of The King). The women in their wedding party dressed as showgirls in pink tutus and feathers (and yes, I wish I had a photo of that).

So, just when you think you've seen every innovative way to get married, you discover that you haven't. I do think the congratulatory hugs and kisses might have been interesting, however. I've hugged my sons after they've run many a race. You have to love someone a lot to do that (and wear clothing that you don't mind getting a little…soggy).

Still, this sounded like fun!

Also, before I close this piece, I do have two more small announcements to make. The first is that I just found out that my Wedding Planners book, The Heir's Convenient Wife, is a finalist in the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards! It's a nice way to end my week.

In addition, I'd like to let everyone know that I still have one more Countdown to Christmas Contest going on over at my website (as well as a new quarterly contest), but if you comment on this blog between now and December 17th, I'll automatically enter you in both contests.

Chocolate Diamonds--How Yummy!

2008-12-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

Choosing a wedding ring becomes more complicated all the time—but oh what a delicious problem to have. So many diamonds to choose from. And now I’ve discovered an even more delicious type of stone--the chocolate diamond! I’m probably behind the times but I had never heard of chocolate diamonds until a TV ad introduced them to me today. A little research shows such an ordinary beginning for these luscious sounding treasures. In fact, brown diamonds occur naturally and until some very smart jeweler changed their name, they were considered of lower quality simply because of their color. But LaVian and his designers created some fabulous settings, changed the ordinary sounding name (brown) to something that most women find irresistible (chocolate) and soon any number of celebrities were sporting the diamonds around Hollywood. Now the gem is a hot item and likely to get hotter because the only known source for true chocolate diamonds is in a single mine in Australia.

So what do you think? Chocolate or clear? Or a beautiful mix of both?
(Just writing this made me crave Godiva chocolates!--I think the photo below actually looks like a heart-shaped box of candy, don't you?)

Upcoming this week!

2008-12-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Monday Linda Goodnight will be blogging about a yummy jewel.

Wednesday Melissa James stops by.

Friday Myrna MacKenzie is here. I'm sure both authors will have something terrific to share.

Don't forget that "Her Baby's First Christmas" by Susan Meier and "Marry-Me Christmas" by Shirley Jump are on the shelves right now! There's nothing like a Christmas romance to get you in the mood for the holidays, so hurry out and grab both while they're still available. Then when you get home, take a little time for yourself, fix a nice hot choocolate, light a Christmas candle, and enjoy two terrific stories!

Worn Out, Needs Replaced

2008-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've been married nearly twenty years. When I was a bright-eyed, blushing, excited bride-to-be all those years ago, I didn't really think about what things would be like two decades down the road.

How worn out things would get.

How I'd tire of the same things, day in, day out.

How I'd wish for something with a little more pizzazz. Something to jazz up what I already have.

No, I'm not talking about my husband :-) I'm keeping him ;-). I'm talking about all the bridal shower gifts. Twenty years ago, the toaster and dish towels were shiny and beautiful. Now they're dull and worn (actually I'm now on my third toaster). The few wine glasses that have survived for two decades are mis-matched, and the bedding is so worn it's see-through.

It's time for all new stuff. Top to bottom, a household replacement. The problem? My husband learned pretty early on NOT TO BUY THE WIFE HOUSEHOLD STUFF FOR ANY OCCASION. He once bought me a blender.

Once.

So now, when I put stuff like "new pots and pans" on my Christmas list, he backs away, hands up. No way, he says, is he going anywhere near that. He's learned his lesson, and he's not making that mistake again. Okay, so he's not going to buy any of that.

Second problem? He also doesn't see the need for replacing any of that stuff. If the dishtowel still has a single fiber left in it, hey, it will still dry a dish. This is the same man who didn't want to replace our living room sofa until it was down to ONE SPRING. One. I have yet to be able to argue my way into all new kitchen, bedroom and bath stuff. So, I've come up with a solution.

A mid-life bridal shower.

Hey, people renew their vows, right? Why not renew the house? Of course, my friends aren't exactly seeing the need to pony up cash for my house, but if we all conspired together and did it for each other all at the same time, it'd be the equivalent of buying it for ourselves, pretty much. We could register and everything. Do it as a group--there's power in numbers. And in the end, we'd all have our kitchens, baths and bedrooms outfitted with new pots and pans, towels and sheets.

And be all set for another twenty years ;-)

Shirley

HER BABY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS

2008-12-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to announce my first Christmas release for Harlequin Romance will be out next week. HER BABY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS is a wonderful story of two people going home for the holidays. One eager to find a place where she fits; the other desperate to avoid commitments and entanglements because of an unhappy past. Both discovering that happiness can be found in the most unexpected places.

Here's a sample...

Jared Johnson drove his black SUV out of the basement parking garage of Clover Valley Luxury Apartments onto the street and saw Elise McDermott standing on the corner in the pouring rain. Suitcase, diaper bag and small boxlike container on the sidewalk beside her feet, she held her baby in a carrier, which she protectively sheltered with her umbrella.

But the storm was relentless and Jared suspected it wouldn't take more than a minute or two before Elise and her baby would be soaking wet. Angry with her for standing in the rain with a baby, when she could be in their building lobby, he stopped his SUV and hit the button that lowered the passenger side window.

Leaning across his seat, he yelled, "What the hell are you doing out in this storm with a baby!"

"I'm waiting for a taxi to take me to the bus station."

With the window down he could hear the heavy California rain as it pounded his windshield, roof and hood. Obviously thinking he'd yelled to be heard over the noise and not out of anger, she stepped closer. Her pretty green eyes were dull with worry. Her thick, curly red hair danced around her in the wind.

"But I've been waiting a while. And the schedule I have has the bus leaving in a little over an hour. If I miss it I won't get to North Carolina in time to do everything I need to do before Christmas. Do you think my taxi forgot me?"

"Yes!" Guilt stabbed him. She wasn't standing in the rain like a ninny with no place to go. It sounded as if she was on her way home for the holiday. To her real home. Not a condo she was house-sitting as she'd been for the past six months for Michael Feeney while he was in Europe. And her taxi had forgotten her. She wasn't a scatterbrain. He had to stop jumping to the conclusion that everybody who did anything out of the realm of what he considered normal was somehow wrong.

Annoyed with himself, he sighed and glanced at his watch before he shoved his gearshift into Park. He was way too early for his flight anyway.

He jumped out of his SUV and rounded the hood. He knew from experience there was only one way to deal with his guilt. Penance.

"How about if I give you a ride to the bus station?"

Elise McDermott stared at dark-haired, gray-eyed, absolutely gorgeous Jared Johnson. He wore an expensive raincoat over a dark suit, white shirt and tie, and was currently getting drenched because he didn't have an umbrella. When she agreed to house-sit for Michael Feeney, Michael had told her Jared was the person to call if anything happened while he was away. He'd laughingly said Jared was grouchy but once he got over being disturbed, he would always come through, if only out of guilt. Jared had probably offered her a ride because he'd felt bad about yelling at her.

"I'd love a ride, but you're obviously on your way somewhere and I don't want to be any trouble."

He reached for her suitcase. "No trouble."

She put her hand over his on the handle. "I'm serious. You were going somewhere and I don't like to be a bother." He might want to make up for yelling at her, but he didn't have to. Being alone and pregnant she'd learned to stand on her own two feet. She didn't need to be coddled. "I'll call another cab."

"I'm on my way to the airport. But I'm early. Way too early. You'll be doing me a favor if you let me make the side trip to the bus station. I won't have to sit in the airport lounge for three hours."

"But--"

Before she could argue any further, he pulled on the suitcase, easily wrestling it away from her. "Come on."

She opened her mouth to stop him, but the wind caught her umbrella and she couldn't hold it. The rush of air jerked the handle out of her grip and it took off like a kite.

He nodded at the baby seat. "You buckle her in," he said, shouting over the noise of the storm as he began walking to the rear of the SUV. "I'll put these in the back."

She shook her head. Lord, he was persistent--and she was getting drenched. Since he was offering to do what she'd have to pay a cab to do, she supposed she'd be foolish to argue.

By the time he had her gear stowed, she was almost done with the baby. She clicked the final strap, shut the back door and settled into the passenger seat of his SUV. He slid behind the steering wheel and closed the door. Suddenly it was blessedly dry and quiet.

He hit the buttons to activate the heater and she glanced at all bells and whistles in his obviously expensive vehicle. "Wow. It's so quiet in here."

"That's one of the car's selling points. It's quiet."

"Yeah, quiet and. . . wonderful. Holy cow. This must have cost a chunk of change."

"It's nothing compared to the things my clients drive."

"It might be nothing compared to your clients' rides--" According to the building rumor mill, the guy in the penthouse--as Jared was known to most of the residents—was the attorney for several recording artists, one recording studio and a few movie stars, so she didn't doubt his clients drove incredibly fancy cars. "But compared to the rest of us, you're sitting pretty."

Her praise seemed to make him uncomfortable and he shifted on his seat. His jaw tightened. "I wasn't always well-off."

Because she didn'tknow him, had only seen him a few times in the lobby waiting for the elevator to his penthouse, she had no idea why he'd be upset to have money. But since she'd never see him again, it didn't matter. He was who he was. Rich. She was who she was—a single mom without an extra cent to spare. Six years ago when her mother died she'd left North Carolina with her boyfriend Patrick with big dreams, but she'd ended up supporting him. When she'd gotten pregnant he'd left as if his feet were on fire. She and Jared Johnson had nothing in common and there was no sense pretending they did by making mindless small talk.

She settled into the bucket seat and closed her eyes.

Besides, she had a few things to think about. She was returning to North Carolina, but not the small town she grew up in. She'd inherited her grandmother's house in the town right beside it. She was going to the hometown of her father. The guy who had left her mom. The guy she didn't even know. And she wasn't sure whether the good people of Four Corners, North Carolina, would welcome her with open arms, or treat her like the plague. She only knew the grandmother she'd never met had left her a piece of property. A place she could sell, hopefully for enough money to buy a home to raise her baby.

The same grandmother who hadn't even wanted to meet her, hadn't acknowledged her as her kin, had given her her first break in life.

And she'd be a fool not to take it.

Suddenly the SUV was so quiet Jared could hear his own breathing. This was a bad idea. Elise was virtually a stranger and here they were, trapped in a car for at least twenty minutes, with nothing to talk about. He fixed his eyes on the road, occasionally glancing at the shops lining the street, then he saw the Christmas tree in front of Meg's Memory Mart, growing in a pot big enough to accommodate a four-foot fir, covered in blinking lights and tinsel. His heart caught. His breath shivered.

Stop.

She's gone.

He shifted on the seat, struggling to rein in a flood of memories. He had to get a hold of himself now, before his plane landed in New York. If he didn't, his pain would be infinitely worse when he got to the city where every damned thing on every damned street would remind him of the absolutely perfect life he'd lost. He couldn't cancel his trip. After five years of his finding excuses not to come home, his parents had threatened to come to California with their friend "the shrink" if he backed out this year. They didn't think it was natural for him to stay away as long as he had. They thought he was just a little bit crazy. He had to show them he was okay.

Even if he wasn't a hundred percent sure he was.

Blocking that last thought, he fixed his mind on upcoming contract negotiations for one of his clients, and the rest of the drive to the bus station passed in silence. He pulled up to the curb and Elise eagerly jumped out when he stopped the car. He climbed out of his side of the vehicle and headed for the back of the SUV.

"Here," he said, grabbing her suitcase before she could. "I'll get these. You get the baby."

"That's okay. I can handle it."

"I'm sure you can. But I've got plenty of time. Think of this as part of the way I'm wasting those three hours before my flight."

She rolled her eyes but strode to the side of his vehicle, letting him unload her things. He added her six-pack-size cooler and diaper bag to the suitcase he already had, and walked to the passenger's side of the SUV where she was getting her baby from the backseat.

She arranged the baby carrier in her right hand and motioned for him to slide the straps for the diaper bag and cooler to her shoulder. "I'll take those."

She wasn't going to let him help her into the bus station? That was ridiculous. She could barely carry all these things.

Still, rather than argue, he said, "Okay," and slid the bag and cooler in place before setting the suitcase at her feet for her to take. Then he surprised her by removing the baby carrier handle from her right hand. "I'll take the baby."

"We're fine."

"I'm sure you are, but I'm happy to hold her while you get your tickets."

"I'm--"

"I know. Fine. But I have time and I can use it to save you the trouble of juggling the baby while you buy your bus tickets."

"You know, you wouldn't have to pay penance for the guilt you feel when you yell at people if you'd simply stop yelling at people."

It surprised him that she caught on to the guilt and penance thing he had going and that unexpectedly struck him as funny. Despite himself, he smiled. "Why do you think I usually just don't talk to people?"

"I thought you were a snob."

That made him out-and-out laugh. She gave him a strange look, but turned away and marched into the bus station. He followed, glancing down at the baby in the carrier. "Hey, Molly."

The chubby, curly-haired baby grinned at him, her toothless gums exposed, spit bubbles forming at the corner of her mouth. ...

susan

The Wedding Planners at PHS

2008-12-02T00:03:00.000-08:00

I'm guest blogging at the Pink Heart Society blog today. A few of the Wedding Planner authors helped out by giving me links to tasty holiday treats! I hope you'll stop by, say hi and see what we'll be cooking this month!

Melissa

My Christmas Wedding

2008-12-01T00:02:00.000-08:00

For as long as I could remember, I dreamed of getting married at Christmastime. It's such a special time of year, and I felt in my heart it would be a lovely time for a wedding. When my then-boyfriend proposed a few days before Christmas, I knew my dream was going to come true. I'd have a year to plan a spectacular Christmas wedding in San Francisco!

I started imagining the day right away. A full nuptial Mass at my parish, St. Vincent de Paul, in Pacific Heights followed by a reception. I wanted somewhere with a historic feel. The leading reception site was the Sherman House, a Victorian Inn also in Pacific Heights.

And then real life and something called cancer got in the way. We moved our wedding up to April in hopes that my fiance's ill father could attend. We also moved the wedding from San Francisco to New York. We had a lovely wedding and reception with forty of our closest friends and family. I couldn't imagine a nicer day.

But when I was asked to take part in a Silhouette Romance continuity and told I'd be a December 2003 release with a heroine who was a florist, I knew I'd been given a chance to actually have my Christmas wedding in the pages of the book. So here it is with only a few changes (a small town vs. the big city!)

From Chapter One, Santa Brought a Son, Book 4 of Marrying the Boss's Daughter, December 2003:

Samantha Wilson stood midway up the aisle of the empty church holding the bridesmaid bouquet she'd found on the altar and surveyed her work. On the end of each pew, a miniature wreath decorated with tiny berries, cinnamon sticks and pinecones hung from red-and-green plaid ribbon tied in bows. At the front of the church, potted red and white poinsettias created a cascading effect on the steps leading up to the altar. And the altar was dressed with fresh pine boughs and garland. Pinecones, holly, berries and the same red-and-green ribbon from the pew wreaths provided a splash of color and texture to the greenery that filled the church with a christmasy pine scent.

From Chapter Two:

As the new Mr. and Mrs. Mark Slayter finished their stroll down the aisle to the tune of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, the bells in the steeple chimed. Reed followed the stream of wedding guests outside to the steps of the 275-year-old church. People milled about as if it were a spring afternoon, not early December with a wintry chill in the air.

"I'm Rebecca," an attractive woman with hazel-green eyes said to him. "Are you a friend of the groom or the bride?"

"The groom," Reed answered. "Rebecca Donnelly, right?"

"You know my name, but I'm positive we've never met." She smiled seductively. "I would never forget a man like you."

"You sat next to me in physics and world history senior year." Her blank stare didn't surprise him. "Reed Connors."

Her mouth gaped. "I'm sorry, Reed. I didn't recognize you."

"That's okay," he said. "I only lived in Fernville a couple of years. No reason for you to remember me."

She pursed her glossed lips. "Can I make it up to you?"

"Possibly." His hint of suggestiveness left Rebecca nodding and batting her heavily mascara-covered eyes.

As he made the one block stroll to the reception, Reed searched for his friends from high school. They had to be here, but he didn't see them. He reached the reception site, the town's recreation center. An odd choice for a wedding reception considering he used to compete in chess tournaments here. The only difference between then and now was a new sign out front.

Inside, a framed picture of Mark and Kelli sat on an easel. A white mat with guests' signatures and greetings surrounded the photo. Reed picked up the pen, scribbled the words "May the force be with you as you live long and prosper together" and signed his name. Mark would understand as only a former Star Wars/Trekkie geek would.

With his seat-assignment card in hand, Reed stepped through the pine-garland trimmed entrance to the multipurpose room and was transported from the recreation center's nondescript decor into a romantic winter wonderland.

The scent of pine permeated the air. White gauzy fabric with sparkling snowflakes on it covered the walls. Garland entwined with white lights was draped over them. Next to the dance floor stood a twelve-foot Christmas tree decorated with white lights, red bows and crystal hearts. A smiling angel, with wings spread wide, graced the top of the tall tree. Reed's assistant had sent a gift for him, and he wondered if it was under the tree with the other wedding presents.

Had Samantha done all this? The girl he remembered hadn't seemed interested in flowers unless they were for a prom corsage. Thought she'd been more concerned about whether they clashed with the color and style of her dress. But Reed had thought he'd seen more in here. Too bad he'd been wrong.

Reed passed a group of carolers dressed like characters from a Dickens novel and made his way to the center of the room.

And then a little later in Chapter Two:

She picked up the smaller throw-away bouquet made with fire-and-ice roses and sprigs of pine and made her way through the crowded room to the dance floor. The sweet scent of the roses tickled her nostrils, reminding her this was a wedding not a wake.

It was fun to write my Christmas wedding day, but honestly, I wouldn't change anything from my real one except for having my father-in-law there and my sister, who'd given birth to her first child and didn't feel up to making the cross-country trip.

Did you ever think about what kind of wedding you wanted to have? How did reality compare to the wedding of your dreams?

Melissa McClone

Upcoming this week...

2008-11-30T00:06:00.000-08:00

I'll be kicking off this week on the Wedding Planners with a post about Christmas weddings and the one I always thought I was going to have until we decided to get married in April!

On Tuesday, I'll have a link where you can read about Tasty Holiday Treats. Some of the other Wedding Planners authors gave me links to recipes, and boy, do they look yummy!

On Wednesday, Susan will be blogging about her upcoming December release.

On Friday, Shirley will talk about a wedding shower do-over.

Also, I'm running a contest on my blog. Today (Sunday) is the last day to enter. The three prizes are e-gift certificates so if you want a shot at winning, post a comment there.

Wedding Pie?

2008-11-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, my mind is on food. Imagine that! When thinking of wedding food, we usually think of cake first, right? But did you know that wedding pie actually preceded the cake in weddings?

As best we can tell, the Bride’s Pie first appeared in the middle of the 17th century and was popular well into the 19th century when cakes took over. The bride’s pie was filled with sweet breads (a nice name for animal organs-yuck), mince meat, or may have simply been a mutton pie. A wonderfully fun "ingredient" was a glass ring hidden inside the filling. Tradition claimed that the woman who found the ring would be the next to wed. I guess the hidden ring was a lot like tossing the garter. One can only hope the lady who found the ring didn’t bite down too hard. Ouch!

By the late 19th century, pie had fallen out of favor and was replaced by the cake. But guess what I discovered over at Food Network? Wedding pies are gaining popularity with some brides and grooms. Take a look and see what you think. If this doesn't make you hungry and ready for tomorrow's big, big dinner, nothing will!

http://www.achatzpies.com/weddingpies.php

Sorry, I had hoped to post the video here but the best I can do is provide the link. Go and check it out and let me know what you think about 'Wedding Pie'.

Wedding in a snow globe!

2008-11-24T01:13:00.000-08:00

Like so many people today, one young couple last year had to make some tough choices, use their money to buy a house or pay for their wedding. They opted for the house, but one day when the bride was listening to a radio show, she heard about a special contest and she entered.

The prize? An all expenses paid wedding. The catch (or the bonus, depending on your viewpoints)? The wedding would take place in the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade in the McDonald's Snow Globe!

Here's the video:

It's definitely a wedding day that won't be forgotten soon.

Just a note: I'm running multiple contests this Christmas at my website (when one ends the next one begins), but if you leave a comment on the blog this week (today through Friday the 28th), I'll automatically enter you in the current contests.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, week, everyone!

Stop in and Visit This Week!

2008-11-23T01:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming (as if you didn't know), and…somehow talking about weddings at this time of year just fits and doubles the excitement.

Check back tomorrow when I'll be talking about a very special (and unusual) wedding. Then come back on Wednesday when Linda Goodnight will be posting on...well, I haven't read the post yet, but I thought I saw something about pie. That conjures up all sorts of great feelings and memories and scents and...I can't wait. Say the word pie and I'm there!

And since this is Thanksgiving week, I'd love to know if you've ever been to a Thanksgiving week wedding (at least, it's Thanksgiving in the U.S.--my apologies to those who live elsewhere, but please feel free to join with your own memories of weddings from holidays in your own country. I'd love to hear them).

Don't forget to check back tomorrow!

Myrna

Christmas Theme Weddings With A Twist

2008-11-20T06:55:00.000-08:00

I was married in December and had a Christmas-themed wedding. We had the traditional poinsettia flower arrangements and green, red and gold decorations.

But I didn't put my bridesmaids in red velvet. I chose green satin instead. My flower girls (my sister Tammy and niece Kelli) were in white dresses with red dotted Swiss. I didn't want to be 'too' traditional in my approach to my Christmas themed wedding.

There are a lot of ways you can go with Christmas themes. You don’t even need to stick with red and green. http://www.allweddingideas.com/christmas-weddings suggests that gold, silver and burgundy are also Christmas colors.

Lifestyle.iloveindia (http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/christmas-table-decorations-3781.html) has the wonderful idea of using white, blue and pale shades of purple to give your Christmas table a winter look. They also suggest placing an ornamental silver candleholder in the center of the table and surrounding it with things like ornamental snowflakes, little snowmen, strands of clear beads, snowy white garlands, etc.

If you're really in a Christmas mood, todays-weddings.com suggests little stockings stuffed with chocolate for guest favors or a personalized ornament for each attendee's Christmas tree.

David's Bridal (Davidsbridal.com/styleguide_dressguide)has a fabulous (and simple!) guide to show you what kind of dress will look best for your figure! You can add a cape with white fur-trimmed hood to almost any of today's strapless gowns to even give yourself a little Christmas flair.

But the best way to have a Christmas themed wedding is to take a look at your family's holiday traditions and the traditions of your groom to personalize your wedding to make it special for the whole family.

susan meier

Hello Kitty...Wedding!

2008-11-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

We have talked about themed weddings on this blog before. People have different passions, hobbies and favorite places that most can be incorporated into a wedding somehow.

I'm a big Star Wars fan and I must admit the thought of a wedding on the terrace of Villa Balbianello overlooking Lake Como where Star Wars ll: Attack of the Clones was filmed gives me the tingles.

But this one is a new for me...a Hello Kitty Wedding!

Check out this video of a couple in Hong Kong and their Hello Kitty wedding. Based on all the cameras and that it seems to take place in a train station or something, I wonder if it was a contest prize. The bride and groom look happy, but I wonder if this was his first choice of a wedding theme!

In case you might think they were the only ones to want a Hello Kitty wedding, think again. Hello Kitty is a very popular wedding theme.

I couldn't figure out how to embed this video, but it's a news report on the popularity of Hello Kitty weddings. At least one hotel in Japan offers a Hello Kitty Wedding package! There are even Hello Kitty wedding rings. And to make things even easier on the bride, they've designed an entire line of Hello Kitty wedding gowns. I'll have to ask Serena what she thinks about these dresses!

Imagine wearing a themed Hello Kitty wedding dress so everything coordinates on your special! But a warning, these dresses are not cheap. This pink one is around $4000.

I know one person who thinks this is the best idea ever! My five year old daughter wants to sign up now. She would love to have a Hello Kitty wedding and be a Hello Kitty bride especially if she could have Hello Kitty as her bride's maid. What about you?

Melissa McClone

The Cookie Connection

2008-11-17T05:27:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE food. I especially love dessert. The hardest part about being on a diet (and I'm perpetually one because I love food and dessert, and sadly, those two things don't go along with fitting in a bathing suit) is that you can't have cookies for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner.

I know. The world is unfair.

But in my novels, I can create whatever world I want. I can create a world where people fall in love because of cookies. Hey, I would ;-). Actually, I'd probably fall in love over a chocolate chip, but then again, I'm easy to please.

That's the premise behind Marry-Me Christmas, which comes out in December. The heroine, Samantha Barnett, owns a bakery that makes cookies rumored to make people fall in love after they eat them. She doesn't know if this rumor is true because she bakes the cookies--but doesn't eat them, just in case. Then a reporter, Flynn McGregor, comes to town, to disprove this absolutely insane theory about the cookies.

It's my second book set in Riverbend, Indiana (those of you have read Miracle on Christmas Eve and remember Earl, will be pleased to know he gets more of a starring role in this book). Christmas is alive and well in Riverbend again this year and Flynn, unlike CJ in Miracle on Christmas Eve, is bah-humbugging his way through town. Until he meets Samantha, and starts to wonder if maybe he's been missing out on a little something by avoiding the magic of Christmas.

All kinds of foods are rumored to be aphrodisiacs. Oysters (ugh!), chocolate, figs, asparagus, champagne (okay, I can get behind that one. Give me the champagne and chocolates, but hold the oysters). Discovery Health even has an article on this phenomenon, that says the scent of pumpkin, as well as that of buttered popcorn, can get people in the mood for love. I don't know about you, but buttered popcorn has me ready for a theater and a double-feature with George Clooney.

Oh wait, maybe I am falling in love over popcorn ;-).

Tell me, do you believe in the whole "food can make you fall in love" thing? Do you have a food that you definitely can't live without? One that if your special someone brings it home, all is forgiven? Do share...virtual calories are waistline friendly!

Shirley

Coming up this week..

2008-11-16T05:13:00.000-08:00

I always love Sundays. I love getting up early (I know, you'd think I'd sleep in, but that getting up early thing is so ingrained, both in me and my dogs, that I just can't), grabbing the paper and sitting back with a cup of coffee to read. I always feel like I'm starting everything all over again when I do that, because it's the only day I have to begin the day in that leisurely manner.

And here we are, starting another week on The Wedding Planners, with three of our authors blogging--myself, Melissa McClone and Susan Meier.

You can always count on Melissa to have something funny and entertaining, like her post on Wedding Movies, or the horrifying failed ring exchange. I read her posts, watch those videos and say, "Thank goodness that wasn't MY wedding!"

And Susan, she is just a never-ending fountain of knowledge ;-). Whether it's tips from moms of the bride and groom, or tips for DIY brides, she's always got a great post to help out.

This week, we also have a special guest. On Thursday, author Tracy Wolff will be stopping by. Her first Harlequin Superromance, A Christmas Wedding, is in stores now, so check that out.

It's bound to be a great week! So grab a cup of coffee and read along with us!

Shirley

The Sword Ceremony-A Romantic Military Custom

2008-11-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

To me, there is nothing quite as manly and handsome and sexy as a man in uniform! So, I thought I would investigate the traditions unique to having a formal military wedding. One of those traditions is the Arch of the Swords (or Sabres). This tradition is so military and formal and full of pomp and ceremony and chivalry, I just had to tell you about it.

Arch of the Swords/Sabres: The tradition comes from both the American and the British in which the bride and groom pass beneath an arch formed with upraised swords. This arch is formed by uniformed officers as a means of ‘welcoming’ the newlyweds into the service. Strict protocol applies to the display and must be done in accordance with the rules specific to the bride’s or groom’s branch of military. Generally speaking, six ushers form the sword detail except in the Air Force. This branch prohibits the saber bearers from serving in any capacity other than the arch.

The Sword Ceremony takes place immediately following the closing blessing as the bride and groom turn to leave the chapel. The sword detail lines the aisle, doing so with sharp military bearing and in perfect form and unison. At the soft command of the leader, they raise their swords with one swift and continuous motion. The honor guard continues to stand at stiff attention while the bride and groom pass beneath the arch. As soon as the couple has cleared the archway, they pause with the sword detail behind them (and sometimes kiss). Then, again at a soft command and in perfect unison, the swords are lowered, and the couple continues the recessional. This same ceremony may take place as the couple passes into the reception area.

Cake Cutting:
The sword is also used to cut the cake. Again, strict protocol is adhered to. An officer lays the sword over his left forearm, cutting edge away from the body, hilt towards the bride. The bride takes the sword and cuts the wedding cake, with the groom's right hand resting over hers on the sword's hilt and with his left arm free to place around his bride. (Sigh) So romantic and chivalrous.

I like this so much, reader beware: It’s probably going to show up in a book someday!

I’ve never been to a military wedding but now I want to go! Have any of you ever been to one? If you live outside the U.S., does your military have any unique customs to share?

Marrying the Prince…or Not

2008-11-12T01:08:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, I was always hoping that something big and romantic and magical and (unfortunately) totally unlikely was going to happen to me. Of course, in my heart of hearts, I always knew that I was not going to marry a prince or be the prom queen or slay a thousand men's hearts, but I'm not sure it really mattered. The dream of having a special fairy tale moment was enough.

And as I grew older I realized that love and romance (and magic) are often born slowly, over time, out of situations that might not seem romantic at all, at first.

That's how I feel about the hero and heroine's situation in my November book, Her Millionaire, His Miracle. They're an unlikely pair. Jeremy's rich, Eden is anything but. She had a stunning crush on him when they were younger, and he didn't know she existed. And now…he's going blind, he's put brakes on his future (no marriage, no children) and she wants children more than anything else. It's clear that this isn't going to be simple. Eden isn't going to wake up and find herself marrying Jeremy, the prince of her younger years. Instead, there's deep emotion that builds, a slow awakening, the promise of tremendous heartbreak, some tears and…here's an excerpt:

Turn around. Go back home. This could all go so wrong. What was I thinking when I decided to go through with this? Eden Byars tried to appear calm as the housekeeper at Oak Shores showed her into Jeremy Fulton's north suburban Chicago mansion, but her thoughts didn't seem to be willing to play the game.

Just keep moving forward, she ordered herself. This was too great an opportunity. She couldn't let old, uncomfortable memories mess things up.

"Excuse me?" the housekeeper asked.

Eden blinked. Had she spoken her thoughts out loud? Maybe. "The house is beautiful," she said, trying to regain her poise. "I'd forgotten." And she had never actually been inside. Not even inside the gates or down the long, winding drive shaded by oaks. In fact, she'd only ever seen glimpses of the imposing mansion in the winter when the leaves had fallen.

The woman tilted her head. "Yes, there's no other like it. Mr. Fulton is in the library, right through there. He's expecting you." She indicated a massive set of mahogany doors and left to return to her duties.

Eden stood before the doors, smoothing her hands over her old navy-blue skirt. Silly to be nervous. She'd barely known Jeremy ten years ago. They'd hardly exchanged a dozen words beyond hello and goodbye. Different social classes, different everything. It had been a nonexistent relationship.

Except for the fact that she'd had an overwhelming secret and painful crush on him until…

Eden's face grew warm with embarrassment. She took a deep breath.
Dusty history, Byars. He won't remember. Please. And even if he did, it couldn't matter. She had to have the job she'd heard Jeremy was trying to fill. Fate had thrown her a curve last month just when she thought she was back on her feet. Suddenly she was down on her luck again. Creditors were calling and all of her plans were on the brink of evaporating if she didn't do something quickly.

A sick feeling slipped into her stomach. The thought of standing before Jeremy and revealing her desperation while he judged her brought back old flashbacks from high school of never fitting in.
But that had been long ago. Awkwardness was no longer her constant companion. She'd changed.

Apparently, so had Jeremy. In one major way.

Eden closed her eyes, remembering what she'd heard. She tried not to think of how he'd once been with that disarming amber gaze and those wild, reckless ways that made girls forgive him anything. Fast and brilliant and very openly temporary, he had been the most vital, alive male she'd ever known.

And now he was…

Eden backed away from the thought. Don't think about it. I can handle this, she told herself.

Could she? Maybe. Yes. She had to. Jeremy's situation wasn't her concern. No man was, not in a personal way. Besides, he was no longer a boy she coveted. He was just a man with a job to fill, someone who could aid or ruin her, and loitering outside the library wasn't helping things. If she didn't prove to Jeremy that she was the best—a term no one would have tagged her with when she was younger—if she didn't convince him to hire her…

I'll lose everything I've worked for. The distant dreams that had kept her going this past year would never materialize.
"I won't let that happen," she whispered. Not again. Ignoring her pounding heart and a lot of unfortunate memories, Eden took a deep breath, pushed at the massive mahogany door and prepared to confront her past.

Jeremy rose from the desk where he'd been sitting when the door opened. His housekeeper had buzzed him to let him know Eden was here several minutes ago and he'd been wondering why she hadn't appeared yet.

Well, sort of wondering. He imagined it took a bit of courage to face an old acquaintance under these circumstances. But he refused to examine his circumstances. Too many dangerous emotions down that path, something he'd learned to avoid. Instead he concentrated on the moment… and the woman. He would have preferred someone who'd never known him as he once had been, but Eden had been sent here by her cousin, Ashley, an old friend of his whom he trusted implicitly.

He looked toward Eden, turning his head slightly to catch the best possible view of her. It was a habit he'd had to get used to of late, and it worked, albeit imperfectly.

Showtime, Fulton. Put the big smile on for the lady.

I loved writing this book. The characters spoke to me, and Jeremy is a truly special man, both very powerful and vulnerable and…achingly unattainable. I guess I do get to have those magic moments, after all. Writing this book was one of them (and okay, I've had my share in real life. My husband and I spent the morning at an art museum, went for a romantic walk and then he took me out to lunch. Who needs to marry royalty when I have my very own prince)?
As Melissa mentioned earlier, The Wedding Planner authors have a number of books either out now or next month. Here's the schedule:

November – Her Millionaire, His Miracle by Myrna Mackenzie
Rescued by the Magic of Christmas by Melissa McClone
December – Marry-Me Christmas by Shirley Jump
Her Baby's First Christmas by Susan Meier

Also, in honor of Christmas I'll be having several contests at my website (in addition to the usual quarterly one, so please stop by and enter, or if you comment on today's blog entry, I'll automatically enter you in the first pre-Christmas contest, a grab bag containing a book and miscellaneous goodies).

Wishing all of you some of those very special romantic and magical moments. So...what was your "Marrying the Prince" fantasy when you were young?

Jane is the Winner of Linda's Book!

2008-11-11T03:00:00.001-08:00

In the random drawing for Linda's new book, The Millionaire's Nanny Arrangment, Jane Beckenham from New Zealand is our winner. Congratulations, Jane! Please send me your address and I will ship a copy to you.

Here Comes the Bride By Deborah Bennetto

2008-11-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

From my friend Deb's research. Enjoy!

Beneath the ocean, dangling from a parachute, aloft in a balloon, clinging to a rockface - what do these all have in common? They are all wild and wacky venues some adventurous couples choose for their wedding. But while the style of getting married is only limited by a couple’s imagination, the majority still favour the traditional ceremony steeped in customs that date back thousands of years.

The word “wedding” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “wedd” meaning a pledge. In the past, a wedding was more a financial arrangement than a romantic union. Relatives and friends from both sides would get together to thrash out the details. It was considered foolhardy to leave things to an experienced young couple when there were castles and large estates at stake. In some cases the details would take years to finalise. The nuptials between the Dauphin of France and Marie Antoinette took fourteen years to arrange.

Not being at liberty to choose one’s own spouse may seem outrageous to us, but it was a more civilised way of getting hitched than other customs employed by ancient civilisations. In Babylon, fathers would take their daughters to bride markets, to be sold into marriage. In parts of Europe, women were literally stolen from their homes by barbarians and forced to marry them.

Once a man had nabbed his bride, he would quickly marry her before someone else grabbed her. For this reason he made sure he was standing to the right of his bride with his sword hand free to fight off any unwelcome guests. Today the groom still stands on the right of the bride in Western ceremonies.

In fact, there are a few customs which date back to the days of marriage by capture. Once the ceremony had taken place between the man and his captured bride, he would whisk her off to a secret hiding place known only to one of his raiding escorts, the “best man”. This period of hiding is supposed to be the precursor to the honeymoon.

Whilst in Western cultures, arranged marriages are no longer common, the practice still continues in many places around the globe. The process involves relatives and friends of both parties coming to some agreement about the settlement of wealth or labour for their prospective in-laws. A dowry is money or property given by the bride’s family to the groom. Even in Western Cultures, some of today’s customs relate to the providing of a dowry. The exchange of wedding gifts; the practice of single girls collecting household goods such as linen and silver for their “bottom drawer” or a “hope chest” and the custom for the bride’s family to pay for the wedding are all traditions related to the practice of giving a dowry.

But it is not always a case of the bride’s family having to pay up. In some cultures the groom has to give things of high value to the bride’s father. This is known as the “bride price”. It is intended to show respect for the bride and her family and to compensate them for the loss of their daughter’s services. If the marriage fails, her father has to return the bride price, unless there are children of the union. The children would be deemed as belonging to the groom’s family and considered adequate compensation.

So how did men pop the question in days of yore? Did they gallantly drop to one knee? In fact, men often didn’t propose in person. Instead their representatives; either friends or members of their family would do the honours. If the party met a blind man, a pregnant woman or a monk on the way, they would abandon their mission for these were considered bad luck omens if they continued. If, on the other hand, they met nanny goats, pigeons or wolves they were happy. These were thought lucky (although many might disagree about how lucky it is to meet a wolf – especially a hungry one!).

An old Celtic custom was that of handfasting. This was a type of temporary marriage. The right hands of both partners were binded together during the ceremony. A period of one year and a day followed, at the end of which the couple could renew their vows if they wished, or call the whole thing off. For the residents of Dunmow in Britain, a side of bacon was awarded to those couples who renewed their vows. This became known as the Dunmow Flitch.

In Mediaeval Britain, when the parents of a betrothed couple met for the first time it was known as flouncing. This celebration established a legal agreement between both parties. If later one or the other of the couple broke things off then the other party was entitled to half the other’s property.

During Elizabethan times in England, it was permitted to withdraw from a marriage contract under certain circumstances, namely if any of the following applied to the other party:

• Found guilty of heresy, apostasy or infidelity.
• Seriously disfigured
• Proved to be previously (and still) married
• Guilty of enmity, wickedness or drunkenness
• If a long separation had occurred between both parties.

So which is the best day to marry? In the West, Saturday is the most popular day, but according to this famous old rhyme it is also the unluckiest:

Monday for wealth
Tuesday for health
Wednesday the best day of all
Thursday for losses
Friday for crosses
Saturday for no luck at all

And some helpful advice to find the perfect month to marry:

Married when the year is new,
He’ll be loving, kind and true
When February birds do mate,
You wed nor dread your fate
If you wed when March winds blow,
Joy for Maiden and for Man
Marry in the month of May,
And you’ll surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses grow,
Over land and sea you’ll go.
Those who in July do wed,
Must labour for their daily bread.
Whoever wed in August be,
Many a change is sure to see.
Marry in September’s shire,
Your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry,
Love will come bur riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November,
Only joys will come, remember
When December snows fall fast,
Marry and true love will last.

June was considered an ideal month in which to marry because the month was named after Juno, the Roman Goddess of love and marriage.

The banns are the public announcement of an intention to get married. They were introduced in 800 AD by Charlemagne, a Germanic King who was made Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He wanted to stop marriages between close family members because they were causing genetic problems and madness in society. Announcing the banns gives the community time to advise the authorities if they know that the betrothed couple are brother and sister. Today the banns still form part of the wedding preparations in many countries.

Rings were introduced by the Egyptians around 2800 BC. For them a ring signified eternity – a circle with no beginning or end. Exchanging rings became part of the religious wedding ceremony in Europe around the 11th Century. Some believe their significance goes back to the days of Ancient cultures who used cords, woven from rushes and grasses, to bind themselves to their mates as a symbol of unity. Others believed rings evolved from the chains used by barbarians to capture their brides.

The third finger of the left hand is the common choice for the wedding ring. This is thought to date back to the Romans who believed (incorrectly) that there was a special vein in this finger called the vena amoris which ran directly to the heart.

Different cultures choose different fingers on which to wear their wedding rings. Jewish people wear their rings on the index finger of the right hand. In India they favour the thumb and in the Greek Orthodox Church girls wear the rings on the left hand before marriage and the right hand after marriage. Whichever the finger chosen the important thing is not to drop the ring during the marriage ceremony. It is considered an omen of disaster.

Diamonds are popular stones in an engagement ring, for they symbolise everlasting love. The first diamond engagement ring was reportedly given by Maximilian of Austria to Mary of Burgundy in 1477. The ancient Greeks believed diamonds were splinters of stars that had fallen to earth.

Part Two next time!

Has anyone got a really weird and wacky wedding to outdo the walrus or the gangsters? A copy of The Bridegroom's Secret to the weirdest one!

Melissa

Rescued by the Magic of Christmas

2008-11-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

If you've read book #3 of The Wedding Planners, SOS Marry Me, then you've already met Jake Porter, the hero of my November Harlequin Romance, Rescued by the Magic of Christmas. It was fun getting to introduce my hero in SOS Marry Me.

From Chapter 8 of SOS Marry Me:

"You won't find a better group of men and women. One of the best SAR experts in the country is out there, too. Jake Porter. He's from Oregon Mountain Search and Rescue and was training our unit this past weekend. When the call came in on Sunday, he decided to stay and join the team in the field."

Belle forced a smile. "Well, you can't ask for more than that, can you, darlin'?"

The strain on Charlie's face eased. "I guess you can't.

From Chapter 8 of SOS Marry Me:

"You're in good hands, Miss," Ray said. "Freeman's new at this, but Porter is from Oregon Mountain Search and Rescue. He knows exactly what he's doing."

She looked up at Porter. "I've seen those mountain rescues in Oregon on the news. I'm sure I'm in good hands."

"Hey," Freeman said. "We have mountains in Idaho, too."

Porter winked. "You've got foothills here, kid."

From Chapter 9 of SOS Marry Me"

"We're almost there, Serena." Jake Porter encouraged her along the snow-covered trail as they traveled on horseback. The way he had for hours. "Warm enough?"

"Toasty and dry in these clothes you guys loaned me." She appreciated his humor and upbeat attitude not to mention his killer smile and blue eyes, but she was ready to get there. Wherever "there" might be. "Thanks."

In Rescued by the Magic of Christmas, Jake Porter is back home on Mount Hood in Oregon. The sister of his late best friend is back in town for the holidays after being away for six years. Jake is determined to she'll enjoy herself. If you'd like to read an excerpt, click here.

I love reading Christmas romance novels so I was thrilled to get a chance to write another Christmas story. Imagine listening to Christmas carols in the summer and fall. I also got to dream about gingerbread houses, mistletoe and snow! I'm a total Christmas junkie and could spend hours in a Christmas themed store no matter month of the year.

Do you love Christmas? What about Christmas romance novels?

Everyone who comments on this post will be entered into my blog contest for the month of November. The prizes are:

1st prize: $25 gift certificate (your choice of any website that offers email gift card/certificates)
2nd prize: $15 gift certificate (your choice of any website that offers email gift card/ certificates)
3rd prize: $10 gift certificate (your choice of any website that offers email gift card/certificates)

For more contest details, click here.

It's a little early to wish you Merry Christmas, but remember Harlequin Romances make great stocking stuffers. Four of the Wedding Planners authors, Myrna, Shirley, Susan and I, have books coming out in November and December. Lots of Christmas cheer and happily ever afters for you!

Enjoy!

Melissa McClone

Would You...On Camera?

2008-11-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

There's lots of TV shows popping up lately like "I Propose" on the Style Network and "My Super Proposal" on Spike TV that are all knock-offs of shows just like them from years before. Basically, put some poor guy through his paces, make him go to desperate measures to create an amazing proposal, and hope the girl says yes.

Talk about a lot of pressure.

Not just for the guy. I mean, guys are nervous enough. First, they have to get up the nerve to ask the girl. Then they have to get the ring. Pick a date to ask. Pick a location. Come up with a speech, or at least something better than "wanna get hitched?" and then there's the worry about whether she'll even say yes.

But when you add in TV cameras, a live (or even not live) audience, and dozens of family and friends waiting behind a curtain to jump out and yell, "Surprise," you've created an entirely new dynamic.

What happens if the girl doesn't fall for the ruse? What happens if the proposal is refused? And then that most humiliating moment is replayed, over and over again, on national television for years to come. It's bad enough to live through it in real life (no matter which side of the ring you're on), but to have it blasted on television screens throughout North America (and don't forget You Tube and the network's website, and people's blogs...)...it's a wonder anyone signs up for these shows.

Yet, they do. What I wonder is whether YOU would. Would you say "Yes" on camera? Would you propose on camera? Or would you rather keep that in a quiet, private, just the two of you moment? I know my DH was nervous enough, without the added pressure of a camera crew ;-).

Shirley

Dresses for the Mother of the Bride

2008-11-03T04:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, as I was cruising for ideas for this blog, I found several sites where a mother of the bride can either window shop -- which means check to see what's available and at what price -- or actually purchase some very nice mother of the bride dresses.

Nordstroms at Nordstrom.com has beautiful dresses that give a mother of the bride plenty of options. Though I didn't look at all the pages, prices I saw ranged from $120 to $400.

If you're looking for a designer dress...

http://www.brides.com/fashion/dresses/gallery/motherofthebride
_dresses/landing

has a few really beautiful options. Of course, you're going to pay a little more there. But if you're not looking to buy, simply looking for what's in style, websites like this give you the perfect opportunity to see what's out there.

We're all smart enough to know that we have to take our figure into consideration when we choose a dress! For those of us who aren't quite as svelte as we were in our youth -- before our child was old enough to become a bride! -- there are plenty of links of us too.

www.sydneyscloset.com/asp/category.asp?categoryid=52 - 46k -

The dresses I found here were gorgeous! Colors were bright and cheerful. It heartens me to realize that when my kids decide to tie the knot, I don't have to look frumpy just because I put on a few pounds!

What if you actually want to buy online? Keep two things in mind. First, I typically buy 2 sizes. My normal size and one size up. If I'm lucky and the normal size fits, all I have to do is send the "up" size back. It costs me postage. If my normal size doesn't fit, if I'm lucky, the "up" size will. Second, if neither size actually fits, then you'll have to get the "up" size altered. Why? Because though we all believe a smaller size can be taken out...your chances are better that a bigger dress can be cut down.

Shopping for a mother-of-the-bride dress can be a wonderful experience. Check prices online before you actually hit the stores and you'll not only have an idea of what you'd like to wear; you'll also have a better idea of how much to spend!

susan meier

The Week Ahead

2008-11-02T06:29:00.000-08:00

This week Melissa McClone will post the cover for her November release and an excerpt!

Tomorrow, I'll be discussing mother of the bride dresses.

Hope to see you!

susan meier

Horror Movie Brides

2008-10-31T01:13:00.000-07:00

I've never been much of a horror movie fan (yes, I'm a total chicken) and usually end up peering out from between my splayed fingers or examining the ceiling during the scary parts. But, today is Halloween, so we're celebrating horror movie brides!

I wracked my brain. The first one was easy, because of course, there's the Bride of Frankenstein.

Or…on the funny bride of Frankenstein front, Madeline Kahn's portrayal in Young Frankenstein. What fun!

And then there's Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

That was the extent of my knowledge (I'm betting some of you could have thought of others), but when I went looking I also found:
Bride of Chucky
The Brides of Dracula
Bride of the Gorilla (I kid you not)

And of course, there's The Bride, a remake of Bride of Frankenstein, starring Sting.

I loved the old film posters from some of these. Some even had multiple posters and foreign posters. A few were rather racy, considering that they were made in another era.

I confess that I like the old ones best, probably because they're not too scary. When I watch these with my husband, who loves horror flicks, we can laugh at them and play along, pretend we're frightened and admire the filmmaker's ingenuity with the limited special effects that were available at the time.

So, how many of the movies listed here have you seen? Any other bride horror movies you can think of? I'm sure there are others. Probably even some obvious ones that I didn't think of.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Wedding Bliss on a Budget

2008-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today's blog comes from author Pamela Ford, author of The Wedding Heiress , in stores now!

There's something about weddings that makes little girls (and grown women) dreamy-eyed. I think it starts the first time they hear the story of Cinderella and only gets more entrenched with time. My three teenage daughters are romantics through and through, and I like to say they learned it at their mother's knee! With the cost of the average wedding now in the neighborhood of $30,000, I hope they're also learning some frugality at that knee.

For the heroine of my latest release, The Wedding Heiress, frugality is the order of the day and happily ever after just a fairytale. Delaney McBride is an upwardly mobile career woman who is forced to go back to her hometown and take over her aunt's wedding planning shop in order to get her inheritance. Add in four other heirs, all of whom must perform unusual tasks in order to inherit, and Mike Connery, the girlhood crush Delaney never got over and, soon, she's up to her elbows in white satin, buttercream frosting, rosebud bouquets…and romance (read an excerpt at http://www.pamelaford.net/).

While writing this book, I read lots of articles about wedding planning and soon discovered that brides today are doing all sorts of creative things in order to cut costs and still get the wedding of their dreams.

One woman, upon learning the cake cutting fee would be $4 a slice, decided to serve cupcakes. Others are opting for Friday night or Sunday afternoon weddings. Still others are making the favors themselves, using candy kisses instead of truffles. A bride I know had her flowers done by a big grocery store's floral department - they were stunning and much less expensive. I even read about a couple who found it much less costly to bring in their own wine and pay the uncorking fee, rather than pay the per-bottle price charged by the reception hall.

So did you use any creative ideas to trim your wedding expenses?

Please share! I'll be taking notes because…have I mentioned I have three daughters?

Pam Ford

http://www.pamelaford.net/

A Really Romantic Honeymoon Destination

2008-10-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I visited Venice with my family (my daughter and son-in-law were visiting from Australia). It's about 6 hours drive from where we live in Switzerland. They call Paris the city of love - and you'll see later in the month from my son-in-law how romantic Paris is - but to me, Venice is just as romantic, and not just because of all those canals and gondolas (see pics).

I love the snaking little alleyways, the stories of Marco Polo (and seeing his house, and his family business building, still standing). Casanova's house (see second pic from left) is still there. The lion is the protector of the city, and they have little lion heads on almost all buildings. There are also knights, as we saw from our gondola, at Casanova's house (again, see pic) to protect the people from invasion. We were lucky to come on regatta weekend, after the Venice Film Festival (I believe there were loads of famous people still there, but we didn't see any). The regatta was wonderful - it's a series of gondola races rather than sailing boats. Each team dresses in the colours of their gondola, and pushes the gondola to victory.

As to sights, the Piazza San Marco (see third picture from left) was amazing, and really filled with thousands of pigeons (my son got covered in them, ick); the Doge's Palace was really exquisite, the clock amazing. There is a leaning tower just a few blocks from San Marco - we didn't know about it until we saw it (see photo of my son "pushing" it). On San Michele the is the famed Murano glass blowing, and you get a free trip out and tour with most hotel stays. It's amazing stuff - they display a lot in the stores and they do massive paint brushes to tiny ants, all blown glass.

There are tiny restaurants everywhere as well as the big, expensive tourist ones, with terrific pizza, risotto, pasta or western dishes, and a ton of fresh seafood (we found a fantastic courtyard restaurant when we got lost in an alley - terrific food!); there are tons of handbag sellers, gelato stores (indescribably excellent - I thought Swiss ice cream was great!), and stores for their famous masks (see inset, again with my son). We found a blues festival, markets in unexpected places, got lost in a delicious way, finding exquisite little houses and ancient churches, one with the best acoustics I've ever heard - St Maria something (sorry!).

We only spent two days there, and I could have spent many more. I'd thoroughly recommend it for a honeymoon destination - and not far away is the city of Romeo and Juliet, Verona; Florence is only a few hours away with all its exquisite artwork and museums; because it's an island, the ocean is right there as well as those canals. We got quite a good deal on a 4 star hotel online, and the rooms were very comfortable and the food for breakfast, very good.

On the way home, we drove through the stunning scenery of the Italian Tyrol Alps. (See last picture on right.) Well worth the 11 hours it took to get home, just seeing all this beauty. We've decided to return next summer for a few days of exploring!

Melissa

Share a recipe for a chance to win Linda's new book

2008-10-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Natalie the cake fairy here. A little birdie told me that Linda Goodnight has a new Harlequin Romance on the shelves right this minute! The title is THE MILLIONAIRE'S NANNY ARRANGEMENT and features another irrepressible little girl like my twins, only this little girl has a genius brain and a lonely heart.

Here's a teaser: A child genius chooses a pregnant, down on-her-luck widow to be her mommy for hire. Now if millionaire daddy will only cooperate…

Doesn't that sound yummy? And speaking of yummy, Linda is letting me run a contest for a chance to win a free, autographed copy of the book! Being a baker, I'm always on the prowl for new recipes, so here's the contest. Share a favorite goodie or snack recipe for Halloween. Or if you don't celebrate Halloween, share a favorite recipe for fall, and you'll be signed up for the contest.

Just in case you don't win the free book, pop over to Amazon to read an excerpt and order your own for a heartwarming good time.

Off to bake my famous Black Widow Cookies!

COMING UP FOR THE WEEK OF HALLOWEEN!

2008-10-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Monday Linda Goodnight (me) is blogging about a new book and a new contest.

On Wednesday Melissa James will be here with something fun and interesting as always.

And I can't wait for Friday when Myrna McKenzie will be blogging on the topic of 'horror movie brides' in celebration of Halloween. I'm already brainstorming my favorites!

Our very special guest this week is Pam Ford, the absolutely perfect guest for the Wedding Planners. Why? Because in her latest SuperRomance, THE WEDDING HEIRRESS, the heroine is a reluctant wedding planner! Pam will be blogging on the topic of 'Wedding Bliss on a Budget' and we'll get a sneak preview of that great new book.

So get ready for another terrific week of blogs and don't forget to comment. We love hearing from you.

Have a boo-tiful week!!

The Divas Demand It

2008-10-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I'm a reality TV junkie. Which means I'm hopelessly addicted to shows like "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?" I love watching those diva brides battle it out with their grooms, mothers and wedding planners, all to have the perfect Big Day. They have major meltdowns over cakes and rose petals, buy three gowns because they can't decide on one (and wear all three at various times on their wedding day), and in general, make life pretty darn miserable for everyone around them.

And what's more, they get away with it. Why?

Because they're the BRIDE. And what the BRIDE wants, the BRIDE gets. All caps, because that's pretty much how those divas act.

I wondered what it would be like to be on the other end of one of those divas, to be, say, the dress designer, which happens to be part of the plot of my October release in Christmas Weddings. I created a character, Marietta, who has to deal with a very demanding bride when she gets stuck in O'Hare airport at Christmas. Not only is her diva bride completely unsympathetic to Marietta's situation, but she's also calling constantly for moral support and last-minute counseling. Add to that Reed Hartstone, Marietta's old lover, and you've got a recipe for disaster (here's an excerpt).

There's a little more going on for my diva bride, though, than just a major wedding day hissy fit, and that's one of the things I got to explore in "Snowbound Bride." Her story wraps itself around Marietta's in ways that Marietta never expected--and turns everything upside down.

So tell me, were you a bit of a diva on your special day?

There's a description of bride types here, in case you're wondering. Or were you more laidback and easygoing? I was no diva (for one, I didn't have the budget! :-), and am glad I kept my wedding more low-key and easy for all involved. In the end, things may have been simple, but they were less stressful all around!

Shirley

Love and Writers

2008-10-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Thursday, I'll be on my way to the New Jersey Romance Writers of America conference. This is one of my favorite conferences. I get to see old friends and make new ones. But, more than that, there is nothing like getting together with a bunch of people who love love!

A lot of people mistakenly believe romance novelists wear pink boas and think of nothing but sex, but the real bottom line reason most of us write romance novels is a belief that love matters.

Most of our books take heroes and heroines who are somehow broken or have an incorrect belief about themselves or life in general and show those heroes and heroines the impact and power of love.

Our books show love healing, fortifying, strengthening and sometimes just providing comfort and joy. Our books manifest the truth that frequently a person has to grow and change before he or she can accept love. Because real love is worth it.

Who wouldn't want to spend a weekend with three hundred people who all believe in the power of love!

I'll be back on Monday, my spirit refreshed, and ready to write because I believe that every book I write touches someone. Shows the way. Without being pushy or preachy, but simply by demonstrating the true power of love.

susan meier

The Wedding Dress Test

2008-10-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Serena, here, popping in to say hello! So much has changed since I last paid a visit. But I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might be new to The Wedding Planners so I'll just say I'm so happy I don't think a frown has touched my lips in months!

I ran across this little quiz and thought some of you might enjoy it, no matter what your marital status or desires. I took it and wasn't surprised by the answer! What about you?

What Your Ideal Wedding Dress Says About You

Your Personal Style:

Classic and elegant. You prefer to make a statement with a few quality pieces.

Your Ideal Wedding:

Traditional and formal, but not tacky. You think the most beautiful weddings are understated.

Your Philosophy on Marriage:

It's a serious commitment, and the couple entering it should be ready to work for their relationship.

Your Perfect Marriage:

Is calm, stable, deep, and meaningful.

The Wedding Dress Test

Upcoming!

2008-10-19T00:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your comments on the blog this week! We hope you enjoyed the posts.

We're having fun blogging about weddings and things. It was great to have author Michelle Douglas stop by and tell us all about eloping! I ended up having two weddings. A small one on the East coast and a larger one a month later on the West Coast. Eloping seems like it would have been a whole lot easier!!

And all of us at The Wedding Planners are so proud of our Linda Goodnight. She keeps racking up the awards! Check out last Wednesday's post if you missed her most latest accomplishment!

This week on The Wedding Planners blog, we have a few things in store for you:

On Monday, Serena James, the Wedding Planner's dress designer and the heroine from SOS Marry Me, will be stopping by. Knowing her, I'm sure wedding gowns will have something to do with her post!

Wednesday, Susan Meier will be writing about romance writing conferences, brides and weddings. Susan always has a precious gem or two to share that's not only applicable to weddings, but life in general.

And finally on Friday, Shirley Jump has bride divas, like the ones you see on television, as the topic for the day. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us!

Is there anything we haven't talked about yet that you'd like to see discussed or a topic you might want revisited? Just let us know! Also if you have a wedding story of your own or wedding-related info you'd like to share on the blog, let us know. We're always on the lookout for guest bloggers whether they are writers, readers, brides, grooms and/or wedding experts.

Melissa M

What a Romantic Wedding...by Author Michelle Douglas

2008-10-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve never been one of those pretty, frilly kinds of girls. When the other girls in the playground started that game – the one where they planned their future weddings in minute detail: dresses, venues flowers – I’d promptly slink off to play cricket with the boys.

Don’t get me wrong I love a wedding as much as the next person. It’s just that I didn’t want one. All that planning. All the things that could go wrong. All that fuss! The thought made me break out into a cold sweat.

So I eloped.

Eloping is all about making things as fast, fun and stress-free as possible. And for what it’s worth, my five golden rules for eloping:
1. First and definitely foremost – decide if eloping is right for you. Not everyone wants stress-free, princess-free or family-free.
2. Get a marriage license – laws vary from country to country and state to state. No marriage license = no marriage = sad face.
3. Find a venue – whether that is a courthouse in your home town, a wedding chapel in Vegas or a Balinese beach, you will need to be married somewhere.
4. Plan a honeymoon – eloping does not mean foregoing the honeymoon.
5. Get married – which is, after all, the point.

Additionally, it’s wise to consider elopement etiquette.
1. Do tell your nearest and dearest what you’re planning to do. This will help allay any hurt feelings.
2. Don’t register for gifts.
3. Do have a celebration party when you return home.

So... was my day fun and stress free? You bet! Let me tell you about it...

London, January 26th 1998. The day dawned bright and clear. England was having one of its mildest winters on record. An auspicious omen? Absolutely. Furthermore, the day dawned bright and clear AND we woke up in time. Very auspicious.

I dawdled over my preparations, slipped into my chic little suit, while my tall-dark-and-handsome-soon-to-be dear husband set off to collect our wedding licence [to be eligible for said wedding license we’d had to meet a 21 day residency requirement.]. Then, with the wedding license clutched in our hot, little hands... drum roll please... we were off to be married.

We’d booked the wedding venue before leaving Australia...

Westminster!

The town hall, not the abbey.

At this point I’d love to tell you a story about grabbing people off the street and wheedling them into acting as witnesses, but I’m afraid we weren’t quite that blasé. We’d organised for a couple of friends who were working in London at the time to step into the breach. We were all ushered into the Blue Room at Westminster Town Hall – to find it festooned with wattle in honour of Australia Day. We’d eloped to England from Australia to get married on Australia Day! The registrar and his assistant were full of goodwill, good wishes and plain old-fashioned good fun. We filled in the paperwork, we laughed and joked...

...And then suddenly we were exchanging our wedding vows. It was the most out-of-body moment I’ve ever had. My heart swelled until I could hardly breathe. I felt so light I thought I’d float up around the ceiling. Oh, yeah, and I had this really goofy grin on my face that I couldn’t seem to wipe off (and I’d meant to be so cool and dignified).

We were married!

And it was wonderful.

Now it was time to celebrate. According to our dog-eared copy of Frommer’s 1997 Guide to London, “the best hotel in London today,” was The Dorchester. Guess where we booked our wedding night? Our two witnesses, the dh and I jumped into a black cab and headed straight there. We settled down in the bar – not too far from Liberace’s piano – and we ate, drank and were merry.

Mid-afternoon: our two witness friends left and, as the cliché goes, finally we were alone. Our room – a double deluxe with four-poster bed and views of Hyde Park – was divine. In honour of our wedding day, the hotel had a complimentary bottle of champagne on ice and a dish of handmade chocolates waiting for us. Heavenly!

[An aside here because I can’t resist: the bathrooms at the Dorchester are to die for – all grey Italian marble with bathtubs bigger than some swimming pools I’ve seen. Pure indulgence. Highly recommended.]

We didn’t leave our room for the rest of the day or night. I had the most perfectly wonderful (and stress-free) day. What’s more, I had a honeymoon in Paris to look forward to the next morning.

Would I do it all again without changing a thing? You bet.

For a chance to win a copy of– HIS CHRISTMAS ANGEL – the only book I’ve written so far that features a wedding, tell me where you’d elope to if you had the choice?

- Michelle

My Good News!

2008-10-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with weddings, but I just had to share my exciting news. The last of my “Brothers’ Bond” series, THE HEART OF GRACE, was named the 2008 short contemporary Book of the Year by the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). I didn’t attend the conference in Minneapolis where the award ceremony was held, but a dear friend and wonderful author, Janet Lee Barton kindly accepted and carried the plaque home where she presented it to me at our local writers’ meeting.

I was truly not expecting to win the award again, or I would have made the trip. (Last year, the first book in that series, received the same award.) Who knew that all three of ‘my boy’s’ would struggle up from their humble beginnings to win major writing awards—Two Books of the Year and the RITA.

I am blessed.

The Dress...After the Wedding

2008-10-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

Last week (October 8th) Melissa posted a video where...well, there was a bit of an accident (and if you missed it you have to go back and look). Let's just say that the wedding dress was probably never the same after that.

Which sent me off on a tangent, thinking about the lives of wedding dresses. What do people do with them after the wedding? Having rented mine, I just took it back to the shop. Lots of people obviously have them cleaned and heirloomed and store them, maybe even pass them on to another family member. But what about the people who don't want to go that route? What are some other options?

You could donate the dress to this charitable organization:

Brides Against Breast Cancer

Other suggestions I came across consisted of more drastic (although useful and sometimes loving) ideas, such as cutting the dress up into squares to make a quilt or making the dress into a christening gown. One woman used the fabric to sew baby outfits for a local hospital. Another had a seamstress make teddy bears out of her dress and gave one to each of her grandchildren with a personalized message on each one.

Many of you may have already heard of Trash the Dress . Brides hire photographers to take photos of them in their dresses as they destroy them in unique ways (the site is a bit difficult to navigate, but if you click on the Archives and move to different dates on the calendar--in blue--you can see some of the handiwork). Some of the photos are gorgeous and striking.

My personal favorite is the photographer who is the photographer who took the thousand dollar dress her mother had given her and went out on the road to photograph 1,000 women with the dress. Thousand Dollar Dress is a fascinating site with a unique story and some gorgeous photographs.

So, what did you do with your wedding dress (or what would you do if you had that choice to make)?

Amazon.com Gift Certificate Winner!

2008-10-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Dru wins the $5.00 gift certificate from Amazon.com for posting a comment on my post about the Ring Exchange Fail. I used a random number generator to pick the winner from all who had commented.

I was only planning to give out one prize, but Julie Hilton Steele's comment made me laugh so I'm going to send her one, too! I love your scenario, and I'm right there with you. The groom should have jumped in. I'm sure Jared, Dell, Kane, Cooper, Dominic or Matt would have been right there in the water with their Wedding Planner bride.

Would Dru and Julie please send me their email addresses via the contact page on my website. Thanks!

What's coming up this week at The Wedding Planners?

2008-10-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we're full steam ahead into our new schedule (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday with the occasional Tuesday and Thursday guest), so keep dropping by. We love chatting with you and talking weddings.

Tomorrow, I'll be discussing the strange and interesting things people do with their wedding dresses once the wedding day is over.

Linda Goodnight will be here Wednesday, October 15th and on Friday, October 17th Michelle Douglas will be blogging about her super romantic wedding and giving away a book!

Wedding Goals!

2008-10-10T05:52:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, when I begin pondering my goals for the next year. This year, I'm even giving a workshop on the cataromance writers loop on Goal Setting just to keep me moving, so that I follow through and write my 2009 goals BEFORE the rush of the holidays!

As I was looking at the seven steps for goal setting, this morning, in preparation for that workshop, it occured to me that future brides, mothers of the bride and anyone participating in a wedding next year might benefit from reading the seven steps!

1. Decide what you really want
2. Write your goals out on paper
3. Determine the price you have to pay
4. Make a plan
5. Take action immediately
6. Do something every day that takes you to your goal
7. Resolve in advance that you will never quit.

Number one probably seems funny to a bride. What she wants is obvious! To get married. But if a bride or mother of the bride or bridesmaid takes number one seriously, she'll decide what she really wants from the event. Does she want the best wedding in the world? Or does she want her guests to have fun? Deciding this in advance can clarify what's most important and make choices easier!

Number two...Write your goals out on paper is good advice! Keeps notes on everything and you won't forget important phone calls or the results of phone calls! You also won't forget to order the cake. LOL

Number three...Determine the price you have to pay [to get what you want]. We talked about this when we discussed budget in August. Decide in advance what you want, figure out how much it's going to cost, and then figure out what you are going to have to give up to get what you want. You may need to cut your Christmas shopping budget in half in order to assure you have enough money for the upcoming wedding!

Number four...Make a plan. If you're the bride, mother of the bride or a bridesmaid, you have responsibilities. Some will be easy to fulfill. Others will take some thought. Don't assume that everything will fall into place! Make a plan!

Number five...Take action immediately. Don't say, someday I'm going to make a plan! Buy your notebook, jot down your goals, take a few minutes to organize how you're going to make your end of the wedding a true success.

Number six...Do something every day that takes you closer to your goal. This might sound odd, but think about it. If one of your goals is to lose weight before the wedding...You MUST do something every day to accomplish that goal. Don't put everything off until the last minute!

And number seven...Decide in advance that you'll never quit!

It seems kind of funny to read #7, decide in advance that you'll never quit...because really, if you're the mom of the bride can you quit? LOL If you're the bride you don't want to quit!

But the purpose of number seven is to force you to make a promise to yourself that no matter how difficult the situation gets, you won't quit or make idle threats to quit! Deciding in advance that you'll never quit should also come with a pact to yourself that you'll be agreeable. You'll work to make the wedding as much fun for everyone as possible!

And that's really what's most important. Weddings are the most wonderful events! The day in our life that everybody remembers.

Last week, when we visited my aunt a few hours before she died, we found her surrounded by her friends...lifelong friends, two of whom had been her bridesmaids. Someone had brought the black and white group picture from her wedding and we stood at her bedside and talked about her special day.

For those few hours it was as if she, Edyth and Pee Wee were those young girls in the satin gowns, smiling fondly at their men, and laughing over private jokes.

No one remembered the wedding meal or even who the band was. They remembered how happy they were, how close, and how those bonds of friendship had never been broken.

That's what you really want from your wedding.

susan meier

Ring Exchange Fail...

2008-10-08T00:06:00.000-07:00

I came across this video on YouTube. Embedding was turned off, so you'll have to click here to watch it.

Oh, my! Could you imagine if you were that bride? Of course, I'm sure the best man felt horrible. But how would you ever make up for what you did????

Here's what I want to know...

1) What do you think happened next?
2) Will they laugh about this in the years to come?

Tell me what you think in the comment section and I'll pick a winner from those who do on Sunday, October 12th. The winner will receive a $5 Amazon gift certificate!

Still Teary After All These Years...

2008-10-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

The kids and I were going through a bunch of old photos a few weekends ago, and we came across the wedding photos from my wedding (and if my scanner was cooperating, I would have some up here, but my scanner hates me ever since my house got hit by lightning). Anyway, it's been nearly two decades since I got married and still, I get teary when I look at the pictures.

Of course, I'm also one of those people who cries at movies with weddings in them. I cry when they fall in love. I cry when they get married. I cry when the credits roll.

Maybe it's the catharsis thing. Maybe I'm just a big crybaby, LOL.

But when I dug out the photos of my wedding and showed them to my kids, I had to take a moment because I was all choked up, remembering that day. The kids thought it was funny, of course, and just laughed at me, at the photos, at people's outfits. They're kids, after all ;-).

How about you? Do you have a favorite movie or movies that make you cry every time? Do you cry during the wedding scenes? I love Runaway Bride, which is why I picked that one, but you name just about any romantic comedy, and I'm your girl.

Just be sure to bring the Kleenexes ;-)

Shirley

PS: I have a new book out today -- CHRISTMAS WEDDINGS, which is guaranteed to bring you a tear or two ;-) Look for it in stores everywhere!