Wish Upon A Wedding was founded in San Francisco, CA, in January of 2010, by a group of wedding and business entrepreneurs and is America’s FIRST nonprofit wedding wish granting organization, producing weddings and civil union ceremonies at destinations across the United States for individuals facing terminal illness, regardless of sexual orientation.

Chapters:

Wish Upon A Wedding is now boasting twenty chapters nationwide, headed by some of the industry’s most renowned leaders with plans to expand to over 40 chapters worldwide.

Presidents:

Sasha Souza, National President & SF Bay Area President

Kevin Covey, LA/Orange County

Stella Inserra, New York

Ivy Robinson, The Carolinas

Eliana Baucicault, Atlanta

Mary Alice Sublett, Tennessee

Mark Kingsdorf, Philadelphia

Heather Hamilton Sims, Houston

Shelby Tuck Horton, DC

Elisa Delgardio, Orlando

Ali Phillips, Chicago

Daniela Isabella Ferdico Fagét, Seattle

Forming Additional Chapters:

Other chapters opening soon include Boston, Colorado, Arizona, Portland, Miami, St. Louis, Ohio and Nevada.  We are also planning to open to chapters in other areas depending on need including international chapters.  If you wish to start a chapter, please fill out the online form for consideration.

Who Is Behind Wish Upon A Wedding?

Many influential people in the industry are beginning to endorse Wish Upon A Wedding & you can find those endorsements on the website.  There are also amazing people sitting on the Boards and Advisory Panel throughout the US such as Dana Larue Stiebel “Broke-Ass Bride” {LA Chapter PR Chair}, Leila Khalil {National PR Advisor}, Beth Helmstetter {National Outreach Director} just to name a few.  They would love to have you join as well either as a board member or wish granter!

How We Grant Wishes:

To qualify for Wishes, applicants must be unmarried legal citizens of the United States, over the age of 18, who have been diagnosed with less than three years to live.  Couples can be granted wishes either in the chapter where they live or in a chapter of their choosing as long as they are able to make the trip.

Couples can simply apply online to request one of three wedding types:

URGENT (Up to 10 guests, in hospital or at bedside);

BOUTIQUE (up to 25 guests, in home town of applicant);

ROMANTIC (Up to 50 guests, at any WUW destination)

How Can You Grant Wishes?

As the organization is building, Wish Granters are needed in all locations. Please apply online today to start helping Wedding Wishes come true. In two weeks, Wish Upon A Wedding will be granting the very first wish.  To read more about that wish and the couple please visit the website.

Please use this info on your own blog and during the course of this week…if you have the time and the room on your blog this week.

It will help build a network of very important people in this industry whose main goal is to help these very deserving couples.  After all, if you are in the business of creating lifetime memories, we are now asking you to help us create memories for those who are left behind because these couples do not have a lifetime together.

So here are my picks…

1. Dirty Dancing – “Nobody puts Baby in the corner”… the last 30 minutes Baby shows courage, stands up to her father and finally has the guts to do that running flying thing in the air for Johnny Castle (sigh, Patrick Swayze) to catch her. Didn’t your heart just jump a little with excitement?
2. An Officer and a Gentlemen – Even though the last 30 minutes of this film does show Sid Worley killing himself because of his lying, trashy girlfriend; it also includes an awesome kick-boxing fight between Mayo (sigh, Richard Gere) and Sgt. Foley. But the BEST part, is when Mayo struts into that paper factory and picks up the love of his life, Paula, (literally) while wearing his “dress whites” (double sigh). Heart is still skipping….
3. Maid in Manhatten – What is not to like? We have a Hispanic and sassy maid, Marisa Ventura, who has met the love of her life, Christopher Marshall (sigh, Ralph Fiennes) but they are from two very different worlds. With the help of Marisa’s cutie-pie son, they are reunited for a superior passionate kiss. Reaching for the tissues…
4. Sixteen Candles – A quirky movie that brings us back to the pains of high school friendships, relationships, partying and ignorant peer pressure. Quite a cult classic and a little drawn out, the last 30 minutes is eventful! Samantha Baker, the heroine finally gets her man, Jake Ryan (sigh, Michael Schoeffling) as she leaves her sister’s wedding. Extra points for the hideous bridesmaid dress she had to wear and the awesome sports car Jake was leaning against.
5. Pretty Woman – Is there any need to explain this one? Call girl (nice word for hooker) Vivian Ward, gets the whole “fairy tale” she always dreamed of when Edward Lewis (sigh, Richard Gere) climbed the fire escape (even though he is deathly afraid of heights). Extra points for Vivian who make us all aware that girls who get paid for sex still have dreams, morals and ideals for their lives.

I’m sure I have missed LOTS of great movies that all the action happens in the last 30 minutes…. what’s your favorite?

Here’s our booth this year, we really did something bright and colorful this year. If you came by and saw us, we’ll be contacting you this week for follow up appointments.

It’s fun to see brides and grooms excited about planning their wedding day and pulling together all the details. Some are a little overwhelmed (enter us) and some are right on target, but seriously want to enjoy their day.

Remember, in addition to planning services, we offer full service creative design and decor. Just take a look at our booth…

Thank you to the sales team: Karen (associate event engineer) and Whitney (new intern). And a special thanks to our  extended team; Sally, Angie and Mike for their hard work on the booth).

Kerry married the love of her life, Aaron, on October 31, 2009 and I spent 3 hours pouring over her wedding photos this weekend (thanks Jordan Barclay). I’ve never seen a bride smile so much!

Their wedding will be in a special feature gallery on the brand, spanking new company website that will hopefully be launched within days.

Thank you Kerry for showing your fun side (and your grace and poise on every other day).

Come visit us at the largest bridal show in the Tri State Area. This one day event will be held on February 7, 2010 from 9am – 4pm at The Centre, Evansville, Indiana. You can pre-register here and find out more information.

We love doing this show in 2009, 2008, (and more)  and meeting all the excited brides and grooms !!! We are well known for really exploding out the decor at our booth and you won’t be disappointed this year. You’ll want to come by and take a photo with us and see our surprises!

And this year we are giving away one of our Pre-Planning Services toward the Grand Prize !!!

Be sure to mark your calendars and and we’ll see you then!

……………………………………………………………………………….

Vendors: If you are interested in participating in this show, please call our fabulous sales rep Heidi Wagner at 812.568.5001, she can take care of you! Or email her at hwagner{at}southcentralmedia.com.

press play… from tim and jane on Vimeo.

Creative + Fun + Interesting + Techie = Awesome. Really nice job!

Come see us TOMORROW …

Wedding & Prom Showcase will take place this weekend!! Presented by the Evansville Courier & Press and The Gleaner this is sure to be a one-of-a-kind show that will include a wide-range of wedding vendors! There will be special mini-events and information, and giveaways.

Show details:

Sunday, January 10,2010
The Centre
Evansville, Indiana
10am -4pm

planning…forever events will be there as well, giving away a prizes and showcasing beautiful bridal bouquets. Come by and see us!

Guest blogger: Craig Sumsky, Director, Cutting Edge Entertainment Twitter: cuttingedgedjs

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when he asked for her hand,

And shortly thereafter a wedding was planned.

They first looked at places for a reception so grand,

Then pondered the question “A DJ or Band?”

They wanted things festive, classy and fun,

And with that thought in mind the search had begun.

They first shopped for bands and their music was nice,

But they took pause to book them because of the price.

So they met with a DJ and booked him with haste,

With a wide range of music for everyone’s taste.

So they planned and they planned for the big wedding day,

And they picked out the songs for the DJ to play.

The DJ had all of the tunes that they chose,

With the radio versions that everyone knows.

And when the time came for the big wedding night,

The DJ introduced them and said the names right.

The guests all were dancing and then danced some more,

And they danced the whole evening til’ their feet were sore.

And when it was over, and the music was done,

The guests all agreed it was sure lots of fun.

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Thank you Craig, that was an awesome poem!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

The Stylish Planner is the brain child of Jeannine Kennedy whom I met at a conference (Eventology 09) in April of this year. I didn’t get to speak with her a lot but I remember sitting behind her during one of the sessions.

I did the total “girl thing” and looked at her up and down. I remember thinking, “She is so stylish and cute…a little southern lady”.

So when Jeannine decided to start a website that was geared for professional event planners about their personal style, fashion and beauty … I wasn’t surprised at all. I was however SHOCKED when she called me and asked if I would like to be a featured planner.

Me? For real? Surprisingly, she was not kidding. For pete’s sake, I had to follow Kelly McWilliams the cutest little planner on earth.

So here’s my feature if you would like to get to know a little more about me. And thanks Jeannine for the honor!

What if though, the back of your dress was the THE focal point? We’ve had a couple of brides that pulled that look off beautifully!

photo: Straub Photography

Above is our bride,  Kristin Gross Duke, she married Zach Duke who’s a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. She is a vivacious little thing with a terrific figure! The back of her dress, while gorgeous from the front, was definitely the show-stopper. If you wish to read about her wedding, we blogged the last few days.

Then there is our most recent bride, Kerry Strum Brames (we’ll be featuring her wedding shortly). Kerry is a very articulate and intelligent person who is not shy, but certainly holds herself with decorum and modest character.

Who better to pull off this incredibly, sexy dress? My jaw dropped when I saw it. So gorgeous and uber fabulous. The front was pretty…. but the back was INCREDIBLE.

(And you can see why I’m not a photographer, I stopped her in the hall of the church to take a photo really quick and didn’t notice the crock pot behind her. *sigh*)

Well done ladies….definitely unique!