February 2nd, 2012

Press Release : Prepare To Wed Provides Online Planning Tools, Resources and Inspiration

Prepare To Wed Provides Online Planning Tools, Resources and Inspiration

Prepare to Wed Offers a One-stop Destination to Connect with Wedding Vendors, Manage Details, Find Inspiration and Store It All in One Central location

Portland, Maine (PRWEB) January 23, 2012

Prepare To Wed, an online wedding planning site started by nationally recognized wedding planner Kate Parker in 2010, re-launches today, serving as a free, comprehensive, easy-to- navigate tool for brides and grooms to organize the massive details surrounding their special day. Guided by the couple’s unique style preferences and budget, choices in venue, catering, photography and other vendors are tailored to the bride and groom, making Prepare to Wed a first-of-its-kind offering. With the re-launch of the site, a new team is in place developing new tools to consistently improve the planning process for brides and grooms. A free Prepare to Wed iPhone and iPad app providing couples with on-the-go access to all their wedding details will be available in early-February.

Easy to navigate, the Prepare To Wed profile replaces bulky wedding planning binders and scraps of scribbled notes.  With tabs such as profile, budget, to do list, vendors, expert advice, and inspiration, every facet of wedding planning is just a click away.  Prepare To Wed enables brides to filter vendors by budget, eliminating some of the back-and-forth communication and allowing couples to focus on the vendors within their price range. Inspiration, tools and a chat blog serve as a support network to the engaged couple.

More than 250 local wedding vendors have signed on, centralized in New England, DC Metro, Chicago, Atlanta, Texas, California and New York.  The vendor list is extensive; from accommodations to florists to cigar rollers to name changing services.  By highlighting vendors that are appropriate and personalized for each individual couple, the heartbreak of falling in love with an out of reach venue or budget-breaking caterer is avoided.

“Prepare to Wed is designed for the modern bride who is unwilling to sacrifice on quality, but also places a premium on her time and budget,” said J Sandifer, CEO of Prepare to Wed.  “Utilizing our database of top vendors and tools for inspiration, couples will find ease and relief in their planning. Planning a wedding is one of the most stressful and expensive experiences for a couple to endure. Our new team is devoted to making Prepare To Wed an always dependable wedding planner to help couples not only efficiently, but enjoyably, create the day of their dreams.”

Newly engaged couples who are interested in getting started can visit http://www.preparetowed.com to sign up for a free account and delve into wedding planning bliss.

Prepare To Wed iPhone App

Quote start“Prepare to Wed is designed for the modern bride who is unwilling to sacrifice on quality, but also places a premium on her time and budget,” said J Sandifer. “Utilizing our database of top vendors and tools, couples will find ease in their planning.”Quote end

About Prepare To Wed
Prepare to Wed is an online resource for all wedding planning needs.  Created to educate engaged couples, Prepare to Wed shares tips and articles, walks couples through to-do lists and assists with budgeting.  Better yet, Prepare to Wed is full of beautiful wedding inspiration boards, real weddings, and thousands of images that can be filtered by wedding colors, season, and style. The first wedding resource to be developed with the couples’ preferences in mind, Prepare to Wed guides couples through the process, keeps them on task and budget, and inspires them to plan a unique and personalized wedding.  For more information, please visit http://www.preparetowed.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Posted by PTW Media at 7:33 am 0 Comments
Labels: Advice

January 31st, 2012

Maine Real Wedding : New England Summer Dream

On a Saturday evening in late August, Simon and Allison exchanged vows against the backdrop of the sun slowly setting below the glistening Kennebunk River waterfront.

Guests were then treated to more than just cocktails, hors’dourves and the soothing sounds of the Christopher Burbank band as the former President George Bush docked his boat alongside the waterfront to personally congratulate the newlyweds.  President Bush and guest, golf superstar Phil Mickelson, graciously shook hands and shared a toast with the couple while guests looked on in amazement, snapping photos to remember the moment for always. READ MORE…

Real Maine Wedding featured by Eric Dawson of Avid Entertainment

Posted by PTW Media at 8:29 am 0 Comments
Labels: Real Weddings

January 25th, 2012

Inspiration : Classic Prep by Jessica Harris of Alden Blair Events

Inspiration from Jessica Harris of Alden Blair Events

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Labels: Inspirations

January 21st, 2012

Expert Advice : Inviting Children to your Wedding

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Oh, the touchy subject of having children at your wedding. It’s a heated discussion for most couples getting married today. If you have a lot of children in your family and you want to invite them, that’s wonderful… but what if you want an adult only wedding and reception? (No, you may not include on the invitation the words “No children, please” or even “Adults only Reception”.) Be prepared if you choose not to invite kids to your wedding, some people will support you and some people will scorn you over this decision. Be firm, it’s your day and you have put a lot of time and money into your wedding and you deserve to get what you want.


A common and polite way of saying that this is an adult only event is not to include children when addressing the invitation. If guests add their uninvited children on the RSVP, simply call them and let them know that it isn’t because you don’t adore the children but you have a limited number of seats or it is going to be a formal affair. Word of mouth is a gracious way of letting people know that their little ones need to stay at home.

Put it on your website! You are allowed to state on your website “Adult only wedding and reception” but again, NOT on your invitations!

Bottom line is to be sensitive to friends and family on this subject and handle it on a case-by-case basis.  Many people with children have forgotten what it was like before they had their precious little angels and cannot fathom why you wouldn’t want their darling little ones there on your big day. However, if you see that you’re in danger of losing friends or family over this, opt for having a children’s room and/or a babysitter at the wedding. Be careful how you approach parents but do remember that this is your day and your feelings should be considered too!

Crying Flower Girl

Inviting Children to your Wedding Expert Advice from Anna Richardson of Lucia Paul Design

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Labels: Advice, Expert Advice

January 19th, 2012

Expert Advice : How To Get The Most From Your Wedding Video

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STEP 1 – Love the video!
It can be easy to get so caught up in budgets, schedules and availability that you forget to see if you actually like the work of your vendors.   So step one, look at samples and make sure you choose someone whose work clicks for you.  Most videographers have samples on line, so this is much easier than it was just a few years ago.  Think about how the video makes you feel when you watch it, and how you want to feel 1 year, 2 years or 10 years from now when you revisit your wedding day.  Once a videographer’s work has passed the “love it” test it’s on to step two.

STEP 2 – Like the person!
Even more important than good work is the right personality.  Remember that having a great wedding is the one thing that’s more important than having a great video.  Your videographer will be at your side most of the day.  Is he or she pleasant?  Easygoing? Professional? Cheerful?  First find out who will actually be shooting the wedding (in a boutique shop like mine I shoot all my weddings, in some larger companies there may be several videographers).  Then see what couples have said about working with that person.  Check independent reviews on sites like WeddingWire, and ask wedding professionals like florists, photographers and planners.  They have a good sense of who has a professional manner and is enjoyable to work with.  If you can, have a quick face to face meeting with the videographer, if not you can tell a lot from a phone call.

STEP 3 – Nuts and Bolts.
You’ve determined that you like your videographer’s work and personality, now you move on to the nuts and bolts.  Some advice columns recommend you ask technical questions like how many cameras, what format, and what type of mic.s a videographer uses.  In my opinion  if you like the finished work, and you like the person, the equipment they use doesn’t matter.  There is one exception. I would suggest asking what back up plans they have in place, things can go wrong with equipment, and a good professional will have a back up camera standing by, and more than one means of recording sound.

STEP 4 – Communicate
What else can you do to ensure the best possible video? Two things, one: let your videographer know how you feel, so he or she can be an effective partner.  Are still photos more important than video, that’s ok, but it helps if we know.  Do you hate bright camera lights, we can work around that.  Two: do your best to keep the videographer informed.  If an important toast is about to start  your videographer needs to be in place before it begins in order to catch it all.  Give your videographer a rough schedule of the day with stars on events that are most important to you, then  assign your planner or a family friend as a liaison to give your videographer a heads up if something important is about to happen.

When you find great partners, you and your wedding professionals will work together toward the same goal, to create and capture a beautiful day.

Expert Advice from Marion Abrams of Tweed River Video

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Labels: Advice, Expert Advice