I recently stopped in to see Janell Berte at POSH Bridal in downtown Lancaster. (You can read more about her here and on her website.) Up until recently Janell only carried a line of Couture bridal gowns but recently she added a more affordable line. I stopped in to check them out and took a few pictures that I wanted to share.

Such beautiful dresses!

This was the least expensive of the dresses at $985! It's gorgeous!

Love the detail at the waist!

This dress will make you look and feel like a princess! And it's a great deal for only $1737.

More gorgeous detail.

This was my favorite dress! Unfortunately my iPhone doesn't take the best pictures.

Here's a close up of the lace detail from my favorite dress.

Be sure to stop at POSH Bridal while in search of your perfect wedding dress! Happy planning!

{Lancaster,PA} – January 23, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Stylish Occasions Wedding & Event Planning has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Wedding Planning!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Stylish Occasions Wedding & Event Planning was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Stylish Occasions Wedding & Event Planning is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Stylish Occasions Wedding & Event Planning for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Stylish Occasions Wedding & Event Planning is one of the very best Wedding Planners within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/stylish-occasions-wedding-event-planning-lancaster/3448d66309e62355.h.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

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We just wanted to say congratulations to all the newly engaged! The team at Stylish Occasions wishes you well in your wedding planning. Be sure to take the time to enjoy your engagement and the time leading up to the big day. And remember, when you’re stressed out about the venue or the colors, the wedding is about you and your fiance celebrating your love for each other. You don’t need all the flash and glamour (although it is nice!). As the Beatles once said…All You Need Is Love!

Congrats and happy planning!

Melissa, Katie, and Emily

Since we’re into bridal show and engagement season again here is some info on making the most out of bridal shows!

If you’ve ever attended a bridal show you know they can be absolute chaos!  There are multiple vendors from each sector and there are brides and their friends running all over the place.  Some shows even have multiple rooms with vendors in them!  If you haven’t done your homework you may not know which way to go!  So…check out these tips!

Before the show

1.  Make a list of what services you are looking for.  Do you have a photographer yet?  If not, put that on the list.  If you don’t have flowers yet then put that on the list also.

2.  Print out labels with  your name, phone #, email address, and wedding date!  (If you have room add your address also.)  Many of the booths have drawings for prizes.  They have forms to fill out to register for the drawing.  By printing out labels you can just stick that to the vendors form and then get to the important stuff…checking out the vendors products and/or services!  I’ve noticed some people just print out paper with their info on but labels are better as you can stick them onto the vendors form.  If you don’t want to print out your own check out online companies like Vista Print where you can often get some printed for free!

3.  Check out the wedding shows website to see what vendors will be there.  If you need a photographer then check out all the photographers that will be there.  If you need a cake…do the same.

4.  Decide what you’re looking for in the vendors you still need.  For example, for a DJ do you want one that plays games with the guests to get them involved or one that plays songs to keep the dance floor packed?  Do you want a photographer that provides you with albums or do you just want a full resolution disk of your photos to do what you want with?  Make a list of what you are looking for and questions you want to ask them.

5.  Once you see what vendors will be there in the categories you need  then check out their websites.  By doing this you can get a preview of their work and get an idea if it’s a vendor you’d like to work with. Add the vendors you’re interested in to your list of services needed.

At the show

1.  Bring with you the list of services needed and vendors you’re interested in as well as your labels. Also bring a notepad and pen to take notes.

2.  Bring a camera to take pictures of any ideas you want to incorporate into your wedding.

3.  Bring your checkbook.  Many vendors offer specials if you book while at the show.  However, don’t book a vendor just because of a show special.  If you have any doubts about them…wait until you get to have a one on one meeting with them to book.

4.  Bring your mom or a friend whose opinion you trust.  Plus, as a bonus, they can help you carry things!

5.  Register when you get to the show and be sure to grab the map or program they provide so you can locate the vendors you’re interested in.

6.  Many people attending bridal shows head straight for the cake vendors because they are giving out free cake.  I know it’s tempting to do this…but if you already have a cake vendor booked…don’t get caught up in the long lines just for a free piece of cake!  If you do need a cake vendor then definetely check them out, but keep them for the end of the show as that’s when the lines will be the shortest.

7.  Take notes!  You will probably meet with multiple vendors offering the same services so be sure to take notes so you remember who you like and why.  And be sure to ask the questions you listed before the show.

After the show

1.  Pull out the brochures and/or business cards from the vendors you liked.

2.  Call or email those vendors to set up consultations so you can see more of their work and so you can get to know them to make sure your personalities “click”!

I hope these tips help you!  Now find some bridal shows to attend and have fun!

We’ve all heard of Black Friday (and yes…I did shop all night/morning on Black Friday!). Most have heard of Cyber Monday. But have you heard of Small Business Saturday? This is a day to focus on supporting small businesses. Small Business Saturday is the day we celebrate the Shop Small movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S.

Because of this Stylish Occasions is offering a 20% discount on any planning package. Yes, I said ANY package. Day of coordination, partial or full planning, and even custom packages!

What does this mean to you in terms of savings? Here are my “standard” packages (again we can do custom packages):

• The Getting Started package will now be only $240 – a $60 savings.
• The Helper Package will be only $520 – a $130 savings.
• The Vera will be only $1440 – saving you $360!!
• The Dior will be only $2000!!! A whopping savings of $500!!

Now the details:

• This offer is valid until December 15, 2012.
• You must sign a contract and have your deposit in by this date.
• This offer is not valid on clients that have already booked.
• Subject to date availability.
• Mention “small business Saturday” when booking.
• This offer includes just one planner on your wedding day. An assistant will be a small extra fee.

Please pass this on to any of your family and friends who are getting married! And be sure to shop other small (and hopefully local) businesses!

Happy planning!