2010 Wedding Season coming to a close

The Northwest wedding season of 2010 came in like a Lamb but went out like a Lion! With a slightly slower start than most seasons, this year brought more late bookings and shorter notice hiring than ever before. An unsure economy may have had something to do with it. But once it got going, it was busier than ever.

NW Wed Pro's shared many referrals within the organization when they (the vendor) were

already booked for the requested

dates. Brides are very grateful when a professional still responds to the request and offers names and contact info of qualified wedding professionals.

In October, NW Wed Pro presented the 2010 "Fall.. in Love" Bridal Fair, hosted by the Pacific Crest Grand Ballroom. The fair filled the 8,000 square feet of elegant space in 3 ballrooms.

Vendors and exhibitors represented just about every single profession in the wedd

ing industry.

The 2pm Fashion Show was filled with gorgeous brides, gowns,

men, flowers, jewelry designs and the hottest hair and makeup trends! Lights

an

d

Music filled the room as each stunning model made her way across the stage and down the catwalk. See video highlights

In November, NW Wed Pro's met for a year end meeting in Oregon City. The group shared stories, ideas, thank you's, and some nice food and drinks.

The grand finale celebration for the wedding industry is scheduled for December 1, 2010 in downtown Portland. Most all of the industry networking groups have collaborated to plan ONE joint holiday celebration. It's called the PORTLAND GALA! The event is hosted by The Governor Hotel with Jake's Catering and sponsored in part by the Portland Spirit. It is open to all wedding & event industry professionals but space is limited. Tickets went on sale this week at www.PortlandGala.com

Thank you EVERYONE that participated in NW Wed Pro Network this 2010. As the

network grows each year, it is ever changing in some ways but also a comfort in the way some things stay the same. It is a pleasure AND honor knowing each and every one of you.

Happy Holidays and See you next year!

Beverly Mason

NW Wed Pro

NWWP Network

Radiant Touch Weddings

NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair October 2010

We are happy to announce that the Bridal Fair is completely booked with 50 the the finest wedding professionals in the Northwest! October 16 - 17, 2010 from 11am to 5pm and a Fashion Show at 2pm daily. This fair will be held at 610 McLoughlin Blvd. in the Pacific Crest Grand Ballroom above the Elks Lodge on Hwy 99E near the beautiful Willamette Falls.

Details about the show can be found at www.NwBridalFair.com and a complete list of vendors.

You will meet and talk with photographers, caterers, planners, officiants, florists, cake decorators, hair stylists, makeup artists, DJ's, musicians, wedding venues, wineries & pubs, Jones Soda, Bridal salons, printers and invitations, Jewelry & accessories and so much more.

The fashion show will feature the work of many professionals in the bridal fair. From attire to floral, hair, makeup and accessories, enjoy the show in the Pacific Ballroom and Bridal Lounge at 2pm.

Admission is only $5 and the Parking is FREE! Tell your friends and relatives about this wonderful event.

"Fall... in Love!" Fall Bridal Fair. Oct 16 & 17, 2010

"Fall.. in Love!" Bridal Fair is brought to you by NW Wed Pro. Hosted by Pacific Crest Grand Ballroom. Sponsored by SunsUp Tanning Centers, Asparro Video, Send Out Cards and Radiant Touch Weddings.

2 days of local wedding professionals exhibiting their talents and products. Over 45 vendors to meet. Plan your entire wedding from start to finish.

Attend the Fashion Show at 2pm each day in the Pacific Ballroom and bridal Lounge.
Wedding gowns, Men's attire, dress fashions and accessories from Bella Victoria Boutique, Mr. Formal, Fashion Bug stores and also Brides Against Breast Cancer with Making Memories Foundation. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Pacific Crest Grand Ballroom is located in beautiful, historic downtown Oregon City between Main Street and Hwy. 99E. While you are down there, visit the wonderful merchants of downtown Oregon City. Have lunch or dinner, browse some shops, enjoy the day at such businesses as The Verdict Bar & Grill, Cypress Oregon City, Pioneer Pub, Mi Famiglia, This-N-That, Winestock, Ruud's Jewelers, Howden Art and much more.

For more information visit www.NwBridalFair.com

"Fall... in Love!" Fall Bridal Fair. Oct 16 & 17, 2010

NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair 2010 Fall.. in Love!

NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair 2010 Fall.. in Love!

The Northwest has the BEST wedding professionals!

Hello NW Wed Pro’s!

April is nearly here. Unfortunately we don’t have a venue yet for our next meeting. If you’d like to host it please contact me.

Let’s recap the March meeting. it was fantastic!

March 10th the NWWP met at Weatherford’s Grand Lodge in Oregon City. They offered us the Fireplace room for our private event. We had a great turnout. After registering, guests were able to visit with each other and get to know the other wedding professionals. We had a LOT of first time visitors to the meeting.
Then the buffet opened. Weatherfords prepared us a beautiful spread with salad, quiche, chicken skewers and pasta alfredo. It was wonderful. Our featured vendor this month was White Rose Bakery. Debra provided us with a delicious almond apricot cake for dessert.

The meeting was started with an explanation of the NW Wed pro and NWWP group. (networking, referrals, shared knowledge, team playing)
The Multi Network Holiday Gala was announced. All of the region’s major networking groups in the Wedding, Event, Catering & Hospitality industry will be having one big joint Event this winter. Tickets will be available soon to members of these organizations.

A check for $203 was presented to Clackamas Women’s Services Charity. They were the recipient of the Bridal Fair fundraiser.

More discussion about next year’s NW Wed pro Bridal Fair. Many of the guests announced the bookings that they got from the Bridal Fair Feb 6-7 at Willamette Valley Country club.

The educational portion of the meeting was about tracking your website traffic and seeing what brought every hit. Keywords and links were discussed, as was content. (This week I received an email from a guest that implemented the simple points we discussed and it increased her website hits from FOUR to EIGHTY!)

The advantages of writing reviews and recommendations for other businesses was discussed.

A door prize drawing was held and the winner received a beautiful Silver, crystal embellished photo frame.

All guests were introduced around the room then it was networking time again. Many great connections came out of this meeting. Looking forward to the next meeting.
If you Face Book, become a fan of “NW Wed Pro”
If you Blog, follow our Blog!
Those that attended the meeting should check their listing on NW Wed Pro to make sure the information and link is correct. A link on your site back to NW Wed Pro is greatly appreciated.

Hope to see you all in April!


Beverly Mason
The Radiant Touch Weddings
www.TheRadiantTouch.com
www.nwwedpro.com
www.nwwpnetwork.com

NW Wed Pro March Madness

Hello NW Wed pro’s!

It’s looking a lot like Spring out there. We survived the winter months and now wedding season is just around the corner. Last minute brides are still booking vendors for their summer weddings so do not despair if you still have a few dates open.

The next meeting of the NWWP network is Wednesday, March 10, 2010 from 6pm – 8:30pm at Weatherford’s Grand Lodge fireplace room in Oregon City. Please rsvp as space is limited. $10 (light food provided by Weatherfords, cake provided by White Rose Bakery)

In February we had a wonderful meeting at the Clackamas County Event Center in Canby. Our guest speaker was Thomas Caddy of National Marketing Associates. It was a very informative message. Thank you again to Portland Catering Company and Chocolette’s for providing food and dessert. Asparro video shared with us the vendor spotlights that he made from the Bridal Show. Each vendor can link directly to their video clip from their own website. Go to http://www.asparrovideo.com/Links_-_Asparro_Video.html click on your name, then copy the URL into your link from your website.

Thank you to those that answered the bridal fair survey. If you haven’t yet, please do so. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/86B6K8W
This will help us determine exactly when, where and cost of the next Bridal fair for the NWWP.

I hope that you are all taking advantage of your networking opportunities. Here are some suggestions for the week.
1. Write a review or recommendation for a vendor online (wedding wire, merchant circle, google profile, Yelp, Naymze, linked In, etc)
2. Share a photo you have that another vendor may like to use for their services.
3. Schedule a co-vendor event with someone for your prospects and brides. (catering & cake tasting, trial run hair & makeup with photography, florist and cake decorator, officiant & planner)
4. Feature a vendor on YOUR Blog post.

It’s a great week to try something new. Times change, and we have to learn to change with them. What has worked for the last 15 years may not be as effective these days. Keep trying new things, do searches to see what is working for others, always give just a little more and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll receive in return. Stay positive and have a good attitude. Exude confidence. Be the best at what you do.

Have a wonderful week. Please rsvp for the next meeting. Thank you for completing the survey too.
(P.S. thank you Willamette Valley Country Club, Johanna Respini and Michelle Winner for the wonderful referrals this month.)

Become a FAN on Facebook of NW Wed Pro and NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair
Radiant Touch Weddings also has a Fan page.