Valentine's Day Giveaway

Happy Valentine's Day to all of our lovely readers! We wish you all nothing but love and happiness today. In honor of this romantic holiday, we're giving away a FREE 1 hour consulting session to one lucky reader. Our consulting sessions are the perfect way to "jump start" the wedding planning experience. Pick our brains during a one-on-one Q&A session to start the wedding planning process off on the right track...budget, vendors, guest list, etiquette questions...no topic is off limits! 

Here's what you'll get :: 

• (1) ONE hour consulting session with Sumer Schmitt {owner & principal wedding planner}
• Swag bag full of wedding planning goodies, vendor discounts, and more!
• $100 credit towards the (optional) purchase of our comprehensive 'Complete Wedding Management' or 'Wedding Day Coordination' service levels

We just revamped our swag bags and added loads of new wedding planning goodies! 

To enter, simply comment below and tell us your favorite Valentine's Day memory - whether it was an elaborate proposal, a cozy night in (or perhaps it will even be tonight!), we want to hear from YOU! We'll pick a random winner on Friday.

Good luck!

Happy New Year | Special Promotion

Welcome 2011, and Happy New Year to all of our readers! We hope that each and every one of you had a wonderful holiday season. I'm sure a few of you may have gotten engaged over the holidays, and if you did, then please accept a HUGE congratulations from us!! We can't wait to hear all about it! We're glad you stopped by, and hope that you will find this blog helpful as you begin your wedding planning journey. We love feedback from our readers, so feel free to drop us a line if there is a topic you'd like to see featured on the blog.

In honor of the New Year aka engagement season in the wedding industry, we wanted to offer a New Year promotion to one of our newly engaged readers. We did a similar promotion in October (our anniversary month) and due to the overwhelming success, we decided to offer it once more. 

ONE lucky bride will receive 25% off a complete wedding management planning pkg - a savings of over $600! First bride to book this full-service planning pkg in the month of January gets the discount! {Last time we ran this promotion, it took less than 96 hours for the lucky bride to snatch it up!}

Start the year off with your wedding planning on the right track, and contact us for more details!  

Happy planning!

Now Offering Gift Certificates

Are you looking for the perfect holiday gift to get your newly engaged friends or family members? Simply Perfect Weddings is now offering gift certificates towards our consulting sessions. Our consulting sessions are the perfect way to "jump start" the wedding planning experience. Pick our brains during a one-on-one Q&A session to start the wedding planning process off on the right track...budget, vendors, guest list, etiquette questions...no topic is off limits!

Pick the number of hours (2 hours for $150 or 1 hour for $75) and purchase your gift certificate in time for the holidays. Gift certificate can be redeemed by couple anytime within 6 months of purchase.

Each consulting session includes:

• (1) ONE or TWO hour consulting session with Sumer Schmitt {owner & principal wedding planner}
• Swag bag full of wedding planning goodies, vendor discounts, and more!
• $100 credit towards the purchase of our comprehensive 'Complete Wedding Management' or 'Wedding Day Coordination' service levels (optional)  

Black Friday Special :: Purchase a gift certificate by November 30th, and receive a $25 discount off a TWO hour consulting session! 

Contact us today for more information!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Anniversary to Us | Fall Promotion

In honor of Simply Perfect Wedding's 3rd anniversary, we decided to run a fall promotion to say THANK YOU for an incredible 3 years of business! Incase you missed our Facebook announcement on Friday, there are two parts to our fall promotion: 

Part 1 :: All brides who book our full service planning pkg OR wedding day coordination pkg in the month of October will receive 10% off their total package price.  

Part 2 :: ONE lucky bride will receive 25% off a full service planning pkg - a savings of over $600! First couple to book our 'Complete Wedding Management' pkg in the month of October gets the discount! 

For both promotions, weddings can be held in either 2011 or 2012. 

Head on over to our website for more information regarding our services.

Happy Planning! : ) 

Contest :: Get Married in Times Square

ATLANTA, September 13, 2010 –– Get Married Media, a national multi-media wedding planning and lifestyle resource, today announced that it will host the first wedding ever live in New York’s Times Square during New Year’s Eve 2011 by partnering with Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, producers of the world’s most famous New Year’s Eve celebration. By submitting entries online at GetMarried.com now until October 1st, one lucky couple will have the chance of a lifetime opportunity; to win the wedding of their dreams, with the historic background of New Year’s Eve in Times Square, while sharing planning details and nuptials along the way with the Get Married online audience. The wedding will be witnessed by million people in Times Square and seen by millions of viewers around the world.

On New Year’s Eve 2011 before the annual Ball Drop, Get Married will host and broadcast live a truly unique and spectacular wedding event—Get Married in Times Square—for one deserving couple selected on www.GetMarried.com/Times-Square. As part of its mission to engage an interactive audience, Get Married will enable its online audience (www.GetMarried.com) to vote on key wedding elements provided by participating sponsors, including bridal gowns, bridesmaids gowns, tuxedos, wedding bands, wedding invitations and wedding cake. Each wedding component will be part of a virtual gallery of images and videos on GetMarried.com, providing information about the details its audience votes on, with the highest number of votes ultimately determining the wedding details for this extraordinary wedding in Times Square.

“We are ecstatic about hosting the very first wedding in the epicenter of New Year’s Eve excitement—New York’s Times Square—and we are looking for one special couple who wants to experience a true wedding adventure,” said Stacie Francombe, founder and editor-in-chief of Get Married Media. “Get Married promises the wedding of the decade and, with the iconic, vibrant and celebratory backdrop of Times Square, we welcome the opportunity to put one couple’s ‘I do’s’ in the limelight and in the hands of the passionate GetMarried.com audience.”

As the big day approaches, Get Married will fly the winning couple to New York City to meet with vendors, narrow their selection of wedding details, create webisodes showcasing voting options, and conduct media interviews about their unique wedding experience. The day of the wedding, Get Married will videotape the couple’s wedding preparations and various wedding elements—walk down the aisle, wedding vows, ring exchange, recessional—and by partnering with Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, co-producers of New Year’s Eve in Times Square, will broadcast it live for the world as well as on the large LED screens around Times Square. Immediately following the wedding, Get Married will host a reception for the couple’s friends and family at Hard Rock Cafe New York in Times Square.

“As part of this year’s global tradition of New Year’s Eve in Times Square, we are thrilled to help bring together two exciting celebrations into one magical and romantic occasion, both for the happy couple and the viewing crowd,” said Tim Tompkins, President, Times Square Alliance. “With the flashing lights and the unmatched energy of the excited revelers, this will surely be one of the signature moments of the 2011 New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Get Married Media to celebrate the biggest event of the year,” said Jeffrey Straus, President of Countdown Entertainment. “The first wedding ever on New Year’s Eve in Times Square will be witnessed by the million revelers on site and broadcast across the globe via our TSTV pool feed and worldwide webcast.”

Now through October 1, 2010, Get Married is accepting applications from couples across the country who have a great story to tell and also deserve this once in a lifetime opportunity.

For consideration, couples must read the eligibility criteria, application information as well as acknowledgements, consents and releases on www.GetMarried.com/Times-Square and their application must be legible, complete, and signed.

Submission process

• Log onto www.GetMarried.com/Times-Square
• Review eligibility criteria, application, consent forms
• Complete the entry form
• Upload an image of you and your fiancé
• Upload a video of you and your fiancé (optional)

Good luck! 

Press release & photo from Get Married. 
 

2010 " Day Of " Discount!

Attn 2010 brides! We are almost completely booked for the 2010 wedding season...only a few more dates are left during the months of August - December. If you're considering hiring a " Day of " wedding coordinator, head on over to the Simply Perfect Weddings website for more info about our services (" Day of " services begin at $950). 

Curious as to what " Day of " actually means? Well, here's a look at our standard service level: 

• Two face-to-face consultations to obtain a clear understanding of your visions and goals for the day, discuss contracted vendors, and develop timeline of the wedding day.
• Unlimited phone call and email consultations
• Preparation of wedding day timeline 
• Communication with all vendors the week prior to the wedding to confirm arrival/delivery times. Also distribute final timeline to wedding day vendors.
• Provision of your personalized wedding day emergency kit (with everything you could ever need!)
• Full rehearsal coordination (up to 1 ½ hours) – Including: directing flow of processional, offering advice, communicating special seating requests to ushers, and distributing wedding day itinerary to family members and bridal party
• Full wedding day coordination (up to 12 hours) that includes the following:

• Delivery and set-up of all ceremony and reception items such as Guest Book, Card Box, Toasting Glasses, Table Numbers, Seating/Place Cards, Favors, Lighting Candles, and additional decorating assistance as needed. (Size limits apply)
• Direct wedding ceremony & reception
• Lining up and cueing wedding party for their walk down the aisle, along with introductions
• Assistance with handing out bouquets, pinning corsages & boutonnières
• Cueing both ceremony and reception musicians to ensure correct pace and timing
• Assisting your MOH with the bustling of your wedding gown
• Supervision of all onsite vendors to ensure everything is provided as contracted, including greeting vendors, overseeing deliveries, and answering vendor questions.
• Secure all gifts at the end of the evening to ensure they are going to the correct place
• Assist with basic clean-up of ceremony and reception sites

Promo :: The next 2 brides to book our "Wedding Day Coordination" services (for a 2010 wedding) will receive a $100 discount!

Casting Call for Brides :: Get Married TV

Are you a bride-to-be interested in appearing on TV? Get Married’s national wedding program is looking for passionate brides to appear on its television show. Throughout the half-hour program which airs every Saturday at 9:30am ET/PT on WE tv, host Stacie Francombe—Get Married’s CEO and founder—helps brides identify and match their personality with their unique bridal style. Brides are guided through an array of bridal experiences and participate in inspiring challenges with wedding professionals and experts.

Interested brides-to-be are encouraged to apply by visiting www.getmarried.com/omg where additional details are posted. Brides across the country could be saying "OMG! I’m going to be on TV!"

Introducing a New Consulting Service for Pittsburgh Brides

Here at Simply Perfect Weddings, we understand that beginning the wedding planning process can be an overwhelming and daunting task for many brides. We've recently received quite a few phone calls from brides in need of some guidance to get them on track with their wedding planning - the only catch was that they couldn't necessarily afford to hire a full-service wedding planner. These phone calls have inspired us to offer a new level of service to Pittsburgh brides!

While we do currently offer hourly consultations, along with full-planning and wedding day coordination services, we've decided to add a NEW cost-effective & convenient one-on-one consulting package to our service menu. We realize that many brides can greatly benefit from sitting down with a professional wedding planner for a few hours to "pick our brains" about their ideas and answer their questions, regardless of their budget. The consulting package is not only for brides who are just beginning the wedding planning process, it's also for brides who may be "stuck" in the middle of their planning, and just need someone to answer their questions and guide them in the right direction. The consulting package is a one-on-one "coaching session", and includes the following items:

• (1) two-hour consulting/coaching session with Sumer Schmitt {owner & principal wedding planner}
• $100 credit towards the purchase of our comprehensive 'Complete Wedding Management' or 'Wedding Day Coordination' service levels
  
• Simply Perfect Weddings "swag bag" full of wedding planning goodies, vendor recommendations/discounts, helpful wedding planning checklists, and more!
  

Consulting packages are currently being offered at an introductory rate of $150 for the month of February.

Consulting sessions are scheduled by appointment only. As weddings are our full-time job, we do have weekday availability, as well as evenings and weekends. Prior to our session, you will be asked to fill out a pre-consultation questionnaire to help us better understand you, as well as your wedding day vision.

If you would like to obtain more information about our consulting sessions, or would like to book a session, please contact Sumer at sumer@simplyperfectwedding.net, or check out our website.

We look forward to hearing from you! Happy Planning! : )

Happy New Year Holiday Card Download :: The Wedding Chicks

Love this DIY freebie from The Wedding Chicks! Say "Happy New Year" to all of your family and friends with this adorable holiday greeting card. It's free to download, and printing instructions can be found here.

Photo courtesy of The Wedding Chicks.

iDo Paper Grand Opening

I've been a fan of i Do Originals for quite some time now {infact, they designed my current business logo!} and was thrilled to hear that they recently launched a new division of their company, i Do Paper. i Do Paper offers an entire line of custom paper products at very reasonable prices! Their paper line includes a wide variety of items: ceremony programs, seating/place cards, table numbers, menus, and more! To kick off their newly launched sister company, they are offering a 35% discount to all customers who order before September 24, 2009. Check out their fabulous blog for more details.

Get Married Magazine

Get Married recently announced the launch of their new magazine getting ready to hit newsstands later this fall! Incase you are unfamiliar with Get Married, they are a multi-channeled wedding planning resource with platforms online and on TV. They host a show that airs Monday - Friday at 7:30am ET on Lifetime. The show is hosted by Colin Cowie and Deanna Pappas and gives brides an inside look at wedding planning.

In honor of the new magazine, Get Married is offering a free copy of the first issue to all brides! To receive your free issue, simply click here to register. Happy reading!

Free Damask Invitation Suite :: The Wedding Chicks

The lovely ladies over at The Wedding Chicks blog are so graciously offering a free damask invitation suite for brides-to-be! The invitation suite is available for download here. Just provide the paper and your all set!

Photo courtesy of The Wedding Chicks.

Jo-Ann Fabrics 50% off Coupon

Use this coupon online at Jo-Ann Fabrics to receive 50% off any one regular-priced item. Check out their expanded wedding collection here....a must see for any DIY bride!

Engagement Story Contest - Wedding Paper Divas

Wedding Paper Divas is giving away a $500 gift certificate to one lucky couple just for sharing your *oh so sweet* engagement story with them! Submit your story here between now and February 22nd for a chance to win. The winner will receive a $500 gift certificate towards their wedding stationary and will be featured on their official blog, Diva Dialogue. It definitely can't hurt to submit your story...after all, how great would it be to give your wallet a break and have your choice of all the amazing stationary that Wedding Paper Divas has to offer?!

Invitation shown above is available through Wedding Paper Divas.

New Wedding Movie Premiere: "Made of Honor"

I recently saw the "Made of Honor" movie preview and thought it looked adorable! Now, if you've seen the trailer for the movie it may remind you of "My Best Friend's Wedding", which by the way is one of my fav's; but this movie brings a fresh new idea to the concept...having a man as a maid of honor in his best female friend's wedding. You can watch the trailer for the movie here. "Made of Honor" opens nation wide on May 2nd.

Now the real reason behind this post is due to the amazing contest that is being run. The Knot has teamed up with Sony Pictures for a chance to get married on the red carpet at the movie premiere along with some other really awesome prizes! One lucky couple (along with 2 guests) will fly out to the premiere of "Made of Honor" and actually have their wedding ceremony conducted on the red carpet. The trip includes: round trip airfare, up to 6 nights in a hotel, $100 spending money per person/day, a Damiani diamond wedding band for both the bride and groom, a designer wedding gown, a European honeymoon trip to Paris, France and Venice, Italy, a $10,000 check, and a $3,000 shopping spree to Bed Bath and Beyond!

Entries must be received by March 17th at 11:59pm PT. The Grand Prize winner will be announced on April 14th. For official rules and prize details, check out the contest website: Made of Honor.

Simply Perfect Weddings Spring Giveaway!

So, I have to admit that I’m pretty bummed that the holiday season is officially over, although very excited for Spring to arrive I must say! :) So we at Simply Perfect Weddings decided to continue the gift giving just a little bit longer for all the newly engaged couples out there! Book our Full Service Wedding Planning Package, “Pamper Me, Please!” OR our Wedding Day Coordination Package “A Day to Remember” by Thursday, March 20th (the 1st day of Spring!) and receive 20% off the total price of your package!

For details regarding our packages visit our website.

Contact us today to schedule your complimentary consultation!