As a theatre person, I am no stranger to organizing big theatrical productions and events…so I thought having this type of experience would make the whole wedding planning experience a (please, pardon the pun) a piece of cake…

Um….yeah…

The wedding industry is the most bizarre industry there is…Where else would you spend $50-100.00 for paper napkins?? All the rules are different, the prices outrageous, there is potential for being scammed left and right, not to mention, the conflicting advice, the million an one things you need to do to actually make a wedding happen. And the biggest problem for me? The fact that there are no comprehensive places on the web where web savvy (and even the not so web savvy) brides can go to get GOOD information for planning a wedding in NEPA.
If you check out The Knot (theknot.com) and The Wedding Channel, (weddingchannel.com) both are excellent resources to get ideas for everything from cake and flowers to researching wedding dress designers… But try to research vendors–the choices are:

1. Pittsburgh

2. Philadelphia

3. Central/Pennsylvania.

So of course, since I am not in Philly or Pittsburgh, I checked “Central PA” and I get listings for Bethlehem, Allentown, Altoona and the like–NOTHING even remotely close to where I live (Wilkes-Barre) or where my wedding is going to be (Dalton) How is that useful?

There ARE some local sites I manage to come across, but only because I spend an INSANE amount of time online trolling through everything I can find. Trust me, they are not easy to find. One of the sites I found, looked very nice up front, but then I clicked on the “Photographers” link and I get a listing of about 50 photographers names–and phone numbers–no e-mail addresses, no web pages, only phone numbers. I don’t know about you, but I don’ have the time or desire to call 45 photographers/15 bakers/35 reception halls. Another sire I found had 2-3-4 vendors (if that) and half the links are invalid, or once again, you get just the phone numbers…

As part of “A Smart Wedding” I want to be able to offer my advice and my experiences to bride in NEPA…I didn’t have a clue when I started the wedding planning process–and I am sure there is still a lot of things I don’t know. My wedding day is in July 2007 and I still have alot of work to do…

If you have questions or comments for me, I will do my best to answer them. If you have had an awful experience with a vendor (or an amazing one) please share them–Knowledge is power, and you can never have too much information!

Congratulations on your engagement!