The Next Big Thing: When it comes to weddings these few words are what every couple strives for. Wouldn’t it be great to start a trend? Jeff and Erin are one couple who are raising the Save-the-Date bar; who needs post cards and magnets when you can make a movie? Or, actually, a trailer for their movie, a.k.a. their wedding! (Perhaps they’ll follow up with a Dance Down the Aisle - remember this?) Some people may say these videos are annoying, but as wedding planners we know that friends and family would flip over something this cute. It would really help couples stand out, and it would be the perfect way to create anticipation for The Big Day!

A wedding is a big deal, and it should be treated as such. It’s the details that make weddings special, and you can’t get much more special than starring in your own epic feature! A certified wedding planner can help couples make their day even more special by introducing them to industry trends and by helping them bring their not-so-traditional ideas to life. Jeff and Erin created an action-movie trailer, but other couples may consider comedy, film-noir or even documentary-style trailers. Perhaps someone filmed their engagement. Maybe they’d like to include their wedding party in their save-the-date video. The possibilities are endless, and a certified wedding planner is just the person to help tap into couples’ creativity and alleviate their stress.

What do you think? Is this an up-and-coming trend? How could you help couples expand this idea and incorporate it into the overall theme of their wedding?

We’re excited to announce that Pam DuVal, a Certified Wedding Planner and Instructor at Carteret Community College in Morehead City, North Carolina, has been given a 2010 Bride’s Choice Award! Pam’s company, Promised Hearts Inc., has been chosen for this award, which recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism. The Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through extensive surveys and reviews, which means Pam’s past clients have spoken on her behalf and chosen her to receive this honor.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

Everyone at the Wedding Planning Institute is extraordinarily proud of Pam for the excellent work she is doing for her wedding planning and rental clients, as well as the incredible lessons and example she provides for Carteret’s certification students. It is especially impressive that this award was determined exclusively by surveys and reviews from actual newlyweds.

You can contact Carteret Community College about upcoming sessions at 252-222-6204 or learn how to become a wedding planner online. For more information for interested vendors or brides, you can contact Pam DuVal at 252-671-6939. Congratulations to Pam on her much deserved recognition and continued success in all of her endeavors.

Tomorrow night, cable television adds yet another entry to the wonderfully ubiquitous wedding-related programming that has been building over the past several years. “Masters of Reception”, airing the series premiere on Discovery’s TLC network at 10pm, stars Robert and Jerry Frungillo, New Jersey caterers-extraordinaire for the last three decades.

Series Premiere Airs August 18 at 10pm on TLC

According to the TLC website, “The Frungillos tend to every single detail of a wedding and ensure that the bride and groom are completely satisfied on their big day. But managing four different facilities and up to 10 weddings at once will naturally lead to drama.”

As any Certified Wedding Planner knows, managing multiple bridal clients on a single day can lead to triumph or heartache. Drama on television is good. Drama for your clients is not.

The Masters of Reception, Staffed for Drama

Our apologies in advance to William Shakespeare, but this wedding news story brought out our romantic side.

Two households, both alike in history,
In fair Mesopotamia, where we lay our scene,
From recent grudge break to new unity,
Where civil blood turns civil hands clean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
Pairs of star-cross’d lovers pledge their life;
Whole governmental payouts overthrow
Do with their vows bury their parents’ strife.
The joyful blessings of their inter-sect love,
And the continuance of extremist rage,
Which, but the people’s will, nought could remove,
Is now returning to this war torn stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

“Oh Muhanad, Muhanad! Wherefore art thou Muhanad?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I’ll no longer be a Shiite.”

Muhanad and Samma, among 1,700 Sunni/Shiite newlywed couples helping to heal Iraq's civil discord.

Jill and Kevin and their Dancing Wedding Party

Two weeks and over 14 million YouTube views later, newlyweds Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz have become famous for their unique and inspirational wedding dance processional. In a twist worthy of their gyrating church entrance, they have responded to their fame and the backlash for resurrecting infamous batterer Chris Brown’s career by using his song “Forever” in their video into a force in the battle against domestic violence.

Sheila and Paul Wellstone

 Through their new website, the couple is accepting donations for The Sheila Wellstone Institute, a program founded by the surviving sons of Sheila Wellstone and Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone in honor of their parent’s commitment to the elimination of family violence. 

After sitting down with The Today Show, ticking off Good Morning America, making Google richer, ignoring the media, and being flattered down under, the besieged couple has decided to turn the spotlight onto a very worthy cause.

On the heels of news that the wedding industry is experiencing a unique version of the recession with the number of weddings increasing while the amount spent on each wedding is decreasing comes excellent news for the Certified Wedding Planner.

According to The Wedding Report, average fees for full service Certified Wedding Planners have increased over the past year from $1,940 in 2008 to over $2,300 through the second quarter of 2009. Today’s couples paying more for professional planners to help them realize their wedding day dreams without breaking their wedding budgets.

In other words, if you are not one already, now is the time to become a wedding planner. What other industry is getting a 20% raise this year?

Brides.com Top 75 Wedding Planning Web Sites

Brides.com, Condé Nast’s premier bridal destination, last week released its list of the top 75 web sites for wedding planning. Here are some of our favorites for the Certified Wedding Planner or those learning how to become a wedding planner in today’s tough economy.

Cost of Wedding, operated by The Wedding Report, not only shows couples the average wedding budgets per zip code, but also includes a wedding cost estimator that pinpoints the costs of each wedding budget item. Learn the marital legalities of your state with US Marriage Laws, which provides wedding license regulations from Alabama to Wyoming.

If you are in the market for unique wedding invitations at a very low cost, try Formal Invitations. In addition to affordability, they also offer recycled papers and customizable designs. Wedding Mapper provides mapping software to help you create wedding directions your guests will love as much as your invitations.

Use the free website application at eWedding or Wedding Book to communicate your wedding plans and ideas to family and friends. To capture the memories while preserving the budget, You Shoot will rent you digital cameras and then host your wedding photos online for sharing.

Color Hunter allows you to plan a color scheme by uploading an image and generating a complimentary color palette. To learn whether you have what it takes to design your own wedding florals, take the DIY quiz at Flower Bud.

Top Table Planner gives you drag and drop online seating planning software to arrange your tables, chairs, and guests until you find the perfect fit for your reception space. To find decorations and favors that will impress without breaking the budget, try Save on Crafts which everything from centerpieces and aisle runners to organza bags and vases.

The dress guide at The Dessy Group will keep bridesmaids in line and in fashion. The tuxedo boot camp at Groom Groove strives to do the same for the men in the wedding party. Nexxus and Smashbox both offer the do-it-yourself bride tutorial videos on hair and makeup techniques. Emitations offers an answer to recessionary accessorizing with faux jewelry that mimics top quality without costing you your bottom dollar.

For the bride and groom who know what they want to say but have not a clue how to say it, My Wedding Vows offers inspiration and samples for writing wedding vows. For the creative couple, DIY Bride offers advice, downloads, and links to solutions provided by their DIY members. The folks at Wilton not only provide wedding cake recipes and designs, but walk you through the kitchen cupboards to show you exactly what you need to create confectionery perfection.

Many of the sites on the Brides.com list offer unique solutions to many wedding planning issues, while others are geared toward themes such as eco-weddings. Take a few minutes to check out the entire list and let us know about your favorites, whether they made the top 75 or not.

Get Married with Colin Cowie

It seems that everyone is weighing in on how brides and grooms can realize their wedding day dreams on three-fourths of previous year’s wedding budget averages.

Lifetime Channel’s Get Married host Colin Cowie, in his new book Wedding Chic, offers these seven tips for the budget-savvy bride:

1.       Dream big: Small ideas get small results, so put budget aside while envisioning your dream wedding, then figure out what you can afford.

2.       Cut your coat according to the cloth: It’s better to do five things correctly than ten things on the skinny.

3.       Consider a destination wedding: Weddings can take place anywhere, so think beyond the exotic beach and think about a bed-and-breakfast or country inn.

4.       Opt for a fantastic DJ: Instead of a big orchestra band, find a great DJ who can create great background music and just as easily keep the guests moving on the dance floor.

5.       Invest in a trusted wedding planner: A professional is there to ease some of the pressure while bringing your vision to a reality.

6.       Design a signature drink: Rather than serving an open bar, offer guests a specialty beverage that is as delicious as it is memorable.

7.       Create monochromatic flower arrangements using one type of flower: When bundled en masse in short ceramic vases, whether roses or carnations, tulips or spider mums; these flowers are beautiful and impactful.

For anyone studying how to become a wedding planner, Cowie’s tip to invest in a trusted wedding planner combined with a strong economic outlook for the wedding industry is great career news.

For brides and grooms hoping to get the most wedding bang for their wedding budget buck, hiring a Certified Wedding Planner is the best advice they can take.