ABOUT BridesmaidEssentials.com
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
I am an entrepreneur in a television journalist-turned-PR hack’s body. For nearly a decade, it was my job to come up with ideas – story ideas – then it became my duty to be a spinner of those suggestions. But I’ve written about other people’s stories and promoted other companies’ products for long enough. I’m ready to write my own adventure and take my plan from brainstorm to brilliant! I’ve always tried to take life’s “curveballs,” adjust my “swing” and go for a “hit.”
When I was a morning and noon news anchor for an ABC affiliate, I happened to be visiting the set of “Good Morning America” while on vacation in New York City on the morning of September 11, 2001. When the terrorist attacks began I immediately switched into journalist mode… and was emotionally and physically exhausted when I finally finished my work and made it home to the Carolinas several days later. I felt the pull to check back in on New York in the following months and took a handheld video camera with me. I shot what later became a seven-part news special. I’m now honored to have an Emmy Award on the shelf and a new sense of strength in my heart.
I rode the ups and downs of being on-air for television and radio stations and parlayed a successful journalism career into a flourishing public relations job. The call to start this web site kept getting louder, though. So after months of research, writing a business plan and securing funding I finally put on my “big girl panties:” I worked up the nerve to quit my PR gig and go for this dream full time. Now I’m officially an entrepreneur but I’m really a daughter, a sister, a best friend, a dog and cat lover, a talker, a listener, and a woman who’s been called both “a child at heart” and “an old soul.” I’m also a newlywed (OK – I’ve been married since July 2004) to a chef-turned-massage therapist-turned-acupuncture grad student. Everyone says I’m a lucky lady to be married to a man with all those talents and I say I’m grateful to have the man who’s so much more than that.
ABOUT THE SITE
It is a paradoxical issue: an honor… yet also often a headache. It is a situation faced by nearly every woman in America at least once in her life or maybe even a dozen times – but the repetition doesn’t necessarily make it easier. It brings out the best in friends but sometimes, the worst. It happens when we say, “I do” to becoming a bridesmaid.
A few years ago, when I embarked on the journey down the aisle – as a bridesmaid – I realized I knew very little about the job description. What were my duties? How do you give a wedding shower that’s memorable… for all the right reasons? Where could I go for advice on doing it all without breaking my own bank? How do I learn the moves to all those wedding reception line dances even the old aunts know? When I searched online, I found the mega marital sites, but all had their sights sharpened on the bride with stars in her eyes and a ring on her finger. The bridesmaids always seemed to be the afterthought.
So welcome to the definitive web site where you’ll learn the essentials of being a bridesmaid! Please share this site with your gal pals – being a bridesmaid is a matter that affects nearly every woman when we answer the call from our sister/best friend/cousin/co-worker at many different times in our lives. Here, we’ll help a “newbie” learn the basics of her new assignment while offering the latest ideas to help a “seasoned” bridesmaid make the next turn in taffeta a fresh one for herself – and truly special for the bride. From the etiquette, duties and traditions of the role… to the themes, recipes and games (or not!) at the bridal shower… to the checklists, timelines and budgets for all the events… to the hits, misses and slam-dunks of the bachelorette party… to the tricks, tips and time-tested secrets to pulling it all off without wanting to rip out the bride’s tightly-pinned veil.
This is a site for you and we also want it to be a site by you. After you’ve been a bridesmaid once, you can qualify as a pro, in my book! So tap your inner Martha, Rachael, or Stacy & Clinton and share your expertise with all of us… your recipes, your ideas and your warnings of what not to do. Brides usually visit the wedding web sites during just one timeframe – while they’re planning their ceremony and reception. But please bookmark this site and come back often – it is a continually changing and updating resource that always offers new trends, suggestions and solutions. Our goal is to make sure it’s not the same site twice and your participation is essential.