Are you a newly engaged bride feeling overwhelmed by the wedding planning tasks ahead? Or maybe your New Year’s resolution is to explore the possibility of a career in the wedding and event planning field. The i-do Boutique has got you covered!

Please join us on Sunday, August 22nd for Seminar Sunday at the i-do Boutique! Registration is required – contact i-do Boutique to pre register at 513-871-6400

You can pre-register online at the i-do-boutique website >click here

Wedding Planning 101
2:00-4:30pm on 8/22
$30 per person Refreshments provided

This seminar is geared towards brides, grooms and mothers who need some guidance. Acquire loads of practical information and specific tips on how to plan a beautiful wedding on any budget. We will discuss average costs of all bridal services, pitfalls to avoid when choosing vendors and insider secrets to help you ask the right questions to get what you want. In addition you’ll learn the 7 biggest regrets of brides, unique ideas to personalize your wedding and how to maintain your sanity throughout the planning process.

So You Think You Can Plan
11:00am-1:30pm on 8/22
$40 per person Refreshments provided

This seminar is for those considering a career change into the field of wedding and event planning. We will discuss tips on how to break into the wedding planning business, pitfalls to avoid if starting your own business and what to charge for your services as a new planner. Brigid will also discuss the top 10 things she wishes she would have known when she started her own wedding planning business.

The i-do Boutique has been a very busy place this summer.  In order to re-charge our batteries for our remaining summer weddings, we will be closing the i-do Boutique from Wednesday, July 28-Monday, August 2.  We will re-open on Tuesday, August 3 with the following boutique hours:

Tuesdays 11-7

Wednesdays 11-7

Thursday 12-8

Friday 10-6

Saturday 10-6

Stop in soon!

Did you see the article featuring i-do Boutique in this month’s Eastsider magazine?  Here’s my favorite excerpt:

Having recently tied the knot myself, I can finally testify to the sheer terror of planning an actual wedding. In the moments just before the ceremony I was an anxious wreck. Me, the self proclaimed Zen Bride, could not have been more panic stricken. The anticipation was dizzying and everyone around me, including my beloved team of helpers, appeared to be just as stunned and confused as I was. Despite my intense dislike for the bridezilla stereotype, I found myself barking at everyone around me to answer the bleepin’ phone, see who is at the bleepin’ door and call the bleepin’ groom’s party. (I’ll leave you to insert your own expletives.) My behavior was a tad mortifying, even to myself.

By the time I was ushered to the ceremony doors I couldn’t have been more grateful for the purposeful, calm countenance of my wedding coordinator. She coaxed me into place, fluffed my train just so, and gave me a final once over. She was my personal Zen Master. If it were not for her gentle hand guiding me in the direction of the isle, my racing thoughts would not have paused long enough to recognize the sound of my own wedding march. Everything was exactly as she promised, and when things did go wrong, which they inevitably do, she ran off to resolve the problem while I luxuriated, peacefully, in my special day. Had it not been for her, I might have hurt someone.

Like most brides and mothers involved in planning a wedding, the writer discovered it is hard to predict how you will react to the pressures of the day.  If you are looking for some peace of mind on the wedding day or would simply like to bring some order to the chaos you may be feeling as the big day approaches – please stop in and see the Zen Masters at i-do Boutique.

To read the rest of this very entertaining article, follow this link here.

It’s a beautiful day for a Wine Walk! Stop by O’Bryonville until 8pm tonight (April 22,2010) for this event benefiting the United Coalition for Animals.

Sunny days like today make me wish I had a convertible. As wedding season starts, some of you may be wondering about the costs of having valet parking for your wedding. Did you know the average cost for having valet parking for a 200 guest wedding ranges between $288-448? In the big scheme of wedding costs, that’s a small price to pay for guest convenience not to mention the added “Wow Factor” associated with the service. “Many people think a valet service is out of the budget, but brides can have valet for less than the price of the wedding cake” according to Jeff Anders, owner of Sharps Valet. The typical wedding needs 4 valets for less than 6 hours. If you allow the guests to tip the valets, your cost is about $72 per valet. If you don’t want guests to feel obligated to tip the valets, your price only increases to $112 per valet. Two great local resources in Cincinnati are Sharps Valet http://sharpsvalet.com/home.htm and Prestige Valet @ 513-871-4220. Be sure to tell them you found them at i-do Boutique!

As a Cincinnati native, I have been a long time reader and subscriber to Cincinnati Magazine.  Imagine my excitement when Alyssa Brandt (a writer for the magazine) happened to be walking through O’bryonville last October and stopped in to look around.  She asked if she could interview me for an article about the boutique.  I nearly passed out right then and there.  Her full page article titled “Altar Bound” is in the April edition of Cincinnati Magazine.  The response to the article has been unbelievable, and we are so grateful!

We are featured on page 34 of the magazine, but you can also check it out online at the Cincinnati Magazine website.

Last week we had a mother of the bride in the boutique looking for a portable champagne bottle with a built in “flute” for the bridal party’s ride from the church to the reception.  She had seen them while watching the Academy Awards a few weeks ago.  A little searching on the internet led us to the Cinema Party Pack: Four 187 ml Moët Imperial bottles packaged in an ice bucket with a lid decorated like a film canister, complete with mini flutes that conveniently fit right inside the neck of the bottle.

While we could not find a local wine shop that carries these, we asked our friends at the Party Source and Cork n’ Bottle to give us some other mobile champagne options.  No flutes required!

A slightly sweeter, more approachable Champagne, POP was the first individualized and portable Champagne on the market — and the first bubbly to come complete with a drinking straw.

Sofia Coppola, daughter of film director and wine mogul, Francis Ford Coppola has followed in her father’s footsteps to create a champagne (sparkling wine) of her own.   An innovative approach to wine on the go, the pink straw inclusive can looks like an energy drink, but tastes like champagne.  For more information, check out the Party Source in Bellevue,KY: www.thepartysource.com and Cork n’ Bottle in Covington: www.corknbottle.com

Folchi’s Formal Wear will hold an Open House on Tuesday, March 30th from 6pm-9pm at their Kenwood location.

The event will offer cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, presented by Trio’s and Ember’s, and will allow brides to view the latest in formal wear attire for the 2010 season.

During the event, Folchi’s will be offering $30.00 off each adult tuxedo rental plus an additional 10% discount if you register your wedding that evening. And with 4 paid rentals, the grooms’ tuxedo is FREE!

Space is limited to new registry brides only.  RSVP by phone: 513-755-9930

Each Third Thursday of the month O’Bryonville businesses offer extended hours so prospective buyers can sample complimentary wines and refreshments, while browsing the unique shops of O’Bryonville.  Businesses participating in the Wine Walk are open from 5:00 to 8:00 pm – including i-do Boutique.

This year not only do the Wine Walks bring fun and friends together, but each month recognizes a charitable organization.  Every purchase you make during the event is a donation to that special cause. So enjoy the party, the buying, and the giving!

Join us April 15 as we kick off the wine walk series with “Walk on the Wild Side”, a benefit for UCAN – the United Coalition for Animals.  More info: http://www.obryonville.com/events.html  

Megan and Jeff were married this past November at the Hilton downtown.  This wedding was quite a production!  We had the ceremony and reception in the Hall of Mirrors, so that famous Netherland room turn had to happen.  For those who have never seen it, the Hilton staff makes it look like a well choreographed dance and gets the job done in under an hour.

The details made this wedding stand out.  From the edible Hibiscus flowers in the signature drink to the special appetizer flown in from Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami, FL to the hot towel service between meal courses and Graeters ice cream bar served at the late night buffet – this was a party the guests would never forget.

We had the dream team working that day.  Check out the beautiful hair artistry of Sam Hills in the photo above – Megan’s hair piece matched the art deco details found all over the Netherland Plaza.  Thanks to Steve Lyons for letting us use his fabulous photos.  To see more of this wedding, check out Steve’s new blog:  http://lyonswedding.com/blog/.  Nancy from Brideface did the makeup and kept everyone looking beautiful all day long.  Steve Zugelter from Studio Z did one of the most wonderful same day edits I have ever seen.  Steve was recently voted one of the top cinematographers in the country.  The rest of our vendor team is listed beneath the photos below.  Thanks to everyone who made this wedding one of the best of the season.

This veil was a fun “prop” in Megan’s photos.  You can’t see me, but I’m holding on to the end trying to create the wind swept look indoors!

What a gorgeous couple!  Megan & Jeff never stopped smiling – they truly seemed to enjoy every moment of that day.

This is always the moment I breathe a sigh of relief.

Just look at these flowers.  Kevin Ford out did himself.  He told me these were the heaviest arrangements he had ever created – using a record number of roses.

The post ceremony shot is always one of my personal favorites.  No posing – just geniune joy.

Here I am with Megan as she soaks in the look and feel of her reception.  The dream team of Kevin Ford and Goodwin Lighting seem to nail it every time.

Oh – that Maribelle cake!  The subtle design on the icing was another small detail that fit the style and theme of this reception perfectly.

This is The Avenue band from Cleveland – one of Jerry Bruno’s most popular groups.  They were followed by another band called Radio Active that kept the dance party going well into the night.

I love this photo of Megan and Jeff dancing with friends to some of their favorite dance music played by Radio Active.

I’m pretty sure this is the “Don’t Stop Believin” shot.  Don’t you just love Megan’s party dress?  Now this was a fun wedding!