Every girl dreams of finding “The Dress” for her wedding day – the thought of going wedding dress shopping makes us giddy from the time we are teenagers until we actually go to the bridal shop with that shiny new ring on our left hand. This experience, which is supposed to be filled with wonderful memories, has been severely damaged by Brides A la Mode and the owner Kathy Strukel, along with the people covering for her dishonesty. I have been blatantly lied to, flat out ignored on many occasions, and my bridesmaids have yet to have their money returned to them on dresses that were never ordered by BAM. I am not the only bride who has been affected by BAM’s negligence – I am actually considered lucky because I had time on my side – dozens of other brides were forced into the same predicament of tracking down their dress, finding a new wedding gown and/or bridesmaids dresses, and fighting for our money. A situation thatwas hurtful and stressful.

At least for those of us that turned to Greta’s Bridal for help, we were able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My grandma put it best
when she went with me to order my new dress. She said “now THIS is a bridal  shop”. Greta and her staff did everything they could to help us. Greta was brilliant and went above and beyond, even made phone calls to designers to try to track down dresses. All these things were things Greta did not have to do – this was not her problem to fix, but she did it anyway. Granted, for some girls there just wasn’t enough time to correct all of the damage that had been done. The staff at Greta’s is amazing, exceptionally professional, and *everyone* I interacted with, especially my consultant Janet, was comforting and caring. I could not have asked for a better team to stand behind me.

Saying a simple “thank you” to Greta and her staff, no matter how many times it is said, is not something that I feel two small words can express. I am absolutely blessed to live in a town with a bridal shop like this. I deeply regret ever stepping foot in Brides A la Mode, but I am overjoyed that this disaster placed me in the Greta’s path. Greta’s Bridal will always receive the highest recommendation from me. And to Greta and her staff – even though it doesn’t even begin to express my gratitude, THANK YOU for everything you have done not only for me but the other brides that came to you for help when everything seemed to fall apart.

Kelsey J.

Kelsey will be getting married October 13, 2012.

Michiana weddings, I was wondering if you had any advice to offer. My bff got married last August and when I started to plan my wedding, last May, she recommend that I hire the same floral designer she had hired, (name withheld). The floral designer when we met was very nice, and the pics of past events she had done looked good. We gave her a large deposit and I haven’t spoken to her since. My wedding is this July and I am in a near panic about using this floral designer. 

At my bffs wedding in August the centerpieces and bouquets were a major disappointment. The bouquets looked skimpy and many of the flowers were wilted. One of them was falling apart when delivered. The centerpieces were worse, my bff had seen a centerpiece in one of the wedding mags and the floral designer claimed that she could recreate it. The vases were plastic, we were expecting glass. Her family had paid for live flowers and we notices many of them were fake. Like the bouquets many of the live flowers were sorry looking. Everything was cheap looking. I am in a near panic, I have been trying to figure out what to do, I want to cancel and find someone else but I am running out the time and the designer says I will loose my deposit… It’s more money than I can afford to loose. What can I do?

Sara

Sara, stories like this break our heart, we are sorry to hear your story.

Don’t panic, just yet there is a possible way to assure that you get the floral decor that you have dreamed of for your Michiana Wedding. For those who don’t know floral designers are basically florists. Many who call themselves floral designers offer more services than just florist, they will design the look of the whole hall, from uplighting to seating.

Contact the floral designer and demand a demo appointment. I don’t know if your best friend had a demo of her floral designs, but my guess is that she didn’t since many florists don’t like to provide them due to their costs. The purpose of a demo is to hash out the exact look of your wedding floral, mainly the table centerpieces, but it can include the bouquets too. Before the demo, inform the floral designer what you are looking for in your design, if like your friend you have several pictures form magazine or the internet this is a good place to start. Send these to the person. This will allow them to order in the supplies they will need for the demo.

Then at the demo, you hash out the exact look. If you don’t like what you are presented with initially don’t be afraid, tell the designer how to change it to fit your vision and they should change it right there for you or if they can’t schedule another appointment for another demo. When you are satisified with the design you are presented with have the designer break it down into an addendum to the contract. The contract should list what goes into the arrangements to achieve the design, like glass vs plastic, live vs fake. It should also include a cost breakdown so there are no surprises when presented with the final bill.

Also take a camera, something better than a cell phone and get pictures of the final agreed upon design, give a copy to the designer for their records and one for yours. This will give the designer a reference to work from, especially if your wedding is still months off.

Many florists are reticent to do demos because of the cost involved. Any live flowers will be unusable for anything else. If your florist doesn’t like doing demos, offer to pay the product costs. Yes it’s more money but a little more money now can save years of anguish after the wedding as we are sure the bride is suffering.

As for you Sara, demand the demo and contract addendum and don’t take no for an answer. It is the only way we know you can protect yourself. If the designer fails to meet your vision in the demo then you have a good argument for getting your deposit back. Floral is an art and we admire those who can do it, but we also have seen many that just can’t!

We have been sitting on this image for a few months and this is as good a time as any to post it. There aren’t many live flowers in this image but it details many of the problems we have seen with table centerpieces at events.
Yes this was created by a professional floral design company, who we won’t name. We could excuse it if it was some DIY bride but not when it’s a “professional”.

One of the things we have noticed with centerpiece is shoddy assembly. If it’s a floral arrangement, the floral clay or other material that the flowers are inserted into is plainly visible in areas. You can see that in the picture where the cloth folds meet below, the structure is visible.

You will also notice the cloth edges are at the top. We talked to a few designers while writing this response and none of them would have the cloth edges sitting on top of the base! We were told any cloth used should drape over the top with the edges hidden, the best they can be, at the bottom of the centerpiece. All of them said they would never fold a piece of cloth as shown in the upper left hand corner of the piece

We get the idea, it’s suppose to be beach inspired, but what a really poor execution, it looks like the ocean just vomited on the table. Quality designers are very exacting, nothing is placed without purpose or thought, this one just looks like the stuff was thrown around the centerpiece.

Another thing to note is that centerpieces should be scaled to the size of the table, not appear to be dwarfed by it. This one once the table was fully set up was dwarfed by the table size and sort of lost among the plates/silverware.

To give you an idea of what a well done similarly themed centerpiece could look like we found this:

Catering will be provided by Trio’s Restaurant and Jazz Club

Also at the Woodward will be South Bend based  Tivoli Photo Booths a division of Music Machine. Tivoli Photo Booths will be offering free use of one of their really cool photo booths to all in attendance!

So if you are planning a wedding reception, special event, corporate event, birthday party, anniversary party, retirement party, or anything else stop by the Woodward and check out beautiful banquet hall and great food!

If you would like to attend, please RSVP!

111 Woodward Court
South Bend, IN 46601
Office: 574.288.4420

JPicone Couture

Affordability and style is what you will find as we feature the newest feathered facinators, blushers/veils and headbands from this gorgeous line of bridal headpieces!

On Saturday, March 31, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm, hairstylist Eric Woolrich from Emerald Salon will be here to demonstrate and discuss hair styles to compliment your overall wedding day look!

Girly Girl Gifts & Accessories
1314 Mishawaka Avenue
South Bend, IN 46615
shopgirlygirl@aol.com
ph: 574-287-1423

So gorgeous, what a unique setting and atmosphere! The wedding floral/decor was designed by Heffernan Morgan a luxe decor company based in Chicago. Photography is by David Wittig Photography. You can see more from gorgeous wedding by visiting the DWP blog!

Our sympathies for the brides, grooms, their families and their friends who got caught in this horribly managed disaster, no one deserves to go through what they have, planning what should be one of the happiest days of their lives! Uncounted numbers of brides have been left holding an empty bag by Kathy Strukel and from the conversations we have had many don’t expect to see their money back. One way to protect yourself from this happening is to purchase using a credit card. Many credit cards will allow you to protest a charge, at least up to 3 months after the delivery into your hands of the purchased product.

Whatever the real story on the Brides A La Mode closing was and it is doubtful it will ever really come to light, this appears to be a tale of a horribly managed business.

See more details on their blog and tell them Michiana Weddings sent you!

Suddenly a guy in bowling shoes, black jeans and a camp shirt with half the tail of the camp shirt hanging outside his pants, steps into the center aisle from the pews, blocking the brides progress. All eyes turn to this shabbily dressed man as he lifts a camera, snaps 2 pictures and disappears back into the pews.

This is a true story, that I personally witnessed at my cousin’s wedding 4 years ago. Sadly I would have to look up pictures I have of the wedding to tell you what my cousin looked like in her dress, but the poorly dressed appearance of her wedding photographer is burned into my mind, especially at that moment. My cousin had sent out invites that said formal dress required and all of the guests were properly dressed. It was disgusting, he stuck out like sore thumb and my aunt asked him to leave early into the reception.

— Jennifer Berman

Jennifer is a friend of mine from Chicago. I called and asked her to write her story down after reading this post from Preston Bailey. Frankly the poor dress of some vendors has become a real problem in the wedding market, especially among photographers, videographers, photo booth hosts and disc jockeys.

Here at Michiana Weddings we have seen photographers in similar dress to what Jennifer describes and even muscleman tshirts. We recently saw a photo of some videographers running around a wedding with “staff” printed on the back of their polo shirts covering three quarters of the fabric. One local photo booth company shows up to weddings in sweatshirts and blue jeans or tshirts in the summer. DJs can be the worst offenders, blue jeans and Def Leppard t-shirt was one of the all time worst we have seen.

Some brides may shrug their shoulders and say, we don’t care, it’s no big deal but the truth of the matter is that it is. Yes we have somewhat become a casual society and guests will show up n bluejeans themselves. However the problem with vendors dressing down is that it is like waving a flag saying “here I am, I’m dressed poorly”. A vendor is different from a guest because as Jennifer describes, here was a photographer that stepped in front of a bride on her way down the aisle to be married. All eyes were on her and when that photographer stepped out into the aisle in front of her, all eyes were now on him and he was a distraction! A poorly dressed guess can disappear into a corner, or into a group of people, a vendor is front and center, in front of everyone and when a person who is poorly dressed steps into the spotlight next to someone who is dressed to the nines in their wedding gown or tux, the contrast between the two is like a flare being lite. Where as if the person is properly attired so that they look like 80% of your guests, the contrast drops.

In our opinion at Michiana Weddings, you are paying a vendor to behave like a professional and respect you and your guests. An improperly dressed vendor is not only unprofessional, they are an insult to your wedding, or party, or event, which you have planned so diligently for so long! Demand that the person you are paying respect you, ask them how they will dress and don’t be afraid to demand that the dress code want them to follow, is written into their contract!

- Amy
What do you think? Leave your commentary below!

Feel like adding some funk to your Michiana wedding day?  Consider adding feathers to your wedding floral and wedding decor!!  Feathers can have such a striking impact when used in clusters, or just a single feather alone. They give an extra bit of flair to any floral arrangement, bouquet, boutonniere, and more!

Feathers come in a variety of choices and styles that can work for any wedding and reception. When used in centerpieces, they can be added in with the floral, giving your piece an extra textural detail as well as creating a more dimensional centerpiece. Or, you can use only feathers as your centerpieces to really mesmerize your guests!

Feathers can also be used in wedding bouquets or boutonnieres. They come in a variety of colors and patterns to correspond with your choice of flowers for your wedding. They also come in an assortment of textures, from full and plush, to compact and skinny. The different options give you ample opportunity to play with a wide range of designs and looks.

When planning your wedding flower arrangements, give some consideration to feathers, it can really spice up the floral for the wedding and the reception!

 Michaelangelos “The Event Company” has been creating exception wedding floral and event atmospheres since 1988. Based in South Bend, IN there are here to serve your needs with floral, lighting, fabric treatments, decor enhancements, furniture and much more!

Vendors
Wedding Planner: Celebrated Events
Ceremony: Greene Road Church
Reception Hall: Sphon Ballroom Goshen
Caterer: Pumpernickles Catering
Floral: Poppies, Inc.
Photo Booth: Fun Zone Photo Booths
Photography: Amber Raeder Photography
Bakery: Adams Bake Shop
DJ: DJ Mayor Mike
Outdoor hot dog vendor: Franks for the Memories