Though not for everyone, there is going to be a new Reality TV show geared towards couples who are planning on losing weight for their wedding. The show is going to be called “Shedding for your Wedding” and will be on CW and is being produced by MysticArt Pictures.

You’d be competing with other couples who are doing the same thing. Think “Big Loser” for wedding couples. The Grand Prize is winning your Dream Wedding. Interested? Here is a link to the casting site… http://www.mysticartpictures.com/ncshow.php?nc_id=19

Good Luck and let CNYweddings.com know if you are going to be a participant in the show. We’ll blog about it right here!

Life in the Finger Lakes Magazine

A few weeks ago Kari Anderson, a writer for Life in the Finger Lakes magazine, interviewed Michael Erb, owner of CNYweddings.com. The article title was “Timing is Everything” and discussed various issues related to planning your wedding. You can read the article here…
http://www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com/weddings/readmore_wedding5.php

CNYweddings is so happy to know that you’ve found us! Countless couples have used our site to help plan their wedding. Brides and Grooms are frequently emailing us to tell us how helpful it was to be able to discover just exactly the vendors they needed at one, easy to use, website, that isn’t overly innundated with flashing and blinking ads and obnoxious pop-ups.

We’re no rookies when it comes to dispensing wedding advice. CNYweddings is entering its 9th year of operation. Gosh, we’re almost as old as the web itself. We are very familiar with the Central New York area and love helping you plan your big day.

Our blog will dispense information, advice and whatever else we think will be helpful or informative to you from a “planning your wedding” point of view. Enjoy and let us know what you think.

I am thrilled to announce that March 5, 2009 marked the re-launch of the CNYweddings.com web site.

The original site was launched in 1998 and has served it’s purpose very well over all those years. But the time had come for a complete overhaul to freshen things up and add new and exciting features. It’s been a project over a year in the making and today was the day it finally went “live”.

I hope you enjoy the “new” CNYweddings.com and if you notice any bugs, misspellings or whatnot, please let us know. With the large scope of the project, it’s inevitable that a few cracks reveal themselves at some point.

Happy wedding planning from all of us at CNYweddings.com!

CNYweddings.com would like to send out a huge congratulations to one of our vendors, Marion Cardwell-Ferrer, owner of Sincredible Pastries. Marion recently had one of her amazingly decorated cakes accepted into a nationwide search for the “50 most beautiful cakes in America” by Brides magazine.

You can view all of the cakes nominated and vote for your favorite, here.

I’m also happy to say that Marion’s cakes taste as good as they look.

copyright © 2007 Alisha Clark Photographer

The “old school” method of preserving a wedding dress entails treating the dress with the utmost of care during the course of the long wedding day. Being sure not to step in mud puddles, taking care not to rip, tear or stain the dress. Basically treating the dress as if it really shouldn’t be worn in the first place because of its exquisite beauty and fine craftsmanship with handmade lace and crystal appliqué. The dress must be preserved after the wedding by an expensive process of cleaning, boxing and storing.

All well and good except some modern day brides are throwing that tradition out along with the leftover wedding cake. For a new breed of bride there is a new tradition…trashing the dress. Apparently they’ve asked themselves why they are saving the dress that likely won’t ever be worn again and quite possibly won’t even be seen again once it’s been cleaned, preserved, boxed and stored away in a dark corner of the attic or basement.

What exactly is “trashing the dress” you ask? Basically it is taking some out-of-the-ordinary photographs of the bride wearing the dress in some quite unlikely situations. Think along the lines of laying on a sandy beach with waves crashing over you. Or perhaps jumping into a pool and having pictures taken of you in your gown while underwater. Oh yes, this trashing of the dress isn’t for the faint of heart but it can result in some spectacularly original photographs that are sure to garner interest and be talked about for years to come. The generally recognized originator of this style of photography is John Michael Cooper from Las Vega, NV.

CNYweddings took an informal poll of a number of well-established photographers in Central New York and discovered that while the “trash the dress” phenomenon isn’t unknown in these parts, it is not all that common either. According to Alisha of Alisha Clark Photography, “It (trash the dress) seems to be more popular in warmer weather type states such as in the southern and mid-western states.” She recently photographed a wedding in Mexico and the bride, who was from Arkansas had reqeusted the “trash the dress” photography. However Alisha told me that what is more common is a “day after the wedding” photo shoot where the bride and groom simply pose more normally in their formal attire.

Another photographer I asked, Renee Marquis , owner of “Capture Your Moment” photography, told me that she has a trash the dress photo shoot scheduled for an upcoming spring 2008 wedding in Central New York but it’s not something that is frequently requested.

I also spoke with photographers Robert Kaussner and Brady Dillsworth, neither of whom have had any requests thus far for the “trash the dress” style of photography. So it seems that Central New York is not exactly the hot bed of activity for this trendy and possibly short-lived type of photography.

I wanted to know whether brides really trash their $5,000 Vera Wang wedding dresses and according to Alisha, “Sometimes it’s the actual wedding dress, but more often if the bride has an expensive dress, she will do more along the line of portraits rather than “trashing” it as the main objective.” In some photo shoots, the bride will actually have an inexpensive dress to trash instead of the actual wedding dress worn at the wedding.

If you are considering having a “Trash The Dress” photo shoot after your wedding, make sure you can see samples of photos from the photographer you are considering. The last thing you would want is a trashed dress and nothing to show for it.

When you try to come up with a fully adequate word to describe the beauty of Margaret Neher’s, hand blown and sculpted Cake Toppers, you are left speechless. No single word can convey the beauty and uniqueness of these one of a kind works of art.

Each piece takes 3 days to create and is a labor of love. Margaret works with borosilicate glass rods and tubing, working each piece over an open flame (oxy-propane for the inquisitive.) To see the artist actually creating one of her unique pieces, watch this video of her appearance on HGTV’s Carol Duvall show.

A work of art. A museum piece. A stunningly beautiful cake topper that will long be cherished and admired, made right here in Central New York by artisan Margaret Neher.

Here are two samples of her work…

Our eagle-eyed fashion consultant at CNYweddings discovered these beautiful, handmade purses recently. No two purses are alike. Each is individually handcrafted using precious, semi-precious, crystal and glass beads. The design and colors can be customized for each customer. They are truly one of a kind works of art, exquisite and unique.

The purses, along with stunning bracelets (which could be a one-of-a-kind, striking bridesmaid gift), are made in New York City by Inna NYC Designs.

Exciting news!

CNYweddings was contacted yesterday by a producer of “Bridge Street with Rick and Julie“. All next week, Feb 12-16, 2007, Bridge Street will be airing segments having to do with weddings and wedding planning. The 4-5 minute segment on which I’ve been asked to participate will air on Thursday, February 22, 2007 some time between 10:00am and 11:00am. The segment will address “Unique places to have a wedding in Central New York”.

I’m so excited and hope that you’ll be able to view the show.

After a brief stay in Hospicare, Kevin Stearns (Valois Photography) passed away November 16, 2006. He will be missed.

Kevin was one of those people who once you met, you would never forget. He had worked at Cornell and was also a published author. His book, “Finger Lakes of New York: A Photographic Portrait” contained truly spectacular images of the Finger Lakes and was a fine example of the excellent photography that characterized Kevins’ work.

The day that Kevin passed away was rainy, dark and gloomy. However the weather miraculously broke for a short spell and displayed the following rainbow. Thank you Kevin. We will all miss you.