Apple retail stores have taken a page from Facebook and other social media sites, but face-to-face.

Rabid Apple-fanboys (and girls) are so eager to chat with Apple employees about the next-great-thing that it had created a logjam at the Apple store Genius Bar.

Watch this video for the whole story…

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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This year marks the 40th anniversary of my high school graduation. These sorts of milestones are cause for all kinds of thoughts, emotions and actions. In my case, it has motivated me to seek out some of my classmates and see what has become of them. Primarily, I was curious about their work and careers.

One such classmate of mine is Cliff (Clifford) Ross. In simple terms, one would refer to Cliff as a photographer. In reality, he is an artist, and an inventor.

His work has been shown in exhibitions since the mid-1970′s, but it is his more recent interest in extremely high-definition panoramic images that is most interesting. Cliff’s eye and mind saw detail that existing cameras could not capture. And that’s where the fun began.

He set out to design a new kind of device that would capture images down to the most minute detail, at impossible distances. He cobbled together a bit of magic to accomplish his goal. Even Cliff was surprised to discover that his device could become patented (and did). Cliff was just glad it worked as he had envisioned.

In this 7-minute video, you’ll meet Cliff, see his finished work, and learn how he came to develop this incredible camera.

To me, the interesting elements are innovation, creativity, and seeing beyond what is now, toward what is possible. He didn’t set out to be an inventor, but his curiosity and art drove him to this end. To me, it is also a reminder that whatever-the-tool, the most important element of a photograph is the eye, behind the camera.

In world of too many formulas, knock-offs, and repetition, Cliff’s story is a rare one. It is the quintessential example of thinking-outside-the-box. I find it fascinating and motivating. I think our 4th grade art teacher, Mr. Nohn, would be blown away.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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This photographer got the big shot (recessional after the vows). However, the end was more than a tad bumpy. Thank goodness for the videographer… and YouTube.

See the post from Las Vegas Wedding Network Brides Panel about missing the first dance photo.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

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Thirteen men, including eleven members of the infamous Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club, were indicted by a Clark County grand jury in association with a brawl with rival gangs at a Las Vegas wedding chapel.

Authorities say there were at least six victims during the clasg, including three members of the Mongols biker gang, two of whom were stabbed, at A Special Memory Wedding Chapel.

Read the entire article on the Las Vegas Review Journal website.

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Yesterday, I committed to a new responsibility, National Director of Social Media for Wish Upon A Wedding. Organization founder, Liz Guthrie had sought me out in its early stages, last November, but due to my crazy schedule, at that time, the connection didn’t get completed.

As luck would have it, at a speaking engagement in Turks & Caicos with WPIC, I met Sasha Souza, National President for Wish Upon A Wedding. It turned out that Sasha reads this blog, from time to time, and it was she, who hand recommended me. Recently, I had another chance to talk with Sasha, in person, a second time, and she encouraged me again. When the opportunity came up to assist with Wikipedia and Social Media, it took me only a split second to ask for consideration.

The founding board set modes goals for its first year. Start five chapters, and begin the process of granting weddings for terminally ill individuals. To date, Wish Upon A Wedding has 12 operational chapters and several more in formation. They expect to charter another dozen chapters in 2011 and then take time to catch their breath.

That dazzling growth would indicate awareness and growth has been shockingly spectacular. Wedding industry professionals can be workaholics who seldom remember to take vacations. Despite their break-neck schedule, it is heartwarming to see so many have elected to block out precious time and give… not just to a charity or cause, but to human beings who have endured some of life’s greatest challenges.

This year will be my 40th high school reunion and celebration. I was reminded of non-denominational chapel services held, every morning. Mr. Jones, the school headmaster, had a favorite parable: The Good Samaritan. He told it every year. It’s morale: “The Other Fellow First”, resonates with me to this day.

I know you’re busy. As busy as I am. Maybe busier. But, I ask you to invest just six minutes to watch and absorb this video. You’ll immediately understand why so many wedding professionals before me, have elected to take some time to put The Other Fellow first, and become a part of Wish Upon A Wedding.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

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Seven brides, married from as recently as 4 months ago, to four years ago, shared the good, the bad, and the ugly at a Las Vegas Wedding Network meeting, hosted at the Aliante Hotel & Casino.

There is so much information to share that I will make multiple posts over the next week to cover the range of issues.

To provide some context, Moderator, Ricky Gulati (Memory Lane Videography) started by asking what type of venue each bride selected, and why. That opening qualifier had an even more significant 2-part follow up.

1. Approximately, what was your initial budget or budget range for your wedding?
2. Did you stay within your budget, or did you go over it? If you went over it, by how much?

The dollar-numbers were not the important answer, here, as they were approximate. What clearly stood out was that six out of seven brides exceeded their budget. The range of excess was from 50% to 200%. In real dollars, these cost overruns were in tens of thousands of dollars.

Observation – Conclusion – Reality Check – Opinion

By their own admission, the brides didn’t really have a budget. They had a chunk of money, but didn’t really know the cost of things. Moreover, when they got into the process of planning, particularly when attending bridal shows, they discovered opportunities for products and services they didn’t know existed.

A good example of that was uplighting. More than one bride commented, that once demonstrated,

uplighting was a dramatic decor upgrade. They wanted it, and bought it.

That comes under the heading of “You don’t know, what you don’t know.” It’s not reasonable to have planned or budgeted for something you didn’t know existed.

Several brides expressed that “When I found a particular vendor that I clicked with, price went out the window.” This seemed to particularly important with vendors, such as photographers, who work at close range with a couple, for many hours.

Overages were absorbed by parents, in-laws, or the couples, themselves.

Worth A Read: A while back, I posted a provocative item, titled: A ruthless discussion of the term ‘Budget Bride’ and wedding decision making

It relates well to this post, and the ones that will follow, about the bridal panel.

Congratulations to the program organizers for putting on a fine, informational show.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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In a stunning turn of events, the Kentucky Legislature has banned Gay Pet Weddings.

As the nation celebrates its independence day, the highest symbol of individual choice, Kentucky has chosen to go another direction.

No doubt there will be controversy and consternation over this definitive legislation. Stay tuned for any breaking news.

This audio report tells the story.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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This photo was sent in by Gina Tsirmpas, National Promotions & Business Development Manager for Sandals, Canada.

I mean, let’s face it. What’s better than one graphics-wrapped Sandals SUV, but an entire string of them. A fleet, no less. The photo was taken at one of their sales events.

Gotta love it!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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Brad Buckles is a bridal show producer serving the state of Washington and Hawaii. On any given day, you’ll find him, physically, in one of those two places. Every day, Brad can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

As it relates to the topic at hand, if you’re ‘on the ground’ in Honolulu, you may spot one of his two graphic-wrapped SUV’s, nicknamed Big Pink 1 & 2. Though colorized slightly differently, both vehicles sport his simple and short domain name, BridesClub.com.

Brides have been known to stop and wave, giving the thumbs-up or hang-loose hand signs. The brand awareness factor becomes quite clear when passersby don’t just observe, but acknowledge and interact.

Can't miss BridesClub.com

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

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Event planner, Jennifer Borgh, posted a goal in her Facebook status update: “Next goal is to get a Sandals car with our destination wedding logo on it!”

Her enthusiastic outcry was prompted by recent success booking events at various Sandals Resorts, and a desire to shout it out to the world.

Vehicle graphics are not a new concept, but the technology for designing and applying the art has improved, radically, over the years. For certain categories of businesses, it makes great sense. For others (such as disc jockeys, photographers, or videographers), it is billboard that says “Steal my stuff!.”

Today, graphics can run from body, onto a window, and back to the body, almost seamlessly. The design concepts, as customized to unusual vehicle types, such as Smart Cars, box trucks, or odd shaped industrial trucks, are nearly endless.

The truck shown, upper right, is for a Canadian entertainment company, Starchild Entertainment, designed by TopWraps. Top Wraps services the United States and Canada. There is a wide assortment of gallery photos on the Top Wraps website. If you Google with keywords such as car wrap graphics (or a wide variety of alternate choices) yields a wide variety of car graphic companies in many locations.

A couple of design rules to live by in vehicle graphics, that are the same as in print ads: Give your phone number and website address equal billing. Meaning, they should be the same font size and large enough to be read, at a reasonable distance without a telescope. Plus, if your domain has more than one word, use upper case lettering for the first letter in each word for better readability.

• Not this: www.weddingmarketingblog.com
• This: www.WeddingMarketingBlog.com

When Jennifer has her vehicle wrapped in Sandals graphics, we’ll post the photo here. If you have a wrapped vehicle, please feel free to email it to me. I’d like to post a few examples.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

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