FSU Kicks Off ‘Go Red For Woman Campaign

Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College have kicked off their “Go Red For Woman” campaign.

Organizers are trying to raise awareness about heart disease which is the number one killer of women.

Activities will include a penny wars competition on the second floor of the Falcon Center.

The campaign will wrap up on Friday, which is “National Wear Red for Woman Day.”

“Friday we are encouraging everyone, not just on campus, but in the community, to come to campus to wear red in support of heart disease,” said Dr. Tara Brooks, of Fairmont State University.

The American Heart Association sponsors the “Go Red For Woman” campaign.

Meadowbrook Mall Hosts Spring Bridal Extravaganza

The Spring Bridal Extravaganza will be held Sunday, Feb. 5 at Meadowbrook Mall, according to a news release from the Meadowbrook Mall.

The event will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Officials said the event offers brides a ‘one-stop’ shop for planning their wedding.

Wedding experts will offer advice and demonstrations as well as offer free samples to those who attend, according to the news release.

Officials said the event will also feature a Bridal Fashion Show at 3 p.m. that will highlight gowns from Ever After Bridal and Oliverio’s Bridal & Prom Boutique.

WVAQ’s Lacy Neff will emcee the fashion show which will be followed by the Grand Prize drawings. Officials said the first 200 brides to register at the arch in center court will receive a free tote bag and will be eligible to win door prizes.

Bridal Show Takes Over Milledgeville Mall

Dozens of brides got a jump start on their wedding plans at the second annual Forever Yours Bridal Show.

Blossoms Florist hosted a show packed with local vendors and prizes at the Milledgeville Mall.

For a $10 admission fee, brides got the chance to see a fashion show, enter into contests and win raffles.

Danielle Barnes got engaged last November and says this was her first bridal show. She says her fiance proposed to her on a trip to Tybee Island.

“He took me down to the gazebo and he said doubts in life don’t matter I just want to spend the rest of my life with you and then he got down on one knee and proposed.” says Barnes.

“There are a lot of vendors here a lot of local vendors there’s a lady over here that owns a fabric store in her house and she does bridal gowns,” said Barnes.

She says she was nervous to begin planning for her big day, but coming to the show eased her stress.

“There are a lot of ways that I can meet a budget and people are offering all kinds of specials and deals,”said Barnes.

The winning grand prize raffle ticket was a discounted floral package and a feature in DIY Weddings Magazine.

Brides and businesses benefit alike from bridal expo

Man Cave a hit at bridal event

Jerrad Williams hit the ping pong ball across the table Sunday passing the time as his fiancée checked out what the Bridal extravaganza had to offer.

Williams, of Graceville, Fla., came to the event held at the Dothan Civic Center with his fiancée, Melissa Holley, to tie up some loose ends before their wedding in September.

Williams played a few games of table tennis in the man cave, a special area set up specifically for the men to hang out during the extravaganza.

“We’ve decided on a place, but wanted a few ideas on decorations and other things,” Williams said. “I had absolutely no idea they’d have something like this for the guys. I’m in no hurry. She’s in there having fun, and that’s all that matters.”

Stephanie Madden, the coordinator for the extravaganza, said the man cave included a 70 inch flat screen television showing sports, a pool table, and a ping pong table along with chips, sandwiches and cookies. She said the Highland Oaks golf course also had a putting green set up, along with a golf pro to give people tips.

Madden said it was the first year for the Bridal extravaganza to include the man cave. Madden, the marketing manager for the Dothan Eagle, said the event was sponsored by the Dothan Eagle, Loftin’s Party and Wedding Center and the Dothan Civic Center.

“I thought it would be kind of cool if the guys had a place to hang out,” Madden said. “I think the guys appreciated their little place to go, and watch some football and chill out.”

Madden called the event a success.

“I think the weather played into it. If it’s raining people tend to stay indoors at home,” Madden said. “We’ve got such great local vendors. I think the brides were excited to come out and see what everybody had to offer. I definitely know there were more people than last year. The attendance was higher this year.”

Larry Anglin, of Enterprise, said if more fathers and boyfriends knew about the man cave at the event more of them might’ve attended.

“On the way inside I noticed a young man sitting in his car listening to the radio. That could’ve been me had I not found the man cave,” Anglin said. “It gives you something to do, and if they need me I’m close by. It has many of the things my man cave at home has. So it’s some of the same things I’d be doing at home anyway.”

Larry Anglin’s wife, Debra Anglin, said because of the man cave she and her daughter could take their time looking at all the vendors at the extravaganza.

Brittney Anglin, Larry Anglin’s daughter, carried a bag full of pamphlets with her.

“I think it was helpful,” Brittney Anglin said. “We did not feel so rushed because he had somewhere to go.”

My Life As A Recycled Bride

I know more about weddings than your average bear. I also know a few things about getting divorced, starting a company, and exquisitely f-ing up your life while your parents and everyone else look on in shock and horror. And because of my messy, complicated, and admittedly ridiculous experiences with all of these things, I may just be able to save you some time and trouble when it comes to planning your own wedding — and more importantly, enjoying your marriage.

I got married on a sweltering hot day in July of 2008. Robert and I planned a big, expensive, perfect wedding. His family is Jewish, mine’s a mix of Jewish/Catholic/Lunatic. So we had all the bells and whistles of your typical American Jewish wedding: 47 food stations at the cocktail hour, a five-course dinner, a 10-piece band, and 200 formally attired, obscenely sweaty guests.

Planning this affair was stressful and stretched all of our resources to the max. We argued with each other, we argued with our parents, I think I even argued with the flower girl, and she’s 3 (but for the record, she was wrong). The wedding was beautiful, but by the time we rode off into the sunset, we were totally drained.

That experience inspired me to create Recycled Bride, an online marketplace where brides buy and sell gently used (and new) wedding dresses, decorations, and more. I wanted to help other couples avoid the stress of spending their future children’s college fund on a wedding. Robert and I were excited to run Recycled Bride together. I couldn’t dream of anything more picture-perfect than working with my new husband on our very own wedding business.

Oops.

Within months, we began to develop what they call “irreconcilable differences”. (We called it “F___ You!”) We separated before our first anniversary, and divorced shortly thereafter. And there I was, secretly coping with an embarrassing divorce while writing about bridal bouquets, wedding dresses, and everyone else’s happily ever after…on a website called Recycled Bride. It was like the universe was playing a cruel (but clever) joke on me, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the irony. So I did lots of both.

After a while, Robert and I found our footing as friends, and even resumed running the business together. But the only thing harder to explain than a swift divorce (see: Kim Kardashian), is a fledgling business that takes up all your time, but is pre-revenue (that’s a fancy web business word for “we weren’t making any money then”). I was working crazy hours with no income, and needed a solution that wouldn’t distract me from building the Recycled Bride empire. So I decided to earn extra cash by renting out my guest room to travelers.

My very first renter was Collin, a musician who wanted a cozy place to stay while he was in Los Angeles for a week. I pretended not to notice that he was cute. He pretended not to notice that I was pretending not to notice that he was cute. We fell easily into endless conversations, and then we fell in love. Collin extended his stay in California, and then extended it again, until we both realized that he was never leaving and he moved from the guest room into what’s now “our room”. Last week, we got married in a tiny romantic beach wedding with no guests.

The wedding was somewhat spontaneous, and we weren’t well prepared. We didn’t have a witness, so a random stranger on the beach ended up signing our marriage license. He may have been homeless. He may have been Mickey Rourke. We’re still debating, but it’s definitely one of those two. I wore stupid, pretty shoes, then twisted my ankle and stepped on Collin’s toe the minute we hit the sand. During the ceremony, raging beach winds turned my hair into a ridiculous bird’s nest. The wind was so loud, we couldn’t even hear the officiant, so instead of repeating our vows, we said “What!?” a whole lot. Afterwards, we got drunk on champagne at our favorite neighborhood restaurant, I ripped my dress, and then we rode off on unicorns into the sunset. It was…perfect.

In an ironic and totally unexpected way, I got my happily ever after. But I had to stop believing in glossy photos and “perfect days” to get here. I have an amazing husband, an ex who’s also a great friend and coworker, and a thriving business — and none of it looks anything like I expected. So when I talk to brides who are fretting about the imperfections, the awkward moments, the feeling that they’re somehow not living the “big day dream”, I wish I could bundle up all of my experiences, good and bad, and magically infuse them into every bride’s brain. Because I might have screwed up a lot (yes, a lot!), but I learned some good lessons. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Your wedding, your marriage, and your life will be filled with flaws, mistakes, inappropriate jokes, and unexpected plot twists. Embrace the weirdness of it all, and learn to laugh at yourself.

2. Planning a wedding is just like starting a business. You have a budget and need rent space, hire employees, and create something that delights your customers/guests. If wedding planning with your partner isn’t fun, you probably shouldn’t start a business together.

3. Wedding photos lie. Especially the ones on blogs, in magazines, and on Facebook. Pretty does not equal happy, and happy is way more awesome.

4. Everybody has gross morning breath. That’s kind of unrelated, but not necessarily. It just a thing that’s true.

5. There are no signs or omens. If your dress arrives late or it rains on your wedding day, it has no bearing on the quality of the life that you build, every day, together.

First Time Brides, Second Time Grooms

Would relationships be easier with a “clear-history” button?

Yes, and no. I am the soon-to-be wife to a man who has previously done “the marriage thing” with another woman. Yes… as much as I hate to say the word… he has an ex-wife. If you are one of the many women who realize their first marriage will be to a divorced man, I feel sorry for you. No, really, I do… as we all will have many more challenges than if we were marrying a man without previous marital attachments. Inevitably there are times when every relationship will deal with ghosts from the past, but this is a special situation — only intended for the right woman. That’s you.

Remember that everyone has a past — even you. Oftentimes we forget that although we haven’t been married before, we do have a relationship past. Think about this: although you may have not been legally married to a person from the past, that you (at one time) could have seen yourself as Mrs. X. Certainly now, if you are anything like me, you selectively choose to ignore this fact — especially when faced with a heated issue in your current relationship. I’m not a psychologist, but with a Doctorate in Jurisprudence, a multitude of counseling and mediation experience in a variety of settings, and a keen sense of self-awareness, I am confident in my qualification to assess this type of behavior as a defense mechanism that we have the right to use. I’m as guilty as you. So here is how I let my past almost-screw up(s) help me: They reminded me of my growth. And that’s a powerful thing. And better yet, there’s the fact that you are marrying a man that has experienced that same growth, and maybe more. View this as a strength to your relationship, and more importantly, as a testimony your upcoming marriage. Think about it: History usually repeats itself… if you don’t learn from your mistakes.

Why is learning from your mistakes so important in marriage? Numerous studies cite research results indicating even higher divorce rates for second marriages. I speculate that the odds are against the success of second marriages when one or both parties fail to realize their own past screw-ups! I bet we would see a decline in second marriage divorces if we measured how many women have first marriages to previously divorced men (and vice-versa), as well as second time around couples who actively self-reflect on what makes their present dreams supersede their past failures.

Remember that you are the right woman for your soon-to-be husband. If you weren’t, he would probably not be divorced… (Unless he is a cheating or deceptive bastard with other issues that I pray you wouldn’t tolerate). People get married for any reason you can think of, but the most common thing I hear, is that at its deepest roots, a divorce is usually caused by the youthful misunderstanding of any/all of those reasons. Simply put: you are not the cause of your fiancé’s previous divorce (if you are, stop reading), he would not be happier in his previous life, and he realizes he screwed up before. Lucky you… you get to be THE ONE. Hopefully your hubby- to- be makes you aware of these facts whenever you may appear in doubt, but when in doubt remember this: You were probably meant to be together, from the beginning.

My Life As A Recycled Bride

I know more about weddings than your average bear. I also know a few things about getting divorced, starting a company, and exquisitely f-ing up your life while your parents and everyone else look on in shock and horror. And because of my messy, complicated, and admittedly ridiculous experiences with all of these things, I may just be able to save you some time and trouble when it comes to planning your own wedding — and more importantly, enjoying your marriage.

I got married on a sweltering hot day in July of 2008. Robert and I planned a big, expensive, perfect wedding. His family is Jewish, mine’s a mix of Jewish/Catholic/Lunatic. So we had all the bells and whistles of your typical American Jewish wedding: 47 food stations at the cocktail hour, a five-course dinner, a 10-piece band, and 200 formally attired, obscenely sweaty guests.

Planning this affair was stressful and stretched all of our resources to the max. We argued with each other, we argued with our parents, I think I even argued with the flower girl, and she’s 3 (but for the record, she was wrong). The wedding was beautiful, but by the time we rode off into the sunset, we were totally drained.

That experience inspired me to create Recycled Bride, an online marketplace where brides buy and sell gently used (and new) wedding dresses, decorations, and more. I wanted to help other couples avoid the stress of spending their future children’s college fund on a wedding. Robert and I were excited to run Recycled Bride together. I couldn’t dream of anything more picture-perfect than working with my new husband on our very own wedding business.

Oops.

Within months, we began to develop what they call “irreconcilable differences”. (We called it “F___ You!”) We separated before our first anniversary, and divorced shortly thereafter. And there I was, secretly coping with an embarrassing divorce while writing about bridal bouquets, wedding dresses, and everyone else’s happily ever after…on a website called Recycled Bride. It was like the universe was playing a cruel (but clever) joke on me, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the irony. So I did lots of both.

After a while, Robert and I found our footing as friends, and even resumed running the business together. But the only thing harder to explain than a swift divorce (see: Kim Kardashian), is a fledgling business that takes up all your time, but is pre-revenue (that’s a fancy web business word for “we weren’t making any money then”). I was working crazy hours with no income, and needed a solution that wouldn’t distract me from building the Recycled Bride empire. So I decided to earn extra cash by renting out my guest room to travelers.

My very first renter was Collin, a musician who wanted a cozy place to stay while he was in Los Angeles for a week. I pretended not to notice that he was cute. He pretended not to notice that I was pretending not to notice that he was cute. We fell easily into endless conversations, and then we fell in love. Collin extended his stay in California, and then extended it again, until we both realized that he was never leaving and he moved from the guest room into what’s now “our room”. Last week, we got married in a tiny romantic beach wedding with no guests.

The wedding was somewhat spontaneous, and we weren’t well prepared. We didn’t have a witness, so a random stranger on the beach ended up signing our marriage license. He may have been homeless. He may have been Mickey Rourke. We’re still debating, but it’s definitely one of those two. I wore stupid, pretty shoes, then twisted my ankle and stepped on Collin’s toe the minute we hit the sand. During the ceremony, raging beach winds turned my hair into a ridiculous bird’s nest. The wind was so loud, we couldn’t even hear the officiant, so instead of repeating our vows, we said “What!?” a whole lot. Afterwards, we got drunk on champagne at our favorite neighborhood restaurant, I ripped my dress, and then we rode off on unicorns into the sunset. It was…perfect.

In an ironic and totally unexpected way, I got my happily ever after. But I had to stop believing in glossy photos and “perfect days” to get here. I have an amazing husband, an ex who’s also a great friend and coworker, and a thriving business — and none of it looks anything like I expected. So when I talk to brides who are fretting about the imperfections, the awkward moments, the feeling that they’re somehow not living the “big day dream”, I wish I could bundle up all of my experiences, good and bad, and magically infuse them into every bride’s brain. Because I might have screwed up a lot (yes, a lot!), but I learned some good lessons. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Your wedding, your marriage, and your life will be filled with flaws, mistakes, inappropriate jokes, and unexpected plot twists. Embrace the weirdness of it all, and learn to laugh at yourself.

2. Planning a wedding is just like starting a business. You have a budget and need rent space, hire employees, and create something that delights your customers/guests. If wedding planning with your partner isn’t fun, you probably shouldn’t start a business together.

3. Wedding photos lie. Especially the ones on blogs, in magazines, and on Facebook. Pretty does not equal happy, and happy is way more awesome.

4. Everybody has gross morning breath. That’s kind of unrelated, but not necessarily. It just a thing that’s true.

5. There are no signs or omens. If your dress arrives late or it rains on your wedding day, it has no bearing on the quality of the life that you build, every day, together.

Now go forth, and be married!

Car-buying tips men can learn from women

Women, according to recent studies, are more informed and level-headed than men in the vehicle showroom — a place long-considered an arena for gladiatorial gamesmanship.

“Men tend to rely on what is assumed they know and what they believe they know,” said Sergio Stiberman.

“When women approach car shopping, they believe in the importance of asking all the necessary questions, even if they think they might know the answers,” he said.

Stiberman, for one, respects the different angles his wife Keila takes on purchases and the depth and variety of questions. “She’ll ask questions that I’m afraid to ask myself or that I have too much of an ego to ask,” he said.

“We have that attitude that we should know, and if we ask, we’re outing ourselves and we might not be as strong as we projected ourselves to be,” he added.

Many men revel in the gamesmanship of car buying that many women just aren’t interested in. “Men get all excited about going out to buy a car and talk about how they’re going to one-up the salesmen and get a great deal,” said Anne Fleming, president of Women-drivers.com, a consumer ratings site. “I’ve never heard or seen any comments from women like that.”

Women do more research and, as a group, are considerably more pragmatic in their vehicle choices. They tend to be more concerned about safety issues and reliability than horse power and acceleration.

In the LeaseTrader analysis, 95% of women listed safety performance as their biggest concern during the shopping process, followed with 94% interested in the incident history of the car.

Men, on the other hand, at 83%, rated driving performance among their top issues with engine performance at 75%.

Nearly 74% of men ranked aesthetics a major issue, at No. 3, compared with just 46% of women — dead last among the top nine concerns — who did.

The style differences also are evident in purchasing history. Women tend to favor vehicles such as SUVs or small compact crossovers and four-door sedans. Men are more apt to buy a truck and certainly have more preference for sports cars than women do, according to Edmunds.com.

“Women tend to be more pragmatic and more economical in their car choices,” said Jessica Caldwell, a senior analyst at Edmunds.com.

Consider this: Last year Porsche saw a whopping 21% increase in year-over-year sales of its cars to women, albeit from a low base, Caldwell said. But of its total receipts, a commanding 71% were gleaned from sales of the four-door models the Cayenne and Panamera, what some might describe as more practical cars.

Women also want back-up proof. Women, for example, order vehicle inspections some 67% of the time when they’re buying a car compared to 55% of men who do so, according to LeaseTrader.

Like much of the world these days, the Internet has become a great equalizer for car buying, which ranks among the biggest financial decisions in a person’s life.

Women have long complained they were ignored or intimidated by salesmen, according to Women-Drivers.com. Nine out of 10 car sales associates are men.

Now, however, women walk into showrooms primed with scads of information about models, pricing, financing, options, most even know what the inventory position of a dealer is, according to Kelley Blue Book’s Market Intelligence reports.

Some 76% of women consider websites a valuable asset to the car shopping process compared with 70% of males, the KBB report said. What’s more, 51% of women visit a dealership’s site as part of the research compared with 46% of men who do, while 70% of women look at inventory versus 64% of men. Women are more inclined to purchase a certified pre-owned car from a dealership than men, 29% to 18%, while men are more trusting, at 32%, buying a car from a third party than women, 22%.

Before the Internet and its hundreds, maybe even thousands of automobile sites about buying, leasing, ratings, pricing, cost calculating, safety, insurance, mileage and any other number of car issues, women would visit from five to seven dealerships before settling on one, said Women Fleming, who also calls herself a car-buying advocate.

Hundreds of Brides-to-be attend wedding show

Blushing brides from all over got the chance to check out some local wedding show goods this weekend.

The Wedding Dreams Forever Memories Bridal Fair took place Sunday at Seven Feathers.

Hundreds of brides and even a few grooms got to view more than 60 local vendors.

Everything from food to flowers, dresses to DJs and more, were on hand to help brides plan their dream wedding.

The vast majority of vendors were local, and organizers say the event was a great way for a bride to make sure her wedding helped the local economy. “I think that’s what’s important. You keep it here in town, and you know everybody gets a chance to be a part of it,” said event organizer Leia Dalton.

She also adds that the event was perfect for the bride who wasn’t quite sure what she wanted. “There’s tons of ideas here. Everybody is networking together, there’s all kinds of ideas you can pull from all different vendors.”

The show began at 10:00 a.m., and capped off with a wedding show.

Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel Is Giving Brides the Boot

Hotel in Boston, MA Offers FREE Bridal Bootcamp With Advice From Top Wedding Experts, Giveaways and More

Planning the perfect wedding comes down to one word: DECISIONS. And from photographers to cake frosting, there are plenty of decisions for the happy couple to make. To help newly engaged couples snap their weddings into shape, the Boston Marriott Long Wharf, home to the finest Boston Harbor wedding venues, is proud to offer free, private access to the city’s top wedding experts in a Bridal Bootcamp session on Thursday, February 2.

Hosted by Certified Wedding Planner Andrea Murphy, the FREE Bridal Bootcamp “Passionate Planning” session will focus on infusing the wedding day with touches of romance, from stunning sweets displays to pre-honeymoon escapes. The session will feature insider tips and expert advice from top Boston specialists including:

        --  Rachael Gross, owner of lolagraceEVENTS and voted "Boston's Best
            Wedding Planner" by the Improper Bostonian
        --  Edna Dratch-Parker, owner of EFD Creative - Event Planning &
            Design and recipient of BizBash's "Social Event Planner of the Year"
            award
        --  Christine Mansella from Infinite Events, which won the Wedding Wire's
            Bride's Choice Award in 2010, 2011 and 2012
        --  David Sargent, a concierge and on-site romance expert at the Boston
            Marriott Long Wharf

“Engagement should be an exciting time and we are thrilled to launch this one-stop shop that will make the planning process seamless and stress-free for Boston couples,” said Murphy. “Bridal Bootcamp classes will be the perfect opportunity to meet top local vendors, share ideas and feel inspired.”

Starting at 6PM, the two-hour session in the private dining room of the Waterline restaurant at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel restaurant in Boston will also feature complimentary sips and bites for guests — and one lucky couple will win a free weekend getaway at the hotel, including one complimentary overnight stay at the hotel and breakfast for two at Waterline restaurant. This will be the first class of a Bridal Bootcamp series scheduled to take place throughout 2012.

Each 2012 Bridal Bootcamp will include a guided tour of the stunning new Harbor View Ballroom space, the crowning jewel of a four-year, full-hotel, multimillion dollar renovation, which boasts floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto a seasonal, outdoor patio, all with a breathtaking, 180-degree views of the Boston Harbor. The Boston Marriott Long Wharf offers more than 20,000 square feet of flexible Boston Harbor wedding space to fit events — and bridal imaginations — of nearly any size.

About the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Located within short walking distance of Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, and the Boston Aquarium, the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel is also just minutes from Boston Common, the Boston Children’s Museum, and the TD Banknorth Garden. This convenient Boston harbor hotel features 397 rooms and 15 suites on 7 floors, as well as over 20,000 sq. ft. of total meeting and event space for weddings, conferences, and more. It also offers easy access to Logan International Airport, Amtrak’s South Station, the MBTA’s subway and commuter rail and I-93.