A farm, a wedding and "Holy F-balls!" Kathy Griffin!

Saturday, March 8th was a very INTERESTING day for Jenny and the crew of PBW. Elka and Brian were the couple...a couple with lots of personality, a flair for the non-traditional, and they are die hard Kathy Griffin fans! They made a simple request for her to marry them...and it came true! Kathy went and got ordained online with the Universal Life church and flew in from Los Angeles to make it official for the couple.

At the Queens Farm Museum, Kathy performed a 10-minute service that ranged from telling raunchy jokes to having the bride recite the reception menu! Yes, a little out of the norm...but there were tons of laughs all around! Our good friend and collegue, Samantha Goldberg, was the lead on this project and asked Jenny to join her for all the planning and logistics. Jenny was more than happy to join in...not just because she loves weddings, but because Jenny is a HUGE Kathy Griffin fan! A crew was most certainly needed and we want to thank our girls Melissa,Adhari, Marissa, Erika and Ashley for being on hand for all the moving, arranging..and comic relief!

Kathy was really happy to be there and was happy to take pics with guests. In true PBW fashion...we had to have a few! Umm...did we mention that Jenny was a fan? Here are some pics! It was really cool for all of us to meet Kathy--very down to earth and really fun!

It was certainly a crazy day full of press agencies, film crews (from Kathy's show "My Life on the D-List" on Bravo) and general pre-wedding chaos...but through it all everyone really went above and beyond!

The episode featuring Elka and Brian's wedding will probably air in June on Bravo...more pics to come!

And a reminder for you all to watch Jenny (and Sam too!) TOMORROW night on Whose Wedding is it Anyway? at 10PM on Style!

Next Tuesday....WATCH!

Just a reminder, our new episode of Whose Wedding is it Anyway will be airing next Tuesday, March 11th at 10 PM on the Style Network! We will be sharing this episode with our friend and fellow planner, Samantha Goldberg-- so we are excited!

Heather and Wari's wedding was very special and we are excited for you all to see Jenny and her crew rocking it out!

Tiffany and Stephen's Wedding..filled with love, elegance, and Cowboys!

March 1, 2008 was a wonderful day for Pampered Bride Weddings. After a year of planning meetings and many phone calls, Tiffany and Stephen were married in a lovely ceremony at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, NY. Our couple have been planning for well over a year...well, Tiffany was for sure, while Stephen was busy playing defense for the Dallas Cowboys. We had been so excited to be a part of this day...their love for one another was infectious, and their families and bridal party were absolutely wonderful! We just knew the day would be very special...as Jenny said, we had a "warm fuzzy" feeling!

After the ceremony, we all headed to Leonard's in Great Neck, NY for the reception. With over 300 guests attending from all over the country, you can imagine the many, many details to tend to.. and we'd like to thank the staff at Leonards for being so accomodating, especially Drew. Tiffany and Stephen were floored when they saw their lavish reception room...the centerpieces, lighting, all the special touches...and their cake--hello bling! Everything looked absolutely amazing! We can't help but share a couple of the pics with you all.

There are so many people who took part in the success of this event. Everyone was on point that day and we would like to take the time to thank them for their hard work.

Thanks to Vito and his crew from Jasmine Photography for taking wonderful pics and doing video! Jah-Pan for the steel drum band, Music Mixed Intelligently for the all night entertainment, World of Illumination for lighting, Partybooths.com for the Photo Booth and Flower Michele for the amazing reception decor! A special Thank You to Tameka, wedding coordinator for Abyssinian Baptist Chruch..you are fabulous!

With Stephen being a Dallas Cowboy, there were bound to be some NFL players attending...we were happy to be there to meet all of them! And yes, we admit, we were slightly starstruck--but all were so nice! Thanks for the many pics! Here is one pic of us with (from left to right) Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher, and Chris Canty of the Cowboys.

Of course the entire day would not have run smoothly without our fabulous PBW crew for the day. Jenny would like to send a huge THANK YOU to Melissa, Adhari and Monique for their assistance throughout the day! Mission Accomplished, Ladies! Although the day was long, Jenny and crew definitely had their fair share of FUN at the wedding..it was hard not to throw themselves in the celebration!

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bowen...it was an honor to be a part of your very special day!

The "Bulging" Blues

So many of our clients casually mention to us that they are going on a major weight loss mission for their wedding. I completely understand that. I too went on a diet before my big day. I was very happy to lose 15 lbs in 6 months and even happier to lose another 5lbs in the two days leading up to my wedding! (check out one of my wedding pics...it's so bitter sweet....sweet because it's me with my late mother's sisters from Ireland and bitter because I am SO NOT svelte like that anymore). That week of wedding weight loss is just a phenomenon that cannot be medically explained. I attribute it to jitters, anxiety, excitement...etc. I'm not questioning it...I just loved it! :)

But, as a professional yo-yo dieter, I can speak from years of experience and say that the best way to lose weight is to practice a healthy lifestyle. That includes portion control and exercise. We all know it...but for some reason (and this is another phenomenon that racks my brain) we simply do not do it. This is the weight loss dilemma that plagues so many of us. To add fuel to the fire, we are constantly faced with tempting and delicious foods everywhere we go! It's easy to say "I'll pass on the cheesecake, and opt for the sugar free jello" but how often do we really do it??? I can personally say that I have failed to make good choices for the last 4 years and as a result I have gained 30 lbs (I'm actually nauseous when I say that!)

To this end...I have decided to challenge myself and start living healthy. I have joined Jenny Craig and plan to blow Valerie Bertinelli out of the water! JC's new spokesperson is Queen Latifah...and she is not interested in looking like a supermodel, but rather she simply wishes to be a super "role model" and lose about 10% of her body weight. Screw that! (no offense to the Queen!). I want to lose 35 lbs. I don't want to be stick thin..I never will be a size 2 and I'm completely OK with that fact. I just want to feel better in my clothes. I want to look better on national TV (for those of you who don't know, I'm a featured wedding planner on the tv show "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?" and it's aired in over 30 countries and 60 million homes). I really don't like seeing my big fat bum on national television. If that's not incentive enough, then I don't know what is! Yes, I want to look better for my hubby and yes I want more energy and yes I want to be able to try on any almost any outfit and say "hubba hubba" but in reality, I'm all about appearances and I "appear" less than fabulous on that big ole' 60'' hi def television screen! They say the camera adds 10 lbs...well when we're filming, there's often 3 cameras on us at once...that's 30 lbs of tv weight according to my calculations! Scary...

So here's the deal...I am making an effort to change. My reasons are my own. I welcome any and all brides to be, former brides, women, men, etc. to join me on this mission! Let's do this. Let's get healthy, let's get smaller, let's become fabulous! My choice is Jenny Craig...I need the discipline and control that this particular program offers. Whatever "diet" plan you choose...I wish you much success! I also welcome your emails (send to Jennifer@pamperedbrideweddings.com) Share your success with me! Share your bad day stories with me! Share it all!

Wedding season has officially started on my end..that means weddings every weekend...that means food, food and more food in my face. I need support! And just as a side note...I am one of those optimistic people that thinks all brides, regardless of size, look beautiful on their wedding day. So this is not in any way, me shoving "weight loss" down the throats of brides to be. If you're happy, good for you! I am simply stating that many of us do not feel comfortable at our current size...And to all of you who fall into that category, this mission is for you!
Let's kick the butt of the bulge!
More updates to come.

Jenny

Fun news!

Hi all!!



We just heard from the producers that Heather and Wari's episode of Whose Wedding is it Anyway? will be airing on March 11 at 9pm! Episode number 702.



Check mystyle.com for details! Should be a good one!

Are you ready for some more Jenny?!

Another successful episode wrapped!

PBW just wrapped another episode of "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?" on Saturday. Tobi and Petros were married at the Madison Hotel in Convent Station. Their love story and wedding planning experience is quite unique...in addition to the normal stresses associated with getting married, the couple is also undergoing fertility treatments. Amazingly, the bride was not a hormonal nightmare! She was actually a pleasure! It was such a fun experience to say the least.

Samantha Goldberg of Gold Events and Jenny partnered on this event and were basically given the green light by the bride and groom to design and orchestrate their wedding! The couple literally had no idea what Sam and Jenny had up their sleeves! They just trusted them..and we love that!!!! The bride told us she liked purples, plums and cranberries so Jenny and Sam just ran with it! We used some of our favorite vendors (thank you Josh, Kristin, Cindy, and Jay) and a big thanks to Fred at the Madison. Everyone did such an awesome job!

The couple was so happy..they were actually crying when Jenny and Samantha revealed the reception room to them. That is the best feeling a wedding planner can ever hope for! Mission accomplished!

Here is a pic of the couple with Jenny and Sam...I would say they are pretty happy!

Check out mystyle.com for air dates...but we think it will be in late March or early April.

TRASH THE DRESS-Are you for Real?!!

So we've recently been bombarded with requests from our clients asking about this "trash the dress" service being offered by photographers. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this phenomenon...it's quite simple. The idea is for a bride to don her gorgeous gown after her wedding (days, weeks, months...your choice) and go to the streets (or any location that's less than sterile and pristine) and have a professional photographer there snapping shots of the bride as she rolls around in dirt, grass, city streets, the ocean etc. Yes, it sounds pretty darned awful...but the process is apparently quite refreshing and liberating (just what I heard...can't speak for myself.) Personally, I would not do it for two reasons 1. after over 4 years of marital bliss there's no way I could even squeeze into my wedding gown (ugh..that's a whole other blog!) and 2. I really liked my dress.

So if you're considering taking the plunge and jumping on the "trash the dress" bandwagon...and you really loved your $8500 Reem Acra gown...I have three words of advice.... BUY ANOTHER DRESS! Because if your photographer is talented...he or she will most likely have you covered in ketchup and mustard on the streets of New York! (see the link below of CLB Photography's "trash the dress" photo shoot) Totally divine...but dirty as hell!


http://www.clbphoto.com/forBlogs/BlogTTDSlideshow.html

Happy Planning!

Love, Jenny