Why Did My Wedding Dress Cost So Much?

An interesting blurb about one woman's wedding dress purchase.  She's not alone as this is a common complaint among brides.

Why Did My Wedding Dress Cost So Much? : Planet Money : NPR:

There are several factors to consider when purchasing anything for your wedding.  Items and services set up just for weddings do have a tendency to cost more.  Weddings are an important rite of passage and generally there's more effort that goes into the selling of these products.  The purchases you make for your wedding are supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, even though this won't be true for 41% of first time newlyweds, 60% for second time newlyweds and a depressing 73% for third time newlyweds.  With these dismal numbers, this still narrows the repeat business for the wedding purveyors drastically, and this is where most businesses make their living.

Another thing to consider about your purchases is the time your wedding vendor spends one-on-one time with you, one customer, in a time frame(s) when they generally have several appointments with other customers.

And last but not least, a lot of items you buy for the wedding are very specific to weddings and cannot be used anywhere else, so they're "exclusive" use, thereby, they will cost more than products made from the same type and amount of materials, but geared for a more general use.

Now, having said all that, there are some instances when certain vendors will charge waaayyy too much.  The best I can offer is to heed the ancient caveat, "Buyer beware".  This means doing your homework; check online, talk to trusted friends who have been through this, and set a realistic budget that you can stick to.  That means no walking into Kleinfeld's in New York City with a $200 budget - you'll only be disappointed.  If you run into an item or service that you just can't live without and realize you are being overcharged, either get happy with it or try to find it or a reasonable substitute for a lesser cost.  You are, after all, the customer.

Hope this helps!

My hero

In a nutshell:

I hope this wasn't a realistic depiction
- look at those shoulders!

When Joseph Nicéphore Niépce created the world’s first known photograph in 1825, I wonder if he had any idea of the far-reaching ramifications of this invention.  Born to a wealthy family March 7, 1765, in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, he also invented the world’s first known internal combustion engine.  Due to his family’s wealth, they were forced to flee revolutionary France, but later M. Niépce served under Napolean as a staff officer.  He spent many years in Italy and the island of Sardinia, but ill-health forced him to resign and return back to France where he married Agnes Romero.  In 1801, he moved back to the family estates in Chalon to live the life of a gentleman-farmer with his older brother, Claude.  Money from the sugar beets allowed them to live comfortably and pursue their experiments.  Claude later went mad and squandered the family fortunes, leaving M. Niépce financially ruined.  He died a pauper and was buried in a grave financed by the municipality, ironically enough, located near the family home where he had experimented and made the world’s first photographic image.  

Louis Daguerre

So we went straight from experiments to poverty and death?  There's more, lots more, but I didn't think it would hold your attention.  Yes, you!  

Anyway, my point is this:  where would we be if he hadn't experimented on his camera obscura to capture nature because he felt his hand wasn't steady enough to draw the lavender in his garden?  I'm sure someone else would have figured it out at a later date.  Louis Daguerre was on the right path, and actually partnered  with Joseph Niépce in 1829.  But I'm reminded of the movie "The Butterfly Effect".  Who knows?  I believe he was the catalyst.  If photography had to wait another 5 years, 10 years, more, how would that affect the timeline?  

But it didn't work out that way, and now I'm sitting here typing away on my laptop computer and viewing these digital images because of M. Niépce.  And whenever I want to capture the lavender in my garden, I can.

Vibrating Tattoo Patented By Nokia Alerts Users When Phone Rings

I have blogged about this technology before, but I was expecting another 5 to 10 years before it made its public appearance.  If you read the article, this technology is being termed as "creepy" by some because it's too sci-fi.  It would appear that my timeline for the marketing was correct.  Give it another decade, and we'll see how people respond.

Vibrating Tattoo Patented By Nokia Alerts Users When Phone Rings:

'via Blog this'

It's About Time

Being an April baby, I have an inborn penchant for diamonds.  They're beautiful, brilliant (no reference to the cut of the stone meant here) and can truly sparkle.  They're avant garde,
they're conversation starters, they're status makers, they're practically imperishable, they've got a written history that starts back 3,000 years in India and were also used as a medical aid back in the Dark Ages as recorded by St. Hildegarde.  And I just love them.  Granted, I don't own any, but that's not the point - I still love them!

Which segues into another great love of mine: chocolate.  I was raised on See's Chocolates and favor the milk variety, but I am not adverse to the dark and white varieties.  Although chocolate's known history is not as ancient as diamonds,  it does have some interesting stories, complete with a romance when a prince married a chambermaid.  Hint:  ever wonder what happened to the girl on the Baker's Chocolate brand?  No?  Oh, well.  She was a real live person who worked for a wealthy family in Dresden, Germany.  The Swiss artist Jean-Etienne Liotard was visiting the family (their name eludes me) and while he saw her making her rounds with the morning chocolate, he felt he had to paint her great beauty, and The Chocolate Girl was born.  She also caught the eye of visiting royalty, a certain Prince Dietrichstein, who married her.  Eventually.*

And you may be wondering right now Ok, ok.  You like diamonds and chocolate.  You REALLY like chocolate.  What's your point?  

(angelic choir is heard in the distance)...wait for it....Chocolate Diamonds...tada!  While browsing through Harper's Bazaar, I couldn't help but spot a two-page advertisement for LeVian Chocolate Diamonds.  Oh, happy day. I do not know how long this has been a product available for the general public such as the likes of me and I'm waaay behind the curve, or is this a relatively new idea to market them?  

I know what's on my list for Christmas but I'd better be really good!

*There are many versions to this story.  I believe the marriage did take place, but the particulars are many and varied.  

Wedding Websites

Are you one of the many brides who has so much to do and not enough time to do it in?  Do you live in Placer, Sacramento, Sutter or Yuba county?  Let me help!  As part of my photography services, all my wedding clients have the option to have their own informational wedding website compiled and maintained for them at no extra cost.  Imagine the convenience of being able to communicate with your entire wedding party through one source; have all the information for your out of town guests at the ready; an easy format to display all your related photos - it couldn't be any easier.

http://sampleweddingwebsite.weebly.com/

If having one less thing to worry about during this significant time of your life appeals to you, call me at 661-549-6615 and I'll set you up.

Apples - Personally Yours

Bohemia:  n. 1. A community of persons with artistic or literary tastes who adopt manners and mores conspicuously different from those expected or approved of by the majority of society.   2. The district in which bohemians live.

Detail on umbrellas

I don't generally start my blogs with a definition of a word, but in this case, it fits.  With a storefront that can't be any wider than 8 feet, Ruth Soto, owner of Apples - Personally Yours, has transformed a relatively tiny space into her personal statement.  Outside is a small table with two chairs that is used for lounging with friends and smoking the occasional cigarette; inside is unique jewelry, clothes, incense and artwork on display and for sale.  

Talking with customer

Lunch

Window display

Chic

Belly dancer

The eclectic blend of her merchandise seems to reflect the people who patronize the shop.  While browsing through the earrings (I want the owls!) I noticed a consistent flow of people coming in to pick up personalized artwork, make an order or just chat; it was so relaxed.  But make no mistake; Ms. Soto is very serious about her business. You can see by the originality and quality of her art and the creative energy she has infused into the design of her shop.  She showed me a log she was prepping because a client had found it on the beach and wanted her to use that surface for a specific piece of art.  In fact, I don't believe I noticed any paintings on traditional canvas; umbrellas, boards, vases, jewelry boxes, tabletops...yes, but no canvas.  It appears that if a paintbrush can fit on a surface, she'll paint it!

Go local and check out her store located at 327 #B on "D" Street, Marysville.

Hours:

Monday - Friday:

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday:

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Detail on vase

Detail on jewelry box

Dinah's on D street

Looking for that special book

Large selection

For those of us who are tired of the big chain, box store type mentality when it comes to our books, a refreshing zephyr has swept into Marysville.  For avid readers, casual readers and even (or should I say especially?) readers with a hard to find request, Dinah's on "D" Street is hard to beat.  A friendly place to browse for your next reading adventure, you can walk in and purchase/special order a book or you can trade a used book for 50% off your next used book purchase.  Local writers are displayed on the shelves along with greeting cards and unique offerings from local artisans.

Dinah and Steve Parks may be new to the area but are active members of the business community; the last time I saw Steve, he was grilling up rib-eye steaks at the Ellis Lake Volunteers BBQ Raffle and they recently enlisted to chair the Marysville Friday Night Farmer's Market .  Dinah is the avid reader in the family and the one who wanted to open the store.  They chose Marysville because they felt this area really needed a bookseller (I can't agree with them more!).  Are they happy with their choice?  They're thrilled to be here and credit their success to the wonderful and supportive people in our community.    

Go local and visit their store located at 320 "D" Street in Marysville.  Store hours:
                                     Mon - Fri:  9:00 am-5:30 pm
                                     Sat:10:00 am-4:00 pm
                                     530-741-1000

Enduring classics

Happy customer

Browsing