I Do Appointments.com

OkBride's Bridal Show Does Not Disappoint

2012-01-30T06:06:00.000-08:00

I Do Appointments attended OkBride's annual bridal show Jan. 29, 2012 and we wanted to give our brides the red carpet experience! Last year we met an L.A. backdrop specialist at the WMBA show in Las Vegas and we had to have one! "At I Do we love to think differently and be unexpected," says president Patrick Kelly. "Our backdrop was a real hit with the brides and their families. Out of all the brides we talked to very few declined. It was something fun the bride can look back on her experience planning her wedding and maybe share with friends & family on their social networks like facebook, Twitter and pinterest." All pictures taken will be posted on I Do's Facebook page Monday afternoon. We were told there was over 1400 brides attending! Holy cow! That's 200 more brides than last year! Needless to say we had an amazing time getting to met so many beautiful brides. Our promotion was close to (if not more) $3,000 off your wedding AND a buy one get one Norwegian Cruse from Tom's Formal Wear. We will be drawing for one lucky bride in the next few weeks, so stay tuned! We feel so very grateful to be a part of this fabulous event!

What is a QR Code?

2012-01-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

QR Codes Stands for Quick Response. You have probably seen these in your favorite magazines or newspaper. All smart phones can purchase (usually for free - mine was) these at the app store. Once purchased you just chose your

QR Code app and hold your phone over the code until it scans the code. Then it usually goes to a website to get more info on the article you are reading. How we use QR Codes is at Bridal Shows we attend. So when a bride walks by and wants to see more about www.idoappointments.com she can scan the code to see what we are about. We have been handing out these for free to all I Do members who attend

Bridal Shows that want one. So for example a bride comes up to our booth and we ask do you have a QR Code reader? If Yes, we encourage them to scan our code which goes to one of our I Do members Profiles and at the top is a quick register. No more writing things down on paper, we have their info to see who wins our promotion for the show. Then when we get back to the office and draw their name out of a hat to see who wins. For members of I Do, pretty much the same thing, but better! They scan, register and book an appointment with you instantly to get your wedding prize from the show. Win Win! Too Cool! :)

I Do at the Bridalifestyle Wedding Showcase Bridal Show!

2012-01-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time at the Bridalifestyle Wedding Showcase on January 8th! We got to see hundreds of blushing brides and their families! Everyone was so excited at our booth, so we just wanted to share the pictures with you. For more high quality photos please visit our facebook page and like us to see and share the pictures with your friends and family! Come see us on January 29 at the Cox Convention Center for the OkBride Show for your chance to win over $2,000 in wedding giveaways PLUS a buy on get one Norwegian Cruse!

I Do Appointments & Professionals have a Photoshoot!

2011-12-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

IDoAppointments.com's wedding professionals packed up and met at with Ashli Cox, catering manager of the OKC Marriott for our first official photoshoot! Ashli asked a few months ago if we could help show off her place and we knew we could help, but didn't quite know how... at first. Then Photographer Jared Wanzer came to us wanting to shoot JJ Kelly Bridal wedding dresses soon after and then the wheels started to turn! We then needed a beautiful model, so we turned to high fashion model Brandi Hambleton who we have been working with on other projects and she loved the idea! Then we approached DeAndrea Daniels of Elegantly Finished Faces to bring out Brandi's fabulousness with make up! DeAndrea in turn suggested Michael Harris for hair, which was genius! Kelly Veal Long of Poppy Lane Designs brought up the rear with two, not one, breathtaking bouquets (spring & fall). Finally, what shoot would not be complete without diamonds - lots of diamonds - from Valerie Naifeh of Naifeh's Fine Jewelry with pave diamond earrings, diamond tennis bracelet and a pave diamond ring!
When we got to the OKC Marriott Ashli had us in the Presidential Suite on the 16th floor! Very posh! Plus, room service and the Marriott staff was so very helpful with all our needs and requests. DeAndrea did her make up magic and Michael gave Brandi the perfect hairdo. Our photographer Jared went into professional mode and set up lighting while directing Brandi to the perfect pose. Brandi was doing a masterful job of anticipating what poses Jared wanted even before he started asking. It was Magical! We are so very thankful to work with such talented and dedicated wedding professionals! New pictures will be coming soon! Please follow us on our facebook to see more!

Wishing all our beautiful Brides and wedding professionals a very Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

We here at I Do Appointments have so very much to be thankful for. Thank you to all the gorgeous brides who we have had the privilege to offer our free service. You are all so very beautiful and we are so excited we can take some of the stress out of planning your wedding! We could not be more excited to be part of your very special day!
To our extremely talented wedding professionals, thank you for believing that brides love booking appointments online. I Do is the very first wedding website to build this software and we are so very happy you share our vision. I just bumped into a bride today and she was telling me how she enjoys getting her reminders for her appointments. It just makes sense. We are growing slowly but surely. We are so thankful for the journey. When we look back when our idea was on just a piece of paper to right now, it is very exciting. We have over sixty wedding professionals in our family and we have served over a thousand brides! We are in the US, Canada, Mexico and even Italy! We are so very blessed and we wish everyone to be around family, friends and love ones this Thanksgiving! God Bless!!

I Do Co-Hosts KSBI 52 TV as Breaking Dawn Opens! Oh, did we say Randy Fenoli too?!

2011-11-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

Breaking Dawn had to wait one more day for I Do Appointments.com staff as we watched KSBI 52 at 10 pm last night! I Do Appointments.com President Patrick Kelly had the chance to Co-Host the popular "All About You" show with Kealey McIntire and staff. "This was my first time to co-host a TV show so I was a little concerned on what I had gotten myself into. But Kealey, Janice and Abigail really put me at ease and we had a lot of fun on the show, we had good chemistry." Randi Fenoli was the featured guest and gave Jane Kelly of JJ Kelly Bridal Salon a Huge shout out! Jane and Randi have been close for the past 20 years ever since he was designing for The Diamond Collection so many years ago. We had JJ Kelly Bridal Salon providing the fashion which was outstanding. They really do bring high fashion to Oklahoma. Monique Lhuillier, Reem Acra, Lazaro all the very best bridal has to offer. Our models had one of the top Hair and Make up in the country by The Make Up Room Agency by Sharon Tabb. They were super professional and our models looked extra polished. I Do Appointments.com guests on the show were the talented designer Valerie Naifeh of Naifeh Fine Jewelry and Lilly Stone of SooLilly Exclusive Cosmetics who has been an expert in her field for over 20 years! Have to give this experience a big A++!

President Patrick Kelly and Valerie Naifeh - this diamond was huge!

I Do gives a way it's first iPad 2

2011-11-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments just gave a way it's first iPad 2 to WMBA member Kyle Brown of Bridal Association of America out of California. I Do ran a contest to WMBA members this past September in Las Vegas. Participants attended the WMBA and registered to win at I Do's website. "We had a great turn out and got to meet and greet so many wonderful professionals from around the world," says president Patrick Kelly. In the middle of the promotion we made major upgrades to the I Do Website which delayed announcing our winner for a few weeks. "We had to work the bugs out before presenting our product to the contestants, but we are super excited on how our website preforms now!" New tools, features and less clicks for Brides and Wedding professionals to book appointments are making I Do Appointments the premiere website for brides and wedding professionals to connect over the internet.

I Do runs in the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure®, in OKC

2011-10-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Susan and her sister Nancy

I used to get annoyed when I was driving and runners were blocking my way to get where I was going. Well, today I got to be one of those runners - and it felt great! Not for the reason you might be thinking of, but that I was running for a cause, a belief that I might be making a difference in someone else's life, with hundreds of others huffing and puffing with me. The staring gun went off with a large "Boom" more like a cannon than a gun, which scared everyone because there was no count down. If you are from Oklahoma City, that is not such a good thing, but finally the race had begun! There were in shape, out of shape, large and very small runners all around me. I chose not to wear my headphones because I wanted to experience not only the sights, but also the sounds. One sound I thought was neat was the thumps of hundreds of running shoes heading directly into the rising sun. It was inspiring. I was kicking myself for not wearing my jacket, but by the first marker I was thankful I didn't. The weather was peaceful and spirits among the other runners were high through out the whole race. Bananas, water and lots of yogurt were waiting at the finish line. Feelings of gratitude for finishing and hope that in running, we have helped someone in great need was so very satisfying. I am hooked.

Kim Kardashian Renews Wedding Vows on Ellen Show, I Do Appointments.com Approves

2011-10-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

video platform video management video solutions video player

Kim Kardasian renews vows with new hubby! Rev. Ellen is classic. President of I Do Appointments.com completely loves this! Enjoy and share with friends!

Steve Jobs dies at 56 - President of I Do Appointments.com reflects...

2011-10-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs, one of the greatest CEOs in history, visionary, creator, game changer and world changer has past at the early age of 56. It is hard to express the loss of someone who changed the world so much for so many. He had a way of looking at problems and made them simple. He made computers simple. Have you ever taken a computer class? It's not simple, if you have taken one you know. Far from it. I watch my 6 year old gravitate to my iphone, ipad, and Macbook and start using them. Not playing with it, mind you, but using them. She started printing dolphins and her favorite nickjr. characters on our wireless printer. Keep in mind I just installed the printer and no one in the house had printed anything, let alone attempted to show her how. It is mind blowing how simple Apple products are and they are about to get even easier to use with the new cloud technology coming. The size of the next generation of phones is going to get even smaller. Not as much hard wear is needed when you take out the need to store information. So, the question is, will Apple keep raising the bar? Did Steve Jobs, one of the most brilliant minds of our time mentor the successor of Apple so that his legacy will live on through future products? Steve owned over 200 patents at the time of his death, knowing he only had so much time to live, we can only hope that he would have a final exit strategy to share his technology with the world. I was always a big Superman fan. When Superman was at his Fortress of Solitude, he placed a crystal in the right place and his father would appear and answer questions that he anticipated his son would ask and have the answer for him, even though he had died lifetimes past. I would like to think Steve was a Superman fan as well. RIP Steve Jobs.

Success with Kathy Ireland at Wedding MBA

2011-09-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

Kathy Ireland meets with President of I Do Appointments!

We had an amazing time hearing Kathy Ireland speak at the Wedding MBA! Kathy spoke on how she started her career modeling swimsuits and how she ended up modeling socks, of all things, which turned into producing those socks for Kmart. Those socks sold like hot cakes and things looked fantastic until Kmart suddenly went bankrupt and so did Kathy's company. Kmart was her only client! She had to rebuild, reload and come back bigger and better than ever. Now Kathy's company is worth over a Billion dollars! She even rivals Oprah Winfrey! Her focus on faith and family keeps her feet on the ground while reaching for the stars!

Talking with Sugar comes out sweet!

2011-09-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

President Patrick Kelly had the opportunity to speak to the staff of Sugar Cakes yesterday. "We talked about the importance of the sales process with their customers. Be honest and sincere about what, how and why you do what you do. I think the most important asset any company can have is knowing why you get up everyday and why your customers should care. Sugar has a wonderful product. It's beautiful and tastes great. But the "why" is so important! Sugar makes incredible memories with their cakes and that is what gets the owners up out of bed every morning. I can still remember my Batman birthday cake when I was five years old. I remember going to the bakery and seeing all those cakes and talking to the baker and telling what I wanted. It was darn right magical. I felt so special. You could not put a price tag on that memory and that is what they do everyday."

I Do Appointments.com: This-Changes-Everything!

2011-09-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments.com: This-Changes-Everything!: "You may have the Universe, just give me Italy" I Do Appointments Gives You Italy! While on Twitter I ran into Bonnie Marie! The thought o...

This-Changes-Everything!

2011-09-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

"You may have the Universe, just give me Italy"

I Do Appointments Gives You Italy!

While on Twitter I ran into Bonnie Marie! The thought of I Do having a 20 year wedding planner on our

site is always wonderful. But to have a wedding planner in Italy was more than any website could ask for! Bonnie

requested that we speak on Skype to talk turkey. I had no idea how to use Skype! So in a panic, I called a tech buddy and he saved me!

This Skype thing is amazing! We use it in conjunction with I Do Appointments to book Skype appointments with Bonnie! She just places her Skype number on her I Do Wedding Professional page. We had a great talk and Bonnie is now part of the family. Bonnie and most of her family were married and now live in Italy. The Italian Government will not marry you without a translator and that is where Bonnie comes in. She cuts through the red tape and gets our brides officially married with the US Consulate and the Italian Government. Plus, she can help plan the wedding with the best wedding professionals Italy has to offer! My dream is to travel to Italy and have Bonnie plan my trip!

Kim Kardashian Wedding, I Do Appointments.com Approves

2011-08-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

A two-part television special will air in October revealing every last detail of Kim Kardashian's extravagant wedding to Kris Humphries.

But fans of the reality star and her basketballer beau are being kept satisfied by sneak peeks of the lavish affair, and the latest reveals another of the bride's Vera Wang wedding gowns.

In this peek inside the reception, Kim is filmed in her third dress of the evening - a satin V-neck gown, which she wears with her hair down around her shoulders and pinned back with a diamond clasp.

But their romantic twirl around the dance floor, choreographed by Mark Ballas, was short-lived when Kim's step-father Bruce Jenner cut in and swept the bride away.

Jenner made a touching speech, telling guests: 'Tonight is really about family, the joining of two families.'

He also noted that all ten of his children and step-children were in the room to celebrate the union.

Then all of Kim's sisters got up on the stage to make a collaborative speech. Khloe wished the couple a long and happy life together, before encouraging the guests to get up on the dancefloor to 'shake their a**.'

Why I Do?

2011-07-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

I Do Ad on "Say Yes to the Dress"

This is a valid question. Why should a bride or wedding professional become a member? I Do came from 52 years combined experience in the wedding industry. Brides can book their important meet and greet appointments with local wedding pros in the matter of a few clicks for free. No more waiting for professionals to call back or email. We even email and text you and the wedding professional for you so everyone is on the same page. We make wedding planning simple.
Wedding Professionals can place "Book Your Appointment" link directly on their page (we even supply the code that includes a cute wedding ring). Your link goes directly to your I Do Profile page that shows off your business. This amazing little tool lets brides know they can book with the professional day or night, open or closed. I Do is the only wedding website to give brides unprecedented access to wedding professionals. Our ground breaking calendar software knows when you are booked and when you want to take appointments. It's like having a $40,000 assistant without the $40,000 at a minimal cost! Wouldn't it be nice to get an email or text reminding you that an appointment is coming in to see you with ALL their wedding info and you didn't half to lift a finger or a telephone! One appointment a year with I Do pays for your investment many times over. We are not only pioneers in the software field, but we are also clients, see JJ Kelly Bridal Salon's website! So, we test every single day and upgrade at a faster pace then most services because we want cool features too! I hope this was helpful! Help keep the I Do movement going by sharing us with a friend.

Warmly,

Patrick Kelly
President

I Do TV

2011-06-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments.com is the only wedding website to book appointments online! We have 23 million facebook impressions and growing! Please enjoy our TV commercial! :)

I Do Hits 200,00 TV viewers on "Say Yes to the Dress!"

2011-06-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

I Do on "Say Yes" Rocks!

I Do Appointments.com is over the moon excited on it's first commercial! We are on Friday Nights and Sunday Morning till Noon! Over 4,000 brides, grooms, mothers of the bride and more are seeing I Do for the first time every time we run our ad! I Do is changing the way brides plan their wedding. Please keep the movement going and share us to friends and family!

2011-05-31T06:38:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments has turned to Constant Contact to connect with our beautiful brides to be and our very talented Wedding Professionals! Subscribe to our newsletter today and get the latest info on what is going on in the wedding industry! Keep the I Do Movement going, please share us with a friend!

We Make Wedding Planning Easy!

Please Click here to see the latest email!

I Do Appointments.com has over60 wedding professionals to help you plan your dream wedding!

Instead of surfing the internet for hours, just click on "Find a Wedding Professional" onidoappointments.com

Brides:

Set up your account
Search I Do Professionals
Book your appointment

Easy, convienent and saves time!

Brides create your FREE "I DO" account now!

Look for IDoAppointments.com during

Say Yes to the Dress! You don't want to miss this! Friday @ 7pm & 9am Sunday Central Time!

Once you book an appointment, I DoAppointments.com will send you text & email message reminders!

I Do Appointments.com has participated in several events:

Marianne's Rentals 25th Anniversary

Wedding MBA in Las Vegas

Fall Tulsa Bridal Show

Chesapeake Energy Brides Love Tour

OKBrides Bridal Show in Norman

OK Wedding Pros Breakfast

KSBI Channel 52 Show

OKBride Waterford Show

"I Do's" Wedding Professionals

Zach Seat Photography

Emerson Events &Design

Von Wedding Films

Paper Lion

Mixxxit Productions

Beloved Bridal Boutique

Innovative Event Solutions

Brides Create your FREE "I DO" account now!

Bridal Salons, Caterers, Ceremonies, Florists, Gift Registeries, Hair/Make-Up, Favors, Invitations, Music, Party Rentals, Photography, Receptions, Rentals, Rings, Wedding Planners, Transporation and more...

We would love for you to become a part of the "I Do" family. Brides create your free account today in one easy step! If you have any questions please reply to this email atinfo@idoappointments.com

Warmly,

Patrick Kelly

President

I Do Appointments.com

New I Do Ad to Run Friday!

2011-05-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments is very excited to run it's first TV Ad EVER! Click here to take a look at

our first draft. We are looking to start our ad on "Say Yes to the Dress" on Friday the 13th, yes we know a perfect day to start our ad! Our producer has given us a great ad. We love the voice, very upbeat and young yet professional. The music has a light upbeat feel as well. The 3D effect with the little I Do's are fun all around our I Do Girl is a savvy way to promote our cool logo! Please let us know what you think. I Do Appointments.com is changing the way brides and wedding professionals plan their weddings. Come see how easy it is to plan your very special day here!

2011-04-21T06:02:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments is so very excited to start advertising on "Say Yes to the Dress." We believe this is THE biggest move of I Do Appointments this year! We want to expose I Do to as many brides in the area as possible and we All watch "Say Yes". We know we have the very best wedding professionals coupled with breakthrough technology on the site and now an amazing TV ad is a huge win for our team! With the royal wedding coming up, big weddings are so going to be back in Vogue! We are attempting to wrap up production in the coming weeks and get the word out in Extravagant Fashion! Until then please visit us soon! We make wedding planning easy! :)

Marrianne's Rentals Celebrates 25 Years!

2011-04-09T05:26:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments was asked to be one of the 25 new ideas by Event Coordinator Brent Patterson of Marrianne's Rental on Thursday April 7th. I Do was honored to be apart of this amazing event! We placed a gorgeous table right in front of the runway with a big thanks to Kelly Long of Poppi Lane Flowers. Kelly made an over the top floral arraignment that got tons of compliments! What is always fun for us is talking with new brides that have not yet heard of I Do and watch their eyes sparkle when we tell them they can plan their wedding at midnight with the perfect wedding professionals. We gave out rings with our wedding professionals cards on them and cute wedding rings to all brides and moms who visited us! Brent did a fabulous job rapping the models with table cloth linen - yes the red dress above is linen! Unbelievable! The Red Cross was gathering donations for families effected by the recent Oklahoma fires for families who lost everything and supporting our firemen who were on the front lines fighting the fires. Marrianne's has always given back to the community and this night was no exception. JJ Kelly Bridal finished the fashion show with the top designs from New York for Spring 2011. Thank you goes out to our models for coming early for hair and make up and looking red hot! Thanks again for inviting us, Brent!!

I Do to Attend Marrianne's 25 Anniversary

2011-04-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments.com will attend Marrianne's Rental's 25 year Anniversary April 7 from 4 to 7. JJ Kelly Bridal will be putting on the fashion show featuring Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Lazaro, Reem Acra and more. New York runway in Oklahoma, I know, believe it! At the I Do booth providing flowers will be Poppi Lane Designs with Marrianne's providing the linens. Gorgeous - trust us! Better yet come by and see us!

I Do and JJ Kelly on KSBI 52 TV!

2011-03-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time on the All About You Show! A big thanks must go out to JeNice Cranmer of KSBI 52 for considering us for the show! They were very professional and what was fun is the show is live! Back stage we had Lilly of SoooLilly Cosmetics bringing out the beauty in our gorgeous models! We had to scramble in the last TWO minutes before we all went on. The last model barely made it!! Our models rock! Some traveled over two and a half hours to be a part of the show. True story! We are so very grateful for this opportunity. Thank you KSBI 52!

I Do Attends Ok Wedding Professionals Breakfast

2011-02-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Pictured from left to right. Heidi of S&S Productions, Patrick of I Do Appointments.com DJ of the Downtown Sheraton and Doug of BCG Accessories

I Do Appointments.com enjoyed breakfast with the Oklahoma Wedding Professionals yesterday at the Silks Club at Remington Park! Speaking at the lunch was Lisa Liebl of Mega Media. Lisa was speaking on dealing with the media and how to talk to reporters so they would consider your business as an interest story. Lisa has worked over 20 years in radio and television and is the go to girl to get your story to the media. I Do Appointments was featured on the season finally of The Bachelorette last season, thanks to Lisa insistence that we had a great story to tell and that it would be perfect for Channel 5. She was so right! We had over 225 new brides register at I Do Appointments.com in ten minutes!

Love Tour hits Chesapeake Energy Brides!

2011-01-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

JJ Kelly Bridal Salon and I Do Appointments® brought New York Runway to the brides to be at theChesapeake campus last night! The show was in the amazing Blue Room, with smokey blue lighting and a 20′ screen was running New York fashion shows by Claire Pettibone and Lazaro during a champagne and cake mixer. The brides sat in stadium like seating in comfortable blue chairs. Sundee and Megan were our gracious hostesses from Chesapeake and they started the show. Mixxxit Productions brought the boom boom! Anthony David supplied the gorgeous models. New Leaf passed out beautiful bouquets to all the blushing brides. Steve Schardein & Co. spent hours with hair and make-up making the models look even more beautiful. JJ Kelly Bridal Salon provided the latest fashion from New York and the Champagne! Sugarand Gigi’s Cupcakes gave out the scrumptious sweets, which were over the top fantastic! CPV – Creative Photo and Video captured the Video and Zach Seat Photography knocked out all the still photography! Jane Kelly and Patrick Kelly answered questions from the brides at the end of the show with the models behind them. This gave the brides a chance to ask questions about the dresses and talk to the professionals about how to put on the perfect wedding!

I Do Does OkBride Breakfast!

2010-12-20T14:55:00.000-08:00

President Patrick Kelly and Kriea of Art By Kriea Photography

I Do President Patrick Kelly attended the Okbride‘sBreakfast Bride Panel. This was a rare glimpse into what brides are thinking when they chose a wedding professional. The panel was made up of six brides. Two were newlywed and four were brides getting married in the next six months. This gave the brides a forum to speak to wedding pros directly and vice versa. The brides where clear when asked what was the main reason for making a decision to put down a deposit with a wedding professional: Kindness and caring. They want to feel like they are your only client and they want to feel special. A wedding vendor is someone going through the motions, a wedding professional never makes you feel second best. Brides feel this is their one day in their whole life where everything is perfect. Our job as wedding professionals is set up expectations, deliver and exceed them. The brides gave stories of how they were disappointed by vendors and praised wedding professionals who went above and beyond their hopes and dreams.

Questions were asked about the importance of reviews online and how they effect a bride’s opinion of wedding pros. The panel was in agreement that if a wedding pro had mixed reviews that was not necessarily a bad thing and would give the pro the benefit of the doubt. Their number one trusted source for picking a wedding pro was friends. The age old word of mouth by friends was what would give brides the most confidence in selecting a wedding pro. What was wonderful is that one of the brides was an I Do Appointments.com bride. She mentioned I Do many times during the breakfast. The ease of use and the functionality of the site were mentioned often.

Timeless

2010-11-10T06:47:00.001-08:00

Let the high fashion of one-of-a-kind Designer Lazaro sweep you off your feet in this luxurious silk satin ball gown! Grace Kelly would have been proud to wear this timeless silhouette! Exclusively at JJ Kelly Bridal Salon, please book your appointment at www.idoappointments.com

I Do is on WebTV!

2010-09-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

President Patrick Kelly and CEO Jane Kelly of IDoappointments®com. were guests on Parties Extra with Helen Ford Wallace at the OKlahoman Building today! Even before I Do went public Jane and Helen were talking about putting I Do in the spotlight at some point. ”We were just waiting for the site to get started before we approached Helen and as it turned out she approached us! We were called a couple of weeks ago to be on the show, after seeing I Do featured on Channel 5 during The Bachelorette Finale!We knew instant online appointments were going to be the wave of the future , so it was just a question of when we were ready and I guess Helen had a crystal ball,” says Patrick Kelly. Questions were asked on how I Do got started, what is it, when did it launch and what is the direction of the site? “You get a little nervous when the light and camera are on, but Helen made us feel right at home as soon as we saw her. Jane came to me almost three years ago with this amazing idea that brides should be able to book local professionals online and I thought it was just brilliant. God has put the right people in our lives to make this great idea into a reality. We launched in December of last year and we could not be more excited with how happy our brides love using our service! Social media has been a big part of what we do. We want our site to come alive with social media. We love facebook, Twitter, blogging and youtube! These give our site a deeper sense of community and more interaction with our brides. After coming home last week from the Wedding MBA Convention I Do Appointments®.com President Patrick Kelly was inspired by seminars on social media. “It was nice to see experts talking about the importance of social media and how I Do can learn even more on how we can spread our message about instant online appointments!”

Wedding MBA gets an "A"

2010-09-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments®.com had the honor of hosting a booth at the Wedding MBA in Las Vegas the on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week! This is I Do's first time to be a part of Wedding MBA and we could not be happier with the results! "We met hundreds of wedding professionals! The booth was overrun for over two hours a day for two days! Our goal was to meet and greet as many professionals as possible and we exceeded our expectations, says President Patrick Kelly of I Do Appointments®. "We really gambled on this trip because it was strictly a word of mouth referal. We had a gut feeling about the Wedding MBA and we went with it! The seminars were extremely educational and enlightening. The importance of having a powerful social presence was echoed by all speakers. Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Blogging are paramount. These free tools are becoming a given if you own your own business, regardless of the type. What is coming up next is getting your business on mobile phones. Young brides today are starting to make more decisions on their cell phones than their laptops. Wedding professionals must now have an application for all phones on the market today. " I Do Appointments® is boasting over 11 million facebook ads seen by females 18-34 years old, who are single, in a relationship or engaged. I Do's Twitter page has over 350 followers and is growing by the hour! Twitter is the new source for instant content in a many to many format that I Do Appointments® will utilize in the coming growing months. "We expect a mild increase in our national presence in the coming months. As we connect socially with professionals from around the nation there will be a natural increase. Being the only wedding website offering our software, we have already started signing up new members," says President Patrick Kelly. There were over 1500 wedding professionals at the convention, a new record for Wedding MBA .

A Quick Trip to Tulsa!

2010-09-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments® traveled to Tulsa yesterday to speak with the owner of Facchianos Bridal and Formal's Jennifer Thompson and owner of Ann's Bakery Shannon Harris. We stared the day at Facchianos talking with Jennifer who is on her 14th year in the bridal business. What makes Facchianos such an icon of Tulsa is the owner. Jennifer has the experience to make brides dreams come true. After studying Fashion Design in New York and London, love brought Jennifer to Oklahoma. Jennifer puts in long hours calling and tracking orders on dresses long before they are to arrive. This is paramount to a great bridal store. If there is a problem with over seas customs, UPS or Asia goes on holiday, Jennifer is going to know about it. This gives Facchiano's a big advantage over most bridal stores. "Where is my dress?" This phrase is not experienced by Jennifer's brides. That is why I Do Appointments® is working hard to make Facchiano's Bridal and Formal a perminate member of our site.

Our next stop was to Ann's Bakery to meet with Shannon Harris. Ann's Bakery has been serving Tulsa since 1938 and is on it's fourth generation running the bakery! Shannon's husband and daughter also help run the shop. You could say that baking is in Shannon's blood. Growing up her family lived above the shop! If you are thinking that Ann's Bakery is behind the times because of their age - think again! Ann's boasts over 2,100 fans on Facebook! This is a testament to the savvy social networking Ann's Bakery has been working on around the clock. We know it takes work to build that many followers! If you are in Tulsa, I would suggest becoming a fan of Ann's facebook so you can get great info on delicious specials that are run daily. If you are a bride, I would fan up as well so you can take advantage of seventy - two years of wedding cake baking experience!

I Do Appointments® Hits 10 Million Ads!

2010-09-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

You heard it right I Do Appointments® hits ten million ads on Facebook – just in Oklahoma! I Do Appointments® targets girls eighteen to thirty four that are single, in a relationship or engaged. I Do started our facebook ad on February 17, 2010 on a wing and a prayer, just hoping that it would work. As of today, I Do Appointments® has averaged one million six hundred and sixty, nine thousand seven hundred and six ads per month! That’s a mouthful! We are humbled by the amount of brides who have taken advantage of our site! Please share this blog, our facebook, Twitter and youtube with your friends and family. We believe that online appointments are the wave of the future! Wedding planning must be in the hands of the brides. Today’s bride is changing and we in the wedding business must change with them. Today’s bride wants choice, but more than that they want convenience to match their busy life style. If our bride is going to school, working, studying, taking an average three hours of social networking and loves to watch their favorite show on TV, when are brides going to call the wedding professionals? I Do Appointments® offers the today’s bride the convenience to book appointments anytime, within ten minutes a bride could book her whole wedding! Meet with wedding planners,photographers, have a cake tasting, ceremony sites, caterer, limo, bridal consultants, etc. and do it at 10 o’clock at night! I Do Appointments® is going on the road to Las Vegas September 21st thru 23rd at the Las Vegas Convention Center to spread the word about online appointments! Weddings MBA is putting on the show and wedding professionals from every part of the wedding industry will be attending! Martha Stewart, The Wedding Wire and The Knot, to name a few, are the big players in the wedding business which I Do is ready to network and catch up with. Know we will be covering the show and having fun doing it! Please enjoy this amazing shot by Visuality Photography - just stunning! Until next time!

I Do Goes to Vegas!

2010-08-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

Thats right, we are hitting Vegas and what happens in Vegas hopefully will not stay in Vegas! I Do Appointments® will be talking to wedding professionals from all over the country and the world! Wedding professionals will be able to talk to I Do’s President, Patrick Kelly, to spread the word about online appointments. The Knot, Brides.com, Martha Stewart, to name a few, will be at The Weddings MBA Convention Las Vegas, NV Bridal Show September 21 thru the 23rd and I Do will be right there with them! We will have a booth, hopefully next to Martha! Our goal is to meet as many wedding professionals as we can and to rub elbows with the wedding industry’s best and brightest in the business. Carley Roney, Co-Founder & Editor in Chief of the Knot will be talking about the top wedding trends for the new decade. Tim Chi & Sonny Ganguly of the Wedding Wire.com will talk about the importance of twitter and the future of technology in the bridal business. Tammy elliott, President of the Perfect Wedding Guide will talk about closing more sales. David Katz, Associate Publisher of Brides.com and Brides Local Magazine will speak on what the American Bride wants! I Do Appointments® knows what the modern bride wants – the freedom to book appointments on her schedule, when it is 10 pm she can book that photographer for 2 pm the next day! Freedom from working on the wedding professionals schedule! But, we digress. Andy Ebon will speak on the power of Facebook for the wedding business – we love facebook! Bernadette Baillie of the knot will talk on how this economy effects today’s bride. Bernadette has worked for companies like MTV, Nickelodeon, Sony Entertainment and Electra Records. She is a marketing power house! I Do is very excited to be around such high powered wedding professionals! We will be Facebooking, Tweeting and Blogging before during and after the show! Stay Tuned!

I Do Appointments meets with The Mayo Hotel in Tulsa!

2010-08-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I Do Appointments® met with Adrienne Smith the catering coordinator of The Mayo Hotel. We love her and you will too. Adrienne has had many years servicing The Mayo’s very special guests from Britney Spears to Sheryl Crow as well as many happy couples. ”We cater to the bride and family from when they come in on their first consultation to the day they get married.” If you don’t have a wedding planner you get to work with Adrienne. ”We provide everything but the cake and flowers.” When you walk in to The Mayo you feel like you have been taken back in time to the days when glamor and style where the norm. After opening its doors in 1925, The Mayo played host to guest such as President John F. Kennedy, Bob Hope, Babe Ruth, Charlie Chapman and Mae West. Surrounded by marble, huge crystal chandeliers and two story Doric columns you get the feeling of being in the 1920′s. The Mayo can hold events from 40 to 400. The most impressive room is their Crystal Ball room which can hold over 300 with a dance floor and then open up a room next to it for an additional 100 guests. Executive Chef Ben Doolittle prepares lunch and dinner and also the food for all weddings and events. This is advantages for Adrienne who can take couples to lunch and give them a taste of what they can expect on they’re wedding day. We were treated by Adrienne to lunch and had the most unbelievable lobster bisque and cob salad. Brides may chose a custom menu or one can be provided, there is nothing out of reach for The Mayo’s catering staff. I Do Appointments plans to feature wedding professionals in it’s next upcoming TV story in Tulsa, as we did in Oklahoma City on Channel 5 during The Bachelorette Season Finale, and we could not think of a more charming venue. Please give Adrienne a call for us 918-582-6296 and let her know we sent you!

I Do Appointments takes Tulsa!

2010-08-24T08:15:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was a very important day! I Do Appointments® struck new ground in the second city of Tulsa! We are looking for wedding professionals that are comitted to serving our bride in the most convenet way possible with I Do! Our first meeting was with Melissa Keeley catering director of the Rennisance Hotel. We talked about how I Do could take some stress out of Melissa's life with our calendar system and reminders for not just her staff, but for the bride as well. Melissa has many years working in corporate catering and has been working with brides for the past three years. The meeting went very well and she even treated us to breakfast! So, even better!

The next meeting was with Faccaciano's Bridal. Facchiano's was voted Tulsa's best bridal store for 2010, so this was a must stop for I Do! We meet with Rachel the Manager of the store. After talking about how they have been taking Tulsa by storm and how I Do Appointments® would benefit their business, we agreed that meeting with the owner Jennifer Thompson would be the next step. We booked an appointment today at 10:45 am so we are excited to have a chance to talk to Jennifer, who by the way, out shined the competition a few weeks ago at the Tulsa Bridal Show with her store's fashion show.

Our next stop was to Lulu's Bakery which is under construction. While we could not catch the owner,Preeti Waas, however we did take a peak inside the construction site located on Lewis Avenue. They are making major improvements! We hope things go smoothly and Lulu's will open soon in the coming months.

I Do then went to see Alyssa's Bridal Salon located off South Memorial and talked to Michael Dean. Michael has been in the bridal business for years and has a store on the second level of an outside strip mall. Access is by an outside elevator. The second floor gives Alyssa's a larger space for their many wedding dresses and prom dresses. Michael agreed the need for online appointments and that over the past 5 years the brides coming into his shop because of the internet has increased by a staggering rate.

I Do

2010-08-24T08:15:00.001-07:00

Dream Team Wishes for Brides

2010-08-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

In 2005, Samantha Goldberg recognized that increasingly, there were some brides and grooms committed to planning their weddings, but who faced unforeseen or debilitating hardships along the way. Samantha wanted to find a way to help these couples, and appointed a “Dream Team” to review their individual situations and grant no-cost wedding services to a 5-7 couples per year. Since that heartfelt beginning, Samantha’s Dream Team and several New York/New Jersey area wedding service providers have volunteered to grant many couples wedding celebrations of their dreams.

A Dream Takes Flight

In February of 2010, Samantha founded a Chicago, Illinois-based non-profit organization, the Dream Team, taking wing from her former charitable work and taking dream-granting to a national level, while also broadening the scope of what situations qualified couples for a no-cost dream wedding. The founding Dream Team chapter in Chicago began filling its Board of Directors and accepting dream wedding applications in late February. A second chapter in the New York/New Jersey area also became active. Ten more state and regional chapter rollouts are planned throughout 2010, with more to follow.

Couples the Dream Team assists may have experienced job losses, life threatening illnesses, military deployment, sudden death of a family member or other family emergencies. Brides and grooms submit their personal stories to www.dreamteamwishes.org. Every wish for a dream wedding undergoes careful consideration, though, understandably, not all wishes can be fulfilled. A Dream Team in the couple’s state or geographical region reviews and selects dream wedding recipients. To qualify for a dream wedding, an applicant must be a minimum of 18 years old, a legal citizen of the United States, and must be able to provide proof of a severe hardship or extenuating circumstance. The Dream Team does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability.

Tulsa Here We Come!

2010-08-17T14:49:00.001-07:00

I Do Appointments® is going on the road in search of wedding professionals in Tulsa! While Oklahoma City will still be our central base of operations and we are still accepting new membership, Tulsa is our next frontier. I Do had a wonderful experience at the Tulsa Bridal Show at the Renaissance Hotel on August 2nd with quick meetings and greetings with fantastic wedding professionals in between brides at the show. Now it is time to go on the road to show how great I Do Appointments® can be in a one on one setting. Our first appointment is with Melissa Keeley of The Renaissance Tulsa Convention Center Hotel. Melissa is the Social Catering Manager who is also the wedding planner for the brides of the Renaissance. ”We are a one stop shop for the brides, we do everything.” Tables, linens, setup and break down – everything you will need to have the perfect wedding. Melissa has worked for the Renaissance for over five and a half years and has been working with brides for over two and a half years. ”I love working with brides, I love the relationships I get to have with my brides.” Melissa has worked for corporate events in the past, but when you get to work with passionate brides it is much more rewarding. ”I still get to talk to brides that I helped get married from time to time, we talk about their new babies and what is going on with their lives.” Melissa is not only a professional wedding planner, but obviously someone who cares about the brides and their families she serves. I Do Appointments® looks forward hopefully building a relationship with Melissa and the Renaissance Tulsa Convention Center Hotel! Please check back with us soon to hear about other wedding professionals in Tulsa!

What makes a Great Wedding Photographer?

2010-08-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

What make a great Wedding Photographer? Lately, if you google search for a wedding photographer in your area you are in for pages and pages of links of eager Photogs ready and waiting to call themselves wedding photographers. It seems like Photographers have exploded on the scene lately with the help of technology. They say if you have a computer with good software and a camera,”poof” you are a photographer. Taking stills or portraits is one thing, but true Wedding Photographers are much more rare than what google or yellow.com will tell you. I Do Appointments® went to the pros to and asked them what makes a great wedding photographer? Jamie Chen of Colorband Artisans took some time out of his busy day to say “you have to be able to anticipate the moments, being aware of what is happening and capturing it” . Jamie goes on to say you must know your client well enough to know what they are looking for and be sensitive to the bride’s family relationships. Jamie takes real time with each bride so he can capture the little things on the big day. I spoke with Kriea of Art by Kriea and it is very important to have good chemistry with her brides. ”Personalities or photography style can sometimes clash and in that case I find them a photographer that is better suited for them. They might not want a photo journalistic w/a traditional mix look to they’re wedding pictures and that is ok.” We agree you must love your photographer and their style. Which leads to do they have enough experience to have a style? Always ask how many weddings has your prospective photographer done? Do they have the right equipment? What kind of equipment do they have? How long have they been doing weddings? I spoke with Scott Laske of Laske Images. As a professional wedding photographer, having over 300 weddings under your belt is no small feat. Experience has many rewards, especially when you have to think on your feet,but also being prepared for any and all problems that may arise. ”The young photographers are gifted, but do not have the experience when something unexpected goes wrong.” Do they have a back up of their back up — on their equipment? Themselves? It is OK to be a little cautious with your photographer, because you can’t go back and have another wedding, if you don’t.

Why buy your wedding dress locally?

2010-08-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

After being in Oklahoma City for over 21 years in the fashion industry, I am still amazed at the number of brides who travel to Dallas to acquire their wedding dress. Now this may sound like spilled milk, but I have and still believe buying locally is a solid practice that all Oklahomans should implement. Dare I even say that OU/Texas weekend should be split between the great states – I know, I go to far. But back to buying you’re wedding dress locally. The local bridal store offers just as many wedding dress styles as Dallas. Notice I said styles. While Dallas may have more dresses per capita they are very much the same styles. They may have more shopping for other goods, such as places to eat and more stores that have nothing to do with bridal — thus the allure of Dallas. Oklahoma City is on the rise and we need Oklahomans to take pride in the fact that you found you’re wedding gown here. I promise you girls in Texas will not brag that they got they’re wedding dress in Oklahoma, while upscale shoppers in Oklahoma will brag they bought their dress in “Dallas”. After the glitter and star dust fades away from knowing you bought you’re wedding dress in “Dallas,” the fact still remains that you get to go back to “Dallas” for at least two fittings after your gown has arrived. Well, that couture wedding dress you bought in “Dallas” is costing you even more money that you would like to admit. Three trips to “Dallas” can easily cost you, let’s see, just gas alone is over $300, then you need lunch at a fancy place (you are in “Dallas” by the way) to feed not just you, but your mom, sister and dad drove, so you have to feed him too. So to be safe, $60X 3 for lunches should cover that expense. What about going to the big mall and shopping after that expensive fitting which is more expensive than Oklahoma – just so you know — about $100 more because you are in “Dallas”. So, you buy $200 x 3, conservatively, at the mall. If you stay the night that is another $200 x 3. And you need to eat again so let’s say $150 x 3 for a nice meal in “Dallas”. So lets add it up. Well, let’s not. I think you get the picture. We could argue that we would spend less here or their, but the bottom line is you are spending good money in another state when there are great shops right here and for a lot less $$$. The state of Oklahoma needs your money and that is a good thing. Local business need your money, so your sons and daughters can enjoy them when you are gone.

What makes your website so special?

2010-08-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Every business on the planet has a website. If they don’t, they are seriously behind the times, welcome to the 1990′s if you just got one! The power of the internet is in the palm of your hand – if you can comprehend billions of eye balls NOT seeing your site! Now you must go deeper, now that you have one – what is social networking? Social networking is simply getting those eyeballs to your site, THEN having them act once they get there – a call to action for your customers. Decide what that call is. Registration? A Purchase? Networking? Information? Whatever that call is you need to see results with google analytics or some sort of tracking software. Remember my first sentence, EVERY business has a website, so what makes your stand out? What is the next big thing that is going to make your website so special? Online appointments. Everyone wants to connect with what they see on their computer screen. We want to like what we see. We love to learn something new and then share that new knowledge with others. ”I know something you don’t know – that happens to be super cool” is something we as humans love to do and it feels good when we do it. A perfect example of my little theory is Youtube. If you type in “how do I do ________” or I am having trouble with _____” you will find hundreds of people with the same problem and someone in Addis Ababa that will be showing you what they learned and then show you how to do it. It is remarkable and very nice to know that people are willing to share their knowledge with others! Makes you feel there is hope for the human race after all. Linking your home page and contact page to a website that can book an appointment with a client at any hour of the day or night, holiday or weekend gives your website a distinct advantage over your competition. I Do Appointments® gives you that advantage. We are targeting brides, since we have been in the wedding business for over 35 years. However, we can be crafted to any service orientated business. Customers, like it or not, do not want to have long sales pitches over the phone - think about the last phone solicitor who called you at your home. They want to read about you on the internet and make their choice. They will sell themselves on your online presentation and seal the deal with an appointment. What we fail to see as business people is our new online customers, which is taking huge chunks of the market year after year. Online appointments are going to revolutionize the internet world, maybe not today but soon and for the rest of our lives. See the future today atwww.idoappointments.com

I Do Appointments website is up 109%

2010-08-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments® is up 109% this morning! Almost three weeks ago we upgraded our search optimization with the code on our site. We started by writing a topic on each page, in between the topic we wrote all our buzz words which is a lot of wedding topic words concerning I Do Appointments®! These words can be found on google and google analytics and should be in large amounts. The description is written at the bottom of the code page. The creation process is not difficult and can be sent to your programer with minimal cost. The programer just copies and pastes your topic, the buzz words and description to the code. If you asked the programer to do all this himself you are in for a large bill when they are done! This is a great inexpensive way to improve you site ranking with out spending a lot of money! Another thing that can help with website ranking is blogging! This just takes time and a little practice. The big rule is, you must write a minimum of 300 words! That can be a lot of words, but after one hundred days of blogging your website ranking should see dramatic results! This was told to me by a reliable source in the web design business, so I Do is trying it! He is in big trouble if he is wrong! I will keep everyone posted! The big thing that has gotten our site on the map is we were very blessed with having KOCH Channel 5 do a story on I Do Appointments® on Monday August 2nd! Months ago I met Lisa Leibl of Mega Media for coffee. Lisa makes you the news by finding stories that fit your business. We were lucky enough to get on the Finale of

Picture by Scott Laske of Laske Images – find him on www.idoappointments.com

The Bachelorette! Channel 5 promoted us through the show with small teasers that we would be on the news at ten! The response has been amazing and is still going! Today I am going to a lunch with the NW OKC and Edmond wedding professionals! I will let everyone know how it goes!

Vera Wang designs for David's

2010-08-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official, Vera Wang is going to start designing for David's Bridal. I know, it is very hard to believe. Or is it? Vera Wang is the most recognized name in bridal fashion today. But, you can also buy a Vera Wang mattress and then go to Kohl's to get a Simply Vera Wang accessory. So, is this so shocking? I found this comment on a blog that goes to the heart of what Vera Lovers everywhere are thinking." I Cringed when Vera Wang sold her name to Kohl's. The resulting Kohl's line was a weak rendering of the sophisticated high fashion which is synonymous with her label. Perhaps it was perhaps a 'charity' offering to a struggling friend? However, selling out to Davids Bridals speaks for itself. The inspired designer light has burned out, and greed has reared it's ugly head. It's now all about the money. What makes a $4000 Vera label desirable if your average store clerk can buy the same label to wear to the grocery store?
So she has lost 17 high end stores with our struggling economy. No one has been exempt in these difficult times. She and her extended staff are still far from needy. The world has tightened their belts and scaled back. Even Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles have gracefully accepted enormous budget cuts. Not Vera! Sadly, the Vera Wang label will not be the same when MADE IN CHINA is added." Enough said. What does this mean for the Bridal Fashion Industry? Who is going to be impacted first? The David's Vera Wang wedding dress is going to retail from $600 to $1500, is the Couture Bridal Boutique going to see a big impact? You would thing this at first, but it is the smaller to mid range bridal store who is really going to feel the pinch. Alfred Angelo stores will feel it as well, who have put themselves in direct competition with David's. This could also squash the hopes and dreams of the mom and pop small bridal store. The upper end will not be immune, but the high end customer will Not go to David's in the long run. They know this, that is why they own Pricilla of Boston stores (I bet you didn't know that one!) and did not place Vera in those stores. The Bridal industry has been brutal for years, but this takes the cake! We will keep you posted!

Tulsa Bridal Show Does Not Disappoint!

2010-08-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I attended the Fall Tulsa Bridal Show at The Renaissance Tulsa Hotel & Convention Center off 71st street and 107th with wedding vendors from bridal stores, cakes, photography, music, lighting, invitations, party rentals, catering and a whole lot more! The show was an obvious success just looking at the vast amount of brides that attended. In most areas it was standing room only. The grand ballroom at the Renassiance was gigantic with over 100 wedding vendors and over 1200 blushing brides according to Melissa Keeley, Social Catering Manager. During the show, brides could enjoy fashion shows by Abelina 's bridal Boutique who featured Nicole Miller, Essense of Australia and custom designs. Abelina's owner, Kristine Ellis opened her doors January 6, 2006 and has not looked back! What was fun was Kristine was an employee of mine years ago! I always knew she had talent! I was so proud to see her making her own way in bridal - which is no small task! Alfred Angelo featured their dresses and bridesmaids with little fanfare. While Facchianos Bridal and Formal Attire had their past brides show up with their wedding dresses. I liked this concept for many reasons. One, the brides were beaming because they were on stage one more time for all the world to see. Two, the dresses fit perfectly - not too long and the brides were not tripping over themselves or wearing a gown too big for them hoping the pins stay in! With all that going on owner Jennifer Thompson, introduced each bride and told their story. This was sweet for Facchianos for two good reasons. One, the brides to be could see happy brides from the store and two, she told the brides about the specials and upcoming sales. For the finale, a millatary couple walked up the runway with flower girl and ring bearer waving American flags. The crowd gave a big reaction to the couple, it was a real crowd pleaser. Oklahoma City - the bar has been raised!

Tux Wars!

2010-08-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

For the second week in a row the men’s formal wear rental business was top-read news on eWedNews. The story is becoming a case study of cultural changes, arrogance and general lack of leadership that has not only stunted the progress of a business but destroyed it.

A standoff between manufacturers that are not willing to spend dollars promoting new products and buyers that are not willing to place orders for items without a clearly defined advertising budget is expected to heat up in the coming weeks, as new line presentations begin.

The new lines that are expected to break by August 1st and will be shown to major buyers including Jim's Formal Wear. Jim’s, the second biggest buyer behind Men’s Wearhouse, has taken a position to press manufacturers to spend money to support new fashion launches breaking a string of years where they have allocated little or no dollars to promote formal wear rentals or find new ways of attracting consumers.

The need for the Tux in the Wedding and Prom world is a a given. Men are not dressing up. Buying a suit is not on a man's priority list and if you are having a wedding and think for one moment that you can have every one wear a suit out of their closet think again. One, odds are they don't have one. Two, if all your groomsmen happen to have one, they won't match. Three, if they all happened to have a black suit they still would not match because they would all be a different black, which is notoriously a hard color to match. Think how bad your pictures will look! No, the tuxedo is not going away - just the men who pull the strings are pulling back their wallets,with only a bad economy on their backs.

After reading eWedNews’ coverage of the tuxedo dilemma, Gary Davis, head of Jims said, “We posed the tough questions a month ago to all of our suppliers for this year's buying seminar. The questions relate to just what you talked about in your articles. We asked manufacturers what are (they) doing to promote tuxedoes for next year and going forward. I know WE are continuing to explore and spend in all avenues that can help promote our business and industry, adapting our product mix accordingly.”

Davis disagrees with the idea that tuxedos are dead but he could not contest market surveys that reveal a decline. “I do agree more needs to be done to promote tuxedo rentals and even reinvent them. I also agree the long tie has done more harm than good for our industry,” he told eWN.

Davis’ new mandate is being joined by other larger buyers pledging to pass over items that will not be promoted to the consumer by manufacturers. “We’re talking fashion, not staple items that we need to operate our business; pants, shirts, shoes and other tools are not included in the promotional discussions,” said Ed Honeycutt of Mr. Formal. Honeycutt owns nearly 50 stores in the Oregon, Washington and northern California markets. He has been an industry leader and advocate for these types of changes for decades but is now becoming more vocal in his position.

Ongoing discussions with tuxedo manufacturers seem to feel that their value and worth is somehow above all else, including the promotion of their own products. Some of the most arrogant say they will continue to dominate the marketplace by simply doing business the way they have for decades. The idea directly conflicts with a new study that supports old methods are no longer assured the positive performance and successes they once enjoyed in the past.

“That’s a shame; a real shame it has come down to this,” feels the largest formal wear operation in Hawaii, Ron Bongiovanni. “Ron-Jon” recently bought Selix formal wear in California and has been a growing tuxedo rental operator at a time when most are shrinking. Bongiovanni and countless other smaller buyers say they plan to join the movement and keep a close watch on the progress via eWedNews reports and ongoing discussions with other formal wear buyers.

The Tux is not going away. It is cheeper to rent then it is to buy and the tuxedo companies know this. They also know the economy is in the tank. When that happens, they want to pull back on expenditures and work with the inventory they have. Who could blame them? Buying new styles is expensive and if people are going to by your product out of necessity anyway why do it? The tuxedo has been around forever and is not going anywhere. Jim's is going to what is best for Jim's and that may be hard to swallow, but they are who they are so we (you and the retailer) just get to deal with it.

I Do Appointments and channel 5/Bachelorette = Big Success!

2010-08-04T06:37:00.000-07:00

Channel 5 aired an amazing story featuring I Do Appointments® on Monday, August 2, 2010. Channel 5 paired the story with The Bachelorette by using small ten second ads before, during and after the show. The first promo ad ran right before the Wheel of Fortune. The next hit right before the show started with the news anchor quickly explaining that I Do Appointments® is a one stop shop and that more would be explained at ten. Then the next blips where about the weather and who was getting thrown in jail and I was wondering if they were going to keep talking about us. Well, Channel 5 came through in spades! The next I Do promo was perfectly timed during a pivitol moment early in the show. Further, they expanded the promo by adding more insight into I Do's website by showing the site itself and our bride Cami Clampitt - who looked amazing. A special thank you must go our to Stephanie at SoooLilly Cosmetics for making Cami look even more amazing! Cami even said a few words during the short promo. What was great too was that not only was the anchor talking about I Do Appointments® but also Channel 5 was showing on the screen the name of the company - which is a big reason for the high success - which we will discuss soon! The Bachelorette show was over two hours long but it did not feel like it. The show was well edited and flowed well. Ali and Roberto looked very much in love. I was very happy to see that they both look genuine and sincere. I could not be happier with the show - I watched all three hours and have a belief that they could get married and have kids and lead a normal life. This good feeling flowed right into the news story. The presented the story as a way for brides to use the site to releave the stress a wedding can cause when the bride is planning a wedding. Cami was excellent! She looked great, she spoke to the camera and was confident, sincere and honest. If I had hired an actor, I don't thing I could have hoped any better results. I would not trade Cami's time on camera for anything. They had two anchors, a man an woman, helping with the story. They were upbeat and fun while talking about the site and the gave us two minutes and thirteen seconds! That is an eternity on TV! I could not believe it! The reaction has been overwhelming! Our google analytics are up - way up. I Do Appointments® visits are up by 83%! Our email is non- stop. New wedding professionals are in constant contact with me by phone and email! I have professionals I have to get back with today! I was busy all day yesterday and felt bad that I did not get to blog! I have a meeting with Mega Media that I must get to, so I must be off!

Channel 5 and The Bachelorette Story Airs Today!!

2010-08-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the day! Who will Ali pick to be the next ex-bachleor Roberto or Chris? Ali makes her choice tonight! We don't know the who, but we know the when! I Do Appointments will be featured on Channel 5 before, during and on the ten o'clock show after The Bachelorette! "How the story will be presented is always a big question mark," says President of I Do Appointments, Patrick Kelly. "I can remember when we started our third bridal store, we promoted on Oprah, with high hopes of reaching a large audience. We had mild success with that ad campaign. Back then we did not have Facebook, Twitter or Blogs to let the masses know we were opening up shop. We are cautiously optimistic that this will give I Do Appointments the local boost it needs to become the premiere wedding website for brides to book their appointments online with local wedding professionals in Oklahoma City. We believe brides today want the freedom to book appointments when they want and on their own terms. This gives our bride the unprecedented access to local professionals, this is truly a powerful tool." Lisa Liebl of Mega Media feels that this event will be a large shot in the arm for I Do Appointments! "I Do Appointments will start to get coverage at 6:30 pm with promo ads, which are small blips "Coming up at ten, a new website I Do Appointments....." Our hope for I Do weeks ago was to get on The Bachelorette. Then the next goal was to be aired on the ten o'clock news. Both of which has come true! Next is to be linked and posted on Channel 5's website which is more than likely going to happen. If I Do Appointments' story can be repackaged for the morning news the next day would be a cherry on top! Included is a link for more info on what the rest of the world is saying with 2010's Bachelorette! Don't miss this year's big surprise!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5628666/the_bachelorette_2010_season_6_spoilers.html?cat=9

I Do Appointments and Mega Media Unite

2010-07-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

It is official, I Do Appointments and Mega Media have joined forces to take Oklahoma by storm! Lisa Liebl is I Do's official go to Media girl! Lisa has over 20 years in media in Oklahoma and thru out the nation! I Do was made aware of Mega Media through a common friend in Kevin Duane, General Manager of the popular local magazine Distinctly Oklahoma. President of I Do Appointments, Patrick Kelly, attends a high powered business meeting called Inc. Collective once a week with Duane. When asked Duane if Mega Media would be the right choice in a media partner Duane replied, "Other media companies will get you advertising, but Lisa Liebl will make you the news!" Coming from Kevin Duane with all his years in the media, that is a huge complement. So, I Do had coffee at Java Dave's downtown with Lisa in March 2010 for a meet and greet. "We were very impressed with Lisa and her company, you could tell she had the confidence in her ability, thus it was an easy choice to make," says Patrick Kelly, President of I Do Appointments. One free suggestion she gave was to build up I Do Appointments with more qualified professionals before sweeps week. I Do quadrupled it's membership to get ready. We were a little late for that goal, however, when the Finale of The Bachelorette came along Lisa was sure to give I Do Appointments a call. "I want you to have this, this would be perfect for you, you are ready for this," said Lisa. We could not be more thankful for Lisa and Mega Media for keeping an eye out for the perfect story. Channel 5 was contacted by Mega Media and a deal was made for I Do Appointments, a new innovative website to bring brides together before she ever says "I Do." Patrick W. Spencer Executive Producer of Channel 5 made it official the Friday before the Photo/Video Shoot by email. On Monday, July 26, 2010 Channel 5 and staff arrived at JJ Kelly to interview Cami Clampitt, a JJ Kelly bride and user of I Do Appointments. I Do would like to thank Mega Media's Lisa Liebl for all her work getting I Do and Channel 5 together! Watch Channel 5 on Monday, August 2nd before, during and hopefully after The Bachelorette to see I Do Appointment's story on TV!

Channel 5 and The Bachelorette Story

2010-07-28T08:45:00.001-07:00

I Do Appointments will be a feature story on Channel 5 Monday, August 2nd, 2010 according to Patrick W. Spencer, Executive Producer of Channel 5! What is even more exciting is we will be on TV before, hopefully during and after The Bachelorette! We will be on the news and in between commercials with short blips "coming up on the news a new local website...." leading up to The Bachelorette. Channel 5's camera crew and staff came to JJ Kelly Bridal Salon on Monday, July 26, 2010, to interview Cami Clampitt who is a JJ Kelly bride and user of I Do Appointments. Cami talked about how convenient and easy the site is to use. Cami's make up looked flawless thanks to SoooLilly cosmetic artist and designer Stephanie Woods. Stephanie styled Cami's makeup to not only match her casual outfit, but also to go with a wedding gown if Channel 5 needed to see Cami in a dressed for her big day. It turned out that Channel 5 did want that shot, so big thanks to Stephanie for helping Cami look her best no matter how she dressed! Cami did an amazing job answering questions! She was very upbeat and sincere with her answers. She spoke from her heart. "My mother lives in Washington DC and I Do was very helpful in planning my wedding when my mother was coming into town." Patrick Kelly, President of I Do Appointments, spoke on how the idea for brides to book appointments online with local wedding professionals came into reality and the direction of the company. "My brilliant sister, Jane Kelly, of Jane Kelly Wedding Planning, Owner of JJ Kelly Bridal and CEO of I Do Appointments, llc, came to me with the idea that brides should be able to book wedding professionals online anytime they want. My response was, that is a brilliant idea and are we fifty/fifty partners?" I Do Appointments was then born. That was two and a half years ago. I Do Appointments launched in early December 2009 and has not looked back. "I Do Appointments provides access to local wedding professionals in the most convenient way possible." Says Patrick. "We know that over 90% of our brides are online planning their wedding and we researched our brides at JJ Kelly Bridal for over two years asking if they would want such a service and their response was an overwhelming, Yes."

I Do Appointments: Social Media

2010-07-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments: Social Media: "Here is my story on Social Media. About a seven months ago I was clueless in social media. I had just launched a new innovative website t..."

Social Media

2010-07-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here is my story on Social Media. About a seven months ago I was clueless in social media. I had just launched a new innovative website that booked appointments online for brides (idoappointments.com). I realized I was way behind - I did not even have a personal facebook account! I told my wife that I was starting on FB and she said "Why?" My response was "I need to know what the buzz is about!" Well, that started to open my mind to limitless possibilities social media can bring. I then started a fan page for I Do which has given life to my website and two hundred fans and counting. This is great for my clients and brides to see who/what is new with the site. Then, I realized that my customer was on facebook an average of three hours a day - I started a facebook ad and we have had over 8 million impressions in less than six months! I went to youtube to learn how to get my Twitter account up and running. While there, I discovered jing.com which is an epiphany, because that free site lets you video your computer so others can see what you are trying to explain, which is perfect for my clients and brides. They can see exactly how to use the site. The features and advantages the site has to offer is there for them to see. My new obsession is Twitter. I didn't really understand Twitter at all. How much can be said in 140 characters? Well quite a bit, I discovered. Many to many is a good way of looking at Twitter. I find inspiration and information on Twitter. Short blips on news before you see it on TV or the papers. Did you hear - yep hours or sometimes days before you did, I think to myself. My business group hosted a twitter class with a guru Named Jim Quillen who had over 40,000 followers at the time (now he has over 60,000). I still have the packet Jim gave us on my desk - genius. Michelle was instrumental in tying all my social media together. She gave some real sound advice on the direction of where I should go. She set me up with Hootsuite which is an amazing site that lets you post to all your social media at once. You can even schedule when you want your posts to go out. This is great because followers want you to be involved with your social media constantly. We can't be everywhere at once - or interesting all the time - so hootsuite lets you look good and schedule it when you get a good idea or think of something funny without making yourself nuts. I truly would not be where I am today without Michelle encouraging me to push forward in my social media journey. I am currently still learning and growing. I look for guidance with people who have blazed a trail before me and use youtube to see people explain topics from around the globe.

Ok Bride Waterford Show

2010-07-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

Good Morning! It is the day after the show and I must say I was impressed by the turnout. Usually fall shows can be slow, but this show did not disappoint most wedding professionals that I spoke with. "We are pleased with the turnout and happily surprised." said Barbara Bilke of Madeline's Flowers. Sam Hibri of SJ Bridal said, "The candy always brings them in, it's a magnet." Sam has grown up in the business, learning the tricks of the trade from his Mother and Uncle who own three bridal stores in Tulsa. I enjoyed seeing I Do Appointment professionals talking with brides and showing their wares.

I Do Talks to Wedding Professionals

2010-07-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Good Afternoon!

I Do has reached over 7.8 Million Facebook Ad impressions since Feb. 17 2010. We target female brides in Oklahoma 18-34. Do you have ads on facebook? A fan page? Do you tweet about your business daily? Do you have a presence on youtube? Do you blog on your business more than three times a week? I have spoken with many wedding professionals and have found that I get more no's than yeses to most of these questions. This is a free benefit that members of I Do Appointments enjoy. Your presence on the internet is now mandatory to stay competitive in today's business world. Networking with many businesses in your field is an excellent way to boost your rating on the web. The name of the game is getting those eye balls to your site and when they get there, having a call to action. With a link to your I Do profile page from your website, your site has a distinct advantage over your competition! Click on the links below to view some short tutorials on how to use I Do Appointments. If you are not a fan of I Do on Facebook please become one! You may join I Do by clicking "Become a Member" on our home page day or night, please note space is limited to ten per category so sign up today!

Tutorials: http://www.screencast.com/users/patkelly11/folders/Jing/media/7a68b25b-2f32-4c8e-bd55-8b7fb813391e

How to use the Event Feature on New Calendar

http://screencast.com/t/MWU5Nzk4YWYt

How to Change Wedding Professional page

Very Warmly,

Patrick Kelly
President
IDoAppointments.com
405-820-0987

2010-07-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

www.jjkellybridal.wordpress.com What a gorgeous blog by JJ Kelly Bridal. Invitations are the first thing your guests will see concerning your wedding, make a statement with these Monique Lhiullier invitations!

SoooLilly Cosmetics

2010-07-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

I met with Lilly and Stephanie with SoooLilly Cosmetics today! Brides are in for a treat when meet with the girls at SoooLilly! Book your appointment for your consultation I Do Appointments.com today!

2010-07-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to I Do Appointments Old Trinity of Paseo Event Center! We are so excited to have you as a member! My cousin Shannon had her wedding at Old Trinity about a month ago! Absolutely gorgeous! Girls, if you are looking for a historic, quaint location, this is it!

Over Six Million Facebook Ad Impressions

2010-06-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

I Do Appointments has over Six Million Oklahoma Brides seeing our Facebook Ad! Be a fan of our site on facebook! Today!

Welcome Tony Foss Flowers!

2010-06-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

Had a great time signing up Tony Foss Flowers. Tony is fabulous! Very talented and very proud of his work - and not afraid to let you know that no one in Oklahoma City can do what he can do!

2010-06-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Just blogged on Sugarmama's blog and said:

Hi Sugarmama! Love your blog! I love NYC as well. Keep up the great work you do for your brides! We just launched I Do Appointments (although we have been working on the project for 2 1/2 years) and our wedding professionals and brides love the idea of brides booking appointments online! Just the meet and greet with local professionals. We have been in wedding fashion for 35 years as a family. Have a great week!