Hello everyone – long note here – but worth the read!  So get your glasses (whether reading or wine) and hunker down for this one!

A few of us here at Elegance & Simplicity, Inc. are off traveling for the holidays.  We hope to still bring you a few more posts before the end of the year though. Sorry for the lack of posts here over the past few days, we have been prepping for many new things for 2010 for you!  Including the relaunch of our website incorporating our wonderful new logo!

Elegance and Simplicity Logo

I am actually just about to get on a plane to Florida to meet the wonderful Lara Casey of Southern Weddings Magazine.  I hope to bring back a few copies of the magazine – so be sure to pick up a copy when you stop by the office!

Here is a list of some major things for you to know for 2010!

1st – My 1st book, The Everything Mother of the Bride Book, 2nd Edition (an Adams Media Publication), will be coming out in February or March.  If you have not done so yet, please click on the big ‘ole sidebar jpeg of the cover of my book to the right.  Let my mom and I know why you have the best mother-of-the-bride (or mother-in-law to be or grandmother) to win $250 to go towards your wedding!  I can’t wait for my 1st book to hit bookshelves!  It will be the only mother of the bride book to talk about eco-friendly weddings and same-sex weddings.  Truly current, especially for DC area weddings since same-sex weddings are about to go legal in DC!  It is also easier to read and more inclusive – hard to explain, but will make more sense when you pick up a copy!  I have already gotten some great reviews from those who have gotten a sneak peek!  Can’t wait to share!  My mom typically posts about mother of the bride or groom issues every Wednesday – so check back every week moms!

Ev Mother of the Bride cover

2nd – We hope to post more content about the wedding that was featured in the Washingtonian.  They really only allow two pages worth of photos in their magazine per real wedding and there are so many more wedding goodies from Kate’s wedding that I cannot wait to share with you!    We also have an amazing feature in the new Bride and Bloom Magazine!  I also can’t wait for you to see our new listing in the Grace Ormonde Magazine!  Yippee!

3rd – I am in the final stretch of finishing my second book – The Everything Wedding Book, 4th Edition, which is another Adams Media publication. That book is set to hit bookshelves at the end of  2010!  So, this will be the reason why I will be “off to write” offline for the remainder of the year.   Then in January and February I will finish my 3rd book Eco-Beautiful Weddings!

4th – I am excited to let you know that we will be launching a website all about same-sex weddings here in the DC area.  There is a huge buzz being created around the world (literally) about same-sex weddings going legal in DC.  We will be hand-picking wedding planners to cake vendors that are gay-friendly and reviewed and approved by the nation’s leading gay wedding planner: Bernadette Coveney Smith of 14 Stories in Boston.  It is an exciting time in DC!

5th – We have had a fantastic year filled with exciting new things!  With over 40 staff members (and growing) serving brides and grooms for wedding planning and floral designs, we cannot wait to show you the new eco-couture and fashion-forward designs we have to offer for weddings in the DC area. There simply is no other wedding planning or floral design firm in the DC area that has the know-how and the passion for creating multi-faceted, multi-cultural, stylish and eco-couture events.   We are the  wedding industry’s leader in eco-friendly wedding design with the launch of our new magazine Eco-Beautiful Weddings.

Eco-Beautiful Weddings Winter 2010 Issue

The website houses our online magazine and blog.  While I am the editor-in-chief and publisher of the magazine, I will be taking on a select amount of clients every year to focus on greening their weddings and events along with helping other wedding professionals become green (or greener).  We have an amazing team of wedding planners and floral designers led by Tara Davis (aka “Katie Part 2”) and Keya Beale.  Tara leads our team of 6 weddings planners on staff and Keya leads our floral design team!  All wedding planners on staff are trained in floral designs as well.

I will have more announcements for you in January!  We have 3 new projects in the works!

Our staff strives to provide only the best in Washington, DC weddings and Eco-Beautiful Wedding Style!

Stay Tuned!

Have a Happy Holiday!

Cheers!

Katie Martin