I had a fabulous time speaking at the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico earlier this month.  One of the most important things that I learned coming out of the convention is that a lot of brides don’t think about the issue of care of their gowns after the wedding is over.  When you buy your gown, start thinking about what you will do with your dress after the wedding.  Preserving your dress and cleaning it is essential for the next generation to where it or for you to resell your dress on any number of websites.  Our favorites are:

One of the reasons they asked me to come speak is that all of the members of the Associates of Wedding Gown Preservation Specialist use a special ZeroCarbon Gown Preservation process and are the leaders in their cities for providing the best service with the lowest carbon footprint!  Check out how it works here:

Stay green and stylish and get that dress cleaned after the wedding and don’t TRASH the dress afterwards.  Ok – you can take some photos – but don’t set the dress on fire (which I have actually seen on a photographer’s blog), go knee deep in the mudd or submerge your dress in water if the fabric can’t handle it.  There are lots of ways to have a “Trash the Dress” photoshoot after the wedding without actually trashing the dress! Let me know how you plan to have a trash the dress photoshoot and maybe we will feature it here on the blog!

We are excited to announce that Katie will be doing a book signing at Baltimore Bride’s Aisle Style Event on March 20th!

Don’t Miss it!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/baltimore-brides-aisle-style-book-signing-with-katie-martin/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/here-come-the-moms-same-sex-weddings/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/here-come-the-moms-same-sex-weddings/#comments Wed, 24 Nov 2010 06:01:24 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=4085 We are excited about our recent feature on the Wedding Podcast Network.  An in-depth look at how parents should be involved in the wedding planning process for same-sex couples.  If your daughter or son is LGBT and you are not sure what you need to do during the wedding planning process – this podcast is for you.  Both Bernadette Coveney Smith (of 14 Stories) and I were interviewed on the Wedding Podcast Network about the subject of Same-Sex weddings and family issues. Bernadette is the leading national gay wedding planner and I have a section in both of my books on how to plan your same-sex wedding.  This radio podcast keeps it real as we talk about the emotional aspects of planning a wedding for your gay or lesbian child. Supporting your children is imperative and I think this podcast can help all parents open the door to understanding and learning about same-sex weddings.  Click on either of the two images below to hear the podcast!

I am excited to be on the Wedding Podcast Network again!  This time around, I am giving wedding planning advice from my first book the Mother of Bride based on her second book the Everything Mother of the Bride Book!

Click here to hear the interview – perfect for both brides and their moms to listen to and to get a taste of what the book is all about!  You can also learn how to win a copy of my book!

Happy Planning!

Katie Martin will be interviewed today on live blog radio with the authors of Celebrate Green – a great book that we just gave away on the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog from the Spring Edition of the magazine!

Tune in at 10:15 PST/1:15 EST by clicking on the Celebrate Green photo above!

Happy Green Planning!

I will be at the Aveda in Georgetown talking to brides about how to go green on your wedding day along with Adele Wechsler and Aveda.

Get a signed copy of my book and check out Adele’s new line!

Persephone from Polished Image & Style will be there to help you find your perfect dress as well!

Check out the details below!

Happy Planning!

Here are the finalized dates for the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Tour for Wedding Professionals!

Cincinnati – May 11, 2010

Savannah – June 3, 2010

Los Angeles – July 6 , 2010

San Diego – July 7, 2010

San Francisco – July 8 , 2010

In each city, the seminar with be followed by lunch and a photoshoot!  The photos will be used either in my 3rd book Eco-Beautiful Weddings or in a forthcoming issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine and the blog!*

Actual seminar locations are being kept secret and will be sent to you the week of the event in order to reduce the amount of information that is released before the book is published.

Each seminar participant will receive a free copy of my first book: The Everything Mother of the Bride Book!*

Early Registration begins today and will end on March 7th!  All current registrations are $200, but the price will go up to $250 on March 8th!*

Sign up today to take advantage of the early bird registration!

If you are currently an Eco-Beautiful Weddings Vendor or Green Wedding Consortium member – you can take advantage of an additional 10% off.  Email me and I will send you the code!

I will post possible other cities if interest comes up!  Only 25 participants are allowed into each seminar!

See you soon!

Katie Martin

*Please note that there will be no photoshoot or free books for the seminar in VA Beach as all proceeds from that particular seminar are being donated to charity and the seminar is only $40.

Today I am excited to announce the Everything Mother of the Bride Book + Eco-Beautiful Weddings Tour!

I received my box of books in the mail from my publisher and I got so excited – I knew today was the day to announce the cities that are finalized for the tour.  The schedule of the tour is still being worked through – but I wanted to give all of you a chance to vote on possible other cities to add to the list.  The best part of this tour is that all of the wedding professionals that participate in the tour will either end up in my 3rd book – Eco-Beautiful Weddings – or in the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine as a city feature!

My true goal and vision is to make all weddings green – all over the world. This year’s Eco-Beautiful Weddings Seminar tour is focused on cities in the United States and Canada.  The tour is two fold with the introduction of my 1st book to brides and mothers along with Eco-Beautiful Weddings seminars for wedding professionals.

Here are the cities:

Washington, DC – March

Virginia Beach, VA – Wedding Week – March 25th

All proceeds from my seminar at Wedding Week in VA Beach will be donated to charity! For details about this seminar for professionals – click here and to purchase tickets – click here!  This is a very exciting week as I will be speaking alongside Diann Valentine, Preston Bailey, Sasha Souza, Preeti Shah, Donnie Brown and fellow DC Planner Andre Wells!)

Richmond – April

New York City – April

Boston – April

Toronto – May

Cincinnati – May

Chicago – May

Savannah – June

Orlando – June

Los Angeles – July

San Diego – July

San Francisco – July

I will follow up with dates – but I wanted to hear from you about any other cities that you would like to see on the tour.  Here are a few other cities that people have asked me about – VOTE FOR YOUR CITY!:

Atlanta

Austin

Denver

Minneapolis

New Haven or Hartford

Nashville

New Orleans

Philadelphia

Portland

Raleigh

Seattle

A MAX OF 25 people will be allowed in each seminar.

Early bird registration will be $200 and then regular price will be $250. Once I finalize all of the dates – I will post them on the blog.

I am eager to see many of you post about which city you are in!

The book signing with Q & A will be free with purchase of the book (which is $9.95 in the US and $11.95 in Canada).  All Eco-Beautiful Weddings seminar participants will receive a free of copy of my book!

In a few select cities – we may actually do a special high tea for brides with their moms!  I will keep you posted about that!

In the meantime – leave a comment about where you are!

Happy Planning & Greening!

~Katie Martin

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/everything-mother-of-the-bride-eco-beautiful-weddings-tour/feed/ 4 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/see-katie-interviewed-on-the-district-dish/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/see-katie-interviewed-on-the-district-dish/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:15:04 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=2339 See Katie Martin Interviewed on the District Dish!  Hear about the bridal show for Tuesday (2/16), Eco-Beautiful Weddings and Green Weddings!

If you are planning your wedding and wanting more information about how to make your wedding green…today is the day!  Come out and see Katie Martin speak at the DC Green Festival at 1pm.  We look forward to seeing everyone there today!

Stay tuned for more details!