in this march issue...

Bridal specials

Local experts get TV attention

Heather Fritz tells Post-Katrina New Orleans Story in Photos

Open House @ Bingemans April 30

Spotlight on Brantford

Experience Cuba first hand with Uniglobe Discover Travel

Girls night out: Waterloo Fire Department's Hot Night in the City

Noccé Custom Veil Giveaway - Winner Announced!

Latest news on experts

photos by calvin photography

12pm - 1pm, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
March 13th: Charmanté Bridal

March 15th: Ultimate Affairs

Open House: A day in the life of a Bingemans Wedding Reception

April 30, 2006, 2pm to 4pm

On April 30th, local brides and grooms will be treated to a first-hand look at what a wedding reception for up to 160 guests can truly look like, Bingemans-style. Located in one of The Ring's favourite banquet rooms - The Embassy Room - brides will walk through this full reception set-up that includes everything from linens and china to décor. Bingemans staff and management will be on site to show you what they can do for your wedding. Booking incentives, refreshments, and munchies will be also be available for all that attend. As with all things Bingemans, this will likely be a popular event. Book early by calling Maureen at 519-744-1231 ext. 2230. Click here for more on Bingemans.

Local photographer, Heather Fritz, recently had the opportunity to visit New Orleans. In a collection of surreal photos that can't help but touch your heart, she shares the real post-Katrina story of New Orleans and it's people. "The purpose of this excursion was to document the area for Habitat for Humanity Canada. Post Katrina New Orleans is a shell of a city waiting for its own to come home. Though most weren't there to share their stories with us, many citizens left their messages painted on their homes, or what was left of them. At times the experience felt completely surreal, for example, when we encountered dead-ended roads created by homes washed off of their footings into the middle of the streets." To view this amazing photo gallery, click here. 

The best part? If you decide to book a wedding package through Uniglobe Discover Travel with Hola Sun of a group of 25 or more, they'll refund you the $350!

There are limited dates and seating available, so if you're interested you can reach Dawn, Jeanne, and the staff of travel consultants by phone at 519-746-8747. You can also reach Dawn by email at dawn@discovertravel.on.ca. Check them out online at www.uniglobediscover.com. Check out their review here.

Finding the perfect gift has never been easier with A Touch of Class Gifts & Events

When you're searching for a gift for your aunt from Ireland or the parents who've supported you throughout your entire life, you want something that not only shows your appreciation for their attendance on your wedding day, but also says, 'thank you for being a part of my life'. Dianne McDonald's company, A Touch of Class Gifts & Events, removes all the pressure of shopping for the seemingly impossible gift. If you have ever given or received a trendy basket that was hand-created by Dianne, you know first-hand how wonderful they are. Each basket has a theme and personality, coming packed with unique, high-end items that you can't find anywhere else. Dianne told us, "Your gift will be something you can be proud of, something you're happy to give." Dianne has the drive and reputation that keeps her gift arrangement business more than just a little popular. And from our perspective, she has much more... click for more

Do it in Style builds reputation & clientele for their own contemporary approach to wedding design

Mary Bruce has an approach to wedding décor design that is all her own. After seven years of running her decorating company, Do it in Style, Mary and her staff have transformed countless ceremony and reception spaces with the elegant in-style décor that brides choose her for. Mary's designs are more about fabric layers, lighting, subtle accents, detail, and constantly trying something new than they are about fitting into any specific category or trend. She explained her approach only by saying, "I am an expert at my own style... I love clean lines, simple design, and ultimately, a beautiful wedding." What we loved was her excellent reputation and her endless photos of gorgeous weddings. The Ring sat down with this spirited Scottish decorator to find out more about what makes her so popular with local brides. Let us explain... click for more

Reputation, experience, and one-on-one approach points to Gourmet Affair being a great choice for wedding catering

Bruce Sutherland's company, Gourmet Affair, is the caterer you go to when you are creating a wedding space where there wasn't one before. Gourmet Affair specializes in treating your guests taste buds for sit-down, cocktail-style, or buffet dining in unique or outdoor locations. Twenty-seven years of experience makes Bruce the man to see if you want to serve shrimp and lobster in a barn or steak and pasta in a tent. To say that Gourmet Affair has a wonderful reputation would be stating the obvious. Working from their Mill Street office and kitchen, Bruce Sutherland's has built a food empire of sorts. His company runs a restaurant, Galleria Bistro, as well as caters endless corporate events and lunches throughout the week and on weekends. But what mattered most to us is that, lucky for local brides, Gourmet Affair also specialized in wedding culinary... click for more

JoRa known for inspired designs & delicious wedding cakes created by skilled pastry chefs

Between Joanne Vincent and Hans Raess, JoRa Wedding Cakes offers many amazing years of experience in creating elaborate, gorgeous wedding cakes decorated with flair and elegance. In fact, Joanne and Hans have been doing their craft so long now that they get generations of families coming to them for event masterpieces. After hundreds of weddings and having seen endless trends come and go, JoRa is the cake design company you go to for expertise, high quality design, a reputation without falter, and a great taste of both style and of cake. "We're not just cake decorators," explained Joanne. Being a pastry chef is the equivalent of being a skilled tradesperson. It's who you are as much as what you do. Joanne and Hans have both received a variety of awards... click for more

Star Productions DJ's couple experienced professionalism with a party atmosphere

If you take a look at Star Productions' website, you'll get a succinct sense of what President, Alan Smithson, and his DJ's are all about... fun! With an online database of their entire catalogue, a log-in section for couples to tailor their play lists, an availability checker, and a quote generator... every tool that you would need to make your DJ planning easier is available to you. When you combine this with the professionalism that each of the Star DJ's have, you can understand why this company has become so successful, based almost entirely on great worth of mouth. And if you hadn't already taken notice of Star Productions at the January '06 Bingemans Wedding Dreams show, we've got so much more to tell you... Originally starting out working with karaoke, Alan found that he had an interest in, and desire to learn more about, the DJ'ing industry. Alan formed Star Productions Professional DJ Services in 1996, with a focus on the Toronto area. Last year, he made it official by making his DJ'ing a full time career - and hasn't looked back since. In fact, Star Productions is growing in our direction. Star Productions extended their... click for more

The Food Diva's interactive classes satisfy brides' culinary & entertainment appetite

Maribel Linfield, known nationally as the Food Diva, has taken her love of cooking to an entirely different level. Her company, FoodDiva.com, has made headlines for offering group cooking classes that turn an ordinary topic into a fun, interactive and addictive outing. In fact, even her most culinarily-challenged students find themselves coming back repeatedly to learn new tricks in the kitchen. With a flair for public speaking and a great personality, this local diva personally teaches women, men, couples, wedding parties, and corporate groups how to cook a meal to die for. Whether it's Football Sunday hors d'oeuvres, all about chocolate, or the perfect barbequed steak, her classes have landed her on HGTV, CKCO CTV, Breakfast Television, in the Toronto Star and BESTTHINGS Magazine, as host of the Cooking Stage at the Total Woman Show and now in The Ring... click for more

Ultimate Affairs make hiring a wedding planner seem simply obvious | You might want to mentally file away whatever you thought you knew about wedding planners. Ultimate Affairs makes you feel like hiring a wedding planner is simply obvious. Their goal is to bring everything you love most about your wedding day (and those things you don't... click for more

Winexpert shows The Ring what the 'buzz' is all about | Two local make-your-own wine stores have become ultra-attractive to brides and grooms over the years, and for several good reasons... These 'on-premise wineries' teach couples how to cut wedding wine costs by up to 70%, add a personal touch (and taste) to their wedding reception... click for more

The Waterlot is New Hamburg's wedding oasis by the river | The Waterlot is an outdoor ceremony site, a small reception hall, a bed and breakfast, a honeymoon suite, a caterer, and a great option for the outdoor tent wedding. This rustic New Hamburg oasis sits aside a river, has an outdoor gazebo for ceremonies, can easily... click for more

Thriving gown shop makes it policy to spoil brides with ultimate in service | When you walk through the doors of Taylor's Bridal Boutique, the silk sky is the limit. Each gown is hand-picked for it's style, fit, and quality by shop owner, Linda Taylor. Linda's expertise in finding the perfect gowns for our local bridal community is a given.. click for more

Elmira photographer turns family trade into life's work at Calla Studio | Walking into Calla Studio's contemporary Elmira space, with its rust coloured walls and comfy black sofa and chairs, you get a feel for what photographer Tina Weltz is all about. Her studio is all about light and space. With various backdrops and photo areas set up... click for more

From the editor...

Dear brides, friends & experts,

This newsletter brings you new cities, new bridal specials, new décor and custom floral ideas, news on local celebrity experts, catering ideas, and more.

As always, everything here is local to you, to your wedding, and to your sense of wedding style. Enjoy!

Jennifer Goulden

theweddingring.ca & kw.theweddingring.ca

email: info@theweddingring.ca

march bridal specials

in brides own words...

Posted Tue Feb 28, "Winter Wedding"

"Hi All, I'm Amanda and I just got engaged on Feb 16, 2006 our three year anniverary, to my best friend. We've briefly looked at the site and a few others but can't really plan anything until April when we finish school. On the site I showed him the page on off-season weddings, b/c K-W is extremely competitive during May-Aug. He's interested in keeping up with our Feb tradition, that being when we met and when we got engaged. Just wondering if anyone who has done a winter wedding or knows of someone..."

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Posted Thu Feb 23, "evening wedding jitters..need help"

"ok so its almost midnight and i can't sleep because I've got tons of anxiety suddenly. My fiance and I have a plan to get married on a Fri evening in Sept of this year and are pressing to get the right place booked. WE want friday because think in the eveing it will be more romantic, ppl wont be used to firday weddings so it will be unique for our guests and I think the evening (fancy hor deurves, choc fountain) is more of a gala feel that we want. But tonight I was thinking about it and started to worry because realized we would have to have a 7pm ceremony to make sure out of town guest can be there after work and our ceremony place is half an hour from the reception place so by the time we have the ceremony and get to the next place, settle in it probably wont be till 9pm. So Im worried because I don't know when we could have time to do our pictures before dark, if ppl would even want to come to a late reception (starting at 9), food quantities because its so late I know ppl would eat different amounts (how much do we get?), we would only have the place till 1 for our reception so thats only 4 hours and only three for dance...is that enough? will ppl mind driving half an hour to get to the reception from the ceremony??? Anyways, sorry this is so long... I just know that you all understand how..."

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Posted: Tue Mar 07, "1st post"

"I'm amazed at how many sites there are dedicated to wedding preparation and planning. I happened to stumble upon this site by chance and it's great. Ok, so here's my story. Haven't told it to anyone in a while but it's still fresh in my mind. My fiancé lives in and grew up in the KW area or the K-dub as call it. I went down becuz of his work christmas party Dec 10th/05. We did a bit of shopping first then for lunch, all the while he kept saying a surprise was forth coming. I had some idea, but wasn't too sure. On our way back to his place, we passed the street he would regularly turn down and when i asked where we were going he said for your surprise! He took me to his elementary school and as we walked around the building he gave me highlites of..."

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