FAVORS BY DORINDA

WeddingWire's "The Bride's Choice Award 2012" for Favors and Gifts!

2012-01-23T12:38:00.002-05:00

Wayne,NJ} – January 23, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Favors by Dorinda has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Favors & Gifts!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Favors by Dorinda was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Favors by Dorinda is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Favors by Dorinda for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Favors by Dorinda is one of the very best Favors and Gifts professionals within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at Favors by Dorinda.

To learn more about the Bride's Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation's leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

"Real" Event Planners v. "Wannabies." 4 ways to tell the difference. ~ by Gabriela Salamanca

2012-01-18T16:16:00.000-05:00

Author's note: First, let me start off by saying that we aren't writing this post to upset or offend anyone or any company in particular. To be honest, this post came as a result of a long conversation between a bride (let's call her "Julia") and me. She had wanted to know what the difference was, and so, IMO, here it is:

{Warning: I'm being straight forward and real here. Like the saying goes, if you can't take the heat, then stay out of the kitchen!} ;)

1. Education/Experience.

No, it is not enough that you watched JLo in The Wedding Planner. It's not enough that you planned your own wedding or helped your best friend with hers. Just like in any professional field, there are certifications, degrees and even plain old experience that are available and necessary. Brides or other event clients are relying on YOU to create that event or that everlasting memory and a "Whoops! I'm sorry!" or "OMG can you believe I almost forgot that?!" won't cut it when you screw up or forget something. No, this isn't necessarily a Corporate America career, but this shouldn't be your hobby or "job." If it is, then I'd consider it a high risk business that I would bet wouldn't make it past the short term.

So what should brides ask? "What is YOUR experience or education as a planner?" And planners, in retrospect, should be honest and upfront. For example, I came from a Fortune 500 company where I started my experience in this field and I also decided to first become certified as a wedding planner for added knowledge and to build that solid company foundation for No Limit Events.

Looking to become a planner? Then learn the ropes the right way. I recommend you start with education. Next move into interning or job shadowing to learn the industry "in real time." Like many careers, it's quite different when you actually do it in the moment versus learning it from a text or course.

2. Insurance.

What if your planner gets sick on the day of your event? What if he/she has an accident and is unable to attend? Or worse, goes out of business and has your deposits/payments?

These are real and scary scenarios that no bride or event planner wants to go through. There are options for insurance as a planner and as a host/bride or groom (for one: WedSafe). Consider them! Outdoor events with no option for inside, unfamiliar territory, international events... insurance needs can be endless and unfortunately come in handy at unexpected times.

3. A back up plan.

Granted, if there is no option to move an outdoor event indoors, there must be a back up plan. Clients/couples should have no fear in discussing this with your event planner. Furthermore, they should not have to worry about an alternative plan on their own. This is, of course, what an event PLANner does (aside of many, many other things!).

4. Originality.

Yep, I said it. Originality. Potential clients should always ask if the images they are looking at are THEIR work. Are those YOUR flowers? Are those even your clients photographed? If not, say so or at least indicate where credit is due.

I've particularly always dreamed of becoming an interior designer some day so (IMO), I think it's perfectly acceptable to judge a planner's taste and sense of style by the way they dress/carry themselves, office furniture/layout and color selections, and even by what catalogs or references are made! Do they have the latest bridal magazines on their coffee tables? Are they familiar with the latest looks and colors? Granted, every planner has their OWN style and interests, but they should at least be versed in what's considered mainstream or popular.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So there you have it. And thank you "Julia" for the chat that sparked this post. I was honestly amazed that "Julia" had no idea how serious these 4 items were!

Whether you're looking into a wedding or event planner or even just becoming one yourself, consider the 4 above. Be true to yourself and be honest! It can only bring good things, IMO...

Thoughts? Opinions? Want more?

Sign up for our F*R*E*E Audio download where we discuss this a little more, in sound.

***Gabriela is the partner and certified wedding/special event consultant for No Limit Events LLC as well as the main writer for the company blog, No Limit Events LLC: Bloggin' It. She enjoys sharing fun and unique wedding ideas, which include helpful wedding and party related posts, inspirational photos and advice for those planning special celebrations. Gabriela lives in New Jersey with her husband and business partner, Justin, and their 2 lovable cats. Planning a luxurious wedding or special party? Please visit her blog and web site for specials and helpful advice.***

Cyber Monday Deals & Giveaways at Favors by Dorinda

2011-11-26T09:09:00.001-05:00

The holiday's are right around the corner and we're excited to bring you Cyber Monday Deals & Giveaways!! Favors by Dorinda Cyber Monday Deals & Giveaways!

Favors by Dorinda will be offering great deals on custom holiday candy cakes, sweet gifts, wedding gifts, baby gifts and more!

DISCOUNTS include:

* Custom Holiday Candy Cakes ~ up to $10 off!

* Teachers Gifts ~ over 20% off retail price

* Wedding Gifts ~ various discounts, up to 25% off

* Baby Gift Baskets - A sweet treat for mommy!

* "Sweet Calling Card" Business mini's ~ You'll have to wait til 11/28 to see how low!

More to follow

GIVEAWAYS! (We'll be posting about each giveaway on our Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/favorsbydorinda )throughout the day on Monday, 11/28/11. All you need to do is comment for a chance to win)

* One free month of Facebook promotion from Thanks for Noticing Me ($50 value)

* One Personalized Silver Frame from Forever Friends Fine Stationery ($34 value)

* $10 Kohl's Gift Cards - (2 available)

* $5 Dunkin Donuts Gift Card - (2 available)

* 1/2 hour public relations coaching call from PR for Small Businesses ($75 value)

* Hand-crafted Wedding DVD Holder from Dorinda

* $50 gift certificate to CardBoxDiva.com

* One dozen OSY Holiday Cookies from Oh! So Yummy Cookie Favors & Confections.

* $50 gift certificate for SPArties Mobile Spa.

* RESERVED The DORINDA Wax Seal monogram initial pendant with charms in pewter w/necklace from Artibility ($22.50 retail value)

Check back for new additions!!

We're looking forward to making your shopping experience a pleasant one, so sit back, relax and click away!!

Open to residents of the United States Only. Restrictions apply. Coupons and % (percent) off cannot be used during this sale event. Does not apply to previous orders.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers & Custom Candy Cakes for your wedding & other special occasions!

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Copyright 2011 Favors by Dorinda/Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved

Facebook Groups ~ Are they really all they're cracked up to be?

2011-11-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

We all join them, create them, hope people will think that what we have to say has meaning to them. But what are these groups really all about? Lately, I've been very disillusioned by the whole "group" thing.

I have joined many groups, even moderated a few, and still do. For the most part, people contribute on a daily basis and the content remains good. When does this change? Most groups have a document called "Guidelines". These are the rules, if you wish to call them that, that you agree to when you join this group. If you do not agree, no one is holding you hostage, you're free to leave the group. So why do you stay?

Based on that statement, why do people find it necessary to cause conflict when they don't follow the guidelines? We are all looking for information that is relevant to our professional industry, whatever that may be. The problem lies here: too many people think that liking their Facebook business page is the only way to drum up business. They couldn't be more wrong. In fact, people can like a post or picture on your page without even becoming a fan! What people fail to see is as an opportunity to promote their business OUTSIDE of Facebook!! Sure, it's great, you have a business page...and? Does that really tell me anything about what exactly it is that you do?

Instead of complaining that you can't do this or can't do that, use the self-promotion days to promote you, your web site, your blog, photos, events you've done, areas that contain information about you & your business but within the guidelines you agreed to when you joined! No one wants to see the constant "Like my page & I'll like yours." What does that get you? Your fan numbers may go up but are those people really interested in you? How do you know? You've probably had no interaction with them since. This is the same reason I prefer to not do "liking ladders". Who are these people joining your page? Are they relevant to your business? Can you make them your client?

The most important thing to remember when you join a Facebook group that someone else created: This is NOT your group! You are simply a member, by choice, and by doing so you agree to follow the guidelines set forth by the group owner(s). Period. It's really not that hard, now, is it?

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers & Custom Candy Cakes for your wedding & other special occasions!

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Copyright 2011 Favors by Dorinda/Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved

A Bridal Showcase - Four Seasons Come Together to Raise Money for Brides Against Breast Cancer

2011-10-10T16:40:00.002-04:00

Is it Winter? Spring? Summer? Autumn?

If you were at the The Bling Event's "A Four Seasons Bridal Showcase" which took place on October 9, 2011 at The Skylands in Randolph, then the answer to those questions would be YES! When you entered the ballroom you were transported to all four seasons. You walked through Spring, then Autumn, Winter and Summer. The colors were breathtaking.

This beautiful tablescape was designed by Blossom & Bee owner Pennylyn Kaine. I'm sure, if you could, you would have been sitting at this table, enjoying a cocktail and spinning your umbrella. It truly showed the playful side to Penny.

The other tables (pictured to the left and below) were masterfully designed and exquisite in their own right.

The colors of the seasons, all vibrant yet, subtle at the same time.

And while you walked through this magical "year" you were serenaded to the sounds from Ideal Ensembles, a string trio.

The event was produced by Christine Brower, owner of C. Brower & Company Creative Events & The Bling Event. Christine put on a very elegant and well organized bridal showcase. Brides were greeted upon check in with The Bling Event's signature tiara, making them princess for the day. People were laughing, smiling and having a great time. Vendors were interacting with vendors, brides with brides, vendors with brides, you get the idea! The whole ballroom was filled with fun, much like you would find at a wedding! All proceeds from this event went toward Brides Against Breast Cancer. Congratulation to Team Bling for raising $900 toward this very important cause! For more information on Christine and Team Bling, visit their web site at The Bling Event

We had a wonderful time participating in this bridal showcase and look forward to doing more with Christine and all the ladies & gents of Team Bling.

Other vendors who participated included: (sorry if I missed anyone!)

a cake dream

NJWedding.com

Lulu's Inspirations

Absolute Media Productions

Ambient DJ Service

Sue's Sweets

Christine Hyder Events

Fourth Wall Events

Devine Decor

Your Wedding Entertainment

Sharon Naylor Wedding Books

Bridals by Roma

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers & Custom Candy Cakes for your wedding &other special occasions! She is also the Community Manager for The EPIC Group.

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Copyright 2011 Favors by Dorinda/Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved

Our Royal Wedding ~ Lady Rebecca & Sir Jonathan

2011-09-21T17:50:00.000-04:00

"Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togethew today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam. And wove, twue wove, wiww fowwow you fowevah and evah… So tweasuwe youw wove" ~ Princess Bride

On Friday, September 16, 2011, my son, Jonathan, married the love of his life, Rebecca. I can honestly say that it was the most amazing wedding (short of mine lol) that I have ever experienced. It was a medieval wedding. The men wore tabards and swords, the women dressed as medieval princesses (especially my daughter, Alyssa). Even the guests dressed for the occasion! And yes, the parents did, too! We all got into the festivities, including a fire show, a juggler & a flutist. The entertainment was amazing.

A special thank you goes out to Agnieshka Burke of Pumpkin Coach Events, who brought this event to life. She did an amazing job the day of the wedding, never missing a beat and making sure that everything was perfect!

We'd also like to thank Dominick from The Bethwood in Totowa, NJ. Without his willingness to make dreams come true, we couldn't have had this wonderful day. The entire staff at The Bethwood was professional, kind and always smiling! They made it very easy for the guests to truly enjoy everything that was happening around them.

I had the honor of making the candy bar wrapper favors & mintbooks for Jon & Becky, using Jon's artwork as the background.

As a special surprise for the bride and groom, my husband and I commissioned Robert Calabrese of Robert Edward Woodworking to create a dragon statue that would be the base for a castle cake we asked Sabrina Kuratana, owner of a cake dream, to make for us. They blew us away! The dragon is amazing, carved of wood, perched over the castle, guarding the happy couple. The cake is incredible, too beautiful to cut! But cut we did!! Wow! The cake was so delicious...a chocolate cake with mocha filling. I know where my next big occasion cake is coming from :).

So I've shared some of the hi-lights of this magical day but the most important part was watching my son and his new wife. The glow from their faces, the sparkle in their eyes, truly showed how very much they love each other. And after all, isn't that what it's all about...

Congratulations to Jonathan & Rebecca ~ Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness, laughter and most of all Love!

9/11 ~ The day the world stood still

2011-09-11T01:29:00.000-04:00

I don't normally write about emotional times in my life but I felt it necessary to do so today.

I chose to have my personal status on Facebook remain silent today, to honor those who lost their lives in NY, DC & PA. I was countered with posts saying the opposite. That people were choosing to work, to socialize, etc. I simply offer this.

I never said I wouldn't be working. In fact, I will be working a good part of the day.

I never said I wouldn't be socializing. I just choose to do it the old fashioned way, face to face and not in front of a computer screen. I will be spending the day with the people I hold closest to my heart. You don't know what tomorrow will bring. Why waste it sitting in front of your computer when you can have the real thing.

The events of 9/11/01 have forever changed our world. I thought I lost my best friend that day, she thought she lost her husband. Thank God they were both okay. But many of our friends didn't make it out alive, and so for them, I silence my personal Facebook page, to honor their memory.

~Dorinda

"1400 Fan Appreciation Chocolate Giveaway"

2011-06-02T10:53:00.005-04:00

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED :)

Because of Facebook guidelines pertaining to giveaways, we have moved this contest to our blog. All you need to do is leave a comment (with your FB user name so I can make sure you're a fan) to enter the contest. The number will begin with #21 since we already have 20 entries. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Info to enter follows:

Here's what you have to do to enter "The 1400 Fan Appreciation Chocolate Giveaway".

Leave a comment below including your Facebook user name so I know who you are and tell me why you LOVE chocolate. That's it Easy, right? So what are you waiting for??? Good Luck!!

(Open to USA residents only) Entries must be received by Saturday, June 4th, 11:59PM EST to be eligible. Winner will be chosen on Sunday, June 5th.

Stop Whining and Start Dining!

2011-05-01T11:05:00.000-04:00

Title got you looking twice? Good. No. It's not a typo. I know you're thinking it should be "Wine & Dine" but that's the end of the story.

What I'm referring to is all the drama surrounding Vera Wang's 'White' for David's Bridal & Kirstie Kelly's 'Signature' for Costco and the "Mom & Pop" shops who continue to whine about them. "The big box stores are putting us out of business." Are they? Really? Or are you doing it all by yourself?

My questions to the "Mom & Pop" shops are simple:

What choices do your potential customers have?
Are your styles current with today's trends? Or would Aunt Millie look better in them?
Are you offering items that cater to any budget?
What are you serving up that no one else can?

Your potential clients are the ones who walk through your door expecting to be "DINED". Do they want the best service? YES! Do they deserve it? Whether you think so or not, the answer is always YES & MORE! It's up to you to prove to them that you are BETTER than the "diner" on the highway.

Did you bring in a new line, something to stimulate their taste buds? Or are you still serving the same plate as last year? How many local restaurants go under because they refuse to try something new, to make changes. This really is no different.

How do you greet them when they walk through your door? Are you warm and inviting? Do you ask them how their wedding plans are progressing. Do you listen to their tales of woe? Or do you just see them as dollar signs? Potential brides do not care if you've had a long day or if your feet hurt because you've been standing for hours. All they want to know is that when they walk through YOUR door, they become the focus of YOUR attention...they become the STAR. Sadly, many small shops don't do this. Why?

Not every woman who is planning her wedding has the budget of Donald Trump. Yet, she still deserves to be treated as though she does. If she can only afford a $600 Vera Wang from David's then she should be able to proudly wear that gown without the fear of being chastised for doing so. She should also expect quality service.

You have designers you work with, you offer MORE PERSONAL service, you put your heart and soul into everything because it's what's you've done for so many years and instead of taking a step up, you're taking a step back. Take a stand. Take out an ad in the local paper. Draw attention to the fact that what your brides see is really what they're getting. Made in the USA?? Display it proudly!! Free Alterations with the purchase of her Maid of Honor's dress?? Flaunt it!

In today's economy, the need for something more than what used to be 'acceptable in the wedding industry', has increased. If you don't do what is necessary to draw the attention toward you, then that "diner" on the highway really will put you out of business. You've worked too hard to allow that to happen. Don't whine about it ~ Do something about it!

This pretty much applies to all facets of the event industry. Make up artists were in an uproar over Kate Middleton doing her own make-up. It's a trend and eventually it passes because something new comes along. It's still up to all of us to prove that our business is the only business your bride needs.

MAKE IT HAPPEN! Then head up to the local eatery and "Wine & Dine". After all, they need your support, too.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers & Custom Candy Cakes for weddings & all occasions!

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Free Event Ticket Membership Promotion for NNJWEP

2011-04-08T12:38:00.000-04:00

Between today April 8,2011 until April 15th, 2011, anyone who signs up to be an NNJWEP association member at Silver, Gold, or Platinum status will receive a FREE ticket to either the Mock Bridal Shower Tea Party - a $35 value ( http://mockbridaltea.eventbrite.com/ ) or Book More Brides with Stephanie and Jeff Padovani - either a $25 or $50 value http://bookmorebridesnnjwepapril11.eventbrite.com/)!

This is a limited time promotion and an amazing opportunity!
To become a member, visit http://nnjwep.wordpress.com/joinus/membership-application/ and fill out the app and send it to either Karina@nnjwep.com or Marni@nnjwep.com

Dorinda Duclos is an Ambassador for NNJWEP for the Passaic County area of New Jersey. For further info, you can contact her at dorinda@favorsbydorinda.com

Grammar & Spelling 101 - When you WRITE, do it RIGHT!

2011-03-28T09:23:00.000-04:00

I think I can honestly say that my biggest pet peeves are grammar and spelling mistakes. At an alarming rate, self-proclaimed expert bloggers, editors and businesses posting on Facebook, are failing to proofread their own works. In this age of technology, they rely on two simple words: "Spell Check". Check again! Spell check may catch a spelling error but it does not tell you when you are using the wrong tense of the word. Microsoft Word is notorious for not catching grammar mistakes.

Just for fun, I recently typed in a sentence incorrectly then used the grammar & spell check, on MS Word, to see what would happen. The sentence I used was:

I sent my mother to there house too check on the dog.

The response I received was grammar and spell check is complete. It didn't catch the mistakes. DID YOU?

Take for example the word 'to". There are three forms. To, too and two. Obviously, or not, the word two refers to the number. But the biggest misuses are to & too. The word too means also.

Ex: To ~ I want to go to the movies.
Too ~ I want to go, too.

And of course these words are often misused: There, their & they're.

Ex: Their ~ I would like to go to their house.
There ~ How do I get there?
They're ~ They're just around the corner.

Their indicates a possessive, there indicates a place/placement and finally, they're is a contraction of they are.

There's no excuse to put out poor copy simply because you think it's below you to have someone else critique your work. That's absurd and only reflects poorly upon you as a writer. It is so IMPORTANT to read and reread your copy prior to publishing. Then read it again after it's published. If you're looking to make an impression on the world, make sure you WRITE it RIGHT!!

Other common misused & misspelled words are:

Lose & Loose, One & Won, It's & Its, Your & You're and many more.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers & Custom Candy Cakes for weddings & all occasions!

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Mock Bridal Shower Tea Party

2011-03-22T13:34:00.002-04:00

In this industry, we work events and never get to experience them. Imagine if you could attend an event to get innovative ideas, showcase your business network with industry colleagues and have a fun time socializing. Invite your brides or mothers of the bride to attend!

Mock Bridal Shower Tea Party
Harmony Tea Room
11 Bergen Street
Westwood, NJ 07675-2208 US
4/16/2011, 11:30am - 2:30 vendor showcase
12PM tea and delicious edibles

$35 - NNJWEP members
$45 - non members/guest of NNJWEP member

Includes:
Freshly baked scone
Assorted finger sandwiches and savories
Selection of delectable sweets
Pot of tea
Fun and networking with Northern New Jersey Wedding & Event Professionals and clients

If you'd like to be a vendor during this event, promoting and exhibiting your company or products, please email Karina at karina@nnjwep.com or Marni at marni@nnjwep.com
*No more Planner/Designer or Florist spots available

20 people max for this event so tickets will be first come first served.

Purchase Tickets Here

Valentine's Day Chocolate Giveaway!!

2011-02-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

To honor St. Valentine's Day, we are having a Chocolate Giveaway!!! Follow the simple rules below to enter. The contest runs from 2/14/11 til 2/19/11. Winner will be chosen and announced on February 20, 2011.

Rules to enter:

Be a fan on our Facebook page! If you already are, that counts too!
Leave a comment on our Facebook page telling us why you want to win all the yummy chocolate
Leave a comment HERE with your guess! How many Kisses are in the heart pictured below!?

Simple, right!! So what are you waiting for!!! Get commenting!!

Closest to the actual amount of Kisses wins, providing all rules have been followed. Good Luck!!

Your Big Day Bridal Showcase Ticket Giveaway!!

2011-02-09T13:03:00.001-05:00

We have a great Giveaway to offer you from Your Big Day LLC. They are offering a pair (2) of tickets to the upcoming Bridal Showcase at the Maplewood Country Club in Maplewood, NJ. (See end of post for showcase information)

This is what you need to do to enter to win those tickets:

Visit Your Big Day on Facebook and "like" their page. Be sure to leave a comment there telling them we sent you!
Leave a comment here on our blog telling us what would make "YOUR big day".
Visit our Facebook Page and "like" us, too :) (optional)

Winner will be chosen by us so make sure you follow the rules :) Contest ends February 15, 2011.

About Your Big Day: Your Big Day will prove to be the easiest choice our clients will make during the whole planning processes. We are committed to ensuring that your event planning burdens are lifted so that you can be a guest at your own affair by providing stellar customer service, professionalism, and attention to detail. Your Big Day is committed to producing high quality events for every budget.

About Village Bridal Showcase: The Village Bridal Showcase is committed to connecting local wedding professionals with local brides. Our goal is to help boast our local economy by supporting the wedding professionals that live in our own neighborhoods. With each show we donate a portion of our proceeds to a local charity.

        Village Bridal Showcase
        March 10, 2011
        Maplewood Country Club
        28 Baker Street
        Maplewood, NJ 07040
        5pm -9pm

A portion of our proceeds will be donated to Dream Team Wishes(www.dreamteamwishes.org)

**All pre-registered guest will receive a gift bag and will be pre-registered for give-aways** Tickets are 2 for $15 before 3/9/2011 & 2 for $25 at the door. http://villagebridalshowcase.eventbrite.com

MAGICAL MONDAY!

2011-02-07T13:05:00.001-05:00

What is Magical Monday?? I'll tell you!

We have partnered with Ultimate Affair Party Planning & Forever Friends Fine Stationery to bring you super deals every Monday. We will be posting our specials on Monday mornings and they run until 11:59 PM EST that night.

Monday, February 7, 2011 Specials include:

10% OFF any candy bar favor order from Favors by Dorinda

Up to 6 FREE Boutonnieres for all the men in your wedding party from Ultimate Affair Weddings

FREE Guest Book with any wedding invitation order from Forever Friends

Please visit us every Monday to find out exactly what the special of the day will be!! We look forward to hearing from you!

Cocktail Party to celebrate the official launch of Wish Upon A Wedding New Jersey!

2010-12-14T11:43:00.001-05:00

The New Jersey Chapter of Wish Upon A Wedding will celebrate its official launch with a swanky cocktail party on January 18, 2011 at The Estate at Florentine Gardens in River Vale from 6:30PM to 9:30PM.

The lavish and newly renovated Estate at Florentine Gardens, located at 97 Rivervale Rd in River Vale, NJ, will host the organization's posh event featuring cocktails, music, entertainment and even a few fun surprises. To help make this a truly spectacular event, New Jersey wedding and event
professionals & vendors will be donating their time, products & services. Guests who wish to make a donation will receive swag bags filled with incredible discounts, samples & goodies.

Wish Upon a Wedding is the world’s first nonprofit wish granting organization providing weddings and vow renewals for couples facing terminal illness and serious life-altering circumstances,
regardless of sexual orientation. Officially launched in January of 2010, Wish Upon a Wedding currently has over 16 active chapters to serve Wish Applicants and will have granted 12 wishes by the end of 2010. The WUW NJ board members hope to raise awareness and invite other New Jersey wedding specialists to get involved.

The chapter is asking for a suggested donation of $20 per person at the party. Donations will go directly towards helping to grant wishes to deserving couples.

For driving directions, registration or to view the invite, please visit the event home page at www.tinyurl.com/njwuwlaunch. If you are a vendor and would like to contribute to the swag bag, please contact the chapter's Marketing Chair, Marni Gold at info@customcreativecardboxes.com. For more information on the Wish Upon A Wedding organization, please visit
http://wishuponawedding.org

Small Business Saturday Thru Cyber Monday Sales!!!

2010-11-27T00:03:00.002-05:00

Welcome! Our online store is featuring some great deals! The info is below, just follow the links!

Also remember that everything is 10% off in our Etsy shop using coupon code Take10Off.

These deals for Favors by Dorinda's online store are only good from Saturday 12:00AM EST, November 27, 2010 through Monday November 29, 2010 11:59PM EST and cannot be combined with other offers or coupons.

The Etsy shop discounts are until December 1, 2010.

In our Favors by Dorinda Online Store:

10% off the following candy bar wrappers:

10% to 15% off the following Lux Collection Candy Cakes!!

20% off the following gifts/favors

We hope you enjoy shopping. If you have any questions, please contact us HERE.

Thanks and have a great day!!

Dorinda

50th Birthday Bash Chocolate Giveaway

2010-10-24T09:50:00.002-04:00

THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED

Yes, it's true...I turn 50 this month, in physical years only. The child in me is still very much alive :) So to celebrate my 50th, I am having a Chocolate Giveaway. And it's easy to enter.

Just two rules:
1. You must be a member of my fan page on Facebook
2. Leave a comment here on this blog post and you're entered to win.

Here's the fun part :) This time you can enter once a day by following rule #2!!!

Are You Ready??? Contest will run from 10/24/10 until 11:59PM EST on 10/31/10. That means you have eight (8) chances to win. Don't forget to comment everyday! Winner will be announced on November 1, 2010.

Time to party!! Good luck to everyone!
~ Dorinda ~

The winner will be picked via Random.org. (Your number is whatever comment you are, so if you comment first, then you're #1, etc.)

Picture is property of Confectioner's Studio

I now pronounce you husband and fry...you may salt your bride...

2010-10-14T19:13:00.001-04:00

Funny? Could be. But in reality, McDonald's is jumping on the wedding bandwagon. As of January 1, 2011, the McDonald's in Hong Kong, will begin offering wedding packages. Keep in mind that this isn't anything new. Weddings have taken place in McDonald's, as well as other fast food restaurants, for years. Hong Kong & McDonald's decided to bring it to your attention. Brilliant marketing strategy.

I was curious as to how potential brides and wedding pros would react to this, so I posted a question on my Facebook page, Favors by Dorinda.

"A wedding at McDonald's, that has a special meaning (first date, etc), with close friends and family vs a wedding in a ballroom type atmosphere and people you don't know. What would you choose and why?"

So far answers from brides and wedding pros are leaning toward the McDonald's aspect of a wedding, citing sentiment over tradition. In these challenging economic times, couples want their special day to hold memories that matter.

Recently, Brenda Sponzilli and Bob Szalai, both formally of Wayne, NJ, held their nuptials at the White Castle in Clifton, NJ. Their reason for doing this is that the White Castle was an old hang out spot. Something that had meaning to both of them. I've included the video as they "cut the Slider" and just have a great time!

Brenda & Bob's Royal Wedding

I welcome your feelings and opinions on this. Please feel free to comment here or on my Facebook page.

Here's to all the happy couples getting ready to tie the knot, no matter where it may be. After all, a long and happy life together really is the icing on the cake...or in this case..the ketchup on the burger :)

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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It's not all about money....is it? Your wedding on a budget.

2010-10-07T14:10:00.004-04:00

No, it's not all about the money! And it shouldn't be! It's all about making a bride & groom's perfect dream become a reality. And it shouldn't require breaking the bank or mortgaging your home. Together with Pomela of the Ultimate Affair Party Planner & Simply Elegant Affordable Designs , we've created a group on Facebook for vendors willing to work with any budget a bride may have.

The group consists of seasoned wedding professionals offering their wares to brides on a budget. Brides and grooms are welcome to join and are encouraged to do so. You'll be able to find flowers, favors, wedding planners, invitations, dj's, etc, all willing to work with YOU!

For further information, brides may join the group at Vendors Who Are Willing to Work With All Brides Budgets. Wedding pros, please message (via Facebook or email) either Pomela or myself for further information about this group.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!!

Dorinda

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding &all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Twitter's #FollowFriday - Good or not?

2010-08-13T16:56:00.003-04:00

All of us on Twitter know that traditionally, Friday's are for following. It's either symbolized with #FF or #FollowFriday. I usually pick the people I want others to follow because I feel they have something worthwhile to offer. This morning I did my shout outs and received a reply from one of them with this link: End FollowFriday written by Jeff Wilser. While I agree with some of the things Jeff says, I also disagree. #FollowFriday can be very useful when used the right way.

Let's start at the beginning. The purpose of following someone on Twitter is usually because you have a common interest, be it business related, artistic, or whatever else strikes your fancy. It's NOT about the numbers, people!! Can you honestly say that you tweet all those thousands of people who follow you? Of course you don't. In fact, I'll bet you only tweet a few of them on a regular basis. So what's the point? Tweets go by so quickly in your stream...do you see them? Probably not.

Use the tool to reach out to someone in your industry that you might not have known about if it wasn't for Twitter. Twitter now offers suggestions on the right side of your page. Take advantage of it. And take the time to look at someone's profile to be sure you really do want to follow them. It takes a second to do it. Just because someone is following you doesn't mean you have to follow back. I'm in the wedding favors business. Should I follow a guy who loves motorcycles just because he follows me? We have nothing in common. You may lose some followers but it shouldn't matter. It's what interests you!!

Remember, Twitter can be a powerful tool if used properly. It's not a popularity contest. Follow wisely :) And don't forget to follow me! @FavorsbyDorinda

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Feature of the Week - Meet April Dorsey of The D-Tales

2010-07-18T12:15:00.001-04:00

This week we had the pleasure of catching up with April Dorsey of The D-Tales, based in Orlando, Florida, “The City Beautiful” and oh yes, according to April, it lives up to its name! As one of the few native Floridians, April was born in Miami and still has a love for that city. Pre: South Beach, Miami Vice, crazy drivers and press one for English. Believe it or not, where she grew up was a small town within a big city. Many of her friends still live within miles of where they grew up and she still enjoys going to visit.

April is passionate about life and a bit sassy. She loves to sing and dance whenever & wherever. Most of her brides will grab her to get her on the dance floor once the party has started. If the Cupid Shuffle is playing you can bet that's where you'll find April. She's a total social network addict and can be found on Facebook & Twitter 24/7. In fact, April communicates with her clients constantly through IM, especially when they have that ever important idea that just can't wait! April is a hugger :) "What can I say," she tells us, "I love to hug." And of course the icing on this fabulous woman is she LOVES cake! April tells us she got the "curse" from her grandfather who would say, "A meal without a good piece of cake for dessert, is not a well balanced meal."

We asked April why she chose an event planning career. She offered this explanation, "I feel like I was always planning events. One of my greatest memories was the runway shows I would “produce” at my grandparent’s house when I was 4. I always had a great audience! Professionally I have been planning events since the 90’s with a passion for elegant and exciting events. From intimate gatherings in the Bahamas to extravagant events in Cabo, each one has a unique feel and design."

April's passion is in creating glamorous dream weddings. There is nothing more magical than the moment the bride is about to walk down the aisle to meet her groom. Yes, she still sheds a tear of joy when the Bridal march starts to play. She has also been known to cry during the father/daughter dance too. "I am a total sap for romance." says April. As a full service event planning company, The D-Tales also does Mitzvahs, birthday parties, Galas and Corporate events.

We asked April if planning events was the only thing she does. She replied, "What? You mean there is more to life than planning weddings, lol. Actually, while weddings are my primary passion, I don’t always get to use my creative talents to their fullest at every wedding. I love to make the Bride’s vision come to life, and the color palate is not always MY taste, although lovely nonetheless. Since I need a creative outlet to display my ideas, I work with some amazing photographers for editorial work. One of my favorite photo shoots was inspired by a rooftop organic garden. Talk about out of the box design……… As you can see in the photo (below), I used an air conditioning vent from Home Depot to create an industrial feel to compliment a gorgeous Vera Wang gown!"

So many things inspire April that she finds it difficult to pinpoint any one thing. She can see color in nature or a moment at a concert and create a whole new concept. When she works with her clients, she walks them through a path of words that ultimately lead to a gorgeous event. She tells us, "You would be surprised by the finished product based on the words we brainstorm."

April had the pleasure of meeting Colin Cowie at a gallery event and tells us that he was such a wonderful person with so much talent to share. They spoke at length and his words of wisdom will ring in her head forever. (April is pictured with Colin in the first photograph).

And finally, we asked April what her advice to future brides would be. She said, " You mean other than hiring a great planner or coordinator to make her day stress-free? I would say, slow down. Too many people worry about the Event and not the moments DURING the event. It is for that reason that I suggest a sweetheart table. This small space, reserved for the couple, allows them to be together and share some quiet moments together. One crazy idea that actually ended up being a hit was a recent bride who really wanted a sno-cone machine. I mean, she asked about it every time we met. Of course I fought her idea, but since it was 100 degrees during her outdoor ceremony, I made sure that every guest stayed cool with a sno-cone in hand. Best $75 spent (and of course I told her she was right!)"

April's bright & bubbly personality is infectious. You can't help but love her the minute you meet her!! So we thought we'd have a little fun and we asked her, "What are three things you could never live without?" April's reply, "I think I would die without lip gloss, music & really good cake (did I mention that I LOVE cake, lol).......can I make it four and say facebook????" Those of us fortunate enough to be friends with April on Facebook know exactly how much she LOVES cake!!

For further info on everything April has to offer, please contact her at any of the following links.

Website/Blog: www.theDtales.com

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/dtales

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheDTales

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Feature of the Week - Meet Christine Boulton of Think Like A Bride

2010-07-11T09:47:00.001-04:00

This week we had the pleasure of catching up with Christine Boulton of Think Like A Bride, located in, as Christine would say, "Fabulous NashVegas." aka Tennessee. With clients all over North America and the UK and a lot of subscribers in Australia, Christine just had someone contact her from Greece about consulting and did one website for a photographer in Portugal. So we can say she's World Wide!

Christine started Think Like A Bride in 2005. How she came up with the idea is a rather interesting story. She had owned a pretty successful boutique bakery for 19 years and frankly, was tired of working something like 50 Saturdays a year. So she took a year to consider all her options. Christine tells us, "I thought about what I loved to do, what I was good at, what my skill sets and connections were and a plan started to develop. I had some very solid relationships in the wedding industry and weddings were what I knew. As a small business owner, marketing was what I did. So I played with it a bit, extended my skills and set about helping others in the industry grow their business the way I had."

Think Like A Bride is about how to successfully market your wedding business to brides at its most basic level. But really it is so much more. It is industry news, new techniques and the bottom line on these people we call brides; all delivered with the wit and no nonsense attitude of a gossip columnist and the heart of a teacher. It is a place to keep up on trends in the industry and on how to market to brides. Christine believes we are at a time when business and marketing is changing at break-neck speed and if you don't keep up with the changes you are going to be left in the dust.

Christine not only keeps up with her Think Like A Bride web site, she offers one on one marketing consulting, designs websites and social media marketing campaigns. She also does a fair bit of freelance copy writing. Over the last year she has started expanding her public speaking, doing seminars and the like across the country.

We asked Christine how long she's been a part of the wedding industry. She said, "I have been in the industry since 1986. First as a wedding cake designer and owner of a boutique bakery. I spent 10 years as a Board of Director for a Wedding Professionals Association (TWESA) with 2 of those as president. I have written for wedding publications both here and in the UK."

There is more to Christine then just the wedding world. While she keeps up with everything wedding and marketing and a teenage son, she's a water baby at heart! She tells us you can find her in her down time at the pool or off canoeing somewhere. She grew up sailing competitively. Recently, they are canoed the Harpeth River.

Christine just recently released an ebook on bridal shows dos and don'ts. We asked her to tell us a bit about it. But if you want to know more, you'll need to pick up your own copy :). "Over the years I have written many articles on maximizing your investment in bridal shows. Face it, those things are expensive in both coin and time; now more than ever. I decided it was time to not only update the information but to gather it all together in one easy to follow guide. Bridal Show Success covers everything from how to select the right show for your business right up on how to get the most out of your follow up. There are tips and trick on getting the most publicity out of your investment above and beyond the actual show itself. There is a comprehensive how to on designing both your booth and the sales material to go with it. All in all, you don't want to do one more bridal show until you have read the book!" The book is available on the Think Like A Bride web site.

If you'd like to contact Christine, please use any of the links below.

Think Like A Bride Main Web Site
Weddingdish
Facebook Fan Page
LinkedIn
Twitter - @ChrisBoulton

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Feature of the Week - Meet Christine Dyer of BridalTweet

2010-07-04T12:06:00.000-04:00

This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Christine Dyer of BridalTweet. Although located in New Jersey, BridalTweet serves the global wedding market for both brides and wedding professionals alike.

BridalTweet was launched in April of 2009. When Christine first created BridalTweet, she wanted to create a more open wedding community where wedding vendors could have maximum editorial freedom. In addition, she wanted to create a place where brides could find free wedding advice, planning ideas, giveaways, local events and more. In the past year, BridalTweet has become much more than that.

We know that the community is flourishing and Christine tells us, "We have grown up very quickly with over 20,000 people visiting our community each month. Together, our community is taking a REAL leadership role in shaping how the wedding industry can continue to connect and prosper. Personally, the relationships and support that I have gained from you have been so incredibly encouraging."

Today, BridalTweet is also an online destination where wedding vendors can find free business advice, networking opportunities, and helpful vendor discussions. And on top of that, wedding vendors can promote their wedding businesses for free through blogs and discussions. In the year ahead, Christine will continue to share wedding business advice with vendors through her weekly blog. The way she sees it, the "BridalTweet wedding community needs to be different. It needs to be worthy of wedding vendors' attention and limited time. Ultimately, BridalTweet needs to be dedicated toward helping wedding vendors grow their businesses."

BridalTweet is a free online wedding forum where brides, wedding vendors, and wedding bloggers create meaningful relationships. At BridalTweet.com, brides can find free wedding advice, planning ideas, giveaways, local events and more. BridalTweet is also the only place that wedding professionals can turn to for free business advice, business connections, and business services. Since April 2009, 7,800 members have joined BridalTweet.com and membership increases daily.

BridalTweet keeps Christine very busy but that's not all there is to this wedding savvy woman. In addition to starting and running BridalTweet on her own, Christine also has a full time day job where she leads social media marketing for a major Fortune 100 company.

As one of the original members of BridalTweet, I have watched Christine take this site to new heights. She's done an amazing job! I wish her much success in the coming years. To contact Christine and become a member of the BridalTweet community, please follow any of the links below.

* BridalTweet Website
* BridalTweet Blog
* BridalTweet onTwitter: @BridalTweet
* BridalTweet on Facebook

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Feature of the Week - Meet Erica Roberts of FavorCakes by Erica

2010-06-27T09:48:00.002-04:00

Our feature of the week is Erica Roberts of FavorCakes by Erica, located in a little town called Hutto just a few miles northeast of Austin Texas. A funny little thing about Hutto is that they have a city mascot which is the hippo. There are hippos everywhere, statues that is. If you're ever driving through Hutto, you'll see hippo statues of all sizes in front of schools, restaurants, banks, even on people's front lawns. Erica tells us that they're very proud of their mascot.

FavorCakes by Erica is an online business through Etsy and can therefore service any part of the world. 99.9 % of their orders come from within the United States but Erica will ship internationally. As a matter of fact, she's working on a custom FavorCake right now for a client who lives in Spain!!

Erica opened her Etsy store in July of 2009, exactly one day before her second daughter was born and it was her pregnancy that actually sparked FavorCakes. She was in her last trimester, hormones going crazy, and she had this sudden urge to make a diaper cake. So as she was literally waddling through the craft store looking for items to decorate a diaper cake with, she ended up in the wedding aisle where she spotted some favor boxes. It was like a light bulb went off and Erica thought "What about making a cake out of party favor boxes?" So she switched gears and created her very first FavorCake which was this massive hot pink "Bachelorette" theme design. After that, Erica just kept coming up with new and smaller cakes and posting pictures of them online to show her friends. She got her first official order from a friend of a friend who saw Erica's pictures and wanted a paper cake for a 70's themed birthday party. Things just took off from there and after giving birth to her second child she's watched both her business and her baby grow over the past year.

Right now, Erica is exclusively favor box cakes. She loves creating unique designs for birthday parties, baby showers, holiday celebrations, you name it. "I offer the traditional round cakes as well as a modern square cakes that can coordinate with the color and theme of your event. I love a challenge so I tell my clients if they have an idea, get with me and let's make it happen." Erica tells us.

Erica's number one job and responsibility is raising her two girls. She's a stay at home mom of a four year old and soon-to-be one year old and they definitely keep her busy during the daytime. So much so that she mainly works on her business in the wee hours of the night when everyone is asleep or at least supposed to be asleep. Erica said, "I've thought about trying to find something to get involved in outside of work like an exercise class or something but I haven't quite decided yet. I enjoy creating and working on my FavorCakes so much that any spare time I do manage to find, I use it to work "

We're so happy we had the chance to introduce you to Erica and her beautiful FavorCakes. To contact Erica directly, please use any of the links below.

Main Web Site - FavorCakes by Erica
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter - @Favorcakes
Favors Cakes by Erica Blog

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Feature of the Week - Meet Bradley Junell of Raleigh Event DJ & CoordEgy, Inc

2010-06-20T09:44:00.002-04:00

This week we have the pleasure of featuring Bradley Junell of Raleigh Event DJ, located in Central North Carolina, just outside the area called Research Triangle Park (RTP). RTP is defined by Duke University in Durham, The University of north Carolina - Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Brad explains that while his office is located in the town of Cary, his business is more mobile in nature.

When asked what parts of the world do you service, Brad has this to share with us, "That’s an interesting question because it depends on what aspect of the business you are looking at. From a purely “Raleigh Event DJ” brand perspective, we are serving Central & all North Carolina . Other aspects of our business such as our professional internet radio brand: “RR Radio – Rhythms of Raleigh Radio – The Train” are serving worldwide audiences."

Raleigh Event DJ has been in the Entertainment & Event coordination service for a decade, officially becoming a brand in 2006. We asked Brad why he chose this profession, why not a doctor? What drew him toward this. Brad said, "Ha ha. I wanted to be a doctor. However professionally I found myself well established in a career of application software development for the insurance, investment and financial industries’ needs. But I’ve always had a desire to own and run my own company. Then about 10 years ago, a friend of mine and I were looking for new ways to raise money for the local Boy Scout Troop that we were leading in Massachusetts . Since we both had teenage children, and we both had musical sound equipment from our hobbies (Guitar amps, PA system, etc) and we both had substantial personal music libraries; combine that with our experience of actively serving and protecting youth, our outgoing personalities and creative talents that was the catalyst for where we are now."

As an entertainment and event coordination company, Brad explains that it’s an intentional broad brush-stroke for a micro-conglomerate. Whether it’s weddings, fund-raisers, birthday parties, corporate meetings or what have you; Raleigh Event DJ services clients having many different types of entertainment event needs – everything from planning and coordinating logistics, scripting and dialogue, subcontracting additional vendors, to delivering the actual entertainment . . . in a nutshell.

The business name is CoordEgy, Inc. CoordEgy is the combination of the words Coordinate and StratEgy. It was a total marketing thing when they named the company playing off two of the emotional hot-buttons for people having event service needs. They believe, amongst other things, that people want their: Wedding, Birthday, Corporate function, etc. coordinated with attention to detail and then delivered with strategy. "If I know brides, I know they want their wedding to be more and better than their friend’s wedding they just went to – hence a “CoordEgized” event.", says Brad.

Under the CoordEgy umbrella, they currently have the “Event DJ” brands: Raleigh Event DJ, Durham Event DJ, Chapel Hill Event DJ, Triangle Event DJ, Cary Event DJ, etc. You get the picture. Their Event DJ brand provides professional Mobile Disc Jockey entertainment for events of all kinds in the central North Carolina area.

They are a family company with wife, son and daughter all sitting on the Board of Directors as well as holding officer positions. But it doesn’t stop there. Brad's son Nathan has a degree from the famed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. "We expect to be providing our own in-house catering service within the next 2 years and Nate is already working on those logistics. Our daughter Victoria has been a student of dance for 15 years and has expressed a career interest in the dance industry. So although nothing is cast in stone yet, we also expect to be adding another service to our mix that is related to dance – whether it is a Dance studio, a Dance Competition company, or something else that has yet to be defined." Brad tells us.

One of the best parts about Brad, that we have gotten to know, is his sense of humor. We wanted to know if he was involved in anything outside of his many other endeavors. He said, "Is the Pope Catholic? Aside from running this business, delivering the service, having what seems to be 3 full-time careers now, being a husband, and father . . .an active member of the Cary Chamber of Commerce, Raleigh Entertainment & Event Professionals Networking Group, Triangle Jazz Society and an avid cyclist." I don't know about you but I'm tired just keeping up with Brad!!

At the beginning of this interview, we asked Brad what parts of the world he offered his services to. And while he told us about the Events part being local, he also mentioned a new & exciting venture. We'll let Brad tell you all about it in his own words!!

"I thought you’d never ask. LOL. My third concurrent career . . . Professional Internet Radio Station. On June 1^st, 2010 @ 2:00 AM EST we started broadcasting on the Live365.com network. Our radio station: RR Radio – Rhythms of Raleigh – “The Train” is a Rock & Roll/Pop/Top-40 themed radio station that is being broadcast worldwide over the internet. We figured since we were already doing the “DJ Thing” that it was barely a side-step to do the “Radio DJ thing.” The road goes in both directions. Radio Jocks often moonlight as Party DJ’s so we felt it was fair game to reciprocate the roles. With the advancement of wireless communication technology and the robust features handheld mobile devices are being packed with, we believe we are at the right place at the right time to add this to our business mix. Think of it, cars are being equipped with Blue-Tooth technology so when you step into your car, your cell phone automatically connects with the vehicle’s sound system. Down the road (pardon the pun) you can take your favorite radio station (hopefully RR Radio) with you where ever you go. Listen at home, it follows you into the car on your way to work and then tags right along with you to your desk-top in the office. Need to travel a few hours outside the range of your favorite “Air-Broadcast” radio station? Not a problem with internet radio. If you have wireless access to the internet through your Blackberry, iPhone or Droid then you’ll never lose your favorite radio station when you head off to Grandma’s house for thanksgiving. Plus it’s cheaper than Satellite radio and doesn’t require special hardware (or at least hardware that you probably don’t already have).

Currently we are running play-list rotations as we work out the kinks, build up our listenership and pull together all the various content and programming we plan to add. As well we intend to be adding regular “Live broadcasts” into the programming mix. Some of the things we are lining up is featuring local business spotlights, interviewing and featuring up and coming musical talent, tips of the day for various wedding-related needs (from many of my favorite twitter associations), special weekly programming such an “oldies” show, a Jazz hour, and much, much more.

It’s a win:win:win situation. We plan to help our fellow business friends by offering affordable advertising as well as free publicity. In turn, we benefit from direct sales and passive income generated from our website. Finally, listeners and consumers benefit by being provided with free entertainment, information and helpful resources.

We are very excited about this new venture. The station is a professional station so what that means is we can sell our air-time and sell advertisement/commercials to local and national businesses who would like to get their products and services out in front of consumers. Through the Live365.com network, there is the potential of reaching 4 million listeners a day. Our streams are being delivered through various additional distribution channels such as: TiVo, Windows Media Center , iTunes, etc. And best of all, our broadcast streams and content are completely under our control. So we can competitively set prices and deliver the content we choose."

We hope you've enjoyed getting to know Brad as much as we have. He's quite a man and I'm sure there are nothing but good things heading his way.

To contact Brad for your next event, please follow the link below.

Contact Brad

You can also find Brad here:

Twitter - @RaleighEventDJ and @RaleighRadio

Facebook

Web Sites - CoordEgy and Raleigh Event DJ

Blogs - CoordEgy and Raleigh Event DJ

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Feature of the Week - Meet Rose Elliot of Ladybead Barefoot Jewelry for Beach Bride Destination Weddings

2010-06-13T11:08:00.008-04:00

This week we have the pleasure of featuring Rose Elliot of Ladybead Barefoot Jewelry. Located in Southern California, Ladybead is an internet only business and therefore services the USA and beyond!

Ladybead opened on the web in April 2001. Rose started a business so she could stay at home and be there for her kids. She tells us, "It was the best decision I ever made. I thought what could I bead that I could sell online that is something different, at that time on my site I was beading belt/bodywraps, necklaces and bracelets." Around 2001 a lady asked Rose to make some barefoot jewelry. She wanted something fancy, not just straight up the foot, so Rose spent the next couple of days working on different designs and came up with her original netted design and just kept creating. "We now have the largest selection of barefoot jewelry on the web." she adds.

Ladybead specializes in custom beach wedding jewelry like barefoot jewelry and anklets. Their jewelry is handmade to your specifications. They work with the customer to match their beach wedding attire using Swarovski Pearls, Austrian Crystals, Freshwater Pearls and Sterling Silver. For the bride on a budget they also have many creations using Preciosa Crystal, a beautiful crystal made in the Czech Republic . They also carry necklaces, bracelets, earrings and hair jewelry.

Ladybead has a special offer!! "We are always updating and adding new products. Use the voucher code “ Favors“ for 10% off any order of $20 or more. Offer expires June 30, 2010. Visit us at www.ladybead.com."

On a personal note, I met Rose on Twitter. I knew from the start she was someone special and our friendship over the past year has proven me right. I'm honored and lucky to call this wonderful woman "My Friend". We will also be using Rose's jewelry in an upcoming photo shoot for Island Vogue!! We're very excited to include this beautiful beachwear jewelry!

If you'd like to contact Rose please use the links below.

Ladybead Main Website

Ladybead on Facebook

Ladybead on Twitter

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Feature of the week - Meet Ms. Pomela of Ultimate Affair Party Planner

2010-06-04T17:39:00.034-04:00

This week we're thrilled to feature our very dear friend Pomela, owner of Ultimate Affair Party Planner. Located in Havre De Grace MD, they also serve DC/VA/MD/DE/PA/ as well any site that is in need of their services. Affectionately known as "Pam", she is the @Queenofparties on Twitter.

Pam started her business in 1985 after the death of her first husband just 3 days before they were to be married. They had planned this huge wedding by themselves. Upon his passing , Pam had no idea what to do, so she started calling everyone to get things changed. "It was not easy for that first 6 months, I was a mess, as I was young and depressed." says Pam. So on the idea from her attorney and doctor, the Ultimate Affair was born. Pam then went to work in a shop doing nothing but wedding sales. She could find anything you needed, and wanted, information wise. The weddings just fell in her lap. Pam continues, "It is not what I started out to do. So then after many years of doing lots of different weddings, party's all over the place, I learned how to do it all for my business to be successful."

Then Pomela meet Ben and they became Life Partners in 2001. They opened their business together where Ben did all the construction on all of the new stores. Then he started doing photography for a wedding . The cool part was the first wedding that they had done together. It was at St.Pauls Catholic Church, in the small chapel. Little did they know that was the same place that his parents had married. "They have been married for 64 years. So it was a great thing." remembers Pomela.

Ultimate Affair doesn't sell products. They are in the emotion business. The flower pieces that they create are meant to portray the emotion you want to invoke on your guests or that of a loved one who has passed. Pam tells us, "I recall my first real wedding that I had done. It was all Anna Roses. It was such a glamorous event on a large yacht. The bride and groom were so happy with the results of the decorations. Even the cake was made of all Anna Roses (which are a cream with a blush edge Rose). Then two weeks later a guest who had been at that same event requested them for her daughters casket. It was such a sad event in my life, crying with this woman. In business are we to cry? I asked myself. But I knew that I was human, not just a business woman."

Pomela provides emotional events in peoples lives. Not just the good, loving times but from the begining to end. That is what they do. Pam told us that when Ben does pictures. he too, tells a story of emotion from the begining to the end. Those emotions are captured so they can be treasured for years to come.

Pomela also does makeup for the brides, brides maids, etc. Pam has seen women and men come to her over the years who felt that they were not up to par. According to Pam, everyone has beauty that comes from within. She's just there to make it happen in their faces or even their hands. Pam has helped many, not just brides but also burn & cancer patients.

As if Ultimte Affair Party Planner & Ben Michalski Photography don't keep them busy enough, Ben and Pomela also work with Veterans who are past military, as well as the ones coming home now, helping them on the road of recovery and getting their benefits. Ben is a Teacher of Photography at APG Military Base. They both are involved with Casey Cares Foundation, which helps with critically ill children, The Pink Party by Infinity Broadcasting. Pam also teaches a class each week with several senior men and women. The class varies and Pam has been kind enough to post her pictures on Facebook. They both are very active in the Alliance Program for Men and Women who have mental disabilites, those who live in homes, on their own, Brides Across America, The Liver Foundation, The American Heart Association & Marrow for All. They are always collecting clothing, food, or other needs for their community. "We really don't know how to say no. We both believe that we are here to help the living to have better lives." And I can tell you that's exactly what they do!!

They want to make each of their events one of great memories. They have great clients. They have helped with many organizations, so when brides and others book their company, they are also playing a part in helping these organizations as well. Pam closes with this, "We are truly blessed, to have great customers, friends and family, AS well as each other. We Love what we do. The passion comes through in the emotional stand point of everything that we do. We help plan Lifetimes, not just a day."

For further information please contact Pomela at the following links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue.

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Feature of the Week - Meet Carla Jo Guiles-Lowry of WicksnCandlesticks

2010-05-27T21:55:00.023-04:00

This week we are pleased to feature Carla Jo Guiles-Lowry of WicksnCandlesticks.com. WicksnCandlesticks.com, based in Charlotte, Michigan, has often been the Internet resource for candles and gift baskets for family, friends, clients or coworkers since 2009. As well, they provide wedding services, software, favors, candles, silk flowers, and gift baskets for couples throughout Michigan and the United States to make their special day even better.

WicksnCandlesticks provides e-wedding planning services from a certified wedding consultant for online convenience, giving continual, unlimited email support up to the wedding day. Such services include discussions of the wedding plan, professional wedding advice, assistance with timelines, vendor referrals, bridal forms, and more to help the couple through the planning process.

“We’ve partnered with well-known companies in the wedding industry as exclusive dealers of wedding accessories, favors, and invitations,” Carla told us. “As well, we’ve made several changes to the website for easy navigation and quick reference. Often, couples spend tons of time scanning sites for wedding information and we’ve set our wedding information, services, and products in a single area located on the left side of the page for easy reading.”

For brides and grooms on a budget, Carla opened The Budget-Minded Bride Blog, which offers tips, advice, and information on everything from wedding budgets to wedding trends. Finally, WicksnCandlesticks.com partners with iDo wedding software to help brides and grooms keep track of all the many vendors, products, events and expenses, among other things, that go into creating a fantastic wedding day. “We’re especially pleased with the results of the work we’ve put in over the past few months and we know our clients will be, too,” says Carla. “We love what we do, and look forward to helping many happy brides and grooms fulfill their dreams for a beautiful wedding.”

WicksnCandlesticks is a proud member of the International Guild of Candle Artisans, Inc., National Association of Wedding Professionals, and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce in Charlotte, Michigan. Carla also attends Davenport University, which is a business college, studying marketing and web development, as a 3rd year marketing student with a specialty in Advertising and Promotions.

To contact Carla, please use any of the links below.

Main Website
Twitter @Wicksncandles
Facebook
WicksnCandlesticks Blog

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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Feature of the Week - Meet Kendra Kroll of PortaPocket by Undercover Solutions, LLC

2010-05-21T11:37:00.019-04:00

Our feature this week is Kendra Kroll, Founder of PortaPocket by Undercover Solutions, LLC. I met Kendra on Twitter and I have to admit, I wasn't quite sure what to think. She was crazy silly and I found as I got to know her that that is what makes her go! She's a great gal!! No one can tell her story better than she can so that's exactly what we're letting her do. We asked Kendra some questions...here are her answers!

"PortaPocket is located in NW suburbs of Chicago and proudly serving Planet Earth and have shipped as far as Australia already, several times! Although our website and amazon menus are geared more to North American regions, we'll ship anywhere. Just e-mail us and we'll work it out!

I began my business in late summer of 2007. Started the whole odyssey after accidentally dropping my spare tampon on the floor at the gym, and getting mad (it sat there for ~10 min in the middle of the free weights room floor before I noticed it, and I was the only female there at the time. nice.

Although my PortaPocket line was originally inspired by this embarrassing moment, it's for a lot more than feminine hygiene! It's a lightweight, streamlined strap-on carrying case system to safely & comfortably keep small valuables & other items of personal importance ON the body without risk of theft, loss & inconvenience. No more having to stick things we need in our socks, shoes, sleeves or bras anymore...hallelujah!

PortaPocket cases are versatile as they're designed for use on thigh, calf, ankle, arm or waist & for under or over the clothing. The pockets are detachable for ease of use, and interchangeable to fit items of various size: ID, cash, cards, keys, lipstick, cell phones & iPods/mp3 players (including iPhone, iTouch, Blackberry, etc), small cameras, inhalers, insulin pumps, Epipens, more. Washable neoprene in black or beige. Ideal for use while exercising, dancing/nightclubbing, traveling, enjoying weddings or amusement parks, walking the dog, running errands, and even everyday. We're not necessarily saying ditch the separate purse or bag...just don't put anything you can't afford to lose in there, especially in this challenging economy with rising theft.

Kits range from $8.95 to $24.95 and are available at select retailers, on Amazon, or via our website at www.portapocket.com

I was in the special events industry for over 15 years, working as a marketing director and account executive for two tenting and event equipment companies. Also currently in Real Estate though in this market that's been slow to say the least! My 5 yr old daughter models so I take her around to her bookings, etc. My interests include working out, travel and music :)"

And now you know about Kendra and how PortaPocket was born. But there's more!!
NOW thru the end of May, you get a free accessory pocket set ($12.95 value) with any $19.95 or more purchase on www.portapocket.com...(offer good through May 31, 2010). Just write "Favors by Dorinda" in the Comments field on check-out to receive!

And we can speak on a personal level about the PortaPocket. My daughter tested it out and absolutely LOVED it. You will, too!!

Kendra has also entered her business in the Start Up Nations contest "Leading Moms in Business". Please stop by and vote!! Vote here

If you'd like to contact Kendra, you can find her at the following links:

PortaPocket Main Web Site or Undercover Solutions
PortaPocket's Blog
@PortaPocketGal on Twitter
PortaPocket on Facebook

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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Meet Guest Blogger Kathleen DeCosmo of KatieSheaDesigns

2010-05-12T21:41:00.019-04:00

I am Kathleen DeCosmo creator and CEO of KatieSheaDesigns. I design and produce custom textile roses in my northern NJ studio.

My friend Dorinda has asked me to be a guest blogger and I am very pleased and excited.

A little background about me and how KatieSheaDesigns came to be. I find it quite interesting how one begins a beginning and I have become acutely aware that through adversity many great beginnings blossom. I have always worked with my hands especially during the most stressful times of my life. I did not become aware of this coping mechanism until my husband pointed it out. While in labor with our third child, I designed, cut and sewed a blanket, pillow and bumpers for the cradle before I went to the hospital.

I reflected on his words and recalled many times over the years I worked things out quietly through art, design, sewing and cooking.

KatieSheaDesigns was born several years ago during a serious bout of debilitating depression. I suffered a series of great losses and needless to say life was a whirlwind and I was struggling to keep afloat. Through all of these very difficult circumstances I prayed that all would not be for nothing and that somehow I could derive something good from all the ugliness. My children cracked up when they viewed the very first rose design. I even have to laugh when I look at my very first “Rose”. I laughed with them and was determined to execute the design that was in my mind.

Over time I sampled different weights of paper, textiles, fusibles and designs. I also used several software products which consumed me day and night. I became more and more determined to produce the image flashing in my mind.

I first introduced my roses to the world at the 2007 DeCosmo Family Reunion. I designed a memorial rose of my husband’s grandparents to be passed out to almost 100 family members during a memorial service for our deceased. I was shocked and I mean shocked by the reactions to my roses. Grown men broke down and cried when they held the roses! It was quite emotional for all of us.

June 2007 I also designed a dozen Baby’s first year roses for my husband’s dear friend and colleague’s 1st grandchild. I have a soft spot in my heart for this dear child Amelia Marie born prematurely on June 13th 2006. She shares her name with my mother in law Amelia (a nurse) and her twin sister Marie (a Doctor) born June 12th 1930. Little Amelia Marie’s mom is also a Dr.

I wanted to do something special to commemorate this very important first year of life for the family. I designed a rose for each of the 12 months and presented them to the family as a gift of life.

I continued to combat my diagnosis of clinical depression and PTSD with designing and gifting my roses for the next few years. I also was becoming quite proficient as a graphic designer learning all the current software essential to achieving the outcome I desired.

September 2009 I decided that I wanted to pursue KatieSheaDesigns as a family business.

I have been actively designing and promoting my roses for many years and now I am ready to move forward and am very excited!

My grown children are joining me. My youngest son is a graphic designer/artist. My daughter is in pharmaceutical marketing and also a talented artist. My oldest son is graduating this week with a Business/Marketing degree.

February 2010 I introduced “Roses of Distinction”

I have made a lot of friends on Twitter and I wanted to showcase some of my friend’s work and also promote them. I have had so much fun doing this. I have had a lot of requests to review people’s products for inspiration and to create “Roses of Distinction” for them and I am honored.

I also Blog http://kathydecosmo.blogspot.com/ and http://thewhyofcolorchoices.blogspot.com/.

My website (in development)

I also promote and advocate the use of LDN in treating Crohns Disease and MS. Please read LDN Beginnings on my blog @ http://dld.bz/dnme

I invite any and all inquiries. I can design for all occasions. Email me @ Katiesheadesign@Gmail.com

Please view my “Authors of Distinction Roses”

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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Feature of the Week - Anna M. Holyst-Sourile of ARTIBILITY

2010-05-07T00:30:00.020-04:00

This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Anna M. Holyst-Sourile, owner of ARTIBILITY. Although located in Algonquin, IL (aka Chicagoland), ARTIBILITY is world wide. I'm sure you're all wondering why ARTIBILITY is all capital letters. It has a very special meaning... "ART focus on Individual aBILITY ...not disability".

"A person is not measured by their possessions, but rather by their Heart and Soul ~ Their trinkets are a small glimpse of the style that represents who we all are ~ So be classy, be unique, be kind, but most of all, just BE" ~~ Anna.

This is Anna's story.

Anna is more of a painter and a visual artist so jewelry design was a great creative venue for her that started from a hobby when she was on bed rest for 3 months while going through a high risk pregnancy in 2005. "Sure is difficult to paint in bed." says Anna. She really made it into a business in 2009. She also had some medical challenges with SLE/Lupus and 2 previous TIA's (Strokes) so playing around with power tools and tiny baubles is even more rewarding and therapy for her.

ARTIBILITY offers handcrafted jewelry and accessories, custom hand stamped designs, glass pendant keepsakes, PMC jewelry as well as fashion to high end pieces including bridal sets, pearls and gemstones. The pieces we are sharing with you here don't even begin to touch on the amazing artistry that Anna brings to her jewelry.

The piece you see to the right was custom made for me by Anna. It was a graduation gift for my future daughter-in-law, who just received her RN. I had seen this necklace on Anna's Facebook page & thought, "What could be more perfect than a handcrafted personalized gift." And perfect it was! Becky loved the necklace and immediately put it on. Anna customized it especially for Becky, making the bead blue for her September birthday as well as hand-stamping her name & RN on the front and her graduation date on the back. The small silver cross accented the necklace.

As if ARTIBILITY doesn't keep Anna busy enough, she & her husband own and operate their own Remodeling and Handyman Service. Anna is also a book keeper/office manager/notary for a construction company. She is a US Marine Corps veteran and a member of the Marine Corps League, Women Marines Association, Women Marines in Business.....and a Mom of 2. It's been an honor to share Anna's story with all of you.

For more info on ARTIBILITY, you can contact Anna at any of the following links:

ARTIBILITY main sites - http://www.ARTIBILITY.com & http://web.me.com/ARTIBILITY
both are in construction phase and will be redone soon.

ARTIBILITY on Facebook
ARTIBILITY on Twitter (@ARTIBILITY)
ARTIBILITY's Blog
ARTIBILITY Etsy Shop

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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Feature of the Week - Apryl Roberts of Memorable Events by Apryl

2010-05-01T12:45:00.022-04:00

This week we have the pleasure of featuring Apryl Roberts of Memorable Events by Apryl. Memorable Events is located in Hampton Roads, Va (Norfolk/Virginia Beach), but also services the continental United States. Apryl is also available for destination events as well as offering couples special romantic weekend packages.

Officially opening her business in 2000, Apryl had previously had experience planning events and meetings during her internship for a music producer. Apryl's next employer also utilized those skills by placing her as the head of their Cultural Diversity Department. This position required Apryl to plan monthly events for employees. She found that she enjoyed planning events and was told that she was very good at planning while saving money, so she began planning events for family and friends. Once she started getting referrals from them, Apryl decided that she needed to start her own business. She started reading books and interning for established event planners to get more education and experience. Apryl constantly attends seminars and conferences to stay abreast of new trends within the event planning industry.

Along with planning social and corporate events, Apryl is also involved in her own community events, such as The Swizzle Stick Social. We asked Apryl to tell us what the social was all about. She said, "The Swizzle Stick Social is an annual luncheon for young girls between the ages of 6 and 12 years of age intended to focus on self-development, community service, and sisterhood." We, at Favors by Dorinda, are very proud to be a sponsor for this event.

As if Memorable Events doesn't keep Apryl busy enough, because of her experience within the music industry and her degree in Political Science, Apryl also does Public Relations work and has been recently asked to continue within this field. Apryl may be incorporating this service full-time into her business. In Apryl's spare time, she volunteers for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Do Something!

If you'd like more information about Memorable Events by Apryl and The Swizzle Stick Social, you can contact Apryl at any of the links below.

Memorable Events by Apryl Main Website
Memorable Events by Apryl Blog
Twitter
Facebook Fan Page

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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Feature of the Week - Mauranda Dalziel of Wedding Gloss

2010-04-24T10:59:00.014-04:00

This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Mauranda Dalziel, owner & lead vendor consultant for Wedding Gloss. Wedding Gloss's main headquarters are located in Jericho, Vermont, however, their service is nationwide. Mauranda told us they will soon be going international!! Wedding Gloss offers a one stop shop to find experienced wedding vendors, personalized wedding website, information, and unique ideas.

Wedding Gloss was launched in February 2010. Wedding Gloss is a division of VIP Consulting, LLC which is a marketing company that was started in 2007. Wedding Gloss was created after they made the hard decision to discontinue their Events division of VIP Consulting, LLC. They were event planners for over 5 years in Chittenden County, Vermont. With their huge love of marketing and still wanting to assist brides- & grooms-to-be, along with continuing their relationships with fabulous vendors, they decided to do a wedding vendor website. They have extensive knowledge and expertise of all things wedding and have the 'ins and outs' knowledge of marketing. What better way to join the two?!?!

The wedding vendor website is a great mesh of all of their loves, therefore their website reflects this. Mauranda told us, "When we used to assist brides one-on-one with their weddings, there was one main factor of the other wedding vendor websites out there... They were too full of information and brides were overwhelmed when they were trying to use these other websites to assist in the planning of their big day. We took a lot of feedback of brides and vendors to create www.WeddingGloss.com." She adds, "Don't plan the most important day of your life by yourself!" The website is extremely user friendly while being informative and informational, but without being overwhelming to their users.

Aside from running Wedding Gloss, spending countless hours speaking with vendors about this great web site, Mauranda is a full time mom to a beautiful 10 month old, a wife to a supportive and hard working husband, and continues to be extremely close to her family and friends. Mauranda adds, "As a family and as a company, we are very involved with our community and are very hands on volunteers and fund raisers."

To find out more about Wedding Gloss, you can contact Mauranda at any of the following links:

Wedding Gloss Main Web Site
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
Wedding Gloss Blog

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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Feature of the Week - Dina Eisenberg of Positively Wed

2010-04-18T15:41:00.014-04:00

This week we have the pleasure of featuring Dina Eisenberg of Positively Wed. Although Dina is a New York gal, she's lived in Boston for over twenty years so she is based there. Dina adds, "But I've got a bit of wanderlust so I'm thinking of moving with my husband to possibly Savannah or Oakland. I built my business to be, eh, portable. So, we're really global in terms of who can benefit from the site. In fact, we have friends all over. And, who knows where I might live and work next!"

We asked Dina why she chose the industry she did. She told us, "You know, I like to say my business, Positively Wed, is one of those 20 year, overnight successes. That's because it literally took that long for me to gain the expertise and personal insights that I have now. I know how hard it is to be a business owner, especially as a woman, so I'm super motivated to share what works if you want to be successful, profitable, love your business and not go crazy with stress. That's how PositivelyWed.com was born August 2009. I so committed to teaching how to use communication to make their business, and life, happier and more satisfying."

Positively Wed is growing and Dina hopes it will become an essential resource for quality wedding business advice for newbies and a go-to spot for veteran wedding pros to advance their skills and get support.

She takes a very holistic view on her products because success is dependent on feeling confident, skillful and compassionate. So, they offer products like Brideability Summits- her free teleclasses, Knowledge bundles and soon, coaching that help wedding professionals find solutions to anything that blocks those traits.

For instance, Dina is a communications strategist so it seemed really natural for her to talk about social media and how to use it to your best advantage. And, the way she talks about it taps into her conflict management expertise because she can help a planner or photographer better how to deal with fear of rejection that might be holding them back.

Dina holds teleclasses that are super. I've had the pleasure of sitting in. If you haven't participated, please take the opportunity to do so. You'll be amazed at how much you learn about yourself.

Dina is also developing a series that she calls the 7 Conversations Every Wedding Business Owner Must Master to Thrive. She realized that during her years as an Attorney and SVP, Corporate Ombudsman she saw a pattern in the types of difficult conversations that stumped business owners. She's taking each of those conversations- Rebalancing for Confidence, Delegation, Customer Satisfaction, Problem-solving- and creating a step-by-step guide that lets someone not only understand what's going on, but handle the situation in a meaningful, thoughtful way. That way running a business gets easier. It'll never be problem free, but you'll sleep better at night.

And, just for giggles she's launching a Cafepress store with some fun merchandise. Her new t-shirt and bumper sticker: Try. Fail. Learn. Grow!

As if Positively Wed doesn't keep Dina busy, she's beginning to learn to draw and she hopes to include some of her fledgling work in the store. Also, she loves to cook so she's hoping to do some culinary tourism (hello Barcelona) soon.

If you'd like to contact Dina to find out more about Positively Wed, you can find her at the following links.

Positively Wed Website
Positively Wed on Facebook
Twitter: @Dramafreeliving
Positively Wed Blog

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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Meet Beth Fruchtman of Forever Friends

2010-04-13T16:41:00.014-04:00

We recently had the chance to speak with Beth of Forever Friends,Fine Stationery, Favors and Accessories. We wanted to find out what she's been up to and what she's been doing to make her business a great success.

We met Beth about a year ago when we both signed up on Bridal Tweet. I could feel the energy that was coming from her. This is the same energy she puts into working with her brides on their invitations. Attention to detail and making sure everything is perfect is what Beth brings to her company and her clients. This is what makes a successful business.

Forever Friends began their business in 2006. We asked Beth why she started this business. She told us, "I started my business in 2006. My company evolved when I was asked to help my girlfriend with her sons Bar Mitzvah and then with helping my niece with her wedding. That is how we decided on the name Forever Friends. When a customer comes to my home, I sit with them and we find a invitation that suits them. I start by asking them what colors and styles they like. I have many invitation albums, from afforable to expensive. I offer 20% off on most items. My albums are for all occasions, some styles include Pocket Invites, Something Different, Candlelight Collection, The Wedding Collection PaperDuvet, The Exclusive Collection Two to name a few."

Forever Friends in located in Plainview, NY and they ship nationwide. They offer the Carlson Craft, McPherson, and Kate Aspen lines of invitations & favors. Beth also has a collaboration with Favors by Dorinda. Forever Friends brides can go to Dorinda and she can match the candy bar wrapper to the wedding invitation.

You can contact Beth at any of the following links:

Forever Friends Main Website
Twitter
Forever Friends Blog
Forever Friends on Facebook

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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"Before You Tie The Knot" - Rev. Angela Chester - The Book Tour

2010-04-12T21:08:00.009-04:00

We're very happy to have Rev. Angela Chester stop by on her book tour. We'd like to thank Rev. Chester for taking time to visit with us.

We asked Rev. Angela why she wrote "Before You Tie The Knot". She said, "There are so many books out there for marriage counseling, but not as many as for engaged couples. This book is designed to make the engaged couple think about what their relationship will, could or may be after they get married."

"Before You Tie The Knot" is a pre-marital workbook for the DIY couple. Of course one of the questions you might ask is if someone orders the book, how will they know if their answer is correct?" Rev. Angela told us, "There is no "correct" answer. Each relationship is different. If you think that he will be a better bill payer and he agrees - you've reached the best answer. It's about bringing balance into your relationship."

There’s a place for reflection – why did you do that?, we asked. "It gives you time to reflect on what you have just learned about yourself, and about your fiancee. Some things may really take you off guard - bad or good - and you need time to process that. Learning about the other person could also allow you to answer even more questions that could really help to make your relationship grow."

Of course our final and most important question is where can couples purchase your book? "Before You Tie The Knot, is available wherever books are sold. Most people are familiar with Amazon.com - you can pick up a copy there."

If you aren't already, you can follow Rev. Angela on Twitter

Meet Phyllis Cheung of My Wedding Concierge

2010-04-05T09:07:00.019-04:00

We were delighted to catch up with Phyllis Cheung, who lives, works & plays in San Diego, CA., to find out more about her business & her iPhone application, My Wedding Concierge. Phyllis is a work at home mom of two little ones - a 4 1/2 year old daughter and a 14 month old son. She told us she works around their schedules and they enjoy traveling and exploring San Diego on the weekends.

We asked Phyllis, "What exactly is My Wedding Concierge?" She explained, "My Wedding Concierge is a nationwide service for brides looking for wedding vendors. We are looking to expand the website and iPhone app internationally within the next few months."

My Wedding Concierge was started when Phyllis was 7 months pregnant with her son and was put on strict bed rest. She was bored and wanted to start a project. Phyllis brainstormed with her husband who was about to be laid off and they decided to merge her wedding background with his background in software development and create an iPhone app for brides planning her wedding on the go.

My Wedding Concierge's website provide brides with a wedding search experience that will allow them to quickly identify and manage important wedding answers for their wedding day. Whether these answers be a vendor’s expert opinion, a collection of blog articles, other bridal reviews, or personal photographs, the goal is to help brides find, organize, and share their findings in a fun social Facebook-like environment.

View Press Kit here

My Wedding Concierge has the only wedding blog search engine available to brides. Brides can visit the site and search through over 5,000 blog posts for inspiration. Blogs are carefully vetted for wedding content before acceptance into their system.

They also have an iPhone app that is the only vendor-centric iPhone app available to brides. They are the only ones that are developing custom iPhone apps for wedding vendors at an affordable rate and are currently developing several more iPhone apps for the wedding industry that will be optimized for the new Apple iPad.

If you'd like to find out more information about My Wedding Concierge you can contact Phyllis at any of the links below. We thank Phyllis for taking the time to speak with us and we look forward to more applications for the wedding industry!

My Wedding Concierge Website
Twitter
Facebook
My Wedding Concierge Blog

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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NJ Vendor Feature - Erik Kent of NJWedding.com

2010-03-27T09:35:00.021-04:00

Our third NJ Vendor feature is Erik Kent of NJWedding.com, located in Belle Mead, NJ (Somerset county/Central NJ). They serve Northern, Central and Southern NJ, as well as some parts of NY and PA.

We caught up with Erik in between his busy schedule of visiting and participating in bridal shows throughout the state. We found out some very interesting things about NJWedding.com.

We asked Erik why he started his business. He shared this with us; "We launched NJWedding.com on Valentine's Day in 1997 as a result of the experience of our own wedding planning (we were married in 1994 and enjoyed looking for wedding venues, finding vendors, etc.) In 1995-1996, as the internet began to grow as a place where people started looking for wedding planning information and services, we wanted to provide a resource to help local wedding professionals connect with engaged couples and the idea for NJWedding.com was born.

Our main focus is making our "wedding planning directory" full of various providers of wedding products and services throughout all areas of New Jersey. Wedding professionals and venues advertise with NJWedding.com, and we promote NJWedding.com as a valuable wedding planning tool. We do this by advertising in NJ wedding magazines, newspaper bridal sections, direct mail and email and by sponsoring and participating in bridal shows in many different regions of New Jersey.

This has been our full-time business since 1997. My wife, Beth, manages the company and handles all bookkeeping, while I work with our advertisers to create effective marketing, and I participate in all bridal shows and industry networking activities."

Erik & Beth met at Rutgers, were married there (at Kirkpatrick Chapel) in 1994, and have always wanted to be in their own business. As the Internet grew to become a marketing and shopping resource, they felt it was necessary to leave their jobs and pursue their dream of building a business (and family) together. NJWedding.com has grown out of a true love and enjoyment for the "business" of weddings and marketing companies that work in the field of weddings. It also has provided an opportunity for them to have a work-life balance and raise 3 children in the process.

As part of their service to the NJ wedding "industry" they have been involved as a sponsor of "New Jersey Wedding Industry Networking Events" over the past 2 years. They have been very successful at connecting people together who could help or learn from each other, and gives Erik & Beth an opportunity to meet wedding professionals from various regions of the state. The next event is scheduled for Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at The Landmark in East Rutherford (Bergen county). More information and registration is online at: http://www.njwedding.com/industryevent

I will definitely be attending this fabulous networking event and hope that, after reading about Erik & Beth's passion for the wedding industry, that you will join us there, too. If you'd like to contact Erik for further information, please use the links below.

NJWedding.com Main Website
Facebook profile
Facebook groups and fan pages for the NJ wedding community
Twitter

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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NJ Vendor Feature - Cherin Szul of Customized Wedding Creations

2010-03-20T14:34:00.017-04:00

Our second NJ Vendor feature is Cherin Szul of Customized Wedding Creations, located in Hamilton (Trenton), NJ.

While planning her own wedding, Cherin wanted to do something unique so she painted their aisle runner. They wound up not being able to use it, so they converted it into a table runner and from there the business was born.

"Weddings are all about the details and that’s exactly what I am all about. It was my special attention to detail that inspired me to launch Customized Wedding Creations in early 2007" says Cherin. Now, almost three years later, Cherin has hand-crafted over 700 unique aisle runners, table accents, banners, and parasols for brides and grooms across the country, including two professional football players, one whose wedding was featured on WEtv’s Platinum Weddings. She has also had the pleasure of being featured in several online and print publications, most recently the famed Southern Wedding Magazine.

Along with the custom hand-painted aisle runners, Customized Wedding Creations also offers table runners and drapes, banners, and parasols. They also carry the first-ever 100% eco-friendly aisle runner collection!! Customized Wedding Creations ships worldwide and has thus far sent aisle runners to the UK, Canada, Australia, and Holland in addition to the US of course.

As if Cherin weren't busy enough running Customized Wedding Creations, she is also a full-time Spanish teacher in South Jersey. If you'd like further information on all of the beautiful items Cherin can create for you, please contact her at any of the links listed below.

Customized Wedding Creations Website
Customized Wedding Creations Blog
Twitter
Facebook Fan Page

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in June).

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NJ Vendor Feature - Marni Gold of Creative Custom Card Boxes

2010-03-13T17:51:00.019-05:00

We are thrilled to begin our NJ Wedding Vendor Feature with Marni Gold of Creative Custom Card Boxes, located in River Edge, NJ.

In 2008, Marni was planning her wedding and sought a safe and stylish way to collect and store the wedding cards and monetary gifts they'd be receiving from their generous guests at the wedding reception. Everything that she had seen online and in stores just didn't fit her style and wedding colors/theme. Marni finally decided to make her very own custom card box. She hand crafted and hand painted it in her wedding colors and embellished it simply with satin ribbon.

After the wedding, which was featured in (201) Bride Magazine and on theknot.com, Marni received a lot of wonderful feedback on her hand crafted card box. She started getting requests from other brides and also wedding planners to create a card box that was affordable and matched the wedding theme. Marni really enjoyed and continues to enjoy helping brides and those planning any type of party to realize their vision and keep their gifts safe.

Products offered from this wonderful company include hand crafted Custom wedding card boxes, "Guest Wishes" guest book alternative boxes, Cake Table decor "I DO" and "WE DO" letters and monogram cake toppers. All of these can be accessorized with Swarovski crystals and other beautiful embellishments..all by hand! They will also be adding monograms a la carte to their line coming soon!

Not only does Marni create these gorgeous card boxes but she is also a music teacher! She has a Master's Degree in Education and she teaches private voice and piano lessons at a music studio in Midland Park, NJ called From The Top Music Studio! If you haven't heard Marni's incredible voice, you're truly missing out.

If you need further information on any of these products, you can find Marni and Creative Custom Card Boxes at the following links:

Creative Custom Card Boxes Website
Creative Custom Card Boxes Blog
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in March).

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The Robin Maria Pedrero Candy Bar Wrapper Collection

2010-03-08T10:52:00.009-05:00

We are delighted once again to be working with Robin Maria Pedrero. We are offering her fine art on a candy bar wrapper. These are one of a kind wrappers. Imagine your guests faces as they view these beautiful works of art!!

Pedrero began fine art studies at the age of thirteen. She rode her bike where Foxwoods casino now sits near her hometown of Norwich, CT. Her early exhibitions began at The Mystic Art Association, the seaport town where she met Julia Roberts and cast during the filming of “Mystic Pizza”. Acknowledged for her luminous and captivating work Pedrero has since become an established award winning artist; published in magazines, newspapers, documentaries, and news broadcasts. Jeffrey Spalding now CEO and President for Glenbow Museum, Canada judged her work best of show with a "magical use of color" as Director of the Appleton Museum in Ocala Florida. The PSA after Pedrero’s signature is a privilege of elected signature members of the Pastel Society of America.

Travel and family play a large role in her compositions; her art is a visual journey. Collected worldwide her works are in private and corporate collections nationally and in countries such as Japan, Spain and Scotland. Recently she has had fun experimenting with slideshows of her work for You Tube. Pedrero works from her home studio in Longwood Florida, enjoying the company of her dog Max.

Want to know more?
My Secrets ~ http://www.pocketfullofcolors.blogspot.com/
Art etc. ~ www.gallery523.com
Facebook Fan Page

All artwork is used with the permission of the artist. Copyright of work, including all rights of reproduction in any form, are held by the artist.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in March).

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Meet Our Feature of the Week - Victoria-Joanne of HCC-Hand Crafted Creations

2010-02-18T11:51:00.011-05:00

Meet Victoria-Joanne, owner & designer of HCC-Hand-Crafted Creations. Although located in New England, Victoria-Joanne has shipped all over the world, countries such as Australia, Germany, England & Scotland, just to name a few. She began her business in 2001. We asked Victoria-Joanne what her favorite product is. She has this to say, "Embroidered anything! It's hard to choose a particular item! I have three favorites, Personalized garters, dress/tux tags, and Pillows. They're my favorite because there are so many ways I can make them special and unique. Lots of designs, colors and embroidery options."

Some of her favorites are pictured throughout this article. The Yellow and Gray "Love" garter is one of her brand new line of garters. She also enjoys making simple stylish garters as well as fancy lacy Swarovski crystal garters. The crystallized garters feature personalized names and hand sewn crystals for lots of sparkle. Since Embroidery is one of her specialties, it leads Victoria-Joanne to incorporate it into all her wedding garters, dress tags and pillows.

Not only does Victoria-Joanne offer wedding garters but she also does dress tags and pillows which can be created in matching sets too. She specializes in creating beautiful embroidery patterns to match with any theme or design. The Weddingish pillow is an example of how she can create an embroidery pattern based on an actual logo or picture.

Victoria-Joanne loves what she does but also wishes she had some spare time to spend doing more family activities. When she does find that bit of time, she creates various hand-crafted items such as scented sachets, flower baskets, paintings, and soon some really unique painting related works of art.

If you'd like to contact Victoria-Joanne to see how she can make your special day shine, please visit the links below.

Hand-Crafted Creations Facebook
and
Custom Wedding Garters on Facebook

Follow HCC on Twitter
and
Follow Victoria-Joanne on Twitter

Her Blog
Her Website
Her Etsy
Her Wedding-Luv

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in March).

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Meet Our Feature of the Week - Lauren of Ten23 Designs!

2010-02-11T13:38:00.007-05:00

Meet Lauren Atwaters, owner & designer at Ten23 Designs. Ten23 Designs specializes in creating customized, removable decals for special events and home decor. Located in Northeast Florida, Lauren has shipped orders to almost every state in the continental US, as well as, Canada, Europe, and Australia. She announced Ten23 Designs to the world in 2009 but has been making decals & wedding decor for several years. "I love creating custom monograms for my clients. I created my business to be able to spend more time with my family & I enjoy every minute of my time with them." she said. In addition to creating decals, Lauren also creates other wedding & party stationery.

Taken from Lauren's web site : Lauren focuses on two main goals each time she welcomes a client to Ten23 Designs. One, give them what they want. Making custom and personalized designs can be a challenge at times, but Lauren's goal to "give them what they want" only challenges herself and her craft. She wants to bring a smile to her client's face and by giving them what they want, she gets it every time. The second goal is to keep it affordable. Whether her client is decorating their home or adding personalized touches to an event, Lauren puts forth the effort to find the most cost effective way to decorate without cutting any corners.

To add that extra special personalized & customized touch to your event, contact Lauren at any of the links below.

Main Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in March).

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Island Vogue

2010-01-25T00:07:00.002-05:00

The idea for the Island Vogue line of clothing was born out of necessity for a stylish yet practical swimsuit cover up, to make women of today look and feel beautiful.

Using a unique lightweight quick drying fabric and chic designs, our cover ups will take you from poolside to dining.

Island Vogue is:

Jan Dutko's lifelong passion for fashion and Dorinda Duclos' savvy online presence now combined to create a dynamic endeavor.

Jan has been involved in the world of fashion since the age of 8 when she did her first runway show. That experience created a spark that has influenced her life ever since. She continued working as a runway, print and fit model for numerous 7th Avenue fashion houses until the age of 22, when she left the world of fashion behind and began a successful career in marketing. After a hiatus to raise her children, Jan is finally realizing her lifelong dream and returning to the world of fashion to design and manufacture her own line of trend setting beach fashions.

Dorinda had been around the fashion industry most of her life as her grandmother worked in the garment district of NY as a seamstress. She taught Dorinda how to sew, make her own patterns, anything fashion related. This was a love that continues to this day. After taking time off from a career in pharmacy to raise her children, Dorinda realized her artistic background was once again calling her. Currently, she is also the owner of Favors by Dorinda, personalized candy bar wrappers.

The Robin Maria Pedrero Candy Bar Wrappers

2010-01-21T14:34:00.008-05:00

I recently had the honor of creating a candy bar wrapper using the beautiful artwork of Robin Maria Pedrero. Robin chose a piece entitled "Stole My Heart". This piece had vibrant colors that just made the candy bar wrapper dance. Intense blues, reds and yellows made up the design of the crow flying away with the heart in his mouth.

I met Robin through a mutual acquaintance and was immediately drawn to her work. Her attention to detail and her ability to capture a mood was stunning. I purchased Miami Waterside as my first piece of art. The picture did it no justice. The piece itself was beautiful. I next asked Robin to create a cardinal for my husband's birthday. Again, the picture did it no justice. When it arrived, you could almost feel the cardinal come off the canvas. A truly talented woman who offers so much more than her art.

You can view more of Robins work in her Web Site Gallery or her Etsy Shop. You can also become a fan on Facebook.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions! and Co-Owner of Island Vogue (launching in March).

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Burn, Baby, Burn Out

2009-11-10T21:20:00.005-05:00

If there really is such a thing as social media burnout then I have definitely achieved it. Twitter, Facebook, Ning, etc...you name it, I was there. Always there. This went on for weeks, months, until one day my friend, Victoria, posted a blog about what is really important. I realized I was neglecting something. My life.

OK, for starters, social media IS a large part of who I am and what I do. But it is not all of me. It had become an addiction. If I didn't check constantly I was missing something. But I wasn't missing anything except my days. They all blurred into one. It got to the point where I really didn't know what day it was. And I didn't care. Two computers going constantly. Tweetdeck for Twitter on one, Facebook and other business sites on the other. In between, I worked. Do I remember what I did during that time? No. Was I trying to escape from something? Maybe. But what really? That was the question I couldn't answer.

I finally realized it was time for me to take a step back and reassess my life, my work. To really figure out what was most important to me. And when I did this I found a whole new world in front of me. Me. I realized I was an actual person, not a robot programmed to follow a specific set of instructions on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong. I've met some amazing people and I wouldn't trade that for anything. But it's time to cut back, get back to where I need to be for me, and move ahead.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions!

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A Special Candy Cake for A Special Young Man!

2009-09-28T12:14:00.008-04:00

There is nothing like the pure expression of a child receiving a gift they never expected.

I recently had the pleasure of creating a very special candy cake for my dear friend Angie's grandson's 9th birthday. He's a huge WWE fan so it was easy to decide what the cake should look like. I sent out my best people (my daughter Alyssa & husband Neil) in search of the perfect cake topper and wrestlers to adorn the cake.

I decided to have some fun with this on Facebook. I posted a picture of just the chocolate on day one and asked people to try and guess what this was going to be. We had a lot of great responses but no one could guess! Day two saw the bottom layer of the cake and still more attempts at trying to figure it out. Day three revealed a little more and finally someone figured it out...a candy cake!!

Day four revealed the cake so that everyone could see what they had been trying so hard to figure out. Here is a picture of the finished cake:

It was such a pleasure to create something that brought so much joy to a very special young man.

If you have a special occasion in your future and would like a candy cake made, please visit our web site.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions!

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New Wedding Items

2009-08-30T14:26:00.012-04:00

We're very excited to announce we have new wedding goodies added to our Candy Cake & Photo Album Collections. It's been awhile since we've added new handcrafted items so we're very excited to bring this to you, now!

These are the latest additions to our Wedding Photo Album Collection. The first one is handcrafted needlepoint that features a photo frame and pink organza ribbon roses. The second one is also handcrafted needlepoint with a photo frame and purple ribbon roses.

Our newest addition to our Candy Cake Collection is the "Our Wedding" wedding candy cake. This cake features Hershey's Miniature chocolates, lace trim and on the top layer, a heart with two doves (made of cold porcelain). A big white bow is the icing on the cake!

For further information about these items, please visit our website: Favors by Dorinda.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions!

Wedding Invitations - Your Day, Your Way

2009-08-24T09:29:00.007-04:00

Every couple of weeks, Favors by Dorinda will be introducing a guest blogger to you from our blog.

Our guest this week is Beth Fruchtman of Forever Friends - Wedding Invitations & more. We'd like to thank Beth for taking time out of her busy schedule to write this article.

Wedding Invitations – Your Day, Your Way

Forever Friends and Favors by Dorinda are two vendors that have been working together for many years. At Forever Friends, we offer Wedding Invitations and more for your special occasions.

An interesting note about wedding invitations is that they started in the 12th century by Town Criers, much like Dan Rather now, by announcing news. Back then, when someone was going to get married, there was one person called a town crier, who would stand on street corners and yell that a wedding was taking place, and all those people who were an earshot away, were automatically invited to the wedding, and were forced to go out and by a toaster for the Bride and Groom.

Before getting your wedding stationary or favors, you need to have your venue picked. For example, an indoor place or an outdoor place. By doing so, you should see your colors come to life. If you already have your colors chosen, make sure that they coordinate with your venue; otherwise you’ll need to think differently. The next step is to find a wedding invitation vendor, make sure to bring your ideas and your colors. You and your vendor should talk about what you like and dislike, and from there, pick out your wedding stationary. Your sources can range from wedding albums to the internet. Your vendor will be sure to help you with whatever your needs are.

Save the Date is the first wedding stationary that your guests will see. This stationary not only shows the date, but will also show the style of your upcoming wedding. Save the Dates come in magnets, photos of the two of you, and other interesting things. Save the Dates will also come in the colors that you have chosen for your wedding, which include ink, fonts, and paper color. If you have many out of town guests, Save the Dates should be sent out 1 year in advance, otherwise, 6 to 9 months in advance. Don’t forget the stamps!

Your Invitations are the theme of you wedding. They should incorporate your venue, your dress color, your bridal party’s colors, or just the original colors that you have chosen. Nowadays, there are many different variations of invitations. From pocket invitations to simple but elegant, bold and vibrant to ribbons and bows and self mailers to create your own. The list goes on. Make sure you send out your wedding invitations 2 to 3 months prior to the wedding date. Bring one of those invitations sealed to the post office, have it weighed, and find out how many stamps it will take. Pick the stamps that you like. If you will need special stamps, make sure you order them before hand; this process could add a month of total time. Make sure that you have these invitations hand stamped instead of machine processed, so that your beautiful invitations will not get ruined.

This is why you should have a wedding invitation vendor, to help you with all of these choices. Forever Friends and Favors by Dorinda are here to help.

For more information on Beth Fruchtman and Forever Friends, you can visit Beth's Profile.

You can also become a member of Forever Friends Fan Page on Facebook.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions!
Favors by Dorinda's Facebook Fan Page

We're on WeddingWire.com!!

2009-08-12T22:51:00.003-04:00

We're very excited to announce that Favors by Dorinda can now be found on www.weddingwire.com. It gives us the chance to reach out to brides and grooms who are looking to make their wedding day unforgettable. Personalized candy bar wrappers with their picture on the front make wonderful wedding favors. Guests will remember your very special day for a long time to come!

Stop by our page on WeddingWire.com & let us help you make your wedding a little bit sweeter!

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions!

Baby Candy Wrapper Contest Winners

2009-08-02T12:42:00.005-04:00

Another contest has ended and two more winners have been announced. Do you know who won? Could it be you?

Our most recent contest, "Choose Our Next Baby Candy Bar Wrapper" was a big success with lots of entries! Thanks to everyone who entered. The idea of this contest was to decide which baby candy bar wrapper we would be adding to our web site. We offered three different styles and the winners were chosen from the most popular one (the wrapper with the most votes). The contest ran from July 1 through July 31. The winners were announced on August 1st.

The winners of the "Choose Our Next Baby Candy Bar Wrapper Contest" are Brandi R. and Joey S. They each received a $10 gift coupon good for any candy bar wrapper or gift order from our online shop. Congratulations to both!!

The winning wrapper was the Teddy Bear:

Again, thanks to everyone who entered the contest.

Dorinda

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions!

It's Your Wedding - Choose Your Favors

2009-07-19T11:57:00.012-04:00

Every couple of weeks, Favors by Dorinda will be introducing a guest blogger to you from our blog.

Our first guest is Sara Valor. To read more of Sara Valor's articles visit her profile page here. We'd like to thank Sara for taking time out of her busy schedule to kick off the Guest Blogger series!!

"It's Your Wedding - Choose Your Favors"

It’s your wedding, choose your own favors and allow your personality to shine! Getting married is one of the most wonderful days of your life. On your wedding day, you not only share it with that special man in your life, you share it with everyone you love and care about as well.

You will find that while from the time you begin wedding planning to the moment you drive away for your honeymoon that every aspect of your wedding is important. From your stunning choice of wedding gowns to those smallest of wedding favors, everything you choose for your wedding has significance. Not only for you and your groom, but also for every wedding guest who attend.

Centuries ago, the wealthy began the tradition of exceptionally lavish sweets for wedding favors to bestow upon their wedding guests. Over the years, the tradition has evolved and wedding favors are included in even the most humble of weddings. Today, wedding favors do not have to be the most expensive things you can consider to offer your wedding guests. The wedding favors of today are charming and simple treats that you provide for your guests, just to let them know you love them
too and wish for them the same kind of wonderful fortune and life you hope to obtain with your wedding.

The wedding favors you choose for your wedding is a small extension of your beautiful wedding, whether you choose to offer your guests delicious candies of chocolate or mints as well as whether you choose to include a wedding time capsule for yourself and your groom. The same is true of when you are celebrating your anniversary milestones of your 25th and 50th wedding anniversary. Weddings and wedding anniversaries are endearing to you, your groom and all who attend.

While you are planning your wedding, take the time to seriously consider not only the big things, but also the smallest of things to include in your wedding. When you do this, you add your own special personality preferences and personal touch to the entire affair. By making the right choices that suit our preferences in all the items you choose to include in your special wedding day, you will be able to thrill all your wedding guests.

Therefore, it’s your wedding, choose your own favors with as much attention to details as you do while choosing your wedding gown and wedding bouquet!

~~~

Thanks,
Sara Valor

--
Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.
~E.H. Chapin

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions!

More New Goodies for Baby!!

2009-07-16T16:19:00.004-04:00

Yes, we added still more gift items for baby, mommy & daddy! We now feature a Teddy Bear & Candy Cupcake Gift Set. The teddy bear is hand sewn by my daughter, Alyssa, and myself. It features lock-tight eyes and nose for added safety. The candy cupcake is made up of Hershey's Miniatures that are foil over wrapped and have candy bar wrappers over the foil. This set comes wrapped in cellophane for the perfect gift for Baby, Mommy & Daddy!

We have three different ones to choose from. Boy, Girl & Neutral.

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for All Occasions!

Our New Look at Favors by Dorinda

2009-07-12T14:16:00.006-04:00

We've updated our web site! This has been a long time in the making. It wasn't an easy task and many nerves were rattled (meaning me!) during this transition. But we're happy to announce that thanks to Chris Bracken at Real-Marketing/Intercession, everything went smoothly.

Lets take a look back and see why we did this. When Favors by Dorinda was created in 1998, or web site was not secure for ordering. We shopped around for a company to host our cart and we found someone. Unfortunately, this company went out of business without a word to their merchants and once again, we were left without a shopping cart. We were also having a problem with our hosting company (who shall remain anonymous but let's just say downtime was not acceptable)so we made a complete changeover. Here's were the problem begins, although I never caught it. Great Company, Great People, Great Package. Except. My shopping cart was a completely different URL from my main web site. I didn't notice it until I had added all the products to my cart. Then came time to add the links back to my site. This is when I realized the difference.

Three years later.....(yes 3), I contacted my hosting company (new one-old one was sold to them) and asked if there was anyway to correct the issue and combine the sites. As it turned out, my SSL certificate was due for renewal and this was the perfect time to make the change. And so began the 48 hour rollover.

We are extremely happy to announce that our web site has been combined so that there is a smooth flow from main to shopping and everything is working wonderfully. Many thanks go to Chris Bracken at Real-Marketing/Intercession. His help in making this happen is tremendously appreciated. Not to mention his patience with me!

So please stop by and have a look at the new site. Please let us know what you think. Your comments/suggestions are very important to us. And if you're looking for a hosting company with outstanding customer service, please do check out Real-Marketing/Intercession. Thanks for taking the time to read!!

Dorinda

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for All Occasions!

Positively Negative

2009-07-04T23:38:00.008-04:00

Over the past few days I have witnessed more than one person using the Internet in a negative way, to try to get results for something they feel they’ve been wronged with. While the Internet can be a powerful tool to get your message out, I keep coming back to the same question. Why would you want your name connected to all this negative feedback? Isn’t it going to leave a bad impression about YOU? Let’s say someone Googles your business’s name or even your own name, and all they see are the negative things you’ve had to say about others. What does this say about you & your business? Would you choose them for your needs? I know I wouldn’t, for fear I’d be next on the hit list. I would simply ignore that company and move on to the next one.

I have an issue I am dealing with where my home was damaged because of it. However, I have chosen to deal with the parties involved on a personal level. In person, on the phone. I don’t believe I need to post negative things about what happened in hopes that someone will read it and respond. The only thing that happens there is it puts me in a bad light.

Another issue; my husband’s car.We needed a part replaced, which we had done. Two days later that part failed. What he did was calmly pick up the phone, call the mechanic and was told to bring the car back the next day. The part was replaced at no charge and off he went. Two days later, it failed again. Once again, he picked up the phone, was told to bring the car back. Turns out the mechanic who worked on the car didn’t connect the wires properly. Did my husband go off on the mechanic? No, of course not. What would be the point? People make mistakes. Did we need to blast this repair shop all over the Internet? No, of course not. It was corrected through pleasant communications. I should add that his battery died roughly a week later. It could have been because of the part problem, however, we brought the car in, replaced the battery and it’s done. Will we go back to the mechanic’s who worked on the car? You bet we will.

Slandering people all over the Internet only results in one thing. YOUR reputation gets ruined. From a follower’s point of view, on Twitter, I know the last thing I want to see is the same tweets echoing day in and day out, all with negative content. And please, do NOT automate these tweets!! Stop and think about what your tweet feed will look like. Google picks up your feed almost immediately. Is this really what you want potential followers to see?

Like my mother always told me “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”. In today’s society it’s so easy to hide behind the screen of your computer. Don’t become a 140 characters or less robot….become a human being again.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Please comment/add.

Thanks,Dorinda

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for All Occasions!

Oh Baby!

2009-07-01T01:35:00.007-04:00

It's that time! We're hosting our next contest at Favors by Dorind a. We need your help in choosing the next baby candy bar wrapper for our web site. This is what you need to do. Go to the contest page, pick your favorite candy bar wrapper and fill out the form to send in your entry. Two winners will be chosen from the most popular wrapper. There are three candy bar wrappers to choose from.

We can't decide, so we're hoping you'll help us! Enter! Win!!

Favors by Dorinda Baby Candy Bar Wrapper Contest

Thanks for taking the time to read!!
Dorinda

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for Baby & More!

Don't Forget Mommy & Daddy!

2009-06-19T21:41:00.005-04:00

One of the things people struggle with when visiting new parents is what type of gift to bring them. Of course they bring a gift for the newborn, but what about Mom & Dad? Don't they deserve a little something, too? After all, the oohing and aahing wouldn't be possible without them! A bottle of wine might be nice. So would flowers, but they die quickly. We have the solution. Chocolate!!

Our baby gift baskets are the perfect, inexpensive way, to say congratulations to new parents. At Favors by Dorinda, we offer a baby boy and baby girl gift basket filled with all kinds of assorted chocolate goodies & candies.

We also offer a neutral baby gift basket for those who may be visiting expectant parents who haven't revealed what gender the baby will be. This particular gift basket also includes a mini baby picture frame.

All the baskets come wrapped with cellophane and a big bow! Don't let today's economy ruin your gift giving desires. Favors by Dorinda makes it affordable for you. The new parents will be thrilled that you cared enough to include them in the celebration!

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to read and please comment!
Dorinda

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for Baby & More!

I'm Having A Party....Now What?

2009-06-09T18:19:00.004-04:00

The thought of having a party always begins with enthusiasm and excitement. Then reality sets in, especially if you don’t have a plan. The most important thing you can do before any party planning is sit down and make a list. Below are the things you must consider when making plans.

1.Make A List – Of course you have to make a list but what’s important here is to set a limit. So many parties get out of control and what was once a lovely occasion becomes a nightmare. Set a limit and don’t worry if your third cousin once removed gets insulted because they didn’t get an invitation.

2.Make a Budget and Stick To It! – It’s extremely important that you sit down and decide just how much money you have to spend on this event. It can get away from you very easily. Write down what your minimum and maximum spending allowance is per person and make sure you take it with you as you search for the perfect place. When you find that place, lock in the prices in writing. Remember, weddings or any type of party can also require a photographer, a florist, decorations and a band or DJ. Make sure you include them in budget.

3.Where is the Party? – It’s a good idea to research several places before making a decision. If you’re having a small party you may consider having it at home and catering it or having it at a restaurant. If you have it in your home and catered, you should ask if the catering company offers clean up service and/or waiters/waitresses. After, all you want to enjoy the party too. Make sure you know how far in advance the caterer needs the final total from you. You don’t want to have a wonderful event planned and find you have no food. Should you decide on a larger venue, such as a wedding, be sure to ask for references from each place you visit. They’ll all tell you how wonderful they are, but you need to hear it from people who have actually had an event there. Was the food good? Did the wait crew respond to guest’s requests? Cleanliness?

4.Open Bar? – How nice to be able to offer your guests free flowing drinks all night. STOP! This can run up a tab way beyond your budget. Unless you’re truly prepared to pay this “bar tab”, think twice about it. You can offer a two drink maximum with unlimited soda and allow your guests to buy their own drinks after that. Or you can have bottles of wine, one red & one white, on the tables for your guests to enjoy. Or skip the bar altogether. Remember, if you’re having a party in your own home, in most states, you are responsible if someone drinks & drives.

5.Invitations – Once you have your venue set it’s time to write out the invitations. Or if you have enough time and it’s in your budget, have them printed professionally. Wedding invitations should always include a response card with a self-addressed stamped envelope. It’s a good idea to allow at least two to four weeks prior to the event for the response date. Weddings are usually six weeks. There will always be those few who straggle in after the date. Expect it.

6.Pictures, Flowers, Decorations & Music– You may want to consider having your photographs taken professionally, especially if it’s a wedding or special anniversary. You want to make sure you capture the day the right way. For smaller parties, it’s ok to have Aunt Jane taking pictures, as long as she remembers to make copies for you, too. The tables should have some sort of centerpiece to accent the rest of your decorations. These can be as simple as a single rose to a full floral piece, depending on the event and of course, your budget. Decorations can be as simple as matching your napkins to the color of your bridal party for a wedding to adding balloons & more. The music can be a live band or a DJ. Make sure you go to listen to the band or DJ before booking them. The worse thing that could happen is you can book a band that does nothing but oldies when you have a mostly younger crowd. For Grandma, she’s thrilled. The rest of your guests will head for the door. Some DJ’s give out prizes, incorporate this into your decoration theme.

7.Final Total – Once you have your final person total, call your caterer and/or venue and let them know how many are expected. Finalize the price and make sure you get it in writing. Larger wedding places can require you sign a contract and leave a deposit when you hold the date. You want to make sure there are no surprises when you pay the final bill.

8.Favors – YES absolutely! Favors are an important part of the whole party package. It’s your way of saying “Thank You for sharing this day with us”. And it provides the guest with a memory. Every time they look at it they will be reminded of you and the wonderful time they had. This holds true for any type of favor, even edible ones. For example, chocolate candy bar wrappers make a wonderful favor. Your guests can munch on the yummy chocolate and still get to keep the wrapper with your event information.

Parties are meant to be fun and exciting. Following these easy steps can make your party one they’ll be talking about for years to come. Can I really predict this? You bet. I’ve been married 24 years and people are still talking about my wedding. They’ll be talking about yours, too!!

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Beautifully Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers & Favors to add elegance to your very special day!

Google Profile

The Unexpected Connection

2009-06-07T17:12:00.005-04:00

There are people in this world who, if you’re fortunate enough, will come into your life and make a difference. It will most likely be someone you never expected to make that connection with. I’m fortunate enough to have several people like this. Today I’d like to share just one with you. Her name is Lindy Asimus. The amazing part of this is Lindy is in Australia & I am in New Jersery. We have never met face to face.

I first met Lindy when I joined MerchantCircle. She was the one and only moderator for their forums. Of course I had questions and Lindy never ceased to amaze me with the knowledge she had to offer. It’s now almost three years later and that small connection has grown into a wonderful friendship and partnership on several fronts.

Let me tell you a bit about Lindy. She is the owner of Design Business Engineering – “Business & Personal Coaching for small business owners….with big ideas”, she has great taste in music & art and an amazing sense of humor. This is only part of what makes her who she is.

What is a business & personal coach, you ask? I took this off of Lindy’s website because I felt this says it all so perfectly.

“People all have different reasons for beginning coaching and for each person there will be a different place to begin, and path to follow. Simply put, people are individuals, and as such we believe that each program should be tailored to the individual's needs, and choose not to push them through a "sausage factory" format. If you want to be "sold to" then we may not be for you. If you are willing to invest in achieving your preferred outcomes, and you are willing to do what it takes to do that, then we may be too.”

Lindy has helped me achieve a higher ground, not just for my business, but also for myself. Her innovative ideas flow so easily and her desire to help you grow is apparent in every word. If you haven’t considered a business/personal coach and you feel your business needs new direction, then I strongly recommend you contact Lindy and get yourself on the right track.

Lindy also runs a site called TeamCircle, which I am also an administrator for. It’s a social networking site that helps businesses around the globe connect to one another. It’s the perfect place to meet up with people from all types of businesses and form relationships with those you may have never known. The slogan: TeamCircle – The Business Network That’s About You! Grow Your Team! If you haven’t checked out this group, please stop by and do so. So many have so much to offer, it would be a shame to miss out on an opportunity. TeamCircle can also be found on Facebook and Twitter, where we have 2 ID’s - @TeamCircle & @TeamCircle2. Join the group & add the follows!

In closing, I’d just like to add that I am extremely fortunate to have someone like Lindy in my life. She continues to moderate on MerchantCircle & other sites she is involved with (view her Google profile here), as well as run her own business, yet she still finds the time to keep me on track. A very important part to me is this: She makes me laugh, she makes me think! And that is what friendship is all about.

Dorinda Duclos
Favors by Dorinda
TeamCircle Page
Google Profile

I am the Featured Member on TeamCircle

2009-06-02T11:42:00.007-04:00

I am honored to have been chosen as the featured member for TeamCircle. Each month a different member is chosen and their business and life story is hi-lighted. If you would like to know more about becoming a Featured Member, please join us at TeamCircle!

Below is part of the interview you can find on TeamCircle.

MEET DORINDA DUCLOS - Featured Member for June 2009

Company - Favors by Dorinda
Title - Owner
TeamCircle Profile - Favors by Dorinda
Administrator for TeamCircle

How do you describe your business?

I offer personalized chocolate candy bar wrappers, candy cakes & mint matchbooks for baby, wedding, birthdays, anniversaries, religious events, Sweet 16&15's, "Sweet Calling Cards" for businesses&time capsules&hand-crafted gifts for baby & wedding.

How did you come to be in your business?

I always wanted to be in business for myself. I'm not one to work for someone else if I don't have to. I was an art major in school so creating something has been in my blood for as long as I can remember. After 20 years as a pharmacy tech, I decided I needed to get back to my roots. I established Favors by Dorinda. I designed and opened my web store in December 1998.

You can read the rest of the story here: Team Circle Featured

Socialization - Quality vs Quantity

2009-05-30T20:43:00.002-04:00

Not long ago I had a conversation with a friend about what is happening with the ning sites that became so popular so quickly. It appears that everyone and their uncles now have a ning site. But the problem is we experience burn out from too much of a good thing. Her response to me was “like too many groups on them with nobody managing them and putting the work in. better to have fewer with some quality that a plethora of spammy ones, devalues the currency and people end up with ning fatigue”

Ning fatigue. Can I collect disability for that?

The most important part of owning any type of social networking site is quality. It’s important that your members contribute throughout your site, that they share their opinions, be it business or life experiences. It is not important how many people you have on your site. This should never be about a popularity contest. Just because you have a network of friends on one site does not mean this same network would be interested in any other network you might belong to. Choose whom you think would be a good match and then invite them to join on another. If you’re not sure about someone or you think they might be interested, get to know them better. Do you just have pages of “friends” or are these really people you want to get to know better, perhaps even do business with? As an administrator on both TeamCircle and Ultimate Connection, both of which are ning sites, as well as a member of several others, I enjoy welcoming new members. A simple “hello, how are you?” can strike up a conversation between you and lead to bigger and more valuable things for both of you. And you may even find this person is connected to you in some way (see prior blog post – Six Degrees of Socialization).

Take the time to explore the possibilities within a network before venturing out to your own. A social networking site can be very time consuming. If you don’t have the time, don’t do it. If you already belong to a social network, such as ning, then take that time to get to know your connections better. You just might be surprised.

Wedding Candy Bar Wrappers - Contest for Brides & Brides-to-be!

2009-05-21T18:03:00.008-04:00

We're trying to decide which wedding candy bar wrapper to add to our web site, but we're having a tough time. So we decided to let you decide!! Who better than a bride or bride-to-be, should pick our newest wrapper.

Our contest page consists of three new wedding wrappers. We will be choosing TWO winners from all valid entries.

All you need to do is email us your choice with your first & last name and you'll be entered into a contest to win a hand-crafted Wedding DVD Holder & a coupon for 10% off any candy bar wrapper or gift purchase from our web site.

It's that simple. Further information, including the rules, can be found on the contest page.

To Enter - Favors by Dorinda Wedding Wrapper Contest

Good Luck to Everyone!!

Six Degrees of....

2009-05-17T13:26:00.005-04:00

Socialization.

I’ll bet you thought I was going to say separation. Six degrees of separation refers to a theory that people are connected to one another by no more than six individuals. It’s similar to the “it’s a small world” idea. Eventually, we come full circle. (See WiseGeek for the full explanation)

As social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter & Ning become more and more popular, I am amazed at how people I have never met before are somehow connected to me.

The following are examples of just that. I am one of the administrators on a ning site, TeamCircle. One of the things I enjoy doing is welcoming new members. Recently, I welcomed a woman who responded back to me to tell me she lived near me when she worked for a local company here. She is in Australia, I am in New Jersey. My husband also worked for the same company. As we chatted along, we found out they worked for the company the same years. Now she may not be directly connected to me, however, she is connected to my husband, who is connected to me. She is also connected to the site creator, Lindy Asimus, of Design Business Engineering. And Lindy is connected to me.

Another example would be my first date with my husband. He took me to his friend’s house for what they called “Video Sunday”. I had no idea who anyone was and felt very uncomfortable. Then another guy walked in and I said “Hey I know you!” It turned out he was also friends with my ex-boyfriend. When asked how we knew each other he calmly said “We dated the same guy”. That broke the ice for everyone and the rest is history. So, you see…..small world.

Without social networking, would we ever be able to connect to businesses and people the way we can today? I seriously doubt it. And we’d never really know who out there has some kind of connection to us. The internet and life, in general, are fascinating places. Facebook gives you the opportunity to catch up with some people you haven’t seen for many years as well as make new connections. Twitter & Ning allow you to network with other businesses and people you may have never known before, but eventually find out there is someone along the way that connects you.

At some point we discover that we are all connected in some small way. Social networking sites make it more possible for this to occur and allow us to expand our own horizons..

Your thoughts and/or comments on social networking as a whole?

Dorinda Duclos
Favors by Dorinda

Do you have a "sweet" calling card?

2009-05-03T13:41:00.007-04:00

Chocolate isn't just for sweet tooth's anymore! It can be used to market your way to the top. A Hershey's(R) mini with your name and company information, dropped at strategic points around your area can make a lasting impression on a potential client. I call them "a sweet calling card". No one passes on yummy chocolate and they will remember you long after you've walked out the door.

Personalized candy bars are a great way to get noticed. The most common uses are for favors for a special event or even a fund raiser. But now you can use a candy bar wrapper to get your name out. New businesses and established ones can gain from using this very inexpensive way to advertise. By simply leaving a dish of the mini's, personalized with your company information, out on a front desk, you can get your name out to anyone. And as you do your daily chores, be it the dry cleaning, grocery shopping, etc, hand one to the person who helped you. Your way of saying thank you as well as letting them know about your business.

Visit our web site at Favors by Dorinda and find out how you, too, can leave your "sweet" calling card.

Diaper Cakes by "The Diaper Baker"

2009-04-22T14:06:00.009-04:00

The perfect gift for baby showers, baby births or any baby occasion you can think of. Angie at The Diaper Baker has an amazing talent for creating the most beautiful inedible cakes. For those who may not know what a diaper cake is, it is actually a cake made out of disposable diapers. Yes, that's right. Diapers. And Angie puts all kinds of baby goodies, like lotions, comb & brush sets, blankets and of course, a beautiful plush topper. Some of Favors by Dorinda's favorites are Cutie Pie, First Friend & Quack Quack.

Of course The Diaper Baker also knows how important ecology is and offers an organic eco-friendly cake.

But it doesn't stop there!! The Diaper Baker also offers Diaper Wreaths! Imagine coming home with a new baby to see a beautiful wreath on the door that's completely usable!

What amazes me the most about Angie is that not one diaper cake is the same. That's right, every cake she makes is unique. That's what makes The Diaper Baker the only place for diaper cakes!! Be sure to visit Angie at The Diaper Baker and tell her Favors by Dorinda sent you!

Mother's Day is May 10th

2009-04-14T13:59:00.001-04:00

Mother's Day, traditionally the second Sunday in the month of May, is a day when families gather to honor "Mom". This holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in 1912. Other countries celebrate this day at different times throughout the year. Many different gifts are given such as chocolate & flowers. Carnations, both red & white, represent Mother's Day because Anna Jarvis gave a single white carnation to every person as a symbol of the purity of a mother's love.

Chocolate is also a favorite gift to give. Here at Favors by Dorinda we have several Mother's Day options for you to choose from. We have specialty goodie buckets and candy bar wrappers made especially for mom. The buckets come loaded with chocolates and other goodies that mom is sure to love. Visit our web site. We're sure you'll find something to make mom's day extra special. Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful women out there!!

Why give a party favor?

2009-04-14T11:38:00.001-04:00

I have often been asked by people what the importance of a party favor really is. Some believe that if you invite that person to your event that is enough. This is not necessarily true. When you invite a person to your party, for instance, a wedding, you are asking them to share a very special time in your life with you. Yes, when they accept your invitation, you have already given them the gift of a good time. But take it that extra step and thank them again for sharing your day with you and your loved ones.

A favor is something you give your guests as a token of your appreciation that they were able to share a special event with you. Each time they look at it, they will think of you and the wonderful time they had. It's not important how much this token costs. What's important is that your guests will know how much you mean to them. That you took the time to say "Hey I'm glad you're here!".

I started Favors by Dorinda because I love to see the expressions of people’s faces when they sit down at a table and see the favor waiting for them. Especially when that favor is a candy bar wrapper with the guest(s) of honor’s face(s) there. Personalizing a favor is very important. Anyone can put a chocolate rose on the table and call it a favor but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression on your guests. Let’s face it. If you’re like me, you’ll eat it. With a candy bar wrapper, you take it home, maybe leave it on your counter for awhile. But every time you see the wrapper, you’ll be reminded of that special event. Eventually you may even eat the candy bar but you’ll still have the personalized wrapper to remember with. Candy bar wrappers also make great placards. Your guests names and table number can be added to the back for an even more personalized favor.

I have favors from past events and every time I look at them I remember something else about the party or event and it brings back great memories. So, remember this, when you shop for your next party favor. It's The Thought That Counts!

Dorinda Duclos is the owner of Favors by Dorinda - Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Candy Cakes & Cupcakes, Unique Gifts for your wedding & all occasions!