Kathy Piech-Lukas interview with ABC 22 / Fox 45 about the Royal Wedding

Click below to view our insight about the royal wedding!
Dayton's News Source :: Top Stories - Local Parties For the Royal Wedding



Your Dream Day hosted a viewing party of the royal wedding at the Dayton Wedding Connection beginning at 5 a.m. this past Friday. Our friends at Party Pleasers had the royal wedding playing on a projection screen all day long. I was there from 4 a.m. until noon and spoke with the local television media about the big event. One of the most fascinating things for me was how social media impacted this event. I began tweeting at 5 a.m. and it was amazing to get the opinions and insight from bridal industry leaders immediately, to get the information about the designers and reactions immediately.

The biggest things on twitter that morning:
(1) Mixed reviews about the size of her bouquet and the amount of flowers used at the wedding ceremony. Many industry professionals thought she used too few flowers and that her bouquet was too small. Me -- I thought it was tastefully done. Kate's goal was to have the feeling of an English garden. I thought the use of trees and the subtle use of the lily of the valley was just regal. Less is more.
(2) LOVED the Mother of the Bride coat dresses -- they looked stunning on the mothers and not matronly. I hope this trend is here for a while!
(3) LOVED both of Kate's dresses. The strapless dress is finally not the style anymore. It's lace! I loved the reception dress and the jacket that went with it.
(4) LOVED that the couple wrote their own prayer for the ceremony. Although the two did look a little bored during the ceremony sermon. Lots of tweeters said that, not just me.
(5) Loved the wedding reception cake. Just stunning!

I also wish more Americans wore hats. It was so much fun just watching all of the guests and the creations for their heads. It is expected that a lady in England will wear a hat to a black tie and formal occasion. Maybe this will start rubbing off in America??

Tips for spot cleaning your wedding dress

Our friends at the Wedding Gown Preservation Company posted this wonderful blog about spot cleaning of your wedding dress. This is a summary of those tips. Very useful tips!

Before treating an entire gown, always test an area in an inconspicuous part of the wedding gown first. If in doubt consult a wedding gown preservation and cleaning specialist.

Blot: Blot is the key word. Like your wedding day makeup, make sure to blot your stain with a moist (not wet) sponge or cotton ball. Putting a towel underneath the stain while you blot will absorb part of the stain and prevent other parts of your gown from being stained. Blot your stains dry.

I always keep Shout Wipes (not a Tide Stick, which has bleach in it), Goo Be Gone and Dawn washing detergent in my emergency kit. Shout wipes get out the majority of stains. Goo Be Gone gets out the things Shout wipes don’t, like tar, grease and oil. (The last two are the reason why I still carry Dawn – that and to wash down dirty chairs if I need to for the ceremony.)

For tricky stains like red wine, apply club soda or white wine with a sponge to the stained area. Then dab the stained area with a mixture of cool water and ammonia. Always gently blot dry the area. For lipstick, the best to spot clean lipstick is to use a mixture of 3 tbsp. alcohol and 3 drops of baby shampoo. It is important to remove the lipstick stain as soon as you find it. Perspiration stains are acid based and as time goes by they become alkaline stains. We suggest using a two part cleaning process to remove these stains. Add one tablespoon of vinegar to a half a cup of water. Blot the stained area with a cheese cloth or cotton ball, dry, and then use a mixture of alcohol and baby shampoo going over the same area. Always rinse using a blotting method to remove alcohol and shampoo solution. One method used to clean blood stains is one part hydrogen peroxide to 9 parts water. Make sure you remove solution with warm water blotting afterwards with a clean towel to dry.

One thing every bride should expect -- you will have what I call "ring around the bottom" -- the bottom of your dress, about 1/2" all the way around, will be brown and dirty. That's normal and gown preservation companies and dry cleaners expect that. Don't worry about pretreating those.

Facebook & Twitter contest with Things Remembered

Your Dream Day is having a contest during the month this May in partnership with one of the nation's largest engraving and specialty gift companies, Things Remembered.

We are asking about some"thing" you "remember" .... when or how did you know that your fiance or spouse was "the one?" Tell your story by friending us and posting your response on Your Dream Day's Facebook Wall or tagging Your Dream Day on Twitter or follow on Twitter @yourdreamday during the month of May. The best entry will be judged by Your Dream Day and the corporate headquarters of Things Remembered, located in Cleveland. The winner will receive this beautiful toasting set, cake serving set and commemorative ornament plus personalized engraving from Things Remembered, a $150 value.



So when and how did you know? Tell us this May!

What Makes Marriage Work? Commitment and Common Values. Inspiration from St. Ambrose

At St. Ambrose Parish in Brunswick, Ohio, this past weekend, I read something in the bulletin that sums up beautifully what getting married is all about. I thought I'd share this wisdom with everyone. After the food and cake have been eaten and the reception has wrapped up, you are left with a spouse. The marriage after the wedding is the most important part of the wedding day you're planning.

What Makes Marriage Work? Some ingredients, if missing, can doom a relationship from the start. Commitment bonds a couple together when you are tired, annoyed, or angry with each other. Sometimes, remembering your vows can prompt you to push past these problems and try to forgive and start again. Common values: If you aren't together on basic values such as children, honesty, fidelity, and putting family before work, no amount of learning or effort of the will can resolve the conflict. For example, constant tension will result if one spouse wants to live simply while the other wants life's luxuries.

The Knot Best of Weddings Pick 2011 for Your Dream Day!

A huge thank you to our happy clients who voted for us for "The Knot Best of Weddings 2011!" I got the official word today from Karrie, my sales rep for The Knot. What a wonderful surprise and honor! A huge thank you to all my staff (the dreamgirls) for doing such an amazing job! The Knot will officially be announcing this and other Cincinnati / Dayton area winners on Friday.

Every girl knows what comes in a tiffany blue box

One of my favorite people, Pam Vitale from Country Club of the North, called me last week for a last-minute invitation job for her daughter's upcoming bridal shower. The colors of the event are white and Tiffany blue. We designed a custom invitation with a white irredescent and tiffany blue layer, a white ribbon and a piece of bling in between the bow. The invitation was then placed in a tiffany blue 5 x 7 box, wrapped with a white ribbon and garnished with a piece of bling. These were mailed out to guests in a white pouch.

Photo of the contents of the box -- a custom layered invitation, printed in tiffany blue ink, garnished with a white ribbon and a white clear gemstone.


Photo of the finished invitation -- a tiffany blue box sealed with a white ribbon and garnished with a clear, white gemstone.

Cost per invitation, with custom addressing in tiffany blue ink, was $12, not including postage. Designed by Your Dream Day.

Quick Tip: for your bustle

The bustle (like your DJ) can make or break the enjoyment of your wedding reception. Make sure that you bring someone (your maid or matron of honor, your mother, your planner) with you to your final fitting. Have the seamstress walk through with you and this person how to assemble the bustle. Let your guest practice several times before you leave and take a photo of the bustled dress before you leave. That person can either do the bustle or serve as a manager to the people that do.

As a planner, I can usually figure out the bustle -- but-- it helps us a lot if someone else has seen it done. Most dress bustles have either three hooks on top of the dress or the bustle ties underneath (french). A seamstress that I use a lot, Karen, has shown me a lot of tricks the past two years with regard to the way a final bustle should look. I've used those tools a lot at wedding receptions where we have in fact figured out the seamstress's intended bustle -- but adding these additional fastenings with pins make the dress look better and make the bride feel more at ease during her reception.

The most dramatic bustles I've encountered? One required the bride to sit on the floor while three of us tied the 35 bustle ties underneath the dress. The worst one ever had a combination of hooks, an under the dress tying layer and an over the dress tying layer -- we had a total of seven people (3 of my staff, a catering manager, a florist and two of her friends) look at this bustle the night of the reception and none of us could figure it out. I felt so bad for the bride that night. Since that wedding, I have told all my brides that they must follow paragraph one of this blog. Since then, we've not had this issue of no one being able to figure out the bustle for the blushing bride.

Dayton Bridal Connection Fair this Sunday from 12 to 5

Our office is located in the same building where this event is taking place!



Cost is $5 per person. Meet the Dreamgirls, along with 50+ wedding professionals, from the Dayton area! Visit www.dbcohio.com for more information. Lots of free giveaways!

Sports lovers...literally!

Once again, the Buffalo Bills kicked a wide right field goal to lose the football game during Monday night football. So sad... Like the late Tim Russert, I have roots in Buffalo (where I was born and raised, and watched Buffalo lose four consecutive Superbowls!), attended college in Ohio, and (sort of) have a connection with politics. (My husband works in local government as a city manager.) Even though they lost tonight, the Bills still make me want to shout! :-)

Having lived in Ohio since 1996, I also enjoy watching live Cincinnati Reds and Bengals games. There is something about the crowd at a game. Speaking of which, did you know you can have your wedding at Duke Energy field, host your rehearsal dinner in a box, have your wedding photos taken at the Bengals Stadium, or get the Buckeye mascot to come to your reception? I have had die-hard Buckeye fans play the game during their wedding reception or (at least!) have the DJ announce the scores. You can have your wedding reception at the Cintas Center, a local country club or even on an ice rink. Most courses will let you have photos on the greens but some have restrictions with the ceremony. So many unique ways to bring the love of sports into your wedding! Now if only the groom could look like David Beckham...