OC Brides New Showroom

Welcome to our new showroom in Orange!  We are now part of the exclusive Bridal Wedding Loft at the Mary Me Bridal Center.  The wedding resource center houses 18 wedding professionals giving brides that visit the opportunity to meet wedding pros from all aspects of the industry.
Thank you to Celebrations Party Rental for the beautiful pipe and Drape decor and mood lighting.  We can't wait to share our new showroom with brides visiting the new center.

Shattering Limiting Beliefs

I recently read that fear can hijack your mind for minutes, days, or even years. It comes in different ways, not just knee-knocking trembling fear, but it can be a subliminal fear that slowly takes over your confidence and creates limiting beliefs.

As I live alone, work from home, and work 10 – 12 hours a day 7 days a week I realized my mind had been hijacked and I needed a break. The opportunity came along to visit friends in Thailand and I jumped on it. The one thing that I wanted to do the most was visit with the elephants.

When I saw them, I was disturbed by the chain that tethered these majestic creatures to the ground. I observed them closely for awhile and noticed that the chain wasn't too tight to hurt them and wondered why they didn't just pull it right out of the ground.

Upon my return, I received an interesting email about just that subject. It was a story about Limiting Beliefs, a traveler, Elephants, and a circus. You see, this traveler came across a circus and was amazed as well as confused by the fact that these huge animals were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages! It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason they did not.

The traveler asked the trainer why they did not try to break away and this is what he was told …. "When they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie them. Whenever they try to flee we would pull them back with the rope, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free."

Elephants are intelligent creatures but because they believed they couldn't break free they were stuck where they were. Can you relate? I can! I began to settle for a life that was “safe” and/or “comfortable” although I am capable of so much more.

Something just clicked on this trip and I returned with a new outlook on things. I decided to respond to adversity with a positive attitude, giving myself the ability to gain momentum and stay focused on what I would like to achieve until I succeed!

My advice to those of you in similar situations is ...

Don't limit yourself to a small world. Stop confining yourself to the belief that you can't do something. Break free from the chains, your mental boundaries, and reach new heights in this magnificent kingdom that we live in!

Shatter those negative thoughts and limiting beliefs. YOU can do anything you set your mind to if you just believe it! Go ahead and try it no matter what the outcome is. Enjoy the experience and embrace the journey! You will never know how far you can go until you have the courage to do it!

"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." ~Nelson Mandela

Circus excerpt by Gin Ng, Dream Acelerator

 

OC Brides at Crevier Classic Cars by Courtney McManaway

I just came across this great blog post by Courtney Mcmanaway from when she attended our event at Crevier Classic Cars. She starts out explaining how difficult she finds Networking to be but our event was warm and welcoming.

 

See More Photos and read entire article here ....

VENDORS: 15 Conversation Starters That Make Networking Events Great

Are you at a loss for what to say at Networking Events?  I found this very helpful article on how to get the conversation started at networking events, complete with examples!

https://jobmob.co.il/blog/conversation-starters/

BRIDES: Is your Engagment Ring Insured?

What is the Maid of Honor's Responsibility in My Wedding?

Many women have been dreaming of their wedding day since they were little girls. A  bride to be may have clear ideas of how she would like every detail of her wedding to be like. While it is important to know exactly what you want, it’s also important to realize that planning a wedding is a major responsibility and that it’s entirely too stressful for the bride to take care of every detail herself. Many brides have a difficult time relinquishing any responsibilities involved with planning her wedding for fear of losing control but it’s really in her best interests to learn to delegate responsibilities.

The maid of honor, parents of the bride, parents of the groom and even the groom are probably all eager and willing to help out with the wedding plans and it is important to let them do so. The key to delegating responsibilities is to entrust others to take control of areas that you may not be especially particular about. For example the favors are a very important part of the wedding and the bride most likely wants to shop for and choose the favors herself.

Hosting the bridal shower and the bachelorette party are two of the main responsibilities of the maid of honor. Since the maid of honor is probably one of the bride's closest friends it stands to reason that the maid of honor is the ideal candidate to host these two gatherings. It is the maid of honor who will know best what type of party the bride is looking forward to, what she will enjoy and what types of gifts are most appropriate for the bride’s taste. The bridal shower and bachelorette party are also typically parts of the wedding preparations that the bride does not have any direct control over but she usually does not stress about these activities because she has faith that her maid of honor will hold her best interests in mind when planning these parties.

The maid of honor also plays a large role in choosing dresses for the wedding. The maid of honor typically chooses her own dress for the wedding from a selection provided by the bride. Once the color and style of the maid of honor’s dress has been established, the maid of honor works closely with the bride to choose a style and color of dress for the bridesmaids that will look good on each of the bridesmaids and also complement the maid of honor’s dress. The maid of honor also plays a role in assisting the brides in choosing her own wedding dress. While there may be many other friends and relatives who shop with the  bride for her dress, it is the opinion of the maid of honor that is generally most valued by the bride.

The wedding day is a very busy day for a maid of honor. Although she has supported the bride throughout the planning process, her most important responsibilities take place on the actual wedding day. Besides simply walking down the aisle and standing on the altar beside her friend the most important roles that the maid of honor plays is to keep the bride calm and to handle and problems that may arise. Very few weddings actually go exactly as planned and it is the maid of honor’s job to make sure that small setbacks do not unnerve the bride. The maid of honor should also have a stash of emergency supplies on hand such as extra stockings, lipstick in the shade the bride is wearing, tissues, safety pins and hair pins. All of these items can come in handy if the bride has any trouble with her attire, hair or makeup. The maid of honor plays the important role of ensuring that the bride is looking her best even after hours of dancing and talking to friends and family members.

Perhaps the most significant role that the maid of honor plays is to be a friend to the bride. The planning and preparations and the actual wedding itself can be very stressful and emotional for the bride The one thing that the bride needs more than anything else at this time is someone to talk to who will understand her concerns and give her practical advice and this is the most important job of the maid of honor.

The maid of honor plays a much more important role than just walking down the aisle before the bride and holding her flowers during the ceremony. Throughout the planning the maid of honor is involved every step of the way from choosing a dress and location to helping to wrap favors and set up for the reception. As the bride's best friend the most important role the maid of honor can play is to be supportive and understanding of the bride.

Cindy Lieber

www.weddingplanneroc.com

4 Ways to Repurpose Your Content for More Exposure

Exposure, exposure exposure. We all need it in business. Are you having trouble thinking of new articles and posts to stay engaged with your audience? It can seem overwhelming at times and definitely time-consuming.

Do you find yourself scrambling to get ….

• Likes on your Facebook Fan Page?
• Linkbacks on your website?
• Followers on Pinterest and Twitter?

How do we keep up with creating new content to post to keep people engaged and wanting to spread the word about us?

Here are 4 ways to reuse 1 written piece.

Create a weekly blog post! Your 1 compelling piece of information your audience craves. Now here's what else you can do with it …..

Break it down into bite sized pieces and post the paragraphs or quotes on Facebook or Twitter linking to your blog post and/or website.

Become a guest blogger on outside sites such as ocbrides.com. You can simply cut and paste the blog post into a new post on other sites. Again, making sure your website is clearly written in the post.

Find Pinterest Boards willing to collaborate with others. OC Brides has a shared Pinterest board and invites it's members to Pin. If pinning or including a photo, be sure to include your website on the photo so others can find you.

Include your post in a weekly or monthly newsletter that you send out to your mailing list.

Feel free to contact me if you need help managing your social media and blogs.

Cindy Lieber

OCBrides.com