We’ve decided to throw a really big, swanky-cool party; the kind that gives you an excuse to buy new shoes. We’ll have lovely libations and amazing appetizers.  We’ll have raffles, auctions, and jellybeans.  LOTS of jellybeans.

You will truly be able to get gorgeous goods for your wedding by giving back.

Seattle’s top wedding professionals have been personally invited to exhibit their services and products with one catch - they must donate a fantastic item for our silent auction.  Together with items donated by Seattle’s top businesses, we will raise money for a great cause through silent auctions and raffles all throughout the evening.  The items up for grabs are not just limited to pre-wedding prep, day of services, and newlyweds, there are sure to be some great goods for moms, dads, grooms, and friends!

Mark your calendar for October 23rd, 2008.  You’ll totally find time in your social calendar for this.

We are incredibly excited to announce that our event will be held at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle.  As one of Seattle’s newest venues, the unparalleled beauty of the historic Dome Room is the perfect setting for our debut event.  You’ll have an opportunity to check out this great venue, as well as sample it’s savory menu throughout the night.

The Arctic Club is located at 700 3rd Ave. at Cherry St., Seattle, WA 98104.

Check out our website for more info, fun links and of course tickets:

You really should get your tickets now… Word is spreading fast, and folks are catching on.  People are inspired to spread the word for a good cause plus it’s the buzz on brides’s lips.  We just may have some tickets left over for latecomers at the door, but let’s not wait and find out, eh?

You can also buy tickets by visiting Brown Paper Tickets, follow this link:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/30252

Do you have your new party shoes on yet?

It took more than two years of planning, research, and development (programmers working very late into the night) to get this site launched last October.  We are very pleased with the positive responses that we have received from many of our vendors.

Now, just six months after our initial launch we have great news to share with you…

That’s right, over 1000 vendor listings and we’re not stopping there.  Right now we are hard at work on updates and improvements to the overall user experience of our site, based on feedback we’ve received.

The bottom line is this:  Brides will find the vendors that they are looking for and our vendors will get a solid return on their investment with us.

Thanks to everyone - brides and vendors - for helping us build the “easiest to use wedding services directory on the web!”

You’ll begin the planning of your wedding reception by considering what the venue has to offer in the way of size, facilities, and ambiance. Some hotel and country clubs sites are accustomed to staging weddings and receptions and will assign you an on-staff wedding coordinator who can recommend florists, musicians, or photographers and help coordinate the other details of the event. Most brides confer frequently with the wedding coordinator, reviewing the menu and making sure things are moving along smoothly.

The challenge in hotel or country club weddings is to make them uniquely your own. The wedding coordinator should be enthusiastic about your vision of the reception, and forthcoming about any trouble spots he or she might perceive in your plan. If you’re working with a florist or other designer who’s not familiar with the hotel’s way of doing things, you should include the wedding coordinator in all the important meetings.

Weddings that take place in less traditional locations or at home can still benefit from the watchful eye of a coordinator - a role usually filled by the bride and her mother or by a professional wedding consultant. More grooms are getting involved in the planning these days, too, which can be a great help.

The basic elements of the wedding reception, once you decide on the type of reception, are the decorations, catering, the cake and music. The physical comfort of the place is another element to bear in mind. If your wedding will be held outdoors, the possibility of rain, wind, humidity, or heat must be factored in, and you’ll need to have a backup plan in case of inclement weather. Indoor venues need to be checked to make sure they have adequate heating or air-conditioning, changing rooms for the wedding party, restrooms, and kitchen facilities. Almost any site can be made to work with the help of an additional tent or two, but those come at a cost.

Welcome to Before the Vows - the easiest to use wedding services directory on the web!  Over two years of research and development have gone into the design of this site.  Our easy to navigate, uncluttered pages are designed to get you to the information that you are looking for with just two clicks.  There are no usernames or passwords required to locate the perfect vendor for your perfect day.

If you click on your area and find that there are no listings, it’s because we have not released that area to vendors yet.  Check back with us in the coming months as our directory begins to fill with the best wedding vendors your area has to offer.

 Before the Vows - Everything you need to do before you say “I do!”