It was 25 years ago today that I married the love of my life. I was born and raised in Windsor but we met while living in Toronto. We were off on a free, promotional trip to Vegas, hosted by the Sunbeam Corporation. My husband-to-be had won this trip for his sales excellence.
 Photo: Trevor Booth Photography, Windsor, Ontario- will travel Along with 30 others, we made our way to the desert and had a glorious, three day weekend. On the Saturday morning over a leisurely breakfast and before a trip to Hoover Dam, John astonished me, by asking if I wanted to get married that night! We had never discussed the “M” word, both of us having been wed before, so this was new territory for us.
Totally surprised, I said I’d give him an answer later in the day. We were all scheduled to dine at a high end restaurant, known only to the locals, and then proceed to a show in one of the hotels. It was going to be a late night- let alone time to slide in a wedding.
We arrived back into the city after six hours of sightseeing and John continued driving up and down the streets of Vegas. I asked what he was looking for and he said, “One of those chapels!” A tad annoyed, I said they were like hospitals- if you needed one you asked or look it up in the phone book!
Back at the hotel, I went directly to the casino, giggling quietly to myself. I knew I’d say a resounding “YES”, but still wanted to do some serious contemplation alone.
I returned to our lavish room to find the yellow pages open on the bed, turned to the category, Wedding Chapels. I asked if he had booked anything and he said no! Thinking ahead, I scanned the pages and found the “Little White Chapel” promoting that Joan Collins had been married there and picked up the phone.
I told the person who answered that we were going to be occupied all evening and was met with, “no problem” we will send our limousine around to the lobby at 1:30 am and to be ready with two witnesses.
Whisked away to the license bureau, we were surprised to see a lengthy line-up in the old bank-like building that was decorated with skeletons, pumpkins, ghosts and goblins for Halloween. It was surreal! Our turn came, we paid with American Express and were back in the limousine and whisked off the chapel.
Promptly at 2 am, in a quaint and cozy atmosphere, we were married by world-renowned, Charlotte Richards and sent on our married way. We called friends and family on the east coast at 4am and by early morning, we were back on an airplane heading home to Toronto.
Our best friends were marrying in 42 days and we didn’t want to steal their thunder because of all the planning that they had been doing, so we decided to keep our nuptials a secret until after their special day. I can assure you secrets can be kept under wraps!
Today we are marking yet another milestone and life together has been one marvelous adventure and there’s nothing that I would change. I might also add our good friends will be marking their 25th next month.
To everyone who is engaged or thinking about a future proposal, know that whether a wedding is big or small, elaborate or simple, it matters not. What is really important, is opening that newly-married chapter of your life and living each and every day together with the knowledge of knowing that you have started something that will take on a life of its own. Your happiness and destiny lies in picking the perfect mate and setting dreams and goals. The rest will take care of itself.
The Groom’s Cake is special way of honouring the groom. It is usually a gift from the bride to the groom, and, traditionally it is a dark cake of both fruits and nuts or soaked in liquor.
The groom’s cake may be presented any time during the wedding celebration, and it is also nice served as a toast to the groom at the rehearsal dinner to be enjoyed and shared in an intimate tribute to the wedding attendants and special guests. Or, serve it at the reception as a second flavour choice of cake for your guests.
Special boxed miniature groom’s cakes are also a nice touch, and make a sweet gift for your attendants. This follows the superstition that a maiden who sleeps with a slice of groom’s cake under her pillow will dream of her future partner.
Tradition also dictates that a bride who keeps a piece of her wedding cake will have a faithful and loving husband.
One of the nicest traditions of all is that of saving part of the wedding cake to share on your first anniversary. Before the advent of the freezer, the groom’s cake was always the cake reserved for this occasion, as the heavy fruit and liquor soaked cakes are preserved and carry a very long shelf life.
Many traditions are focused on the bride. By including a groom’s cake as part of your wedding is a nice way to honour your groom. The cake can be modeled after a hobby, sports, or something that is important to the groom.
The groom’s cake is making a comeback after being popular about 25 years ago. It faded into the background as new customs overtook it, but we’re glad to see it back; stronger than it has been in many decades.
My sincerest thanks to Bonnie Evans, Publisher of WOT Magazine for this article! – Sheryl Davies, Publisher, The Wedding Guide Windsor/Essex County
 John Lyons Photography: Windsor Ontario, Canada
Sheryl Davies is a veteran of the wedding industry and has spent most of her early career working with brides. With 22 years of experience in both the wholesale and retail industries – selling china, crystal and housewares – Sheryl became the go- to person for everything having to do with weddings. In this capacity, she worked with such prestigious companies as Royal Doulton, Rosenthal, Royal Worcester Spode, Orrefors crystal and others.
She set-up the bridal registry for what was the then, the nationwide T. Eaton Company, prior to the advent of the computer! As a display specialist and salesperson, she also created wedding and other types of trade shows. One of the many reasons Sheryl has been so successful is the amount of time she has spent learning first-hand what brides want and how they want to be treated on their special day. Davies‘ understands the bride’s psyche and knows that all brides are not just ―regular consumers when it comes to wedding planning. She knows that brides have a very small window of time to plan and execute their dream day.
Today, the bridal registry is considered equally important, but the items registered are of a completely different nature than they were in the past. Brides don‘t necessarily want formal dinnerware – but instead ask for such items as tools, barbeques, wine, books and other signature style picks for living in the 21st Century. This change is also due to the fact that, more and more, couples are actually living together for years before committing to marriage.
In 1990, Davies, purchased the franchise for The Wedding Guide Toronto and opened the first franchise in the Canadian market. Her first issue was the largest and most profitable issue ever produced for the franchisor, who started this business in 1984. To her credit and her ongoing hard work, Sheryl‘s record has yet to be broken. When she started this business, her son was just a baby and she had learned to balance and juggle a very hectic life.
Moving back to her hometown of Windsor, Ontario Canada with her husband, John and son Jonathon, she opened The Wedding Guide Windsor/Essex County in 1992, which continues to be the leading bridal publication in the region. It is published bi-annually and serves as a benchmark for good taste and stress-free bridal planning. The mandate is to ensure that each and every bride remains organized, on-task and stress-free. Davies believes that an engagement should be the happiest time in a gal’s life and she intends to keep it that way!
With the change from traditional-to-signature-style personalized weddings, Davies is seeing dramatic changes in the style/types of weddings for which her clients are asking. One of these changes is that brides simply do not want the same type of wedding that their mother‘s had! Second marriages don‘t nece-sarily have the stigma attached to them they once had and are no longer low-key, as was the case 30 years ago! The bride will plan it completely, just the opposite from the way she planned the wedding the first time around.
Special events, like weddings, are not new to Davies. She is the publicist and one of the key organizers of Bluesfest International, the 10th largest in North America, which is now in its 16th year. Each year, Sheryl and her three partners play host to over 30,000 festival-goers, over a 3 day weekend.
As a pioneer in social media marketing, Davies’ small business solutions company pioneered the only social application in the business with the capability of showing demo bridal videos, and has the capability, to post to over 70 social media sites! Her Wedding Guide sits in the middle of the Facbeook page, unlike other wedding planners, who pay for the expensive ads one can see on the right-hand side of Facebook’s usual pages. Unlike the others, Davies’ clients are right smack dab in the middle of the page and pay nothing!! More important, her clients have control over their own websites. It’s a marriage of convenience and no more waiting for your web person to change your pages.
This revolutionary technology is keeping her parent company, DMS Communications very busy (dmscommunications.info); constantly working to promote her wide range of wedding vendors and other clients. Gigya, one of the largest developers of social apps has 3 of DMS Communications websites profiles on their social optimization website, as prototypes of their technology. Her website and blog: http://bridaltalk.theweddingguide.ca/, is a social hit and provides gorgeous Real Wedding pictures, helping to promote her photography partners, as well as lending inspiration to future and potential brides via the comprehensive list of the area‘s most reputable local wedding professionals.
Sheryl has a knack for discovering emerging wedding trends and, loves to share them with her brides. Her blogs cover everything from ” I will to I do.” in a comprehensive upscale bridal planner. Davies believes that a bride is too stimulated by all the information available for weddings, so she spends a great deal of time on every aspect of weddings, with her vendors presented in a forum that brides love and can learn from in a relaxed atmosphere.
With out-of-the-box thinking, like “Win a $25,000 Wedding” in a 737 aircraft with Saturday Night Live’s Father Guido Sarducci (1998), and by doing plenty of media interviews, Sheryl keeps her brand fresh and alive in the psyche of both brides and advertising sponsors. Take, for example, Bridal Idol, a karaoke contest that had Wedding Guide advertisers pledging $25,000 in prizes to the winning bridewith radio ads tagged with their businesses for a 7 week period. It’s not about too much information – it’s about providing quality information that brides can use.
Her other mandate is to spend as much time as possible assisting brides. Offering special money-saving coupons has been a boom in this economy and brides appreciate a deal but then, who doesn’t?
Considered a solid wedding expert, Davies can be found chatting with brides, wedding vendors and writing columns for her blogs. At the age of 59, and with the energy of a 30 year old, Sheryl is happiest working, listening to music, blogging and planning for the future.
She has no retirement plans and will continue minding her business with her husband/business partner, John Liedtke. It just too fulfilling to even take a second to think about retiring and if she retired, what would she do? Life is for living and Davies thrives on new adventures, challenges and meeting new people! ■
Sheryl Davies is a founding member of the Canada South Festival Network and 2009 award winner for her work in the festival industry, founding member of the Canada South Blues Society, writer for Biz X Magazine, Art Matters column and President of DMS Communications and Publisher of The Wedding Guide/ Windsor/Essex County. She has recently been appointed to the board of eWEDnews, a group of esteemed wedding professionals based in New York City.
Not All Brides Walk down the Same Aisle!
Fall 2009 is All about the Details
Windsor, Ontario
August, 13, 2009
Brides are rising to the occasion and saying “I Do” with the most unique signature statements in the history of weddings. And, grooms are just as involved, as couples are marrying at an older age. Today’s financial planning is shared and grooms are more involved.
Planning a wedding can seem like an amazing task and they are soaring to new heights as style becomes paramount! Party themes are being modeled after oil paintings by Norman Rockwell and Vincent Van Gogh and others, evoking the idyllic depictions of the warm feelings and the beauty of the setting within the picture frame. Cakes, a time honoured wedding symbol, are ramping up the wedding theme, mimicking the bridal gown with lace designs or vivid colours.
From Hollywood sets to medieval themes, brides and grooms are having the time of their lives matching their lifestyles and personalities. You’ll often find rental furniture and chandeliers in a vignette setting in the wedding hall for a living-room feel. Some brides are including their dog into the wedding day and the picture-taking, by having them walk down the aisle with them as well! This newly emerging trend is, of course, dependent on the personality of the animal!
These touches are the things that separate one special day from another, and this upcoming season is no different. Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana were responsible for the return to fairytale weddings, but today’s trends are far more than emulating the upper crust of society.
Destination weddings have gone beyond the barefoot beach to mountain tops, vineyards, hot air balloons, sky-diving and underwater adventures. Once home again, there will be a party for the ones who couldn’t travel, but had the opportunity to view the bride and groom say their vows on a wedding web cast from afar. Technology is the new “now” for saying marriage vows.
From flowers to food, invitations to photography, today’s weddings have taken on a whole new face. They are all about fashion and trends. Guests marvel at the Monday morning water cooler, when they describe the weekend weddings they attended. Today’s celebrations are fun, unique, energizing and most definitely, a treat to attend.
What makes today’s weddings uniquely different is that they don’t follow the traditional template of their parent’s wedding day. You’ll find martini and sushi bars, ice cream and espresso carts, dessert bars, laden with treats of fruit yummy pastries and chocolate fountains, and artists sketching caricatures. There are more emerging trends that deserve to be watched. Wedding pies, ball gowns that flow like Starlet’s wardrobe in Gone With the Wind, and outdoor weddings on farms, vineyards, zoos, old train stations, local, sandy white beaches and even underwater.
An actor friend of mine was recently hired to be an entertainment duo as a “statue-like” bride and groom, at a reception. They held their poses, mannequin-style, like decorative pieces in the hall, and, also mingled with the guests, creating a unique and edgy atmosphere adding a unique touch.
Next season, cakes are still elaborate symbols with antiqued patina, painted with elaborate silver or gold leaf. Brides can choose a cake that isn’t made with cake batter at all, but constructed of cheese rounds and decorated with fresh garlands of flowers.
Today’s gowns and flowers speak volumes about romance. Vintage, opulent, glam is in with veils, feathers and sparkly jewel clips. They will be the rage well into 2010. The recreation of the Hollywood-look is quite simple and understated. The details of the dress are second only to the bride’s face as the focal point. Bright colours, rich in hues of gem colours such as amber, plum and navy are coming into vogue. Copper, butter cream and black are also on the horizon.
Big weddings, intimate, traditional weddings, beach weddings, yacht weddings; whatever venue is chosen speaks loudly to the couple and their lifestyle, and its adding flair and fun to a wedding invitation. Almost anything goes, with each wedding personalized with the bride and groom’s signature style.
If wedding invitations are filling your mailbox, you may find an adventure in the extraordinary as couples continue last season’s trends with their distinctive fingerprint and do it their way! Weddings are wonderful events because no two are alike and, are dictated by families, customs and the personalities of the people hosting them.
To everyone planning an upcoming wedding; there has been no time as exciting as right now for your wedding day. The sky is the limit; the mood is lively and fun, and couples have every option in the world to say, “I Do” their way.
For more information, please contact: Sheryl Davies, 519-252-8463 or [email protected]
FACEBOOK PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=8871787529
BLOG THE AISLE: http://bridaltalk.theweddingguide.ca
Once a proposal has occured there is much planning, discussions, computing of funds and decisions to be made.
Planning a wedding is like organizing a Broadway play There are so many actors and crew to think about, not to mention a budget to control, it is hard to know where to start.
It is hard not to get so involved in all the details that the bride often forgets the reason for the day.
We all want to have the nicest celebration within the budget that one has to work with. After all, this is a milestone and one quite worthy of a lot of excitement. However the end result is a marriage; a union that will be founded on love, respect, trust and caring.
If your wedding is on the horizon, remember to take a breath and, pencil in some regular some time- outs, to simply relax and spend some leisure time with your fiancé. Discuss things that matter; speculate on your future life and ensure that you are both on the same page. Talking now and understanding each other,will pave the way to a healthy relationship.
Until later,
Sheryl Davies
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