In the News | OneWed

OneWed Named Top Social Media Influencer of 2011!

Azure — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:48:47 -0500

In its inaugural issue, WedBiz Journal lists its Top 10 most influential via social media in the wedding industry. They took a look at the top tweeters and Facebookers and put together a list of who currently has the most social media influence in the industry.

And OneWed (follow @OneWed on Twitter and fan OneWed on Facebook!) made the list!

OneWed beat out thousands of wedding industry bloggers and secured the #8 spot on the Top 10 Most Influential list!

HOW TO: Tastefully Use Social Media at Your Wedding

Azure — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:27:45 -0500

As social media becomes more and more a part of our lives, etiquette failures can occur when there are so few precedents.

A wedding day is the perfect example of this. You want to share your special day with your social circle, especially those who can’t attend, but where do you draw the line?

We’ve talked to experts in the wedding industry and a recent bride to try and establish the ground rules for tastefully using social media at your wedding.

Check out their advice and let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

1. Pre-Wedding Preparations
Introducing wedding attendees online before the big day can help you avoid any day-of awkwardness. This will give people the chance to break the ice and virtually get to know a little about everyone else.

“Help your wedding guests mix, mingle and stay in the loop with a private social network created just for engaged couples, like OneWed’s Wedding Pre-Party,” suggests Azure Nelson, the marketing manager and editorial director of OneWed.

“Wedding Pre-Party allows wedding guests to see who’s invited to the wedding (and lets the singles scope potential hotties before they meet face-to-face), interact and post comments on a wall, upload photos from pre-wedding parties and post-wedding, and much more.”

If you’d like to skip the specialized sites route, you could also create a pre-party on Facebook using its “Groups” functionality. This can be a clever way to avoid cluttering the news feeds of folks not invited to the wedding, both before and after the event.

To learn 5 more tasteful tips to bringing social media to your wedding, check out the full Mashable article here!

OneWed featured on AOL's AisleDash

Marta — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:08:58 -0400

OneWed is the home for tech savvy brides and tech savvy wedding professionals. This summer we shared this expertise on AOL's wedding website: Aisle Dash in a series of articles:

Read our Articles Here:

Tech Savvy Bride: Getting Inspired Online (8/23/10)
Tech Savvy Bride: Finding THE Dress (6/22/10)
Tech Savvy Bride: Finding Wedding Professionals (6/1/10)

One Way to Grow Your Business: Featuring OneWed's Wedding Maven

Marta — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:59:52 -0400

Marta Segal Block, OneWed's very own advice columnist and Wedding Maven was recently featured on The Shameless Promo Show podcast. Available for free download from itunes.

OneWed Included in CNN Round-Up of Great Jobs

Marta — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:24:50 -0400

A CNN article recognizes working for OneWed as a "dream job!"

Chicago's RedEye, June 2, 2010

Marta — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:19:34 -0400

By Leonor Vivanco RedEye

Liz and Pete Rolewicz didn't want a flashy, fancy, formal wedding. Their big day last June was a casual affair with a buffet-style country brunch on a farm in Capron, Ill., about 80 miles north of Chicago.

"We're both pretty laid back and we didn't feel the need to be in the spotlight," said Liz Rolewicz, 34, a graphic designer. "A lot of people there at the end said it was the best wedding they'd ever been to because it felt really intimate and sincere and stripped down to the bare basics of what a commitment ceremony should be about."

The Uptown couple was at the forefront of a casual wedding trend that exudes the less-is-more philosophy. Heading into the height of wedding season, Chicagoans shouldn't be surprised this year to see friends tying the knot in homey venues and straying from scripted ceremonies. Leaving out some formal touches definitely is in: No bridal parties, ball gowns or tuxes. No limos, DJs or dance floors. No full bars, seating arrangements or sit-down dinners.

"This year and the end of last year, we're seeing a lot more casual weddings and we do believe it's because of the economy," said Stacie Francombe, founder and CEO of the wedding planning resource Get Married Media.

"Brides are realizing we don't need to spend our entire fortune and go into debt to spend our lives together," Francombe said. "We can have a great casual affair."

The average cost of a wedding in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet metropolitan area last year was $24,115, slightly higher than the national average of $19,581, according to The Wedding Report, which provides market research for the wedding industry.

That said, casual weddings aren't necessarily cheap. "Weddings are having a more casual feel but it's not necessarily either saving people money or in order to save people money. Casual is what's more in style right now," said Marta Segal Block, a Chicago-based wedding expert at onewed.com.

Casual, rustic outdoor weddings don't translate into stress-free events either, experts said. For example, the engaged couples need to consider parking, food prep areas, rented tables and linens, enough bathrooms for guests and a plan if it rains.

At such casual affairs, guests can expect to wear casual attire and dine on nontraditional fare such as Kobe beef sliders, mini s'mores, grilled cheese or pigs in a blanket. They might drink prosecco instead of Champagne, wedding experts said. Food can be served family-style instead of plated. And the wedding can take place in outdoor venues such as backyards, vineyards and parks.

At their wedding, the Rolewiczes invited 40 people, many of whom wore khaki pants and sundresses. A string quartet played in a woodsy area as the bride, holding a bunch of red daisies and dressed in an above-the-knee white dress, walked down the aisle with her parents. The groom wore a beige suit with white PF Flyers, similar to Chuck Taylor sneakers, and no tie. A childhood friend married the couple.

"For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to do more of an intimate wedding because I think it means more for the people there and means more for us to share that experience to people close to us," said Pete Rolewicz, 43.

They spent a total of $10,000 on their wedding celebrations, including the barn wedding and a catered reception for 100 guests held three months later at the Galaxie, an art venue in Avondale.

Skipping the traditional cookie-cutter wedding for a casual one can allow the couple to focus on the ceremony and the guests, said Anja Winikka, editor at wedding site theknot.com.

"Instead of worrying about matching the exact color of flowers to linens to bridesmaids dresses, couples are more concerned about guests having fun and the wedding reflecting the couples' personalities and what they're all about," she said.

Elmwood Park student Emily Meske, 25, said she and her fiance, David Golz, 31, want to keep their July 30 wedding reception at the Klein Creek Golf Club in west suburban Winfield as simple as possible--and within a $15,000 budget.

"It's not that I wanted to downplay the importance or significance of the event by any means," she said. "We're jeans and T-shirt kind of people. I want to feel comfortable and for it to feel like us that day."

In her "casual traditional" wedding, Meske plans to make invitations, centerpieces and favors herself. Her outdoor ceremony will be traditional; her floor-length chiffon dress is not. Tuxes are up for debate.

When Hollie Smith, 25, and her fiance, Dustin Heath, 24, got engaged in December, they knew they wanted to do a casual wedding in 2011. With a budget of $10,000, the La Grange Park couple booked an estate in Princeton, about 115 miles southwest of Chicago, for a barbecue celebration where 150 guests can wear jeans and sandals and eat grilled food and cupcakes.

"To us, our wedding would be so special if it was us, a couple family members and friends in the backyard wearing jeans. It doesn't have to be a big family ordeal," said Smith, a freelance writer and wedding blogger on thriftyinwhite.com.

Cubs season ticket holders Juli Profit, 33, and her husband, Glenn Johnson, 35, rented out a rooftop across the street from Wrigley Field for their 2008 wedding. Two hundred guests wore Cubs gear to the ceremony and reception and ate game-day fare while watching the game. There were no favors, programs printed or centerpieces. But there was a three-tier cake and a bridal bouquet.

"Weddings can sometimes be so stuffy," said Profit, a real estate agent who lives in Lincoln Park. "You're sitting at a table with people you barely know at a two-hour dinner. We didn't want to do that, but we wanted to have a good time and be more like us. I feel like too much emphasis is put on the day when it really comes down to a lifetime together."

CHIC AND CHEAP

Trying to keep costs down and stay within a small budget for your wedding? Theknot.com editor Anja Winikka, onewed.com wedding expert Marta Segal Block and Get Married planning resource founder Stacie Francombe tell brides and grooms how.

» Cut the guest list.

» Hold weddings on Friday nights or Sunday afternoons or in the winter because venues are less expensive and the alcohol tab won't be so high.

» Serve heavy appetizers instead of a meal.

» Instruct waiters to pour wine instead of leaving bottles on the table and to close the bar during the meal.

» Serve limited liquor and stock up on mixers, or serve only beer and wine.

» Buy a small wedding cake and serve slices cut from a sheet cake.

» Get discounted wedding dresses through sites such as the whitexchange.com or rent gowns through sites such as renttherunway.com.

» Don't re-create centerpieces seen in bridal magazines. Do something different such as using fresh fruits and vegetables.

» Do your own save-the-dates, invitations, centerpieces and favors.

» Don't be shy about asking for discounts from vendors.

» If you find a photographer you love but can't afford, inquire about the associate shooter.

OneWed on Glamour.com!

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:18:25 -0400

Check out all of our juicy celebrity wedding and engagement stories on Glamour.com!

Top 10 Finalists Revealed in Nationwide Ultimate Proposal Contest

Marta — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:14:35 -0400

America to determine grand prize winner, by voting for their favorite story until April 30

NEW YORK, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Jewelry Information Center (JIC), the consumer education arm of Jewelers of America, has unveiled the top 10 stories in its Ultimate Proposal Contest. The Contest, a nationwide search for the best engagement proposal story, received entries from more than 1,200 people at JIC's website – www.JIC.org! The website is the consumer resource for fine jewelry information, including trends and shopping and bridal jewelry tips.
JIC is calling on America to determine the Ultimate Proposal story, by voting at www.JIC.org/proposalcontest through April 30, 2010. The couple who submitted the story with the most votes will win a getaway in Santorini, Greece, and platinum jewelry. To vote, visit www.JIC.org/proposalcontest, read the top 10 proposal stories and vote for a favorite. One vote per day, per person is permitted.

"Engagement rings and proposals embody hope, promise, love and dedication," says Amanda Gizzi, spokesperson for Jewelers of America. "We were elated by the passion expressed through the engagement proposal stories entered in JIC's Ultimate Proposal Contest."

A panel of judges selected the top 10 stories – deemed the most romantic, extreme, creative or funny. The finalists in the top 10, from across the United States, include: Alicia Bates, Kentucky; Keith Berry, Indiana; Corey Goldfeder, New York; Katie Kriegshauser, Missouri; Joy McDowell, Illinois; Kari Rich, Utah; Kimberly Richard, California; Michael Savarese, New Jersey; Krista Shaul, Nebraska; and Haley Wood, Ohio.

There are 143 Participating Retailers, all Jewelers of America-member companies, in JIC's Ultimate Proposal Contest; they represent more than 2,000 specialty-jewelry storefronts. Each Participating Retailer referred their customers to enter their engagement proposal stories at www.JIC.org. The retailers and contest sponsors that have a customer in the finals are: Alberts Diamondland, Kay Jewelers, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, Osterman Jewelers, S. E. Needham Jewelers, Onewed.com and Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company.

Sponsors of JIC's Ultimate Proposal Contest include Platinum Guild International, USA; Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company; and Onewed.com. Visit www.JIC.org/proposalcontest to vote today!

SOURCE Jewelers of America

The Independent 03.09.10

Marta — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:37:51 -0500

Examiner.com 02.12.2010

OneWed — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:42:10 -0500