WeddingWire Release: Bride's Choice Awards 2012!

(Raleigh,NC) – January 24, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Wedding Planning!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes  the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events is one of the very best Wedding Planners within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able  to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today.

To learn more about the Bride's Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation's leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

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Just Have To Share...

We love getting reviews like this one!!

I am the mother of the bride. My daughter and her now husband were engaged in April and decided that August was the best time for them to get married. That basically gave us 4 months to plan an out of town wedding !!!

To say I was panicked was putting it mildly ! My daughter and I were beginning to do some preliminary planning ( she living in Raleigh and I in South Carolina). We went into a bridal store in Raleigh to look at dresses and I asked about wedding planners. I was given Shawn's card and told that she was the best ! My daughter was not too keen on having any outside help because she had a vision for her day and didn't want someone else to plan it !!

After two days of wedding planning, on the third day, I called Shawn at 8:30 am. After apologizing profusely for calling so early, I told her my situation and that I needed help with a capital H ! I felt an immediate bond with her and though she was leaving to go out of town that morning, she took the time to go through the process with me and calmed me down and assured me that the task at hand was not the impossible thing I thought it was !!
I hired Shawn for day of co-ordination, but along with that came all the phone calls we needed to get advice and direction. She gave us vendor recommendations and feedback.
My daughter had the most beautiful wedding ever....it screamed her personality and wonderful taste. She and her groom made all the big decisions for their wedding day and reception. Shawn guided me through all the other details.......for which I am forever grateful.

Two weeks before the wedding my daughter and I and Shawn and our caterer sat down together to finalize all the details. After the meeting my daughter told me how grateful she was that we had Shawn to help us. Shawn was the glue that held everything together for us. Although my daughters plan was gorgeous, Shawn was able to suggest the finishing touches that completed the plan !
The week of the wedding Shawn took over all the vendors and any coordination that was left to take of. We were able to relax and spend that time together as a family.
The wedding day went so smoothly with Shawn and Michelle's calm and professional manner. My husband and I were able to relax and leave everything to them. It was truly a blessing for all of us to have the day and evening in their capable hands. We were able to be with our famliy and friends and enjoy the moment.

Calling her that morning was one of the smartest moments of my life !!

Heart & Soul

It is such an exciting time of year for us! The fall is a great season to get married...and boy are we busy! We have so much to look forward to in the upcoming months and we are so fortunate to a part of our clients’ Special Days because this truly is our passion. But, this coming February we have the chance to be a part of something little different and very special.

We are proud to announce that Shawn has been appointed as the Head Logistics Chair for the 2012 American Heart Association’s 27th Annual Triangle American Heart Ball to be held on February 25, 2012 at the Raleigh Convention Center.

The American Heart Association is based on the belief that one individual can save lives. Their mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. They target three main goals within their mission: improving family health, improving community health, and ensuring quality health care for all.

This year, the American Heart Association’s goal is to raise $850,000 to go towards ending heart disease and stroke in our lifetime. Emily, Lee Ann, Michelle, and I will make up Shawn’s committee and we are all ready to do our part and help this wonderful organization achieve this goal. Our team is ready to face this challenge head on and we have a few surprises planned for the evening. We want to make the 27th Heart Ball the BEST one yet!

I personally am so excited to be supporting this organization. The mission of the American Heart Association is one that is very close to my own heart. Be on the lookout for updates in planning this event by following me on twitter @Amanda_at_YSD

Joie and Cody...

Allison and Brett

Flipping through the new Summer/Fall 2010 "Southern Bride Groom" flooded my memory with rich and vibrant oranges featured in past weddings, but I was especially reminded of Allison and Brett's "summer evening" ceremony in September 2009.

Allison found us to be the perfect partner in planning the Triangle area wedding, since she was then living in California and Brett was in flight school in Penascola. 

They chose the Preston Woodall House as their destination for their outdoor "summer evening" ceremony.







The simplistic but ethereal charm was captured with gardenias, magnolias and blueberry accents desgined by Kelly Odom Florist. The colors included navy blue, white and dark green.

Huge kudos to Stacy Borelli of Swank Photo Studio for these breathtaking photos!

Intern Experience at Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events

Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events has always supported the future of our industry by offering internships to college students.  We have worked with students from North Carolina State University, the University of Chapel Hill, Liberty University, just to name a few.  This summer we had the pleasure of working with Laura Leigh Bain from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  Laura has been a wonderful addition to our staff, eager to learn and committed to excellence!  We asked Laura so share about her experience at Your Special Day!

I officially started my internship with Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events on May 18th.  I had met with Shawn in March for an interview and was estastic when she offered me the opportunity to work with her and her consultants for the summer.

I started my first day with a few hours in the office working with Shawn, learning how to do RSVP tracking. After that we headed to The Grand Marquise Ballroom in Garner where the real fun started. I was blown away my very first day. I met several vendors, helped set up tables and linens, and met the bride and her mother. That weekend I was thrown right into a wedding and I was thrilled that my first week on the job I was going to able to see a wedding take place and be a part of setting up for it. I couldn't believe how much I was learning right away. I saw what it takes to put a wedding together the last few days beforehand and then everything that goes into it the day of.

There are so many things you never think of when someone says wedding you think the white dress, beautiful flowers, amazing food, a gorgeous tasty cake, and dancing but you don't think about how the tables need to be set up, which way the linens need to face, how the schedule needs to go so that the wedding will flow and everyone will enjoy themselves to the fullest, or what if something goes wrong..who's going to fix it? And the answer to that is simple, the wedding coordinator. Shawn has taught me all of these things and that when a problem occurs she has the answer! I've learned what all goes into pulling off a fabulous wedding without a single hitch and if there is one don't stress too much it can be fixed in a short time and to just get people dancing!

I knew I would enjoy this internship and that I would definitely learn from it but I feel that it has far exceeded my expectations. I have formed friendships with Shawn and the other wedding planners and have truly enjoyed being a part of the planning process and a part of people's weddings. It was the most amazing feeling to see a bride and groom really enjoy their night and knowing you had a little to do with it. Before this internship wedding planning was something I wanted to do but now it's become a passion and I cannot wait to start my career in the industry!

I owe tons of thanks to Shawn and her wedding planners, the couples who have allowed me to help and be a part of their wedding days, and the vendors who have taken their time to talk to me about their companies and passions. This internship has been a great experience and one I will always remember!

Happy Anniversary, Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events

Five years ago today, I took a leap of faith and never looked back. After 6 years as a wedding planner/consultant with another company, I opened the doors to Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events. This major life changing decision continues to be a complete blessing from God.


I offer my total appreciation and gratitude to Gail Stephenson, for providing a wonderful foundation for me to build upon.

To our amazing network of truly the “best of the best” vendors in the triangle and beyond, thank you for your continued support.

To our staff, Michelle, Emily, LeeAnn, Amanda and Angela, the company’s success would not exist without you!

To my family, thank you for believing in me, putting up with the crazy schedule, my obsession of the business and providing me with the motivation to keep going.

Most importantly, to our clients, past, present and future, YOU are why we do what we do. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of Your Special Day!

Happy Anniversary, Your Special Day Weddings and Special Events.