Free Advice to Make the Perfect Wedding
If you’re planning a wedding and starting to panic, don’t. There’s a consultation service in the San Fernando Valley that can answer any question you can conjure up and a lot more. If you’re thinking this could cost you, relax. It’s free.
To give you an idea of how far they go to help the wedding plans along, owner Millie Annenberg recently got a frantic call from a bride who was in desperate need of a Chinese minister. Not having one on her list, Annenberg contacted the L.A. Chamber of Commerce, which referred her to the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, and now she has three Chinese ministers in her Rolodex.
The name of this wonderful company is Wedding Dreams, and its library of wedding services runs from romantic locations for the ceremony or reception to brass quartets to cleanup services to dance instruction (should the bride and bridegroom be a little rusty) to plant rental and valet parking and vintage automobiles.
It has more than 60 categories listed in its library--and the best part is that it is absolutely free to the bride and bridegroom. Like a travel agent, Annenberg is paid a monthly fee by the companies offering the services. “The perfect wedding doesn’t just happen!” she says. “Good planning is the key.”
A last-minute panic attack on the part of the bride, the bridegroom or Mom? Let Millie and her staff handle it. Although I can’t promise that all of their sources are bargains, the service itself certainly is.
As a spinoff, Wedding Dreams recently opened a store in the same courtyard complex as their consultation offices, where brides can pick out the dress of their dreams and not spend a fortune.
The ambience belies the reasonable prices. Gowns run from $200 to $1,400, and the tags reflect a discount of about 20%. But read on--it gets better. Most of the big names, the ones that the bride-to-be sighs over in the bridal magazines--Sposaeuropa, Sposabella, Ultra Sophisticates, the Princess Collection, Alfred Angelo and Demetrios--are on the racks. There are designs for the traditional or the second-time-around bride. The collection of bridesmaids’ dresses is impressive. A print chintz (this is the latest trend) with a jacket is $135, and I’ve seen these going for as much as $200 at other shops. Sizes here run from 4 to 44 on most styles.
There’s always an additional 10% off the already discounted prices. If there are three to five bridesmaids, that goes up to 14% (that applies to the wedding gown as well), and deduct 20% for more than five bridesmaids.
Starting April 1, Wedding Dreams will be renting gowns, which makes a lot of sense. Unless you want to hand down your wedding dress to a daughter someday (who probably won’t want it), pay half the price or less and rent for the big day.
20969 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills . Suite 16 for bridal consultations (818) 587-3440; Suite 10 for bridal gowns (818) 587-3443. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday. Closed Sunday and Monday. Starting today and continuing through the weekend are a couple of hot sales where the prices are wholesale and below. First, The Robe Factory, which manufactures fine terry and pure cotton robes, is having a liquidation sale where the entire inventory will be marked 50%-75% below retail.
The sale hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday at 6040 N. Figueroa St. in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles, (213) 258-8490.
A sale at H.R.D. Distributors in Tarzana will have casual apparel for men and women priced well below wholesale. Just to give you an idea, Loubella slacks for women that some discounters tag at $32 will be marked $7. H.R.D. is offering some pretty good labels, like Long John, Bugle Boy, ID, at prices no black-belt shopper should miss.
The sale hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday at 18318 Oxnard St., Unit 4, Tarzana; (818) 708-1941. Geri Cook’s Bargains column runs every Thursday in Valley View. Questions about shopping may be sent to her, in care of Valley View, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. Letters will not be answered individually, but topics of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
