Service Eases the Way Down the Bridal Path
The traditional month for weddings is June, but couples customarily get engaged during the holiday season. So about now, many a starry-eyed bride-to-be is scouring the bride magazines to ensure that her big day is a smash.
To keep wedding plans from becoming a burden, consider a complimentary service that can help with just about everything--bartenders, calligraphers, poetry, vintage cars, harpists, a horse and carriage or a brigade of bagpipes to add a romantic touch.
Referrals to these and hundreds of services are on file at the Wedding Dreams Library--for free. The library is the referral end of Wedding Dreams, a retail wedding operation in Woodland Hills.
One of the services recently provided by a company based in Malibu and in Woodland Hills is wedding license procurement. Because Los Angeles and Van Nuys have closed their wedding license bureaus, the busy couple now has to make two trips to either Palmdale or Norwalk, first to apply for the license and then to pick it up. For $50, and a Wedding Dreams referral, the service will take care of the license.
If the bride or groom provides pertinent data, Love Songs By Robert will write a song, tape, print, then frame it and toss in two round-trip air fares to Hawaii for $350. A real Hawaiian love song.
The prices for each service range from budget to pull-out-the stops. For instance, the video services listed with Wedding Dreams run anywhere from $500 for a basic video recording of the event to a major production complete with special effects for $3,000.
The Wedding Dreams retail operation provides gowns for the bride, dresses for the maids and all the accessories. The prices on bridal gowns range from $400 to $3,000 and for the bridesmaids, $115 to $250. There is a wide range of colors in sizes 2 to 44.
The service at Wedding Dreams starts the minute you walk in the door, but relax, there’s no hard-sell and none of the salespeople works on commission.
A word of warning on wedding brokers that advertise rather heavily these days. Most demand all the money up front and buyer beware: If there’s a problem, you have little or no recourse. It may seem like a bargain at first, but can easily turn into a nightmare.
Each month Wedding Dreams stages a bridal show and many of its services and companies exhibit their wares, so you can meet with providers firsthand. The January show is tonight from 6 to 8. Reservations are needed to attend at Wedding Dreams’ 3,600-square-foot store at 20969 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. The library may be reached at (818) 587-3440, the Bridal Salon at (818) 587-3443.
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WEEKEND SUPER SALE: The public can get great buys on clothing used as wardrobe for television shows and motion pictures at Studio Wardrobe. On Feb. 1 they will move around the corner to 12132 Ventura Blvd. and are trying to pare their inventory down. A dinner jacket worn by Jack Lemmon in “Weekend in the Country” (a yet-to-be released motion picture) is reduced from $125 to $50. A group of new men’s suits and sport coats from a canceled TV series, a bargain at the original $140, are now $70. Some women will love the wardrobes from an Ann-Margret TV movie and costumes from a Liza Minnelli TV special. Most sweaters for men and women (with labels such as Benetton) are reduced 50%. A Carole Little jacket will move fast at $25. You get the idea: Great values and great fun. Studio Wardrobe, 3953 Laurel Grove, Studio City. (818) 508-7762.
