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Night Owl Poetry – Dorinda Duclos

~ "The silence of the night awakens my soul"

Night Owl Poetry – Dorinda Duclos

Tag Archives: wedding

Today’s the Day! – #poetry – #JuneWriting

30 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in June Writing, Poetry

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

#JuneWriting, #poetry, #poetrycommunity, bells, bride, dorindaduclos.com, groom, Night Owl Poetry, poems, vows, wedding, writing, writing prompt


She couldn’t believe the day had arrived,
It was one they had planned, for so long;
They practiced their lines to perfection,
But completely forgot about their song.

The time came to recite their vows,
Each of them nervous, as you can guess;
One mistake, one word out of place,
And the whole thing could turn to a mess.

Taking a deep breath, and letting it out,
She was first, in proclaiming her heart;
When it came time, for him, to do the same,
Flustered, he had forgotten where to start.

Finally getting through his words, she sighed,
He smiled, as the music began to play;
That’s when they suddenly realized,
They had forgotten to practice for today.

Just at that very moment, the bells rang,
And they knew everything was okay;
He scooped her up in his arms, turned about.
And quickly, he whisked her away!

 

June Writing Prompt – At last, the bells rang, and he whisked her away – Day 30/30 – Wow, another month of prompts done and half the year is over!! Can’t wait to see what ~M has in store for July!

©2019 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay

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My Wedding Day ~ #NaPoWriMo #whimsical #poetry

14 Friday Apr 2017

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in #NaPoWriMo, Poems, Poetry

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

#NaPoWriMo, #poetry, angel, Dear John letter, decisions, devil, dorindaduclos.com, National Poetry Month, Night Owl Poetry, poems, split personality, threshold, wedding, whimsical, writing


I sit with pen and paper
Thoughts are swirling in my head
Should I listen to my angel?
Or hear the devil’s words instead?

To choose the proper phrasing
I need to follow what’s in my heart
For my mind keeps playing tricks on me
And I knew right from the start

These two would cause a problem
When I saw them standing near
I wonder what there is to do
To make them disappear

Ignore them, if I can
And hope they leave quite soon
I need to write this letter
Before my honeymoon

Dear John, I guess I’ll start it
I no longer wish to marry
There are just too many of me
Over the threshold, for you, to carry

 

©Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

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Where is the love?

08 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in Life, Love, My Thoughts, Wedding

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#WW, bully, couples choice awards, dorindaduclos.com, Facebook, opportunities, social media, twitter, vendors, wedding, wedding industry, wedding wednesday, WeddingWire

Where is the love? Isn’t that what the wedding industry is all about?  Couples, pledging their love and life together.  How come this same concept doesn’t hold true for the people who help bring this event to fruition, aka the wedding vendors?  If you think the nasty and negative comments you leave on different social media outlets can’t be seen by potential clients, you couldn’t be more wrong.  Word of mouth is huge in the wedding industry.

It’s a new year and in the past 7 days I have seen more bickering and bullying by wedding vendors, to and about other vendors, their so-called peers, than ever before.  This is part of the reason I left the industry.  However, just because I left doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention to what’s happening.  I just have a different perspective.  I’m no longer the vendor, now I’m the client.  What I am seeing is other vendors posting about how disgusted they are that this is even happening.  Is it really necessary to be so rude to someone who may be asking for advice on a particular subject?  Ridicule does not belong in an industry based on love.  There are plenty of opportunities for everyone associated with weddings.  If you’re doing well, there really is no reason to tread on the those who are just starting to make a name for themselves.  It’s easy to step on toes, until someone steps back.

Bully – n; A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people.

Consider how you would feel coming into any industry without the knowledge of those who have been in it for years.  I’m sure some of you were lucky enough to find a mentor.  Pay it forward.  Instead of stomping on someone’s dream, help make it a reality.

No one likes a bully.  Unless you want your good name associated with the term, you might want to consider your words before actually saying them.

On a personal note, Congratulations to the hard working wedding vendors who won the “Couple’s Choice Award”.  An award well deserved by most.  Some have put down the award, stating it’s meaningless because it’s based on reviews. I’m thinking they’re putting it down because they didn’t receive one. 😉

Copyright 2014 www.dorindaduclos.com All Rights Reserved

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Wedding Industry Gets Slammed Again

09 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in Life, Love, My Thoughts, Wedding

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

david tutera, love, marriage, new york times magazine, Photography, pricing, professional, transparency, vendors, wedding, Wedding planner

The wedding industry has once again been slammed.  A writer for the New York Times Magazine wrote a piece entitled The Wedding Fix Is In, claiming non-transparency & uneducated consumers as the industries downfall. I beg to differ.  As a past wedding and event professional for 15 years, I saw nothing but transparency with respected vendors who knew their product and how to sell it.  The article questions pricing, price gouging probably defines it better.  This is how it is.  If you hire a professional, someone who is willing to take the time to sit with you, go over what your visions are, and then bring these things to fruition, you’re going to pay.  If you’re looking to have a wedding for $30 a head, all inclusive, you might as well go to McDonald’s.

Image

A lot of the problems today stem from reality television, shows such as David Tutera‘s My Fair Wedding.  They aren’t realistic visions for today’s average bride & groom.  We’d all love to have that fantasy wedding, but the real reality is most can’t afford it.  So you’re back to where you started.  Shopping around for that best price.  But always be aware that there are scam artists out there.  Use references & referrals from friends and family members who have actually worked with the person before.

Hire a wedding planner.  Yes, do this.  She or he will guide you in the direction you need to go, within your budget.  More than likely, the planner works with a group of “preferred” vendors, and the savings can be passed on to you.  This is not to say that you must go with the planners vendors.  You may already have some of your own.  Again, she or he is there to guide you, to keep you within your budget.  They also see to it that everything falls into place for you, taking on the stress of the event so that you can enjoy your day.

Getting back to transparency.  Most wedding vendor sites have their pricing online.  The plus side to this is you can view and decide if this vendor fits into your budget without wasting your time or theirs, if the fit isn’t right.  All aspects of a wedding do not fall into this category of online pricing.  We’ll take photographers, as an example, because they seem to be targeted more frequently than most other event vendors.  Keep in mind that every brides expectation of her big day is not the same as the next bride who asks about photography packages.  The photographer can begin at your home, follow you to the church, etc, and then complete the day during the reception.  A timeline may look something like this:

Brides Home – 10:00AM includes family photos, getting ready

Church – 12:00 – 1:30PM includes ceremony and after pictures in the garden

Reception – 2:00PM – 6:00PM

Total time – 8 hours, without travel time, editing and printing/sending you your photos.  If you’re thinking you’re going to spend $500 on photography for an eight hour span, think again.  This is where the memories are captured.  You want a professional.  Not Uncle Harry with his camera phone.  Of course you may decide to only have the church & reception photographed, so the amount of time required, changes.  And so will the price.  Because of the differences in what each bride wants, one set price cannot be displayed.  You’ll find most wedding vendor websites, such as photography, will have a caption stating “Packages begin at”.  You have a starting point and you can decide whether or not this fits your budget.

It all comes down to this…a wedding isn’t just a party.  It’s a once in a lifetime (you hope) event.  If the pricing stabs you the wrong way, you might want to consider eloping, or having a small dinner party for your closest relatives & friends.  No one says you have to have 200 plus people attend.

It’s all about the love between two people.  Even if it means standing in front of the justice of the peace or your town mayor, with your two best friends beside you, then go for it.  You’ll be celebrating your lives, together.

original photo via arabiangazette.com

Copyright 2013

www.dorindaduclos.com

All Rights Reserved

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WeddingWire – The Finale

21 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in My Thoughts

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

brides, business, dorindaduclos.com, free listing, jolie papeterie boutique, paid, randomization, Reviews, vendors, wedding, WeddingWire, weddingwire part deux

I suppose I could go on and on about a company who really has no regard for your business unless you’re a paying customer, but for now I’ll leave you with these final thoughts.

After my last story, WeddingWire – Part Deux, several people contacted me to tell me about their experience with customer service and the WeddingWire website itself.

Nicky V., owner of Jolie Papeterie Boutique in Canada, has had her problems and she shared them with me.  With her permission, I will now share them with you.  We talked about The Knot and how they ripped her off, we talked about WeddingWire and how they’re ripping her off.  And not just Nicky.  Anyone who has a “free” account.  Yes, even if you’re not paying for a listing, you’re being ripped off.  Here’s why;   Nicky told us that after going through four pages of invitations in her area, she could not find her page in the directory.  She did, however, see businesses from her surrounding areas showing up and still nothing for her.  She opted to do a vendor search by name and that’s how she found her page.  If a bride is searching for invitations, odds are she doesn’t know your business name.  If she doesn’t find you in her search, you’ve lost a potential sale.

Nicky also pointed out that she has 20 reviews, so you would think this would make her page more prominent in the search.  It doesn’t.  I asked Nicky if her reviews were the result of her sending out the email WeddingWire provides to ask a former client for a review.  Her response was yes, but most times the brides don’t respond or they forget.

Nicky contacted WeddingWire,  first by live chat, at which time this was the explanation she was given;

Okay, just pulled up your account. This is because all of the Lite accounts (which you currently have) are all in a random rotation among the other lites. So sometimes you may show up in the search on the vendor catalog and sometimes you might not. If they search specifically by your name at the bottom of the page, like you did, then you will definitely show up. Would you like me have your rep reach out to you to further explain this?

The second was by phone, in which Nicky said the girl she spoke to was very pleasant but she couldn’t answer her questions.  And of course, she tried to sell her a paid listing.  I’m guessing the client reps aren’t being trained properly before they’re fed to the wolves.  As a former customer rep myself, if I even considered answering the phone or returning a client’s call before my training was completed and tested, I would have been out of a job.

Nicky posed this question, “as a bride if I’m searching in a certain location why is it I’m getting random crap thrown at me and I have to go through pages to find a vendor in that area?”  The response was “because of the randomization they do.” Randomization?  So basically it’s like shuffling a deck of cards and you have to hope your card is an ace.

What Nicky didn’t realize and I pointed out to her, is that since her page on WeddingWire is “lite” there is an ad for a competitor, directly placed below her logo.  These ads feature paying clients within the WeddingWire community.

Image

“You might also consider”

In searching the internet for stories similar to this one, I stumbled across this article –  WeddingWire What Are Your Thoughts About It?  Had the authors really done their research they might have discovered how having a free or “lite” account on WeddingWire means absolutely nothing.  I will give them credit for pointing out that  a paid ad isn’t the way to go.  However, having more than 10 reviews doesn’t promise anything either.

So while you may think having a listing on WeddingWire will bring in the brides, guess again.  Unless you’re forking over the big bucks, odds are you won’t even be found when a bride does search, unless she’s searching for you by your company name.

Other Related Stories:

WeddingWire – They Just Don’t Learn

Copyright 2013

dorindaduclos.com

All Rights Reserved

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