You have the ring and have set a date, but need to start planning the wedding. A local bridal show is set to feature all the help you may need.

The Eighth Annual South Louisiana Bridal Show is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 7 at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd. Admission costs $5 at the door for adults and free for children under 12 with a paid adult.

The show features wedding-cake samples, caterers, reception hall managers, bridal shops, florists, photographers and a local wedding consultant that can show you how to build a budget for your special date.

“At the show, we will have a video that shows a little bit of the services we offer,’ said Danny LeBouef, owner of Designs by Danny in Raceland, who’s been doing professional wedding consulting since 1992. “The seating area will be decorated in the same style as The Royal Villa. I will be there to answer any questions our guests might have.”

LeBouef and his wife, Lacey, also own The Royal Villa reception hall.

Chez Lili, a local bridal shop, is set to showcase many different wedding-gown styles and colors for a bride to choose from.

“The show’s a great way to get to know about us,” said Laura Cancienne, owner of Chez Lili. “We will have seven mannequins showing seven different styles and colors plus a video.”

Source (full article): http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20100305/ENTERTAINMENT/100309809/1262

Aiming to maintain the growth that led to record 2009 sales and profit, Urban Outfitters Inc. yesterday disclosed plans to start another retail brand next year, this one aimed at the $60 billion wedding industry.

The Philadelphia specialty retailer, whose Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie stores target an upscale clientele, said it planned to launch the as-yet-unnamed bridal business by Valentine’s Day 2011, first online and later with a store opening.

“We think this is going to be a meaningful business,” Glen T. Senk, chief executive officer, told analysts yesterday while reviewing the company’s 2009 earnings, which included record sales of $1.9 billion and record profit of $220 million.

“Anybody we talk to about this goes, ‘Wow, that’s exciting,’ ” he said.

The idea for creating a brand aimed at weddings – featuring heirloom gowns, accessories, intimate apparel, decor, and gifts – grew out of the company’s existing business, which often catered to brides and their entourages, Senk said.

According to the company’s research, matrimony means money: The average wedding costs $45,000 to stage, and the bride alone spends $4,500 on clothing and accessories.

Bridalwear is a niche that suffered badly last year in the economic downturn; many high-end boutiques closed.

But for Urban Outfitters, the new line could represent a happy marriage with its long-term strategy to expand sales and profit by nurturing six to eight “meaningful” brands – while not allowing one brand to grow so large that it loses value. Along with Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, the company operates Free People stores, a Terrain garden center in Glen Mills, and the Leifsdottir wholesale line.

Source (Full Article): http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20100305_Urban_Outfitters_to_start_a_wedding_brand.html

At least 5,000 brides-to-be were jilted before ever reaching the altar – by the organizer of a weekend wedding extravaganza that cops said was scamming on their dreams.

And bridal vendors took an even bigger hit, thinking they could showcase their services at the “Boston 411 Home and Bridal Show” at the Hynes Convention Center this weekend.

Lavishly promoted on www.weddingwire.com, Facebook and Twitter, the show was a cleverly dressed-up sham, cops said.

“Everything looked legit. We don’t know how many victims are out there. That’s the problem,” said Detective Steven Blair of the Boston Police Special Investigations Unit. “It was probably one of the best Web sites I’ve seen.”

Police don’t know exactly how much was scammed from blushing brides and would-be vendors. They are looking for suspects but would not say who they are, how they are tracing them or where they might be.

Trusting brides prepaid $10 to $15 for tickets – believing a portion would benefit earthquake victims in Haiti. Blair said at least 200 vendors are out $50,000 after using credit cards to reserve booths for $350 to $4,000. Many booked hotel rooms and were flying in from around the country.

Scam victims the Herald spoke with – including Massachusetts Convention Center Authority executive director James Rooney – all dealt with a woman calling herself “Jamie Edwards,” police and victims said. It unclear whether that is her real name.

Rooney said the woman contacted a Hynes sales manager in October about available dates and a booking contract was sent to her at a Boston address to review. It came back as undeliverable.

“There were excuses,” Rooney said. Last week, he said, “Our sales manager just smelled something was wrong here, went online, found the Web site, and was horrified.” They called police in a desperate bid to stop the scamming of the brides.

“Jamie Edwards” did not respond yesterday to calls the Herald left on her voice mail.

DJ for hire Jimmy Jay, 60, of Weymouth said he sent Edwards $335 and lent his voice to a radio promo for the event in exchange for a booth.

“It blows my mind. I’m a pretty sharp cookie,” Jay said.

Kelly Delaney, owner of Cakes for Occasions in Danvers, said she never responded to e-mailed invites she received last year from Edwards. Yet, Cakes for Occasions was prominently featured as a vendor. “We had no idea,” she said.

Source:  http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1236529

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-02/24/content_7508373.htm

In 2008, platinum demand for jewelry use in China was estimated at around 0.76 million ounces, accounting for 68 percent of the global total of 1.12 million ounces, according to the Platinum 2008 Interim Review released by Johnson Matthey, the world’s leading authority on the platinum industry.
 
It was the ninth year China had the world’s largest market for platinum jewelry since 2000.

China’s platinum jewelry market experienced unprecedented challenges in 2008, mainly due to widely fluctuating platinum prices.

In the first half of the year, high prices drove manufacturers to adopt a very cautious attitude toward procurement and led them to optimize their inventory management systems.

Manufacturers made more efforts to recycle platinum to reduce risks, while high platinum prices also depressed platinum jewelry sales.

However, with platinum prices falling in the second half of 2008 and along with proactive domestic fiscal policies, the platinum market is expected to see new opportunities in 2009, said Platinum Guild International (PGI), a global organization dedicated to promoting platinum jewelry.

PGI said that this situation was due to a combination of several factors: a drop in platinum prices as a result of falling industrial demand; China’s proactive domestic fiscal policies stimulating domestic spending, Chinese consumers’ passion for platinum, and the consistent promotion of platinum over the past decade.

Since the onset of the global financial crisis in the third quarter last year, industrial demand for platinum has fallen, along with the global price of platinum. The falling platinum price then triggered a desire to purchase among domestic manufacturers.

According to statistics from the Shanghai Gold Exchange, platinum purchases increased 16 percent year-on-year in 2008.

The fall in global platinum prices led in turn to a fall in the retail price of platinum jewelry, leading to stronger platinum jewelry sales.

According to a survey conducted by PGI, 17 key retailers in northern China reported that sales of platinum jewelry increased significantly over Christmas and the New Year.

In southern China, platinum sales increased by 20-30 percent over Christmas and by 15-50 percent over the New Year season, with Shanghai reporting the greatest rise.

Moreover, in the second half of 2008, China adopted a proactive fiscal policy and more moderate monetary policies, aimed at expanding domestic demand and stimulating economic growth.

According to the latest statistics released by PGI, retail sales for the first three days of 2009 rose 13 percent year-on-year, showing that the government’s efforts to spur domestic demand and prevent an economic slowdown are yielding results.

In addition, Oracle Added Value, a leading marketing research and consulting firm in China, said in its survey, “The Wedding Jewelry Market in 2008″, that platinum jewelry retains its dominance in the wedding market with 75 percent of brides and 68 percent of grooms interviewed saying they had chosen platinum wedding rings.

“As the current price is less than half of the peak in 2008, we expect rapid growth in Chinese platinum demand,” said Johnson Matthey.

“As the world’s largest market for platinum jewelry, China has experienced steady and rapid development in terms of both market scale and industry growth over the past decade. Faced with a turbulent market situation in 2008, China’s platinum jewelry industry adopted timely and effective measures, showing the overall strength of China’s jewelry industry,” said Grace Man, director of PGI China.

“In 2009, with a more stable market price, a booming wedding market and the orchestrated efforts of the industry, we are confident of the future development of the platinum jewelry industry in China.”