The Official Talk Back to The Wedding Industrial Complex Forum

Well I did it.

I have been following bridal forums for as long as they have existed. They all have one thing in common; they are either for brides or for the WIC. How about we try talking to each other instead?

Putting a forum on Think was a no brainer, I love good conversation and I want to know what people are thinking. Where to put it was the problem. I made the Think Like A Bride website subscription based for the sole reason that I wanted to be able to speak freely about the business of weddings. But bigger than that is the underlying reason I started the site in the first place. I hate the way the wedding industry is being bashed in certain corners of the media. People like Stephi Stewart and the Fields get way too much press by merely bashing wedding professionals. Enough. I have been in this industry for over 20 years, most of my closest friends are in this industry and they are not the predatory scum the media often portrays them to be. After having worked with brides for the same length of time I have a pretty good idea that they aren’t bridezillas; they are just trying to find their path through a very complex process at an emotional time in their lives Because of that I have always wanted to get a dialog going across the aisle, so to speak.

One thing I have discovered while researching articles over the last couple of years is that so much of the knowledge that wedding insiders take for granted brides don’t know. Simple things like why a gown takes so long to arrive or why caterers just can’t afford to do a sample tasting of everything on their menu. Once they know the why they understand. On the other side, vendors often forget the things that brides are going through in their decision making, things like Mom and Aunt Sally and budgets. Nothing good has come from this confrontational environment.

The Official Talk Back to the Wedding Industrial Complex is a place to ask your questions. Somewhere to get real answers from people that are on the inside, that know what the heck is really behind things. One thing I want to be very clear on, THIS IS NOT A PLACE TO MARKET YOURSELF. I have put a category up for you to introduce yourself and you are encouraged to put up links to your website and a blurb about yourself and your business there. You are welcome to add your url to your signature, but anyone that starts trolling the boards for brides will be banned in a heartbeat. Believe me, in a heartbeat! Likewise I can’t tolerate the overt bashing of any business by name; my pockets just aren’t deep enough to fend off that kind of lawsuit. My friends on the industry forums know exactly what I am talking about. Since this forum in public, I have to be careful.

Other than those two things I am really not concerned with what you say. Again, this is all about the free and open exchange of ideas in the hopes of finding some common ground. I think you will find I am not easily offended.

I will do my best to get the word out. You know as well as I do I can not do this by myself. Jump into the fray and get things started; be as controversial as you wish and tell everyone you know. Here is an easy to cut & paste link to email to everyone on your list.

http://www.thinklikeabride.com/forum/