Paper Passionista

Paper Passionista's owner, Gayle O'Donnell, has been designated a Master Wedding Vendor by the Association of Bridal Consultants

The Association of Bridal Consultants' Master Class of 2011, Baltimore, Maryland, November 7, 2011

Until yesterday, Paper Passionista's blog had been quiet for a couple weeks while I was away on a marathon trip throughout the eastern part of the US.  The journey began on November 5 with a trip to the international Business of Brides Conference for the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) in Baltimore, Maryland. This was my eighth time to attend this conference since joining ABC in 1994, but this year was by far the most exciting for me.  On Monday, November 7 I was given the designation of Master Wedding Vendor (MWV) by the ABC, the highest level of recognition given to professional wedding vendors by the Association. Of the approximately 4000 members in the ABC, there are only 10 people who have received the MWV designation in the world.  This is an exciting way to celebrate as January 1, 2012 will mark my completion of 20 years in the wedding invitations and stationery industry. 

There were a total of 12 people receiving Master designations from ABC this year, 8 as Master Bridal Consultants and 4 as Master Wedding Vendors.  There are currently 61 Master Bridal Consultants in the world.

 

It's not too late to order your personalized Holiday Cards from Paper Passionista

Have you been finding time slipping away from you with the holidays quickly approaching and your turkey and all the fixin's about to go in the oven this week? I wanted to let you know I just received word of this great offer from William Arthur that ought to be a relief to last minute shoppers.  All of these orders must be placed online by me during their "Cyberweek" November 25 through December 2.  To view options for William Arthur's holiday cards you can visit my Paper Passionista photo album on Facebook, or give me a call and I'll run right out with the albums for you to take a look at.  I'm in town over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with several openings in the schedule so I'd love to have a visit with you. Whether you're in need of business greetings, or a perfect photo card for your family, we've got them all!  See below for details. 

For one week only, Friday, November 25 through Friday, December 2, William Arthur is offering our Dealers a Cyber-Week Consumer Promotion of buy-75-get-25-free Digital Holiday Photo Cards. Order at least 75 cards from the William Arthur digital holiday card collections and we will automatically add an additional 25 pieces at no charge.  In addition, you will receive Free Domestic Ground Shipping, November 25 through December 5, on all orders placed through our Personalized Ordering System.  This includes all designs shown from the 2011 William Arthur Holiday Greeting and Photo Card Albums.

In a separate offer, another of our fine stationery vendors, Checkerboard, has just announced the following offer:

15% off Holiday Business product - Minimum order of $250 required; other restrictions apply. Valid thru 12/05/11.

Give me a call at 206.909.9567, or drop me a line at info@paperpassionista.com to hear further details about either of these offers.  Cheers!!

Cathedral Ridge Winery in Hood River, Oregon is a great spot for a scenic Columbia River Gorge wedding

 

             Wedding at Cathedral Ridge Winery      

    Table seating available for up to 100 guests

Cathedral Ridge Winery was a stop for Paper Passionista a couple weeks ago when my husband and I visited the Columbia River Gorge area.  What a gorgeous site this is! We enjoyed time in their tasting room with their tasting hostess, Jane, and picked out three bottles of oh so delicious varieties to bring home.  Our favorites were the 2009 Reserve Chardonnay and the 2009 Rusty Red (named and labeled for the winery's black labrador mascot). The tasting room was bustling with busloads of guests arriving during our visit.

Cathedral Ridge Winery tasting room

Cathedral Ridge Winery owner, Robb Bell, took a break from his grape harvesting duties and gave us a personal tour of the behind the scenes operation, and it's quite amazing!  Robb and my husband, Jim, have been business associates for many years and he'd been asking us to come visit ever since he purchased the winery seven or eight years ago, so we were so glad to finally be able to take him up on the offer. Cathedral Ridge received the 2007 Best Winery in Oregon award and we can certainly see why.

The beautiful scenery of Cathedral Ridge's vineyards, waiting for harvest 

If you are lucky enough to have your wedding at Cathedral Ridge you will get to meet Jane, who told us she is the wedding arrangement coordinator. They host beautiful weddings on their grounds where there is undercover seating available for up to 100 guests, and an outdoor seating area, weather permitting, for 150.  Located just five minutes from downtown Hood River, Oregon, this is a convenient and beautiful spot for a memorable destination wedding, so just wanted to share it with you.  For more information, or to check date availability, contact the event coordinator at crw@cathedralridgewinery.com or give them a call at 1-800-516-8710. 

As an added note, if you decide to have your wedding or special event at Cathedral Ridge Winery, or any other winery for that matter, don't forget Paper Passionista has the perfect invitation for you, letterpressed in beautiful cork! 

Gorgeous invitation by Plum Blossom Press, letterpressed in cork for your winery wedding