LETTER from the EDITOR

Congratulations and Happy New Year! You’re beginning one of the most thrilling times of your life - wedding planning! With the beginning of a brand new year, we celebrate all things new and exciting, like saying yes to a lifetime with your love, or starting a new home together as a married couple.

We are so proud to produce the twenty third edition of this magazine. We hope each and every page brings you inspiration and helps guide you towards your dream wedding! In this Winter/Spring issue you will find a diverse selection of local wedding providers from all over Central Illinois, content rich articles, advice, encouragement and so much more!

Round out your local planning timeline by attending the Central Illinois’ largest wedding planning experience, The Elegant Bridal Expo. Want to meet and talk with local wedding experts in person all in one day? We gather the elite professionals together so you can chat, compare, and get advice on the spot. It’s all things wedding, all in one place!

I am absolutely thrilled to introduce editor of this fabulous resource couples with businesses since The Elegant Expo Group, Inc. resource for everything weddings online. From stunning photos access to the wedding professionals planning pages, you can count throughout your entire engagement.

We are so proud to produce the fifteenth edition selection of local wedding providers from all over bridal directory will help guide you towards your

Last but certainly not least, please let any wedding professional you talk to and meet with, via this magazine, online or an Elegant Bridal Expo, know that we sent you. Warmest wishes for a happy wedding day filled with love!

Please be sure to let these oh-so-wonderful wedding and how you found them. Our business has been success these companies experience with our products the pages of this magazine, an exhibit display at our website, your acknowledgment allows us to continue tools in the area.

Congratulations on your engagement, and we wish your journey as you plan this special day.

Warmest wishes for a happy wedding day filled with

Warmest wishes for a happy wedding day filled with love!

Ashley Peecher, Publisher & Editor contact@elegantbridalexpo.com

Ashley Plunkett, Publisher & Editor contact@elegantbridalexpo.com

www.elegant www.elegantbridalexpo.com

bridalexpo.com

@theelegantbridalexpo www.facebook.com/theelegantbridalexpo

So Chic Boutique has been a Peoria area favorite for gifts and wedding supplies since 2013. The first boutique opened its doors in Morton, and four years later, a second shop was added in Peoria Heights.

Sara O’Shea, the entrepreneur behind both gorgeously curated shops, got her start in the wedding industry as an event planner with So Chic Events, founded in 2007. For 12 years, Sara has been a champion for local business, a powerhouse of ideas and local events, and a curator with a gift for making the shopping and planning experiences feel truly personal.

Now, there is even more on the horizon for So Chic:

Custom Invitation Suites

So Chic Boutique has offered custom inhouse invitations for 3 years, but just in the past month, they have upped their game, Sara says.

“We have two, full-time graphic designers now so we can offer custom suites at a greater scale,” she says. “The timing is great because while wedding invites are our bread and butter, we can do shower invitations, signage, wedding day details, programs, etc. We can take care of all of it.”

Currently, there is a huge divide among couples about how to do their wedding stationery. Many engaged couples opt to go online for invites, but Sara says that personal assistance can’t be beat.

“There are so many little nuances, and until their wedding, many couples have never had a reason to order formal stationery in their lives,” she says. “So having someone who is in stationery and can walk through what you need in your invitations is really helpful, which you can’t get with the online process. People are often surprised that they can get comparable pricing to online with the personal help.”