Event Jolie was quoted in a front page story of the Palm Beach Post in a story discussing a new courthouse wedding package for $150! Check it out below:
Event Jolie in the Palm Beach Post
Palm Beach County courthouse offers couples 'sensible start' with $150 wedding package
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 21, 2009
WEST PALM BEACH — Romance, meet recession. Even modest weddings can be pricey affairs, with the average cost of
a bridal veil running $106 and justice of the peace fees at $185. Damon Higgins/The Post Marine Sgt. Jesse Bergeron and Winnie Diaz trade vows Friday in the 'matrimonial room.' Damon Higgins/The Post Marine Sgt. Jesse Bergeron and Winnie Diaz finalize
details at the courthouse Friday. They want to have a bigger wedding
later. But lovebirds looking to exchange nuptials without breaking the bank
need look no farther than the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller's
Office and its newly launched "Sensible Start Wedding Package." For less than $150, bride and groom get a small ceremony in the
clerk's "matrimonial room," a wedding certificate, a marriage license
and photos. The package reflects some of the services the office already offers.
Bundling them, though, is meant to help people realize that they can
get married without a lot of expense. "There are cheap options out
there," spokeswoman Julie Rosborough said. In fact, economic troubles are making brides and grooms rethink their wedding plans. According to The Wedding Report, which provides market statistics
for the industry, the average price of a wedding fell 24 percent in
2008. That doesn't mean it was easy on the pocketbook: The average cost
of a wedding last year was $21,814. Even tuxedo cuff links were running
$64. Heather Woodworth, owner and event specialist for Event Jolie in
Palm Beach Gardens, said her clients have begun asking for smaller,
more intimate weddings. "The economy is definitely affecting their budgets," Woodworth said. "I've had to lower my prices accordingly." Friday afternoon, a half-dozen couples showed up at the clerk's
office, including Marine Sgt. Jesse Bergeron, 25, and Winnie Diaz, 25,
both of Coral Springs. Wearing a white dress and carrying a bouquet of red roses, Diaz led
a procession of family and friends into the courthouse's matrimonial
room, a small room with fake white pillars, flowers, white chairs and a
pulpit. Everyone else squeezed in behind the bride. Bergeron said the couple want to have a bigger wedding later, but
with family members in Georgia and Puerto Rico and a tough work
schedule, this was all they could do right now. "I didn't expect them to have such a nice setup," he said. "I was
thinking it would be four beige walls and just look drab like a
courthouse." Woodworth said the clerk's office package is a good deal, especially
considering that the marriage license alone costs $93.50. "It doesn't
have to be about a huge, fancy wedding." More important, she said, "In this economy, I guess it's beautiful
that brides and grooms are really focusing on the marriage and
ceremony."
