Wedding, other event planning enters digital age at new storefront

Imagine if planning a wedding were as easy as flipping screens on an iPhone.

After years of planning weddings the traditional way, running from vendor to vendor to gather swatches and samples, a light bulb went off for Twin Cities event planner Geri Wolf.

She has created a virtual tool for event planning that will be accessible — for free — at a storefront opening Monday at Gaviidae Common in Minneapolis. Couples, or anyone planning an event, will be able to pull from hundreds of images from hotels, florists, caterers, photographers and the like to create digital inspiration boards.

In minutes, it becomes possible for a novice to zero in on a style, a look, a theme.
Wolf jokes it's the "Guitar Hero" version of wedding planning. But really, it's one-stop shopping that could cut out miles of legwork.

More than 55 local vendors have signed on to be part of Wolf's Style Laboratory. Among them are some of the most exclusive in town, including St. Paul Hotel, D'Amico Catering and Walker Art Center.

"We've not seen this done before. A lot of us are excited about it. I wanted to make sure we were there," W Minneapolis general manager Susan Mabry said.

Even wedding planners, who could be threatened by this development, are jumping on board.

"I'm already planning to take clients there," said Nicole Walesch, whose Twin Cities wedding
planning service is called b. inspired. "It's a great way to get ideas."

Style Laboratory's fully loaded computer stations — style stations, Wolf calls them, equipped with 42-inch screens — are open to anyone searching for event ideas. Beyond brides, Wolf hopes charitable organizations and corporations will take advantage.
Printing an inspiration board costs $5.

"We want this to be a fun, interactive experience," Wolf said. "This is true social media."

By making event planning more visual, Wolf expects to make her world more accessible to the public. "I can describe a look as 'Miami chic,' and everyone is going to picture something different," Walesch said. "This is a good way to get everyone on the same page."

Participating vendors will provide up-to-date images of their services and products. That makes it possible to view a banquet room from several angles, in-season flowers and the latest collections of wedding dresses and then see how they all fit together.

"Often times, couples have ideas that are not easy to articulate, and the planning process becomes time consuming and frustrating for them," said Dawn Bromander, retail director for A-list wedding designer Monique Lhuillier, who has a salon at 50th and France in Edina. "By creating a storyboard that reflects their vision, anyone involved can gain a
solid understanding of what they hope to achieve."

In New York, there's the Wedding Library, and Los Angeles has the Bridal Bar. Both online resources provide a directory of vendors. Twin Cities photographer Liz Banfield, who has worked on weddings throughout the country, is familiar with both but said neither offers the interactive component that Style Laboratory brings to the table, making it possible to pull from various resources and see how they fit together.

"I think she's onto something," Banfield said.

Wolf is already thinking beyond the Twin Cities with her concept. She hopes to begin selling the concept in Chicago by March, and her expansion plans include 16 other markets in the near future.

By Allison Kaplan, TwinCities.com.