Angela Thompson
Lifestyle Expert, Wedding Trend Spotter

Cleveland, OH (May 2007) – When it’s wedding season in churches, reception halls and on beaches around the world, that’s when Angela Thompson and her team get to work uncovering the latest trends for “the big day.” Once Thompson and her team get a solid understanding of the most popular trends, the next step is to interpret and incorporate them into American Greetings wedding cards. Not only is Thompson very interested in all-things wedding on a personal level, she successfully planned her own wedding six years ago and has helped countless family and friends pull off classy affairs since then, but her excitement for brides and grooms also comes in handy as part of the team at American Greetings that creates special card designs exclusively for Target.

“Target is a very popular registry destination for brides and grooms today, and the store does an amazing job of making sure they have innovative products in hot colors and patterns to appeal to today’s newlyweds,” said Thompson. “That means there are millions of Target guests visiting stores to purchase the perfect gift for the happy couple, so it’s our job to make sure they can also find the perfect card to give the new Mr. and Mrs. for their special day.”

Creating the perfect card, however, requires months of research and trend spotting to identify everything from popular color combinations to the latest wedding fashions for the bride, groom and their party. With over 2.3 million weddings expected this year, this is no easy task.

“We’ve noticed recently that more couples are adding personal touches to every aspect of the ceremony and reception as a way to reflect their identity as a couple,” said Thompson. “Many of today’s brides and grooms are older and more aware of their personal styles, so they have had time to think about incorporating unique touches to truly make their wedding day their own.”

Thompson noted that no matter what is fashionable or trendy at the moment, every couple has their own sense of style, and the key for her team is to incorporate what is “hot” with traditional icons and favorites that no wedding could do without.

“One of the things we have focused on this year is being more playful with the traditional icons of wedding season,” said Thompson. “This year we have incorporated some unique color and design choices to allow wedding guests to celebrate any couple’s personality.”