Coming out of the last bridal show, I’ve been fortunate to have a number of brides contact me and book their weddings over the last two weeks. Surprisingly, most of the dates I’ve booked recently were for September and October, which means a lot of the most in-demand dates for Lexington brides are still available.

For instance, according to the registrations from Jacki Allen’s bridal expo this month, 56 of you have June 7th weddings. Given the number of wedding photographers in Lexington, I’m pretty sure a lot of you are looking for a photographer for that date. I’ve still got an opening that date.

I’ve also still got a number of May dates, same goes for June, and all of August is still open. July’s getting a little tight, but call for your date. Judging by the calls I’m getting, none of these dates are going to last long, so call now!

In ancient Rome, they used to have a calendar of 355 days in a year, and if the High Pontiff of their state religion didn’t add an extra month of 20 days every two years, eventually, the calendar would get out of whack and you’d have the seasons get matched up to the wrong months.

On a day as beautiful as it is today in Lexington, I think we’ve gone back to that system.

I went down to Keeneland today. One of my recent brides, Heather, is down at the sales, and I wanted to give her the new copy of Jacki Allen’s Premier Bride Lexington, because one of the stories in the magazine (pages 192-193) features Heather’s wedding. Heather loved the story, and her friends were oohing and aahing over the pictures! Her folks also mentioned that the Christmas cards I designed and the custom gift albums I did for her flower girls’ Christmas gifts were a big hit.

After we finished over there, I went down to the sales pavilion to see some of her horses being auctioned off. I tell you, I’m listening to the auctioneer’s rat-a-tat-tat delivery, and I’m thinking, “I wonder if he gets enough oxygen in between words to not get light-headed?”

Anyway, it was great to see Heather and her family again. Like I always say, my brides and their families become my friends as we go through this process.

Thanks to all who stopped by my booth at the Lexington Bridal Show at the Convention Center today! I had a great time talking with so many of you. And with that in mind, we’re going to have a contest.

As I’m sure you know, Kristina and I are getting closer to the birth of the twins, who are due on April 20th. So here’s the deal: Use the contact form on IanLozada.com to submit your information, including your wedding date and the date you think the twins will be born. Keep in mind that twins are usually born before their 40 week due date. The bride (or groom) with the closest guess gets a $100 gift card for Malone’s.

The fine print: One guess per couple, and you must be getting married in 2008 or 2009 to enter. If two or more people guess correctly or are the same number of days away from the actual birthdate, then one of those entries will be drawn at random for the gift card. If the twins arrive on either side of midnight and have two different birthdates, and two people guess one of the correct dates, each will get a $50 gift card for Malone’s, provided they are the only person to select that date. I hate the fine print, don’t you?

Good luck to all!