Live in the Moment … even the crazy, up down and all around ones!!

Oh boy, has this past week been nuts!

So Monday I started with a Studio Media Tour doing live interviews broadcasting from 30 radio and TV stations across the country. Let’s just say my day started at 4:30am and it didn’t end until 2:00am! The interviews were back to back to back promoting my fabulous jewelry line at Sears and my super cool new craft line at JoAnn’s … I have to say, with sooo many interviews (something that could have ended up being a little redundant) was a TOTAL BLAST! Awesome time. Awesome people.

After my interviews I had the honor of heading over to Marlo Thomas’ house to do ‘Monday’s with Marlo’. If you aren’t familiar with Marlo, you’ve GOT to check her out at MarloThomas.com. She is simply a fabulous, strong, beautiful, witty – ugh, I could go on and on!! – woman. It was so much fun and I hope you got a chance to tune in …. I of course shared some fab tips ;)

I was bummed to leave Marlo, BUT I was off to an Editor's tea at my office in NY. Sooo many amazing editors from all of the major bridal magazines came to chat about my Sears partnership. Imagine little tea sandwiches, tea and mingling with the best of the best bridal editors in the biz … I mean, they don’t get much better than the people I get to work with! Before I knew it … off to the airport!! Back to my LaLa Land aka my second home. Boy, just recapping is making me sleepy, ha! I'm so lucky that I LOVE LOVE LOVE what I do!

Love what you do. Love yourself. And love each moment!!

Xoxo,
David

PS – If you missed me on Monday’s with Marlo, go to her website at www.MarloThomas.com and search for David Tutera … and remember, SMILE!

Where do I get my Inspiration?

So many people ask me where I get my inspiration?  Living life is where I find my inspiration!  Travel, restaurants, movies, walking the street and so many other moments in life.  One of my biggest inspirations is New York City are the amazing Broadway shows!  When I used to do theater in school, I used Broadway to escape my day to day life, and just go see shows that were so creative that they really taught me how to open my mind and imagination to an entirely new level.  It’s so amazing to see what people dream up and then bring to life on the stage.   I have been quite busy traveling and filming My Fair Wedding that when I am back in New York City I find myself escaping to the theatre each time. 

I recently had the pleasure of seeing three wonderful shows. From Vanessa Redgrave in Driving Miss Daisy. to Priscella Queen of the Dessert.  Yes these are two diverse shows but I was inspired by both.  Priscella was pure fun! The show had such a wonderful message about acceptance and embracing others and yourself for who you are with no judgment.  This past week I saw Wonderland, which is about an all-grown up Alice (now a mother) going down the rabbit hole (her elevator shaft in her apt building).  It was so creative and the costumes were just INCREDIBLE (not to mention the performance of the Queen of Hearts!).  Alice is now a mother and stressed with many responsibilities and the journey into Wonderland teaches her to loosen up and live life and have FUN, which is something I live by!  There was this wonderful lyric in the last song at the end of the show “ Nothing can exsist until you dream it first” that so perfectly described everything I believe in and strive to be.

I'm also super excited to be going to be see Spiderman next!  Of course, you never know, in my career… there is always that chance that a bride will request a Spiderman wedding…and I WILL be ready with ideas!

So live life with your eyes wide open so you can embrace unexpected moments because you never know when you will be inspired....because "Nothing can exsist until you dream it first!!!!!"

David

I AM ALWAYS LEARNING ON THIS BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY CALLED LIFE

Hello everyone!  I am doing something really special that I wanted to share with you.  My journey to Topeka, Kansas was quite the trip but I was determined to get here to meet Ryan, a young, shy 17 year old kid from the Make-A-Wish organization.  You see, I am here to grant his wish. From the moment you meet Ryan, you know that you are in the presence of kindness.  His strength and courage in the face of tremendous health issues really has inspired me in a whole new way. I had to blog about Ryan....not because of his health struggles but because of what he has taught me.

I was really excited to talk to him and get to know him, but he was really, really shy and kind of quiet.  I knew that wasn’t going to stop me.  Our worlds are so vastly different that I can understand how Ryan might be uncomfortable to spend time and chat.   What I love is that he has a wise, old soul.  You do not meet people in life like this often and when you do...you stop and take it all in.   

After a while of me doing a lot of the chatting, he mentioned he had just been to New York, so I asked why.  Ryan is in the marching band at his high school. I immediately responded and said..."so was I". He became so excited and quickly asked what instrument I played.   I shared with him, in case you are wondering too, I played the saxophone , clarinet and later became the drum major (thank you very much).   I asked him what he played and he said percussion.  We began to laugh and chat more.  I  leaned over and said “so Ryan, do you think we are band geeks?”....he looked up and laughed and said "Yeah I do".  I said you are right but we are actually really cool!!!   Finding something that we had in common made him loosen up and he started talking about his love of video games.  When I told him how I just LOVE playing video games his eyes completely lit up.  I could literally feel the walls between us crumble and all of a sudden we were just two normal guys sitting on a porch, him wearing my hoodie (it was freezing out) and me wearing his Dad's jacket….talking about the things we loved.

Whenever someone is nervous, if you just talk about what they love, their passions or their hobbies, you get to see the real them.  The fact that I felt such a bond to this 17 year old boy that was so different than me, just gives me hope that someday I WISH that everyone will learn that all of us are really more alike than different at their core.  Maybe Ryan wasn't shy, maybe he is wiser than I thought.  Perhaps he was doing what I was doing- listening, observing and getting to know me as I was getting to know him.  He was trying to make me feel comfortable just as I was doing the same for him. 

I really just want to remind everyone know that no matter how different you may THINK you are from some body, there is always a common thread that you two share but only if you take the time to find it.  Finding it, and the journey of getting to know people and yourself in the process is so beautiful.  In this electronic age, sometimes we need to just slow down and take the time to talk to each other. We all must take a breath so we can stop and really listen to one another.  Thank you Ryan for teaching me and for sharing your journey. 

Affordable Glam at Sears

On an episode of “My Fair Wedding,” I was toasted by my bride at the end of the night and was beyond touched by her words to me...... She said, “Everyone says that diamonds are a girl’s best friend...well, I think that David is a girl’s best friend!”  I was so moved by those words.  

So girls, I have something to add to that.  Yes, diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but you now too can have me as your best friend.  I now have the good fortune of bringing you the right ring for the right price and at the right location...Sears!    I want to make sure I can be there from the moment the diamonds sparkle on your hand when you are engaged. 

I think a lot of brides don’t believe they can get the ring of their dreams and it just breaks my heart.  I have designed my new Sears bridal jewelry collection to bring the sparkle without the worries not being able to afford it.  Now you can feel good about your ring and your budget.  The rings are celebrity inspired and I really took the time to carefully select designs that were high quality and reflected the cut and color of the diamond. 

There are  4 different collections based on style and personality –so there is something for every girl, no matter their personal style.  I’ve been around so many different types of brides and I cannot express how much I believe that your ring should reflect YOU and your unique personality.  I want every bride to look down at their hand and to be just as in love with their rings as they are with their fiancé. 

I’m really proud to be able to offer this line of jewelry to help make everyone feel beautiful and glamorous on their wedding day.   http://www.sears.com/shc/s/dap_10153_12605_DAP_David+Tutera?adCell=W2

Home Is....Where the Heart Is

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to talk about the amazing fundraising event this past weekend in Corpus Christi at the church I was baptized, confirmed and basically raised in at my hometown of Portchester, New York!

The church asked if I could help out at their 1st annual fundraisier for underprivileged children to attend the nearby Corpus Christi/Holy Rosary Catholic school.  Of course, I was happy to use my relationships to help plan the event and bring awareness and financial support to a great cause.  (along with literally thousands of white roses).  What I didn’t realize was how going back home to attend and plan the event would be such a surreal, heart-warming experience.

The event took place in the gymnasium of the school.  The theme was angels and they opened the night by having 106 teddy bears with halos and angel wings that you could “adopt” to add to fundraiser.  Such as sweet, cute and brilliant concept! As I finished saying hello to everyone and sat at the table with my family, friends, brother Gregg and sister Amy (and of course, my partner Ryan) and the program commenced,  this beautiful 6 year old girl took the floor and belted out “ISN’T HE BEAUTIFUL” with this angelic voice that just gives me goosebumps to think about. At that moment, I really forgot about the show, all of my clients, the 20 million ideas going through my mind and just felt this sense of peace and happiness.   It was just so nice to go back home and be around such kind, grounded people and my family.  My mother and father are the most down to earth, loving people and being around their energy, and love was more inspiring than being on the most exotic location in the world.  I feel so lucky to have grown up in such a great community that really nurtured who I was and taught me to dream big, but appreciate the little things in life.  Home truly is and always will be where the heart is… and I was so humbled by the entire experience.  Thank you so much to Sister Karen and Christine who worked so hard to make this first event a HUGE success, they did a wonderful job – BRAVO to them! 

It's Contagious.

Have you ever met someone for the first time and knew you were in the presence of someone and something special? Well…when you do, it’s a pretty powerful moment. I met a bride for my show, “My Fair Wedding” this past week and she took my breath away. Her strength, positive outlook on life, and her passion for living in the moment is extremely powerful. There was a moment when looking at her that I began to cry, because she was radiant with that special something, that special feeling, the energy that is powerful. Kimberly was diagnosed at a young age with stage three breast cancer, has undergone a double mastectomy, and she elected to have her ovaries removed as she carried the cancer gene, and didn’t want to pass it on to her children. My bride is truly remarkable. I surprised her on my show with her Mom and Grandmother (also a breast cancer survivor) for a moment that was truly needed for her for her wedding. The experience of being with three generations of women that are connected to each other was contagious. The love they have for each other is indescribably powerful and I was honored to be in their presences, as their connection was infectious. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more of us shared with others the energy of Kimberly? It would be amazing if the only thing in life that was contagious was positive energy and love!

Down the Aisle in Style,

David Tutera

I am picking on you... yes YOU!

My heart is sad for children that have to deal with being picked on, made fun of, laughed at and bullied to where they feel they have to take their lives. I was a child of bullying in school and for me, as so many kids, we did the best to survive throughout our years in school. No child should always have to be in survivor mode! It is up to the adults to be aware of this, teach our children how to respect others, and care for them. I am grateful that I had the strength to hold on and crawl through these muddy and uncomfortable years where it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. I went to school officials, guidance counselors, and even my own teachers, but sadly, nothing was done…SHAME on them! Children need the support, protection, and guidance of adults. It is our role to teach, respect and show acceptance with compassion to everyone and never judge anyone for being anything other then perfect. All children are beautiful and perfect in my eyes….all children should be loved, and all children should be protected. Parents, I beg of you to listen, to not turn away if you see something or hear something and do not assume everything will be OK because many times it is not. When a child is bullied, it is like creating a scar in their heart, soul, and mind that is very hard to fully heal. Now I am picking on the adults reading this. I am urging adults to step it up and take responsibility….please! Treat our children with grace, love, and kindness so they in turn will do the same to one another. There’s a phrase I think about everyday “In loving kindness” – I think it says it all.

Down the Aisle in Style,

David Tutera