Charles Lauren Films: The Blog

We had a great time, thanks to Amirah for inviting us!

R-Mine Bridal Marchesa Collection from Charles Lauren Films on Vimeo.

R-Mine Bridal is a wonderful company and their party in November was insane! There was so much to see and so much to do, this one will be just as informative! rsvp: events@rminebridal.com

All of this is so true, you should definitely read this article.

Health care, education and financial services–if you’re looking for work in the coming decades, these are the fields to get into.

What to avoid? The usual suspects. According to the projections by the U.S. government, manufacturing jobs are expected to decline by more than 5% by 2014 as production moves overseas. Same goes for textile workers, such as sewing machine operators, who will see a 36% drop in employment. Technology will kill off more office positions, such as file clerks. They’ll see a 36% drop in their ranks by 2014. Digital cameras will zap the manual photo processing industry by about 30%. And that guy who comes around to read your electric meter? Expect to see a lot less of him, too.

But these are the obvious victims as the U.S. moves from a goods-producing economy to a services-producing economy. More interesting are the jobs that are likely to experience slower than average growth (average being about 13%). This is where the surprises are.

In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century

Like computer programmers. Despite all the advances–and expected job growth–in the computer industry, expect the number of programmers to increase by about 2% between 2004-2014. Why? Outsourcing. Americans who want a career in this field should find a specialization, like cybersecurity.

Another endangered species: journalists. Despite the proliferation of media outlets, newspapers, where the bulk of U.S. reporters work, will cut costs and jobs as the Internet replaces print. While current events will always need to be covered (we hope), the number of reporting positions is expected to grow by just 5% in the coming decade, the Labor Department says. Most jobs will be in small (read: low-paying) markets.

Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn’t seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius–which now have plans to merge–have regularly operated in the red.

Anyone who regularly books their flights online can tell you why the travel agent business is in jeopardy. So here’s a surprise: The Department of Labor only predicts a 6% drop in travel agent jobs by 2014. The demand for luxury and specialty travel, and increased spending on tourism, will buoy the industry somewhat. If you do plan to be a travel agent, best to find a niche field or specialize in specific-destination trips. Travel agents might also find success in organizing groups of foreign visitors to their home markets. But remember, the travel industry is highly connected to swings in economic conditions.

Worse off? Federal employees and their amazing benefits. Washington employs nearly 2 million people, not including the military, making it the country’s largest employer. After Sept. 11, 2001, it expanded significantly due to homeland security needs. But those days may be coming to an end. By 2014, federal government jobs–excluding the Postal Service– will only have increased by about 1.6% above 2004 levels due to the transfer of some jobs to state and local governments and the increased use of private contracting companies. Don’t believe it? A report compiled by a House of Representatives panel earlier this year found that government spending on contracts rose by 103% between 2000 and 2005.

Should you be discouraged if a career you pinned your hopes on is not expected to grow? Not at all, says Anthony Spadafore, director of Pathfinders, a career counseling company in Alexandria, Va. He says that if people pursue their fields that play to their talents, they’ll be able to compete for the top jobs where competition is fierce, even if the industry is diminishing.

“The idea of shrinking and hot fields, we think it’s sort of a rudimentary way of looking at things,” Spadafore says. “Believe it or not, there’s still a need for bank tellers.”

In Pictures: The Worst Jobs For The 21st Century

Want more info? The Department of Labor has some excellent information, including the bi-annual Occupational Outlook Handbook, which includes career descriptions, salary information, employment projections and working conditions for hundreds of jobs. (The next version is due out early next year.) Another good resource is the Occupational Outlook Quarterly, which profiles specific careers. Last year, the publication issued an entire volume related to growth projections.

If you look closely at the right side edge, you can see us at the roundtable! heheheheh

We love Stephanie Grace, she is has a wedding planning and florist company that used to be in Pasadena. Now she has moved to a storefront on Montana in Santa Monica! We always had the booth across from hers at bridal shows, so we got to know her very well over the years. If you are ever on that side of town, she has lots of other great home decor items that aren’t even wedding related!

Here is the Stephanie Grace web site!

How many of you are waiting to see what Apple does with the mystical iTablet tomorrow? It is the end of all printed media? Is it just a portable TV to watch more wedding videos? Who knows!

Here is a nice article about it!

It was a blessing to get to know Rory and Angela. They were a referral from another of our just gorgeous couples, Joanne and Andrew from a few years ago. After getting ready, their ceremony took place at the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Pomona – which was just huge! It is a classic church with creaky wooden floors, perfect stained glass and great acoustics. Then we moved to a modern reception venue to hold the gigantic crowd – the Diamond Bar Center! Rory and his guys playing football was classic, as well as how much Angela’s bridesmaids care for her!

Enjoy!

Rory and Angela // Pomona + Diamond Bar Highlights from Charles Lauren Films on Vimeo.

Details Concerning the Rain In Los Angeles from Charles Lauren Films on Vimeo.

Kelsey and I went out to breakfast today and stopped by to see some Pelicans sitting around!