choosing the perfect wedding dress

Wedding dress shopping is an exciting yet potentially stressful experience. Here are some ideas to help you make your decision while trying to make the experience more joyful and less stressful.

FIRST THING….Set a Budget: Decide how much you can spend on your dress. This will help narrow down your options and avoid overspending.

1. Start Early: Begin your search several months ahead of your wedding date. This allows time for fittings, alterations, and potential delays which tend to take longer than you think.

2. Research Styles: Look through bridal magazines, websites, and social media for inspiration. Create a mood board or collection of styles you love.

3. Know Your Body Type: Understand what styles flatter your shape. When trying on dresses look for one that fits your body type best.

4. Consider the Venue and Theme: Your dress should complement the setting and overall theme of your wedding Sparks Museum and Event Center is a retro space and choosing a retro or vintage dress fits the theme perfectly.

5. Choose Comfort: Make sure you feel comfortable moving in the dress. Consider fabrics, weight, and fit—remember you'll be wearing it for many hours!

6. Less is more: Too many opinions can be overwhelming. Bring along a few trusted friends or family members who understand your style.

7. Try On Different Styles: Be open to trying styles you didn't think you'd like. You might be surprised by what looks great on you. Prichett Bridal in Orem,Ut is a great choice when trying on wedding dresses.

8. Don’t decide day one; If you start feeling overwhelmed, take a break. Step away, enjoy a meal, or go for a walk to clear your mind.

9. Trust Your Instincts: If you feel amazing in a dress, that's what matters most. Don’t overanalyze; trust how you feel.

and if you get stressed:

• Deep Breathing: Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or mindfulness, to help keep calm.

• Stay Hydrated and Nourished: Remember to drink water and eat healthy snacks to keep your energy up or throw in some milk duds sugar is always helpful in stress:)

• Talk About It: Share your feelings with someone. Sometimes just talking it out can reduce stress and provide clarity.

• Visualize the Day: Imagine how beautiful you will feel walking down the aisle in dress; this can create excitement rather than anxiety.

• Keep Perspective: Remember that this is just one part of your wedding day. Focus on the love and commitment that it symbolizes.

5 things to make your party unforgettable

When hosting a party for that loved one, significant other, friend, or co worker here are a list of 5 things to make it unforgettable.

1. Choose the right venue. Venues make all the difference and can make your night simpler or harder depending on what they offer you. Sparks Museum and Event Center is an example of a space that makes your night seamless as you do not have to decorate a things. Choosing a venue that has it all done takes the stress out of “what to do for the wow effect”.

2. Choose a venue that has the tables and chairs and will set them up for you such as Sparks Museum and Event Center. Having a space that you just tell how you want your set up and you show up with it all done saves you both time and money leaving you time to spend on other things.

3. Choose a venue that has an AV system such as Sparks Museum and Event Center. If they have this in place you can simple tie into the bluetooth and play your favorite chanel.

4. Choose a venue that has enough parking. No one wants to arrive and not have a place to park. Sparks Museum and Event Center has plenty.This may seem like a small detail but its the first thing you do when you arrive to the party and people remember if there is no place to park.

5. Choose a venue with plenty of bathrooms. Waiting in line for a bathroom is annoying and doesn't go over well after a period of time. Make sure your venue has enough bathrooms that you won’t see a line creeping up and worry about . Sparks Museum and Event Center has 13 to choose from.

These are just 5 ways you can make your party unforgettable. With these in place now you can focus on food, and fun and making it all about the person you threw it for!

corporate events love 0ur utah county space

We love hosting corporate events. Our vintage vibe allows for all kinds of options in the Corporate Event Planning. We are perfect for Christmas parties, employee of the month celebrations, lunch events, and so much more. We are the most unique space in Utah , located in Provo right by the airport we would make a great place for anyone flying in who wants to host a party. You may need a place for a speaking engagment, an auction, a charity event, a car show. Our retro space is build for Corporate events although we would make a beautiful backdrop for a wedding too. They sky is the limit here in Provo, Utah .

Union 76

This 8 foot porcelain sign is kind of a fluke. A picker / collector in Salem Oregon had this sign. I was headed to visit my sister in Oregon and knew about this picker and planned to stop and visit him and his collection. We had been up the coast through Northern California and then into Oregon. When visiting this picker I had bought some glass cylinders from him when he asked if I wanted to buy the Union 76 sign. I didn’t have the room for this but we made room. It sat at home for lots of years and then when we built the Event Center Museum we had the perfect place to hang it. So happy I bought it way back when as it is a beauty and perfect addition to the wall.

the sparks sign

This sign was made in 1965 to go on a 48 unit apartment building in Provo that Sparky and his father built. This sign was on there along with the name Roman Gardens. When the building was sold they kept the Sparks sign and hung it in the garage. We, of course had to add the sign (since it is our name) to the collection.

Western Auto

This sign also came from Gary Phillips who got it from an auction. This is the first company that started a franchise. They sold auto parts and sold them to others to sell. They were the supplier and years ahead of there time in the franchise idea. This also came from Indianola, Iowa.

amoco

This sign came from Indianola , Iowa from a Picker named Gary. Amoco was a Standard Oil company where they went from Standard to American to Amaco. They bought out UTOCO. All gas and oil is connected somewhere as it started with ONE and branched and sold and sold again which is why we get to have so many brands and beautiful signs displaying in our Musuem.

IMPERIAL

This sign came from Ozark , Missiouri which is about an hour from Joplin. We were driving through after buying signs in other areas and found this sign from picker named Chris Walters. He always has great signs and we have purchase many from him. We love the shape of this sign. It should have prices under the sign which we have but we like the look without so left it as is.

WhIPPET AND WILLYS-KNIGHT

This is an original sign we purchased of f of Ebay. We have had it many years and found the perfect space to place it in the museum. We like almost anything old and that has something to do oikWhippet and Willys Knight was and Antique car that was made in the 20s and 30s. We just liked the sign so bought it.

Chrysler Pymouth

Plymouth sign came from our friend and picker Chuck Dudley. It was a rough sign that we needed because of the colors and look. Again it is a sign we just like:)

A & W Rootbeer

In 1919 a young veteran named Roy Allen began a Root Beer stand in Lodi California. In 1922 he brought in a friend named Frank Wright and they opened another stand in Lodi. soon they leased their stands to others to operate and trademarked the new name of A & W from their names and went to Sacramento and began franchising A & W Restaurants. They pioneered restaurant franchising . Our A & W sign came from Helper Utah and is a reminder what a good idea plus hard work and ambition can do. The International franchise is huge!

the Hays gas Pump

We bought this from a friend in Joplin, Missouri who had it and couldn’t resist since we have never seen one in Utah before. We love this pump that stands out in front of our Steam Tractor collections.

How do we set our signs

Since we are in the business of “growing” signs we have it down to a science. First we pick the place that we want to “plant” the footing:) We then dig it and pour the cement and put in the rebar so our sign is nice and secure ! We don’t like shallow rooted signs, they need to withstand the stormy weather. Next we pick our pole, either one that has been collected or one that we have custom built (yes we do that too) Then the ring on top. Which ring for which sign. Pick the sign and ring and set the pole on the footing. Just like that our beautiful new sign on a pole has been grown into what we like to call our field of signs.

holy grail gas pump

Another of our “Holy Grail” items is the Canadian Clear Vision double head 700. Canada used Imperial Gallons which are bigger that American Gallons. One side of the pump is for regular gas and the other side for Ethyl, which today is Premium. these are extremely expensive and difficult to find gas pumps.

A friend in Joplin told Sparky the he had traded for the upper cast portion of a CV700 pump an dit was for sale. Sparky obviously bought it plus some of the parts that another friend had accumulated to go with it. It was lacking a lot of parts but had the beginnings. He found the cool nozzles in Indiana and the glass cylinders at the swap meet in Hershey, PA. He had the new skins made locally. Some of the smaller parts, [price glass, and a few details he found in Edmonton ,Canada. The owner refused to ship the parts so a road trip it was. Eventullay he had all the parts to restore it and put it on display next door at AAA Lakeside Storage until we build Sparks Museum and Event Center when he moved it inside. Red Indian is a Canadian gas brand and they were bought out by Texaco that that is why we have it in front of our Texaco collection.

the “fluted” gas pump

Every collector knows the Holy Grail of gas pumps is the Roman Column Pump. Sparky looked for a Roman column for years and never was able to find one he could afford. They sell for $20-$60k at auctions. One day a manager at the Lakeside Storage called to tell Sparky that a guy stopped by and the office and left a note asking if we would be interested in a “fluted” gas pump that he had.

Sparky knew exactly what “fluted” meant and immediately called the guy. He was from Nevada but was living in Springville and when he was a kid worked at the Stateline Service Station where they had the “fluted” gas pump for pumping Kerosene. The mans father had worked at the station and he assumed his dad had actually pumped his gas from the pump so he bought the pump from the sation ages before to restore it as a family memory. Later he found out that his dad actually had never pumped gas from it so he was ready to sell.

Sparky bought it at a fair price and hauled it home to paint and assemble parts. It lacked the glass cylinder which he replaced and restored it for our collection. The hose that is on it was a new old stock original hose he got from Max Egertson who used to own the Texaco Bulk Plant in Provo and he had a few hoses he gave Sparky that he had many years ago. The pump was sold to the Stateline Serviece Station and maintained by a SLC gas pump company.

Frontier, another “cool” Brand.

Frontier is another very cool brand. It began when the two partners in Colorados Bay Oil company couldn’t get along and divided assets. One went to a refinery in Cody Wyoming and started Frontier Oil in 1940. Their first contract was making 100 octane fuel for aircraft in the war. Sparks Museum and Event Center has one of the first signs for gas advertising they sold. It the 5 foot “Golden Cowboy” Frontier sign and is a sign Sparky restored by hand and is one of seven known to exist. Finding that sign is a super “Picker” story! He found it while sitting in Hawaii surprisingly. He son Tim was in Nebraska hunting geese so of course Sparky took the opportunity to hunt for a sign. He looked up the antique dealers in the area and began calling. No luck however, all bad news. In desperation he asked if they even knew anyone who had an old gas pump or sign. ONe of the girls said yes she did and gave Sparky the number. Amazingly the man had a Calso sign and agreed to sell it. Tim was able to meet up with the new contact, yippee. Tim took a short video of the Calso sing plus many others including the two big Frontier signs. I negotiated and was able to get the deal. Finding a way to get Tim the cash was another story but after jumping through hoops and being creative we got them. Sparky picked them up during a different trip as remember Tim was on a hunting trip, and he wasn’t “

oo7 anyone

Our cute little Bede 5 jet that hangs from the ceiling is one of about 300 that exist. It is the smallest jet in the world and is seen on James Bonds 1983 film “Octopussy “ flying thru a barn at 325 miles per hour.

Growing up in Los Angelas

The Hancock gasoline sign came as a reminder of when Sparky was a little boy growing up in Los Angelas. Sparky used to go to the LaBrea tar pits. Hancock Oil was from LaBrea.

Shell shell shell

The shell signs have come from all over including from Canada. Sparky bought Sehll gas in California as a kid but never knew it’s a European based Company till he started collecting signs. Shell changed the World of Petroleum while people were sleeping:) They invented and shared the means of deep water drilling which makes much more of our oil available today.

sparkys hamburger (Copy)

Sparky’s Hamburger sign came from a picker friend in Joplin who saw it while pickin and knew Sparky had to have it. He bought it for him and let him figure out where to put it. Thats the thing about making friends that are “pickers” they look out for each other when those friendships are made and stay in contact seeing how each other are doing. I as the daughter of Sparky have been in the car many times as he will call up a “picker” friend to just see how they are doing and how they are feeling. What is happening whats new and what is the recent hot item out in the collectors world of oil and gas.