My good buddy Shawn Smith of Optimal Web Works will if you help me vote for him in this contest and they win.  They also have a Facebook Fan Page for wedding ideas.  So, become a fan and suggest any great ideas you may have.

Here’s a quick video he’s made to help persuade you to vote.

When it comes to online marketing this is one of my best buddies. I always make it a point to talk to him and Sam, his business partner and another great friend, pretty often and exchange ideas.

Here’s a little background information on Shawn and Nikki.

Our love story.

People will tell you winning the lottery is impossible, but we’ve won it thousands of times -- in each of life’s small twists that led to our unlikely meeting. Never expecting romance, Nikki left Thailand for America, where she won the green card lottery and found a job in D.C. Meanwhile, I started working in a city I never expected to live. My new Ann Arbor roommate, who was her former co-worker, introduced us. Soon, we traded weekend flights until I convinced her I was worth her moving across the country -- and finally, settling halfway around the world.

Three important details about our Ultimate Wedding.

Because Nikki’s family lives in Thailand and many of our friends are scattered throughout the U.S, getting everyone together is important to us. We’d also like to add some Thai culture -- in particular, the Thai wedding parade. I’d lead the parade on an elephant. As food lovers, the menu is also important. We want to serve food from various cultures. Lastly, we want a bright, outdoor setting. We’d love to be married at Mt. Vernon or a similar location. If we can add a micro-brew or micro-wine tasting, that would be the icing on the cake.

Our everyday dream day.

We share a drive to travel, experience other cultures and share our lives with others. Our perfect everyday has us tasting new flavors, hugging new and old friends and learning together. If we’re at home, we’d enjoy cooking, hosting others and sharing our adventures. Any time we can be together and enrich our lives and those around us we’re happy.

I’ve always been an advocate of Customer Service.  It will propel your business above your competition.  Here’s a perfect example.  I just moved into a new place yesterday and unpacked all my crap.  I go to put my desk together and I’m missing a crucial piece.  I can’t find it anywhere and I moved storage places 3 times (long story).  So, I’m heated because its my computer desk and I loved it.

So I looked around online to see if I could find any replacement parts without any luck.  So I google their company name and find their website and 11pm I proceed to email Z-Line Designs customer service (the maker of my desk) and tell them I would like to order some replacement parts for my specific desk and that I would gladly pay for because I lost the parts.

I wake up this morning to find They offer to ship them to me for free, send me the assembly manual so I can give them the parts number and everything.  I promptly reply and not 30 minutes later I have a follow-up email telling me my parts will be shipped within 48 hours and to allow 7-10 days delivery time.

This kind of customer service cannot be beat!  I can guarantee that I am know a Z-Line Designs customer for life, regardless of price.

Plus, I found out they sponsor my favorite NASCAR driver, Kyle Busch’s, Nationwide series racecar!

This is arguably my most favorite time of the year. The next two weeks are going to be filled with me doing nothing but watching basketball.  I’ve attached a copy of my bracket below.

2009-March-Madness

My Final Four teams: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh and North Carolina.  From there I have Louisville and Pittsburgh playing in the championship game with Louisville winning 72-67.