LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - May 2, 2013) - It is high season for the growing wedding industry -- the average wedding costs over $28,000 and is at its [ highest level since 2008 ].¹ With June being the [ most popular month for American weddings ],² bridal businesses are saying "I Do" to mobile apps and cloud services that help them plan the perfect event.

From using [ mobile apps ] to sign and fax contracts on the go, to a virtual phone service that can [ route calls ] from a business number to a cell, home or other phone, small business owners who specialize in event planning, including photographers, planners, coordinators and wedding officials, can manage the busy season while working on the go.

The popularity of spring and summer ceremonies means wedding planners are working harder to meet seasonal deadlines, and often times juggling tasks while working on the move. The betrothed can be notoriously finicky and experienced industry professionals know that a couple's desires can change in a heartbeat. 24/7 accessibility of the planner is crucial to pre wedding plans, so smart small bridal businesses are choosing cloud services and mobile apps such as [ eFax ]^® and [ eVoice ]^® in order to be productive and efficient while on the go. 

eFax is an [ online fax service ] that is ideal for small bridal businesses who need to securely send and receive documents that contain sensitive personal information, such as credit card number, home address, social security number, etc. Online fax comes in handy for transmitting event contracts or catering agreements, without a fax machine. A planner can confirm a song list or sign and send a contract via online fax from any iOS, Android or mobile device. All sent and received faxes are stored online, searchable by keyword, and available to view by date or content whenever and wherever needed.

[ eVoice ] is a virtual phone system that provides wedding planners with a business phone number that is seamlessly routed to up to five phones, including home, home office or cell. Callers are greeted by a recorded message with customized menu options. The small business phone system's Auto Attendant feature helps screen calls to ensure that important calls get immediate attention, while lower priority calls are sent to voicemail and addressed at a more convenient time. Calls sent to voicemail are transcribed into text and delivered via SMS or an email.

"As an event planner, wedding season means spring is one of the busiest times for me," says LaVerne Mathews, owner of That Special Touch Events. "The very nature of my job means I'm almost always on the go, and need to have a mobile office. I rely on eVoice's automated system and recorded greeting to give my business an extra professional polish, and also ensure all my calls get routed to me while I'm on the road. eVoice allows me to be seamless with my clients, and accessible at all times -- it really sets my business apart."

Click [ here ] to listen to a podcast interview about eVoice^® with LaVerne Mathews.

Here are four tips to help bridal industry professionals stay connected with clients while working on the go:

1. Save the Paper for the First Anniversary, Not the Wedding
Cumbersome paperwork can clutter any pre-wedding meeting. Rather than toting a stack of papers around to each planning session, retrieve documents as needed from an online archive. eFax^® stores all sent and received faxes and indexes them so you can pull them up by client, vendor, date, or any word in the document. Any file is available to you anywhere, any time.

2. Say "I Do" To Call Recording
From menus to flower arrangements to photo shots, there are a number of details that must be managed when planning the perfect wedding. eVoice's [ Call Recording ] feature helps capture important verbal details on the go -- without taking notes -- ensuring that nothing gets overlooked. Last minute changes and drama come with the territory for a wedding planner; keeping recorded calls on file helps keep misunderstandings and difficult conversations about expectations to a minimum.

3. Connect With That Special Someone
In addition to managing the needs of brides-to-be, wedding professionals are called upon to coordinate with other vendors and suppliers to get pricing quotes and date availability. eVoice helps ensure that mobile business professionals such as wedding planners don't miss important calls. Incoming calls to a business line can be automatically set up to route to an office, home or mobile phone number. And with eVoice's voicemail to text feature, messages are transcribed and delivered to a personal email inbox, for easy reading on the fly. No more straining to listen to voicemails in a quiet ceremony or noisy reception.

4. A Proposal in the Palm of Your Hand
Send proposals, invoices, and floor plan layout sketches by [ using a mobile device's camera ] to snap and fax a document, eliminating the need for a fax machine. Documents can be viewed, replied to, forwarded and saved online anytime. And, eFax's [ digitized signature ] feature enables documents to be signed with the touch of a fingertip in seconds flat.

About eVoice

[ eVoice ] is a brand and registered trademark of j2 Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ JCOM ]) and is online at [ www.evoice.com ]. The eVoice small business phone system empowers businesses to stay connected to customers anytime and anywhere, without the costs of an administrative staff or traditional phone system. eVoice offers a wide selection of local or toll-free numbers that can be answered on any mobile, home, or desk phone. Features include call screening, routing, and recording. It is the only phone service of its type to offer personalized U.S.-based VIP setup and support for new accounts.

About eFax

[ eFax ] is a brand and registered trademark of j2 Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ JCOM ]) and is online at [ www.efax.com ]. The eFax^® service provides local and toll-free fax numbers around the world. Faxes are sent and received by email, online, or via mobile app without the need for a fax machine. Features include fax archiving, digitized signatures, and large file sharing. With solutions for individual users, small business, and large enterprises, eFax^® is the global leader in online fax.

About j2 Global™

j2 Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: [ JCOM ]) provides Internet services through its two divisions: Business Cloud Services and Digital Media. The Business Cloud Services Division offers Internet fax, virtual phone, hosted email, email marketing, online backup, unified communications and CRM solutions. It markets its services principally under the brand names eFax^®, eVoice^®, FuseMail^®, Campaigner^®, KeepItSafe^® and Onebox^® and operates a messaging network spanning 49 countries on six continents. The Digital Media Division, created with j2 Global's November 2012 acquisition of Ziff Davis, Inc., offers trusted news and reviews of technology products on its web properties, which include PCMag.com, ExtremeTech.com, ComputerShopper.com, Toolbox.com and Geek.com. The Digital Media Division also operates BuyerBase^®, an advanced ad-targeting platform; LogicBuy.com, a leading provider of online deals; and Ziff Davis B2B, a leading provider of research to enterprise buyers and leads to IT vendors. As of December 31, 2012, j2 Global had achieved 16 consecutive fiscal years of revenue growth. For more information about j2 Global, please visit [ www.j2global.com ].

¹ According to the 2012 Real Weddings Study by TheKnot.com and The Wedding Channel. See [ http://blog.theknot.com/2013/03/07/average-wedding-cost-2013/ ] and [ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/theknot-com-weddingchannel-com-reveal-141000109.html;_ylt=AwrNUbBozzhRqEUALuDQtDMD ]

² According to the 2012 Real Weddings Study by TheKnot.com and The Wedding Channel. See [ http://blog.theknot.com/2013/03/07/average-wedding-cost-2013/ ] and [ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/theknot-com-weddingchannel-com-reveal-141000109.html;_ylt=AwrNUbBozzhRqEUALuDQtDMD ]