Bridal Market Week in NYC

A few weeks following Fall Fashion week comes Bridal Market Week. Top wedding industry professionals gather to attend fashion shows, dinner parties, and cocktail parties. And you know, we're in an industry of planning wonderful events so you can imagine the ones we throw for ourselves. Anyhow I thought I'd share a few pictures from this past week.

Marcey Brownstein Catering presents "The Bounty of New York"

It was a complete honor to be a guest at this dinner with truly the wedding world's best! Shira, the Real Weddings Editor from Martha Stewart's Blog sums it up best in her entry "Fall Fete" where Daughter of Design gets a little mention woohoo! Here are a few more pictures:

Isn't this place SICK! I mean, on top of this view (pun intended) it was warmest night in October and simply one of the most magical places to be in New York City: 620 Loft & Garden

Brooklyn Bride, Daughter of Design, Amy Atlas, 100LayerCake, Martha Stewart Weddings

BORROW THIS IDEA: I loved Marcey's escort card roulette. All the cards were turned face down and when you picked it up you saw your seating arrangement. This solves the issue of anyone being upset they weren't sat next to such and such or weren't at the good part of the room. I have to say lady luck was on my side and I sat next to Marcy Blum, One Girl Cookie, Xochitl from Always a Bridesmaid and Sarah True of True Events. The fun continued during dinner when our entrees were removed underneath some had another piece of paper with a new number so you had an opportunity to sit next to a group of new amazing people. I wouldn't suggest this for a wedding but maybe a small rehearsal dinner it could be a fun idea.

Special thanks to Roey Yohai Photography for all the amazing pictures from the Brownstein dinner event!

Martha Stewart 15th Anniversary Party at The Plaza, NYC

It's unanimous. This was THE event of the week if not the year. It was a thousand of not just the city's but the world's top planners, photographers, designers, etc. It's one of those times when an awful thought like what would happen to the wedding world if this room blew up, I know morbid sorry but that's how impressive the crowd was. Here are a few pictures:

Me and Rebecca Taylor from Ron Ben-Israel Cakes

Ariane from twobirds bridesmaids, me, Gabriella from Gabriella NYC

Monique Lhullier Fashion Show

Romantic, fashion forward, contemporary, soft...

Anne Bowen Fashion Show

She's baaaack~ and making a splash!


You can see the entire show at: http://www.openeyedocumentary.com/anne_bowen/

Before and After!

Not every event has the luxury of a million dollar budget or anywhere near that especially in times like these. On several occasions we've worked with clients who have "champagne tastes on beer budgets" but no matter we always do our best to come up with creative and smart ways to stretch that penny. Here are a couple of before and after pictures of rooms where we really used our brains, resources, and two hands!

A college faculty lounge

Before:

After:
Before:
okay you caught me, really after the after during breakdown but you get the idea!

After:
HELPFUL TIP: Lighting and table cloths, lighting and tablecloths - these items make the most impact in a room. I'm no financial advisor but I do know this, invest in decorations that visually take up the most surface area and which cost the least per square inch if you think about it.

A backyard tent

Before:After:
BORROW THIS IDEA: In the same idea of going for the items that cover the biggest surface, we chose a colored astroturf over the standard black to add to the room decor. Also the very affordable pink napkins ($0.60 each) helped to bring a pop of color to the tables as do the very economical paper lanterns. Also we had a few extra table cloths so we turned them into curtains - aren't we resourceful :). I felt like Scarlett O'Hara but opposite. In some cases we'll even get cheap yards of fabric and pin them directly over unappealing existing curtains. Oh I spoiled the next case!

A mess hall

Before:

After:
BORROW THIS IDEA: We pinned $1/yard red fabric over the not-so-wonderful-print curtains. The venue liked it so much that they asked if we could leave it up. We were thrilled we didn't have to climb the ladders and unpin them :)

HELPFUL TIP: Before you borrow this idea, make sure your venue is cool with you pinning into their curtains.

Buck Wedding Dress Sale - 10/21/09, NYC

One of my lovely staffers, Yena, forwarded this onto me so now me to you:

10/21 Wedding gowns and bridal accessories from Monique Lhuillier, Ulla Maier, Jenny Yoo, Peter Langner, and more are deeply discounted at the Housing Works Bride on a Buck Wedding Dress Sale. A Monique Lhuillier gown is $1,500 (originally $6,200) and veils are $250 (originally $1,000). Other bridal vendors, like the Cake Diva and Adorn Brides, will also be attending. Housing Works Gramercy Thrift Shop, 157 E. 23rd St., nr. Lexington Ave. (773-454-2865); 10–7.

Swank Sample Sale