Monday, November 28, 2011

Bridal Bonanza!

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending my first ever bridal show!  I’ve always steered clear of Bridal Expo type events because they always seemed a little ghetto to me, but when I was invited to attend “I Do! An Event for the Stylish Bride,” at the Langham Huntington, I knew it was going to be nothing but chic, high-end vendors with some really fabulous ideas.

“Sensory Overload” does not even begin to describe the event.  There are literally dozens of enthusiastic, newly engaged ladies in the building—usually escorted by their mothers or a female friend. Or two. Or seven. And I was no exception.  Blessed with a handful of free tickets, I brought my mom, future MIL, and two of my bridesmaids Candice and Lauren.  I did see the occasional groom, and felt terrible for him when I did.  Lucky for Marc, he got to enjoy a Bloody Mary in the hotel bar and watch the Packers game.

The great thing about these shows is that you get to chat with vendors without any pressure to book anything, taste cake samples, get ideas on flowers/lighting/linens/etc., see Amazonian women model bridal gowns (seriously, I thought they were on stilts), taste cake samples, pick up a whole a bunch of cool shwag/freebies, and did I mention taste wedding cake samples?!

I have to admit that I have always LOVED weddings and even before getting engaged, I always picked up the latest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings and perused the pages for the latest and greatest in wedding design!  A lot of what I saw was nothing new to me, but I still wanted to share a few of the things that I loved or thought were interesting, whether or not they make it to my own wedding.

1.  Hats!  I absolutely LOVED these tiny hats.  If I only had the guts to incorporate them into my wedding, I’d do it in a heartbeat!




2.  Gastronomic desserts!  Looks like egg yolk, but these were actually lychee spheres (spherification: the culinary process of shaping a liquid into spheres which visually and texturally resemble caviar).  Slide one into your mouth and the sphere pops releasing a lychee essence. It’s not for everyone, but the foodie in me certainly loved it!




3.  Bringing the outdoors in!  Although manzanita branches have been incorporated into weddings for several years now, what really inspired me about this set up was that it made me feel like I was in a Winter Wonderland.  The Royal Wedding brought trees inside as decor, and it really brought a beautiful and grandiose natural element to the event!





4.  Luxury invites!  These invitations were used in RHOBH Lisa Vanderpump’s daughter’s wedding this past summer, and revealed on the show that they were $150/piece!  Clearly, I will not have such fancy invitations, but I can still appreciate how beautiful and over the top they were!  I can’t even begin to think what the postage must have been to send those invites!




5.  Groom’s Valet.  All I got from the vendor was that they “cater to the Groom’s needs.”  I have no idea what that even means and am not even going to start.


6.  Mmmmmmm....cake samples......






And just a few other fun pics from the day:


Amazonian Brides

Gorgeous tablescape with petal pillows!
 
 Another gorgeous tablescape! Love the texture!

Overall, I would definitely say that we had a successful day.  Despite the traffic and pouring rain, I came away from the bridal show with a couple good ideas, and had the chance to spend the day with some of my favorite women.

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