Bridal Reflections hosts Galia Lahav Trunk Show

This past Wednesday, I got invited to a trunk show at Bridal Reflections 5th Ave that was showing the latest collection from Israeli bridal gown designer Galia Lahav.

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Galia Lahav designs are known for bold silhouettes, hand-made detailing and dramatically sexy backs.

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French lace and Italian silk partner for a dramatic yet comfortable style for brides looking for something new.

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The Israeli label is carried in only a handful of U.S. stores and doesn’t show at New York Bridal Market, so I was lucky to have the chance to see the breathtaking dresses at the Bridal Reflections.

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Special thanks to fabulous designer Sharon Sever for his amazing work and for taking the time to chat!

Martha Stewart Wedding Party 2014!

This past sunday, I was lucky enough to attend Martha Stewart’s annual wedding party!  This year, it was held in the extravagant and beautifully decorated Gotham Hall, NYC.

Gotham Hall Martha Party

Carveable Iceblock

Not your average ice sculpture, this one was carve-able, and branded by our very own Nadia D.!

There were a ton of amazing vendors, both new to the industry and seasoned veterans, all offering a wide variety of goodies and displays.

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Oysters from Oyster XO were shucked on site and served fresh to guests. Yum!

 

Dress from Gabriella Salon

Gabriella New York showed some fabulous dresses and headpieces.

 

Caviar Engagement Ring

My personal fave was Peter Callahan & Callahan Catering with these adorable caviar and cracker “engagement rings.”

Newlywish

NewlyWish was one of many newer startups in attendance.  This registry website, along with other companies like Josh Gelb’s Kleinfeld Name Change and Hitch Switch signify that newcomers are welcome and important in the bridal industry.  I was excited to see some newbies for the first time.

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This “Ask the Experts” panel included many known names within the industry such as Peter Callahan and fashion designer Amsale Aberra, as well as newcomer Kellee Khalil of Lover.ly.

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I was so thrilled about all of these startups–I even got to hang out with these four amazing ladies!  Here I am with Nearly Newlywed founder Jacqueline, How He Asked founder Stacy, Jessica, the Budget Savvy Bride, and Brittny,  Love Inc. Magazine founder.

Bridal Market Fall 2013 Recap: the Shows, the Parties, the Fun

This past week has been busy with tons of Fall 2013 Bridal Market events. I got to see the latest gown collections on the runways, spend time with our clients and make new friends in the bridal industry!

Theia Couture Pant Suit

After unveiling Della Giovanna‘s Fall 2014 Collection with our own fashion show, I got to take a back seat at some great bridal market shows. Our first was at Theia Couture where I really loved these wedding pants.

Wish Upon a Wedding Gala

I got to rock out with Joanne Barken, CEO of The Bach, at the gala hosted by the wonderful nonprofit organization, Wish Upon a Wedding.

Alfred Angelo

Wedding capes were a big trend at the shows we saw, including this sheer beauty from Alfred Angelo. Another trend was florals and, of course, the queen of floral Claire Pettibone did not disappoint:

Claire Pettibone Fall 2014 Collection

 

 

Ilana Stern, CEO of Weddington Way, at Watters

Our next show was by Watters, whose bridesmaid dresses are carried on Weddington Way. After the show, The Knot TV interviewed Weddington Way‘s CEO Ilana Stern about the trends.

Next, we headed to the New York International Bridal Week held at Pier 94, where Kirribilla debuted its adorable Little White Dress collection.Kirribilla

 

Bridal Market

Bridal market goes on around the clock, so at night we attended the fun Inspire Smart Success Magazine Party with our clients from The BachNadia D. Photography and Della Giovanna.

The culmination of Bridal Market week was the incredible galas hosted on the last night by Martha Stewart Weddings and The Knot magazines. For my appearance, I chose this gorgeous Fiore dress by Kirribilla, morganite earrings by Yael Designs and a stylish handbag by Ita Collection:

The Knot Wedding Gala

We started off the night with drinks at the Gallow Green and we even had a mini photo shoot styled by Nadia D Photography:

Martha Stewart Weddings Party

Founders of The Bach, Star Talent, Della Giovanna and Nadia D Photography with Sasha Vasilyuk of I Do PR


The 12th Annual Martha Stewart Weddings Bridal Fashion Week Party called “Starry Night” took place in the magazine’s offices, which were transformed into a lavish lounge with live entertainment, ice cream sandwiches, photo booths and other delights.

Martha Stewart Weddings Fall 2013 party

Sasha with Ilana Stern from Weddington Way, Phoebe Davison from Kirribilla, Vanessa from Weddington Way and Nadia of Nadia D. Photography

 

Martha Stewart Wedding Gala

We spotted a few brilliant bridal bloggers! Elizabeth Muhmood Kane of Bridal Musings, Anne Chertoff and Jessica Bishop from The Budget Savvy Bride posed for a pic.

 

Martha Stewart Weddings Party

Jacqueline Courtney from Nearly Newly Wed and Thea Bloch-Neal from Hushed Commotion looked great in their headbands.

We then hopped over across town to The Knot Wedding Gala at the New York Public Library:

The Knot Wedding Gala

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And of course I got to dance with two of The Knot‘s gorgeous editors, Sam and Heather.

The Knot Wedding Gala Nadia D. Photography and Sasha Vasilyuk

It was a great night and a perfect way to end bridal market!

 

Spring 2013 Bridal Week Rocks New York

bridal week spring 2013

For us, Bridal Week is one of the most exciting times of the year as we get to attend top bridal designers’ fashion shows, meet new vendors and old luminaries at bridal trade shows and hang out with our favorite bridal magazine editors.

Here is an inside look at the highlights of our experience at the Spring Bridal Week 2013 in New York:

Monique Lhuillier takes a bow after Spring 2014 Bridal Collection fashion show

Attending Monique Lhuillier’s fashion show was so exciting! As I sat among the editors of Inside Weddings and The Knot, I watched the models flow down the runway in the most beautiful gowns from her Spring 2014 collection. The photo above features Monique taking a well-deserved bow, for her dresses were so elegant, chic and romantic that it’s no wonder they’re a coveted item on every bride’s list.

Monique Lhuillier Spring 2014 collection

Check out Monique Lhuillier’s Spring 2014 Collection.

Sasha Vasilyuk with Vanessa Motley and Ilana Stern, founders of Weddington Way.(Sasha Vasilyuk, Vanessa Motley, Ilana Stern)        Theia runway at Bridal Week Spring 2013

Attending Theia’s fashion show to preview Theia’s White Collection for Spring 2014 was another highlight of Bridal Week. This was a much more intimate experience as only about 30 guests – most of them editors we work with on a daily basis – are allowed for previews. I attended the show with Ilana and Vanessa from Weddington Way and was one of the few lucky guests who didn’t have to snap pictures while taking notes while tweeting. Phew, I don’t know how they do it!

 

Another highlight was meeting Randy Fenoli of Say Yes to the Dress at the New York International Bridal Week trade show. I knew I had perfected my Bridal Week look when I noticed we were matching in the same shade of purple!

 

Sasha Vasilyuk and Randy Fenoli from Say Yes to the Dress

After meeting Randy, a couple of brands caught my eye at the trade show:

Sarah Oliver handbags

The photo above features Sarah Oliver, the woman behind these beautiful handbags. This was Sarah’s first bridal market as she just launched her bridal collection, featuring hand-knit purses made with sparkling yarn and beautiful designs perfect for brides and bridesmaids. And they have a unique story behind their creation as they’re made by seniors from one of elderly homes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

chromatic shoe at NY Bridal Week Spring 2013

(Source: Glamour)

I couldn’t help but notice the vibrant colors and cool designs of the Chromatic gallerie shoes featured at the trade show. These shoes comes in all kinds of colors and styles, so I think they will do very well with bridesmaids.

 

Kirribilla dress

Although Bridal Week is an endless sea of white, we cannot forget about our best friend: the little black dress. In the photo above, I am wearing Blythe dress in black from Kirribilla’s Fall 2013 collection. This dress got so many compliments during bridal market week that I was considering keeping it in New York 🙂 If you’re looking for the perfect LBD, check out the adorable dresses from Kirribilla!

Nadia D, Weddington Way, Black Bride

(Vanessa Motley, Charanna Alexander, Nadia D, Sasha Vasilyuk, Ilana Stern)

The bridal market week is so hectic that it was nice to let loose with my favorite ladies: (left to right) Vanessa Motley, who heads marketing for Weddington Way; Charanna Alexander, editor of Black Bride; Nadia of Nadia D Photography; me; and Ilana Stern, the founder of Weddington Way.

Bridal Week Spring 2013 was one of the most intense and fun weeks in my career. While my schedule was filled to capacity with meetings, events and shows, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Looking forward to Bridal Week Round 2 in October!

Martha Stewart’s Wedding Party, New York

Being based in New York City means having access to incredible bridal shows like the recent Martha Stewart’s Wedding Party, hosted at Gotham Hall by Martha Stewart Weddings magazine and Wedding Library in late January.

Martha Stewart's Wedding Party, New YorkThe highlight for me was meeting Style Me Pretty founder Abby Larson, who has already been collaborating with our client Weddington Way, editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings Darcy Miller, and blogger and wedding stylist Jackie Weppner, who runs Merci New York.

After an interesting discussion by these industry luminaries on wedding details and etiquette, I really enjoyed a bit of perspective on the big day from the queen of cakes Sylvia Weinstock who said, “The ultimate wedding tip I can give is that it’s not about the party, it’s about who you marry.” Ms. Weinstock just celebrated her 64th wedding anniversary. So I’d definitely trust her on that 🙂

Sylvia Weinstock cake designer

 

We also enjoyed meeting the crew behind Kleinfeld Paper, a recently launched line of wedding stationery:

Kleinfeld Paper wedding invitations

Fueling the party was an overwhelming amount of desserts (it is Martha Stewart, after all…). Taking the cake, if you will, were creative, tasty and gorgeous looking cookies by New York-based One Girl Cookies and Eleni’s:

One Girl CookiesEleni's Cookies

 

I also came across the wedding scrapbook of Darcy Miller, which had an adorable section about the state of the world on the day of her wedding. It included a newspaper clipping from that day as well as facts from who was the president to fashion fads of the time. What a cute idea to capture that slice of time, right?

Darcy Miller wedding scrapbookDarcy Miller wedding scrapbook

Lovesick Expo rocks New York wedding scene

Lovesick Expo vendorsThere is perhaps no better way to start off our company’s move to New York City than by attending a local wedding show. Especially if it’s The Lovesick Expo, a unique wedding showcase held in the heart of hipster-land Williamsburg.

Held for the 3rd year in a row, the Lovesick Expo bills itself as “an elite array of local talent, unique wedding ideas, hand-crafted, and eco-friendly goods, appealing to indie-minded couples.”

And I’d say it certainly lives up to its reputation. Compared to traditional wedding shows, Lovesick Expo was a well-curated intimate event for couples that have a unique sense of style and want to find wedding vendors to match their vision. We met a lot of unique vendors, some based right around the corner, others visiting all the way from Philadelphia.

I met our friends from Bonobos who launched a unique partnership with Weddington Way to help rescue the bridal party from the fashion gutter.

Bonobos partners with Weddington Way

There were many florists at the show, but we especially liked this display by Foxglove, Brooklyn-based floral design studio that specializes in locally sourced flowers (including those from New York state!)

Eco-friendly florist Lovesick

Another Brooklyn-based floral designer who stood out was Jen Hyde from Off Cut Brooklyn, a true craft artist who works not only with flowers but also makes ties!

Although, as in all wedding shows, there was a large percentage of New York photographers, the one that stood out from the crowd was Brae Howard Photography because of her unique DIY booth display. Brae explained that she printed out her work on sheets of cotton using SpoonFlower.com and pinned them onto a large burlap sheet. Unique wedding photographer booth

We also met the folks from the Green Bride Guide, whose business card was attached to a plantable wildflower heart that’s one of the wedding favors they carry, and tried delicious duck appetizer from Betty Brooklyn Catering Company.Betty Brooklyn Catering

But the biggest surprise was meeting Vinny DePonto, a Brooklyn-based magician! Heading his cleverly-named company Now You See Him, Vinny travels around the country entertaining wedding guests with fun, non-kitschy magic tricks. For the right wedding, I think it’s a really fun idea!

Wedding magician

All in all, Lovesick Expo’s quirky, stylish vendor showcase was a delightful way to celebrate I Do PR’s move to New York City’s. We’re very excited to attend more interesting shows and discover other talented New York wedding vendors.

Trés chic: wedding shopping in Paris!

Paris’ double status as the world’s fashion capital and the planet’s most romantic city means brides can count on absolutely amazing wedding shopping! From sleek gowns by Chanel to tiny flower stores with sweet-smelling to unique perfume shops to mouth-watering desserts to sparkling jewelry, this city’s charm will have you saying I Do on almost every corner.

At least, I found it completely irrésistible!

For brides still looking for “the one,” nothing is quite like walking the high fashion Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, full of exclusive wedding dress boutiques:

The highlight of Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré is the gorgeous Chanel store:

Turning onto Place Vendome, I found this perfume shop, which sells several dozen of artisanal perfumes. I love the idea of having a unique smell for your special day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the left side of Paris, I found this adorable flower shop on my way to the Luxemburg Gardens. Besides selling roses of every color imaginable, it also sells rose jam, rose tea, rose candles… well, rose everything.

See what else we’ve spotted aroudn the globe on our World Wide Weddings Pinterest board.

The Lab Creates Unique Wedding Event in Sonoma

Earlier this year the I Do PR team along with some of our clients attended The Lab, a unique wedding show at Cline Cellars in Sonoma, CA created by the talented ladies from Engaged & Inspired , Bustle, and Floral Theory.

Instead of traditional wedding show vendor booths with pushy salespeople, The Lab offered a sophisticated party atmosphere filled with inspiration boards that were brought to life by select Northern California wedding professionals, a vendor resource library, a runway show and of course snacks, wine and desserts (I’m still not over those Batter Bakery lavender cookies…)

Runway at The Lab wedding event in Sonoma

I loved how The Lab involved its audience way before the actual event, held in January, by asking people to vote for the best inspiration boards that they would want to be brought to life. As inspiration boards were the heart and soul of the event, here are three of our favorites:

The Lab wedding inspiration board

I just loved the bold colors of this tented tablescape – made me feel like I’m inside a romantic Prince of Arabia storybook!

The Lab wedding tablescape Burned Marshmallow

This “Burned Marshmallow” tablescape was brought to life by our good friend Emily Dreblow from Soulflower. The muted color palette looked amazing with the Cline Cellars backdrop. And how fun is that branch lantern??

Pink tablescape at The Lab wedding show

This pink, girly, raspberry tablescape makes me want to get married again and again! It speaks of a peak of summer and would look incredible in a garden or winery somewhere in, say, South of France. Ok, now I’m drooling…

My one criticism of the event would be that it was hard to see who were the vendors responsible for creating the tablescapes. There was a small sheet posted next to each table, but it was small and hard to see in the moody lighting. But despite that, we hear wedding vendors received a lot of bookings from the event, which is great to hear!

Trail mix bar at The Lab wedding event

Very Merry Events ladies check out the Trail Mix Bar at The Lab

I had a great time driving up to Sonoma for The Lab and can’t wait for next year’s event – I know it will be even more fabulous (if that’s at all possible)!

Great Advice from Bride about Planning a Destination Wedding

Recently, Destination I Do magazine featured a destination wedding of Vika + Igor, photographed by none other than the talented Choco Studio. The wedding took place in Riviera Maya, Mexico last year.

Barcelo Maya Resort Wedding

The bride gave a lot of great tips on how she was able to pull off a wedding of her dreams. Here are some of my faves:

Riviera Maya weddingTip #1 – use a travel consultant to make travel easier for guests

The couple hired a travel consultant who got the couple and their guests a group rate. Guests emailed their travel confirmations to the consultant who then created an itinerary of arrivals for Vika. This way the couple knew about the safe arrival of their guests without having to organize dozens of flights themselves.

Tip #2 – hire a wedding coordinator

The bride said she helped by staying on top of things, getting local wedding favors and keeping all the information the couple needed organized.

Tip #3 – incorporate travel into the wedding experience

Vika sent guests pre-travel packets with customized luggage tags, brochures and a wedding itinerary. Once everyone arrived, they received an “out of town bag” with personal labels and the couple’s wedding logo. The bags included a hangover kit, first aid kit and beach kit.

 Riviera Maya wedding

You can see more photos and read the rest of the bride’s tips on Destination I Do.

 

Best wedding photographers honored by ISPWP

The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers, or ISPWP, just published the winners of its Wedding Photography Contest, where the work of the best photographers in the world is honored. Check out the amazingly creative wedding photography.

One of the judges was Mike Peyzner, the founder and CEO of wedding photography studio Choco Studio. This prestigious job was the result of Choco’s amazing work, long involvement with the ISPWP and the recognition they have received from many important publications.

Here are a few of my favorites:

WEDDING DETAILS
Caroline Robert | Sweet Caroline Photo | Austin, TexasWEDDING DETAILS

BRIDE AND GROOM PORTRAIT
Ekaterina Mukhina | Purlita | Moscow, Russia

BRIDE AND GROOM PORTRAIT

HUMOR
Daniele Del Castillo | Del Castillo Photography | Milan, Italy

HUMOR