Weddington Way Launches Spring 2014 Collection

Fashionable, affordable, returnable — leading online bridesmaid dress boutique Weddington Way debuted an innovative line of bridesmaid dresses!  The Weddington Way Collection is the company’s first foray into private fashion labels, so they wanted to make a big splash around the line’s launch.

 

Six Styles of Weddington Way dresses

 

We worked with Weddington Way and our other client Nadia D Photography to stage a beautiful editorial shoot in San Francisco to show off the new collection.

Weddington Way Collection by Nadia D Photography

 

Martha Stewart Weddings was the first to offer a sneak preview of the collection on its Instagram feed. Then, we released the news of Weddington Way’s new collection to all major bridal press.  Here are a few of our favorite press hits:

Brides

Brides raves about the stylishness of the dresses, calling this a collection of “dresses that your girls really will want to wear again after the wedding.”

 

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Glamour Weddings loves the pockets, and “the best part is, unlike most bridesmaid dresses, they ship immediately–meaning you don’t have to wait six to eight weeks for your dress to roll in.”

 

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California Wedding Day comments on the great versatility of the collection, stating, “Every style is available in the same colors, making it easy to find a dress that flatters everyone in your bridal party.”

 

Style Bistro on Weddington Way

Style Bistro loves the style of the dresses themselves, as “each made of gloriously unfussy faille in colors such as coral, mint and tuxedo grey.”

 

Ultimate Bridesmaid

Ultimate Bridesmaid loves the returnable nature of the site, “that’s right ladies, you can order without fear and return or exchange if the style doesn’t impress.”

Best Press Hits of 2013

As 2013 comes to a close, we are looking back at some of our favorite and most exciting client placements of the year.

The New York Times featured Weddington Way in an article on the new trends in bridesmaid dresses:

Weddington Way featured in The New York times June 2013

 

A gorgeous gown by up-and-coming designer Della Giovanna was featured in a fashion spread in the December 2013/January 2014 issue of  Brides:

Della Giovanna featured in Brides

 

The Winter 2013 issue of The Knot featured this ombre invitation by Weddingstar:

The Knot features Weddingstar

We were so excited to see one of our newest clients, The Bach, sharing bachelorette party tips with Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine:

The Bach in Destination Weddings & Honeymoons

 

Town & Country featured Lucky Sixpence Cards from Benign Objects:

Town & Country Weddings features Benign Objects

 

The San Francisco engagement shoot by Choco Studio was featured in this beautiful spread in Engagement 101 magazine:

Golden Gate Park Engagement Session Photographer Featured

 

Martha Stewart Weddings featured the grey Dahlia dress by Kirribilla in its Fall 2013 issue:

Martha Stewart features Kirribilla

 

The September/October 2013 Issue of Bridal Guide included this real wedding photographed by Nadia D. Photography

Bridalguide features photography by Nadia D

 

Premier New York music and entertainment company Star Talent Inc. shared first dance song advice with Glamour.

Glamour Weddings featured Star Talent Inc

 

The dazzling yellow diamond ring by Yael Designs was featured in Inside Weddings Fall 2013 issue:

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I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Last week, I flew to San Francisco to visit several of our clients before the engagement season heats up. The city, which is my hometown and the previous headquarters of I Do PR, greeted me in its full glory with amazing sunny skies and balmy temperatures (a welcome sight after a few freezing days in New York)

San Francisco

The main reason for my visit was to help celebrate the Grand Opening of Yael Designs new showroom in San Francisco’s Union Square, located across the street from boutiques by Alexander McQueen and Paul Smith, and inside the famed art gallery building at 49 Geary St.

Yael Designs San Francisco jewelry showroom

Before the party, I got to play with some new cocktail rings – working with a jewelry design brand definitely has its perks! 🙂

Photo Dec 02, 2 04 30 PM

Yael Designs grand opening party was part of First Thursdays – an open art gallery night at 49 Geary St. While several new collections were presented in cases, these two gorgeous ladies wore pieces from Yael Designs’ latest Serendipity Collection of emerald slice jewelry

Photo Dec 05, 5 22 42 PM

The evening festivities brougth out San Francisco’s jewelry and art patrons and it was a full house!

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But what was most incredible is that Yael Designs’ CEO Yehouda Saketkhou had his first daughter that morning!! While he deliberated on whether he can even make it to the grand opening, I was so happy his wife was gracious enough to let him leave her and the newborn baby to attend the event. Here we are with Yehouda on the best day of his life:

Photo Dec 05, 6 24 17 PM

San Francisco, where I Do PR was headquartered until 2012, is also home to some of our other clients. First, I made a stop at the new showroom of online bridal party fashion boutique Weddington Way just north of Union Square. The spacious showroom and rows upon rows of colorful, stylish bridesmaid dresses were hard to leave behind…

Weddington Way

But I had to rush off to the adorable Cafe de la Presse for lunch with Phoebe Davison, the founder of San Francisco-based dress designer Kirribilla. So glad I got to catch her just two weeks before she gets hitched this Xmas!

Kirribilla

I was great to visit my hometown of San Francisco and spend time with our clients!

I left my heart in San Francisco

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs for Brides.com

Who better to give wedding advice than a bride who works in the wedding industry? Well, that’s exactly what Brides thought when the online arm of the venerable CondeNast title introduced CEO of Weddington Way Ilana Stern as its featured guest blogger.

Over the past two months, Ilana has shared the ins and outs of planning her Southern California wedding while giving advice to other brides planning their nuptials.

Ilana Stern Guest Blogs on Brides

Ilana starts off the blog series by sharing her engagement story and how she and her fiance started their planning process.

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way guest blogs on Brides

She also shared her experience of picking out her wedding planner, Allyson Levine of Bob Gail Special Events, and advice on selecting a venue.

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs for Brides

For another Brides.com blog post, Ilana wrote about proposing to her bridesmaids, where she made custom champagne labels that said “Will you be my bridesmaid?” and had them delivered them to her bridesmaids across the world, as far as Dubai and Peru!

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs for Brides

This is one of Ilana and Jeff’s many adorable engagement shoot photos by the hugely talented Erich McVey (who is literally everywhere these days)! They had so much fun and Ilana tells Brides readers why an e-shoot is a good idea.

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs for Brides

After her dress shopping experience, Ilana provides brides with four important tips for searching for their perfect gown: be honest, bring trusted advisors, drink champagne and look at the dress in natural light.

 Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs for Brides

As the founder of Weddington Way, it’s only natural that Ilana let her bridesmaids get involved with picking out their dresses or, in her case, helping design their own personalized Watters gowns!

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs for Brides

Ilana and Jeff let their fun-loving personalities show through with their custom save the dates. They even had a separate version for their friends.

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs for Brides

Mini Spanish grilled cheese sandwiches, pesto and tomato crostini, brick oven pizza, blood orange margaritas and ice cream sandwiches! Ilana dishes to Brides.com readers on the yummiest part of wedding planning and how to personalize their menu.

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs on Brides

After months and months of wedding planning, everyone deserves a relaxing and fun bachelorette party! The company, details, dream location, agenda, the unexpected, and the fun all play into the fun and relaxing feel.

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest Blogs for Brides

The week before the wedding could be stressful, but Ilana made it the most amazing wedding week with four helpful tips!

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way Guest blogs on Brides

Ilana finishes off her guest blog series for Brides.com with her unconventional rehearsal dinner turned cocktail party! Now we can’t wait to see her big day featured in the February issue of Brides magazine!

Google Hangout: How to be the Best Bride-Bridesmaid Duo

Today, two of our clients, Ilana Stern, CEO of online boutique for bridesmaid dresses Weddington Way and Joanne Barken, founder of the first platform for planning bachelorette parties The Bach, joined Cathleya Geefay, Editor in Chief of Weddingbee, Xochilt Gonzales, event designer at A.a.B. Creates, and wedding editor Anne Chertoff for the weekly Google Hangout “From I Will to I Do.”

The wedding pros discussed some of the major stresses and trends when it comes to having or being a bridesmaid.

Check out the video of the Google Hangout:

 

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

Photo Oct 14, 10 25 39 PM

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!

 

Weddington Way in The New York Times

Weddington Way Featured in The New York Times

If you haven’t already heard all the talk about Weddington Way, then their recent feature in The New York Times is sure to have caught your eye!

The article, published in the Sunday’s Style section, reveals how bridesmaids dresses are no longer the awkwardly shaped, cheaply designed, and odd-colored dresses that most envision when they think of the typical bridesmaid. The article highlights how Weddington Way has transformed bridesmaid dress shopping in a way that benefits both the bride and the bridal party. The site offers a social experience for bridesmaid dress shopping, with features including a powerful color search tool and group shopping capability that help a group of women to have a better shopping experience.

Ilana Stern, founder and CEO of Weddington Way, is planning her own nuptials later this year and will be dressing up 11 bridesmaids in dresses designed by Watters. The New York Times article featured a gorgeous photo of Ilana with some of her bridesmaids, including two members of the Weddington Way team.

Ilana Stern of Weddington Way featured in The New York Times

All the girls are wearing dresses in different shades of coral with varying cuts, which is something that can be done with ease thanks to Weddington Way’s innovative approach to bridesmaid dress shopping!

Weddington Way Transforming Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

The New York Times also featured a fun video that illustrates how simple it is to navigate Weddington Way’s website. To complete the package, the newspaper created an interactive feature asking brides to submit photos of their bridal party with unique dresses.

We’re very excited to have worked with The New York Times’ writer Bee Shapiro, editorial and photography team to create this feature! We’re looking forward to seeing more of I Do PR clients in the NYT.

 

 

Crazy for Kirribilla’s Little White Dresses

Earlier this year, we announced the partnership between dress designer Kirribilla and bridal party fashion retailer Weddington Way as they launched a little white dress collection. While Weddington Way had been carrying top designers for bridesmaid dresses, the launch of the LWD collection allowed them to offer something for brides who are looking for romantic little white dresses for rehearsal dinners, outdoor receptions, destination weddings and other bridal events.

We showed the collection in New York and it has received tremendous positive response from various bridal publications. Kirribilla’s little white dresses represent the beauty and elegance that brides wish to portray throughout every step of their bridal experience.

Here are some of the wonderful editorial coverage we have received:

2013_3_Junebug

Featured above is the Dahlia dress from Kirribilla’s Little White Dress collection. This stunning silk dupioni party dress, which has layered ruffle sleeves and side-tucked skirt, caught the eye of Junebug Weddings!

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons features Kirribilla dresses May 2013

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons featured all dresses from the new collection, which makes an ideal option for destination brides. This strapless metallic cocktail dress with playful piped ribbon detailing was a particular favorite of the editors.

 

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In the photo above, Brides features a Kirribillia little white dress in Kelly Green! Although these dresses were originally designed for the bride, thanks to the partnership with Weddington Way, the dresses all come in other colors for bridesmaids.

 

2013_2_Glamour

It was love at first sight for Glamour! The  Cecile dress featured above, along with others in the I Do Collection, were praised by Glamour as wedding-worthy commodities for the bride-to-be!

 

 

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According to our friends at  Project Wedding, Kirribilla’s lace LWD paired with cool accessories is the perfect way for a bride to create a city-chic, fun look after the vows have been exchanged.

We’re excited to see all the editorial attention for this collaboration between our two wedding fashion clients and expect the collection to do very well with brides and bridesmaids!