The Wedding Party Bridal Show

Sorry I have been MIA the past couple of weeks. Between the flu, my birthday, thanksgiving and a wedding (my last of the year), it has been non-stop around here. I will make up for it this week, though. I promise!

Here are a few of the things I have in store for you:

*A few weddings from the past year that I have not posted yet

*An introduction to a new face around here
*A sweet and simple bridal shower

*A new series I am starting titled "Joyful Joyful". I will be sharing some of my favorite Christmas finds: from decor, to gifts, to crafts and party ideas. I am so excited about this! It will start tomorrow.

Today, though, I am excited to finally show you photos from the bridal show we did back in October. We had some issues getting the photos from my sister's camera to my computer, but they are finally here! It was the first bridal show I have done and I absolutely loved how our booth turned out. 

The look I was going for was graphic, chic, simple and modern. Here is how it turned out:

Tablescape:

My inspiration was the killer middle vase from Pottery Barn . I saw it in the store and immediately fell in love. They also had the great solid black and black & white paisley containers. They are more of urns than vases, so they also came with lids that I was able to use as well.

The absolutely amazing Kristin of The Treasured Petal offered to help me with the floral arrangements. I gave her some sketches and ideas and not a whole lot of flowers to work with- the flower mart was very picked over on the day I went. We were planning on using a ton of dinner plate dahlias and ended up with a few small dying dahlias. I got the last 8 branches of phalaenopsis orchids in the whole mart. Needless to say, I was blown away with how she worked her magic on what she was given. Thanks Kristin!  

In addition to the orchids, we used hydrangeas, a few small dahlias, aribicum, ranunculus, some white berries and tulips.

To incorporate the lids of the urns, I had Kristin make small pomanders out of green button mums and I just stick them right in the lids. It was a really fun touch.

For plates, the dinner plates are by Calvin Klein and are actually mine- wedding registry items! The adorable salad plates are also from Pottery Barn. The napkins are from my beloved Anthropologie .

I loved the stemware. The green wine goblets are from Pottery Barn, the black champagne flutes are from Nordstrom and the adorable little water cups are from Anthropologie. Given the choice, I would have all three of these out on my table every night!

The table number frame is from Z Gallerie and I cut out the number with my Cricut . The background paper actually came in the frame- how perfect is that?

I got to try out a fun favor idea that I came up with for one of my 2009 couples. Giving a donation to a charity as a favor is an incredibly meaningful and useful gift. Many of my couples have done this and it is absolutely wonderful. This idea is a twist on the usual take on it. I am not going to give away all of the details just yet because I want to wait until it comes to life at their April wedding. However, I will give you a sneak peak at a trial run:

One of my favorite aspects of our booth was the framed chandelier. I made this by using a great wall decal bought off Etsy from seller Single Stone Studios and applying to a piece of thick plastic that my wonderful husband hand cut for me. I found the frame at an antique store at a great price ($14!). It was actually a message board- it had fabric and chicken wire on it. Here are before and after shots:

A few other details:

Slideshow on an amazing green side table that I wish was in my house right now:

Our fun new info cards. They have a sweet backside too. A big thanks to my husband for helping me design them (he is the computer mastermind around here).

Fun candle stand from Z Gallerie (on sale!) with candles from Target.

*notice my signature suitcase. Those who have worked with me in the past know it is always with me on wedding days (it is my wedding day emergency kit). I had to have it there with me!

The Joyful Team:

(l-r: Darcie (associate coordinator), Me, Rachel (our wonderful intern))

I had the gift of being able to have a booth right across from my good friend Jenetta . It was fun to wave at each other when we had no one walking by our booths. And it was especially helpful when I was trying to take pictures with my sister's fancy camera and clearly had no idea what I was doing. Thanks for helping me out Jenetta! 

 

A huge to thanks to the other vendors who donated their goods to our booth:

Chairs, silverware and lounge benches: Megan at Classic Party Rentals 

The beautiful dupioni silk tablecloth: The wonderful Fusion Linens 

The background stand: Jenetta to the rescue again! It was actually made out of light stands!

The stationary: Serendipity Designs 

It was fun to experience exhibiting at a bridal show. Not sure that I will do it again, but I am proud of what we put together and had a great time! This was how you could find me the second I got home from the show:

Exhausted on the couch- not moving or interacting. I am already regretting posting that picture! 

Be sure to check back often over the next couple of weeks- there are a lot of goodies to come!