This Autumn's Bridal Market Party
This year’s fall bridal market was held in New York City from October 12th to the 15th. This bi-annual event showcases the very best in wedding-related fashion, beauty, themes, and trends. It provides invaluable inspiration for future brides, magazine editors, boutique buyers, and anyone else who may be a part of the highly lucrative wedding industry. To coincide, Martha Stewart Weddings hosted our annual Bridal Market Party in our Starrett Lehigh Clerestory on Monday night of this week. This celebration gives Martha Stewart Weddings and bridal industry guests a great opportunity to network and showcase their talent and business. As we were planning the food and décor, we thought it would be great if someone could actually get married at our party, and as it turns out, that’s exactly what happened. Alex Pelling and Lisa Gant, who have been traveling the world having unofficial wedding ceremonies agreed to celebrate with us. And guess who married them this time? I did!
1 The Bridal Market Party was a very full house of industry clients, vendors, and MSLO employees. Darcy Miller, SVP Editorial Director of Weddings, can be spotted in the crowd on the right.
2 This is Lisa Gant and Alex Pelling, who were unofficially married by me and Darcy Miller. The couple's blog: www.2people1life.com
3 DJ Trife (Chris Williams) jamming behind this amazing ice sculpture. The extraordinary wedding cake is by Syliva Weinstock. www.sylviaweinstock.com
4 Guests looked on in amazement at DJ Trife's vinyl spin art process.
5 DJ Trife not only knows how to spin a great party, he also features vinyl spin art at all of his gigs. It's very fun and creative! www.scratchweddings.com
6 MS Weddings Ad Sales Coordinator/Planner Arisara Srisethnil looking very pretty
7 Around the perimeter of the party, various cosmetic vendors were on hand, offering free make-over sampling.
8 Nails, too
9 The latest books on weddings
10 The Estee Lauder booth was very busy!
11 Cupcake samples
12 Loliware makes edible cups. http://loliware.com/
13 Amy Wilkins - SVP Publishing MS Weddings, her daughter Olivia, and husband Oliver
14 Industry guests: Amanda Gray - Ashley Baber Weddings, Kristy Rice - Momental Designs, Erica Stawick - Monumental Designs, Ashley Baber - herself, Jessica Zielen - Momental Designs, Kelly McWilliams - Weddings by Socialites, and Krista Kowalczyk - Impressions Photography
15 Anna Walsh and Chelsea Trotzig from Anna Be' Bridal Botique
16 Wedding Dress designer, Sareh Nouri, has created beautiful dresses that have appeared on the Miss America pageant and has shown her collection at the London Hotel Penthouse. She is accompanied by her husband Ali Shojee. www.SarehNouri.com
17 Designer, Elizabeth Lapan, of Paper Posy Designs, featured one of her many beautifully crafted paper dresses. These are completely made of paper and designed to actually be worn! http://www.paperposydesigns.com
18 A better look at the paper dress
19 Linda Pratico and her husband Steve of Linda Lee Pratico Jewelry Designs showed off her lovely pearl creations! http://www.lindaleepratico.com
20 Like her beautifully crafted pearl necklace www.lindaleepratico.com
21 And her lovely bracelet. http://www.lindaleepratico.com
22 Arisara Srisethnil - Ad Sales Coordinator/Planner Weddings - poses for a close-up.
23 Darcy Miller with Weddings Special Projects Editor, Anthony Luscia and Weddings Design Director, Michael McCormick.
24 Erin Furey - Assistant Weddings Editor - did a wonderful job planning and designing the event. She was inspired by the White Cakes Story in the Fall 2012 Weddings issue. She is pictured here with Michael McCormick.
25 Michael McCormick and Muzam Agha - Sr Associate Photo Producer
26 These industry guests had lots of fun! Lauren Seigen - Mindshare Associate Director, Vanessa Verdino - Universal Mcann VP Media Planner, Rosemary Abdelshahid - NYL Media VP Strategy, and Debbie Kaye - Takumi Taco owner (www.takumitaco.com)
27 Naomi deManana, MS Style Editor, Whitney Pozgay, designer for Whit, Arielle Shapiro designer for Ari Dein and Kate Berry, MS Weddings Style Director
28 Designer Tracy Taylor Ward, middle, and her assistants Daulton Van Kureu in purple and Samantha McAleese in blue. http://www.tracytaylorward.com
29 Unsigned model, Alexius Diana has appeared on America's Top Model and Essence Magazine. She is wearing a beautiful wedding dress designed by Leanne Marshall www.leanimal.com
30 A nice shot of Darcy
31 Real Weddings Editor Shira Savada and Designer Tracy Taylor www.tracytaylorward.com
32 Andie and Jason Moore, owners of Andie's Specialty Sweets heard that I love Scrabble, so they created these truly inventive candy Scrabble chips and displayed them on this cake at the Wedding party. www.etsy.com/shop/andiespecialtysweets
33 They also created these delicious shiitake mushrooms with dark chocolate inside and vanilla candy exterior! www.etsy.com/shop/andiespecialtysweets
34 ...and these very yummy walnuts with dark chocolate filling. www.etsy.com/shop/andiespecialtysweets
35 These sweet hard candy buttons are very creative and fun! www.etsy.com/shop/andiespecialtysweets
36 Their cute candy flowers are also very fun and delicious! www.etsy.com/shop/andiespecialtysweets
37 And these wonderful candy lollipops are as yummy as they are decorative. Darcy Miller has ordered them for special events in the past and loves them! http://www.etsy.com/shop/andiespecialtysweets
Martha Pins
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Martha, I don't think I've ever seen so many smiling faces in one place in my life. Everyone looks happy to be exactly where they are.
The dresses are beautiful and so was Darcy. But, where were you?
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | October 19th, 2012 at 12:44 am
I was expecting to see you un-officiating over a wedding. Is that a word? I have to say, you and your company participate in so many events and your Clerestory seems to get a lot of good use. Lots of smiling faces too which can only mean the party was a success. The paper dress is amazing and I'm sure there are brides-to-be who might actually want to wear one. It sounds like it might be a better idea than keeping a real expensive dress in storage for years after the wedding. That party was a sea of gorgeous people - I thought Tracy Taylor Ward was the most stunning but that little Darcy is really cute too. She never seems to age or get any bigger even after having three children. Now for the food - the Scrabble cake was definitely one of a kind. What a genius idea of Andie and Jason Moore and the mushroom were the cutest things and so were the walnuts. Some people are just so darn talented. I can frost a cake but that's about it for me. Well, thanks again for another interesting blog which includes your usual fabulous pictures. By the way, I did answer your tweet asking what our favorite blogs were. In case you missed it though I said yours and Alexis’ blogs are my favorites. You both take the best pictures and the topics are diversified and interesting. I get the biggest kick out of “Jude approved” and the other captions she puts near Jude’s and Truman’s pictures like “studying a rock or she’s busy” or “probably planning his revenge” when Jude crashes into where Truman is sitting. Okay, I’m off to bed – cannot believe it’s almost 2 A.M. I was watching a scary movie earlier so I probably won’t sleep but I better try. Trish
Posted by: Trish | October 19th, 2012 at 1:59 am
Have fun and be happy always. This is always a place which is always get preference by everyone.
Posted by: London Bridal Wear | October 19th, 2012 at 2:15 am
Wonderful ideas here. Tomorrow, our own gueen of the rodeo weds her love who grew up on farm near her grandparents. Darcy is doing such a remarkable job showing us all how to make these times not only memorable but fun. My wedding, years ago with handmade gowns and flowers picked from our parent's front yard, seems just yesterday. Thanks for the memories
Posted by: ann | October 19th, 2012 at 4:51 am
First my website is still under construction.
Beautiful pictures of the Bridal Market Party but as a florist I miss the weddingbouquets I would love to attend the next time.
Greetings from Louis
Posted by: Louis Schrier | October 19th, 2012 at 5:06 am
I figured something bridal is going on with all the wedding gowns showing up on my board on Pinterest! I'm not in the wedding industry but I would've loved to have attended your Bridal Market party, Martha. Everyone looks so festive and happy and you don't have to be a bride to appreciate that lovely pearl necklace from Linda Pratico. It was nice seeng Darcy again, she always looks so cute!
Posted by: Cindy F | October 19th, 2012 at 7:52 am
Hi Martha, This certainly was a marvelous week to be able to see you on The Today Show on Tuesday two times, to see the rerun of your PBS Cooking School on Wednesday, to see all of those videos about The American Made Awards on your website, to hear you twice on Sirius RadioXM110 yesterday, to get all of those great tweets, and to read all of these great blogs! It was fantastic! This was a busy, beautiful week and sure hope you have fun at Atlanta at The Home Depot tomorrow! This latest blog was another beauty about the Bridal Market Party at your Starrett Lehigh Clerestory building this week, also! You sure had some great photos of your employees and others who presented such beautiful wedding products! It was so great to see Darcy and she looked so happy and so did all of the rest of that delightful group! It would have been fun to see you marry Lisa and Alex who looked so happy, also! What a fun party that was! Sure hope you have a great day today and a marvelous weekend! Off to see The Daily Wag about "This Year's Halloween Costumes From PetSmart!" Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | October 19th, 2012 at 9:42 am
Who designed the Lisa and Arisara dresses?
Posted by: Paula Bennighof | October 19th, 2012 at 9:55 am
Martha, you mean you married them and you didn't take a photo to show us. Come on no fair!(SMILE) Loved the pearls! Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | October 19th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
To say it was a privilege to be included in a sea of talent is an understatement, and to see your expert staff in action was a precious and rare marvel. Your chronicling of this event brings it all back to life. Thank you, Martha! : )
Posted by: Andie's Specialty Sweets | October 19th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
Looks like such fun, sorry we couldn't be there
Posted by: Dale Coykendall | October 20th, 2012 at 9:27 am