doings | martha stewart wedding party

I was flipping through Martha Stewart Weddings a few months ago, because, well because WEDDINGS, and saw an ad for the Martha Stewart Wedding Party.  It looked fabulous, so I checked it out and was overjoyed to see that it was a fancy bridal show put on by the brilliant folks over at Martha and it was coming to the Ritz Chicago!  

Walking in, we passed Lauren Conrad, which was funny and unexpected.  I knew that she was coming, but I wasn't expecting her to walk past looking EXACTLY like herself.  That girl is a master of the personal uniform, and it's always perfect on her!  (I did not have the chance to tell her my thoughts on her recent Cinderella collaboration.)

 I was so inspired by this booth with the all-green tissue flower backdrop.  In fact, I came away from the show just dying to make an over-the-top backdrop.  Is anyone of need???

What would a bridal show be without china and linens?  It was so proper and lovely, wedding china is my favorite.  We checked out some beautiful new designs and chatted with the lady from the department store.  Talk about a delightful job to have!

I had checked my instagram the night before and saw that Darcy Miller (editor of Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine) had posted a photo of Intelligentsia coffee.  It took this fan girl approximately 0.03 seconds to realize that she was in Chicago and most likely going to be at the show.  I may have had a moment.  Okay, I totally had a few moments, and then again when I saw her in person.  Right after I'd popped a chocolate cupcake in my mouth, there she was, looking like the darlin'est thing I've ever seen, mingling around in her platform heels.  It was too much pressure, I couldn't think of anything witty (I'm a huge fan!) and then she was gone.  I didn't get the chance to say hello, it was a bummer.

We left with the best swag bags I've ever seen!  Magazines, earrings, note cards, sugar cookies, tea towels.  Fabulous!  But not before a lesson in boutonniere pinning!  Apparently the secret it placing it at a "rakish" angle and then pinning behind the lapel.  Now we know.

The entire show was fabulous, we sampled food and tons of cake, a live band kept the place hopping and all of the vendors were so nice.  We kept getting asked, "who's the bride?!?" to which Brooke and I would both point to Emily and say "she is!".  Haha!  I'm sure she loved that.

I'm hoping they choose to host this wonderful show in Chicago again, as a sometime wedding planner and wedding cake enthusiast, you can't keep me away from these things!