Real Wedding: An Angolan Adventure

About this time last year, my help was enlisted by this beautiful bride. Maura, her mom and her best friend traveled from Angola to New York to plan this stunning two day wedding extravaganza that was hosted in her hometown in Africa. We had a two week/10 day window for our wedding planning marathon throughout the streets of Manhattan with a concentration on the luxury bridal boutiques of Madison Avenue. It was equal parts exciting, exhausting and exhilarating.

Our successful endeavor included shopping at many fine retail establishments in New York City, and I added some of my must see specialty shops to our ambitious agenda. The goals of the trip were: to find, purchase and get altered: two wedding gowns, bridesmaids dresses, suits for the little brothers, dresses for the mother of the bride, shoes, veils, accessories, undergarments, favors, paper and printed items, ribbons, candy bar items, decor, etc.

Maura took her perfectly tailored Vera Wang gown home with her on the plane. While my beloved bridal industry often suggest needing nine months to get a wedding dress, some designers have specific dresses available with the intention of accommodating international clients who come to New York City for this very reason. Rush fees are often required.

Thanks to our friends at Reem Acra, Gabriella's New York Bridal Salon, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, Saks Fifth Avenue, Katie Fischer Designs, M&J Trimmings, Economy Candy, Vase Source, Jamali, The Container Store, Paper Presentation, La Perla and Jenny Yoo for helping me make this productive adventure efficient thus making Maura's lofty and luxurious wedding day dreams a reality.

I am extremely proud of this collaboration and the outrageously stunning beauty that resulted from our time together. I am especially grateful to all those who who helped with the shopping, shipping and the unbelievable international logistics-- making me look like a hero.

Please enjoy this long overdue and very elegant eye candy and have a wonderful weekend.

xo,
Tammy

PS. Want more? You can see the rest of the photos, including some of this couple's beach ceremony here on the their photographer's blog.

Photo Credit: Catherine Mac Photography

Craft Sale and Bridal Trunk Show: Today!

Is holiday or wedding dress shopping on your agenda today? Last year Martha Stewart created this opportunity for her team to showcase and sell their original creations. Here is my recap from last year. It is certainly worth checking out.



There is also the Douglas Hannant Trunk Show at Gabriella New York Bridal Salon today through Sunday, December 5th.

Make an appointment to see his designs straight from the runway! The beautiful 2011 collection of wedding gowns by famed designer Douglas Hannant was inspired by snow. Shop this weekend and receive a 10% trunk show discount on all of his gowns.


Happy Shopping! Happy Saturday!

Dress Sale in New York City: This Weekend

The Best of New York Magazine's Wedding Show

I am so happy to bring you the best of New York Magazine's Wedding Show. It is certainly the wedding event of the season and well attended it was. Over 100 vendors gathered to kick off bridal fashion week. It was an interesting blend of vendors I know and love sprinkled with first meeting and stunning new discoveries. Thanks to Jen Huang for taking the time to make these beautiful photographs and so generously sharing the images.


Poppies and Posies designed Laura Napier's tables. These women are so delightful and I adore their aesthetic which was shared by many throughout the event.

Designs by Ahn's exquisite arrangements were rich in colors and textures.


I heart Nine Cakes!



Hatch is incredible. Their designs inspire!

Happy to see Gabriella! Her beautiful wedding dress is positioned front and center amongst other stunning gowns.

Congratulations to Lanie of the Lovely Bride on the grand opening of her West Village bridal shop yesterday! I look forward to visiting soon. The lovely Jillian of Jillian Event Design and Styling created this pretty table.

Happy to bring you another new genelogy chart by Elana of Mélangerie, she tells me they plan to keep introducing more new charts on a semi regular basis. They are still one of the most ingenious and creative ways to welcome your guests, personalize the wedding reception and create a keepsake that will hang on your wall for years to come!

Planning a traditional tea ceremony?

Dynasty and Ceremony's table was beautiful.

I love this bouquet by ciao Bella floral styling!

This is simply an overview of a wonderful evening. I plan to share more of Jen's beautiful photos and feature some of the vendors I saw in depth in the weeks to come. Two personal highlights of the evening were meeting industry greats Tara Guérard of Soirée and Alison Hotchkiss of Alison Events. Two of the finest event planners in the country, the weddings they produce influence and ignite! I am a big admirer of their work and was absolutely delighted for the opportunity to meet them in person. Tara is from Charleston, she was launching The Lettered Olive and signing her beautiful book. Based in San San Francisco, Alison is known for designing spectacular destination events and was recently featured in Martha Stewart Weddings.

Hungry for more? Want another perspective of the same event, check out Merci NYC, it's an excellent resource for the sophisticated Manhattan bride. Jackie's sense of style is brilliant. It was fun for me to experience this event with her.

Did you see my favorite new vendor of the show yesterday?

Remember tonight is Happily Ever After! Hope to see many of you there.




Photo credit: Jen Huang Photography

Wedding Dress Designer

After hearing about her dresses, seeing her sketches and meeting her clients, I finally got to see a Samuelle creation in person. Sam is an amazing designer from the United Kingdom and has a personal approach to designing non-traditional wedding dresses. She invited me to an event at The Wedding Cafe, a beautiful midtown spot, where her dress was being modeled.

When Sam initially contacted me last year, she introduced herself by saying:

"I offer a very personal and bespoke service, for the discerning bride who is wanting a more creative and custom made experience for her wedding.
I work very closely with the bride over a period of 6 months to create her perfect wedding dress. Initial consultations provide a creative arena for her ideas, as a designer I then make and present drawings, which then are translated into a custom made pattern,and a muslin dress. Highest quality fabrics are sourced, for the final dress to be created to perfection, personalized detailing ensures an exclusive one off garment."

Sam is a true joy to be around!

Meeting Monique

Lucky to live in New York City almost always, yesterday was no exception. I had the honor and pleasure of meeting fashion great and designer extraordinaire Monique Lhullier and her husband and CEO Tom
Bugbee.

The models looked stunning in her bridal gowns and there was buzz about her spring line that will debut in two weeks. Thanks to Bergdorf Goodman for hosting this meet the designer event.