Last weekend I got to attend The Wedding Party New York with Martha Stewart Weddings presented by Claudia Hanlin’s Wedding Library. What an event! I have been to bridal shows before, but this one was full of New York’s elite wedding vendors.
Photo courtesy of the Wedding Library
Claudia Hanlin’s Wedding Library is a great resource for Brides who have a general idea but are looking for some guidance and need some help getting their ideas off the ground and paired with the right vendors for their vision. This “research boutique” has an impressive catalog of select vendors that will meet any bride’s needs and vision. Many of those vendors were in attendance at The Palace where hundreds of brides and their guests got a first hand look at some of the best wedding vendors New York City has to offer.
I didn’t stay the entire day, so I missed the Bridal Fashion Show presented by Kleinfeld Bridal and Kleinfeld Men and the After Party which had live music and a single malt scotch tasting by The Macallan. I did however get to make my rounds to the different vendor showcases. The highlights for me were the different cakes. The infamous Sylvia Weinstock was there and such a doll. No only are her cakes amazing, but she really is a character. Some other cake bakers I was impressed with was the always kind Ron Ben-Israel and his always delicious cakes (the almond was my fav!) and Crème Delicious with their intricate and colorful henna inspired designs and tasty green tea cupcakes. My favorite was Heather Barranco Dreamcakes. These cakes were UNREAL! All these cakes are hand painted and have that beautiful water color look to them. There were a ton of cakes on the table, but the popularity of the cakes based on the way they looked made it hard to get a great shot. Once my eye caught a glimpse of the Dreamcakes, I had to try them. Now I’m not really a fan of cake, but Barranco makes a chocolate-banana cake that is like a party in my mouth. For some reason, the combo of banana and chocolate is so delicious and the samples of this flavor were flying off the plates. I’m not surprised either seeing as it is a favorite of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (its a win from the Hil(l)arys!). To wash the rich cake down, Barranco offered milk to wash it down. Such a smart idea providing a shot of milk. When tasting a lot of cake, water or champagne just doesn’t do the trick. I wish there wasn’t so many people in front of the booth so I could sample more flavors and get a good shot of one of the amazing cakes!
Clockwise from Top Left: Crème Delicious’s henna style heart cake, vintage milk bottles to wash down the cake at Heather Barranco Dreamcakes, a small Alice on the side of the mad hatter style Alice and Wonderland themed cake, and the fashionable Sylvia Winestock and my busted self.
Another cool additive that I really loved was the food trucks out in the courtyard. The idea of catering with food trucks isn’t a new trend but it is in a metropolitan area like NYC. Food trucks as a lunch option are everywhere in NYC. Different from “street meat”, food trucks in NYC offer a unique outlet for faster food options. My favorite truck was the Gorilla Cheese NYC truck. Using cheese other than a Kraft single, I had a gourmet grilled cheese and a side of crispy tots. Most people wouldn’t think grilled cheese and tots are ideal for a wedding, but as a late night snack as your guests have danced the night away and are getting the munchies, this is a fabulous idea. If the Gorilla Cheese NYC truck is near my office, I will hobble down and get myself a grilled cheese!
Some other great vendor showcases were Anne M. Chapas, M.D., a dermatologist offering brief consultations with her state of the art skin technology. Blooming Quill Calligraphy was writing bride and grooms names (or anything else you wanted her to pen). Élan Artists showcased some really amazing music groups and performing acts for hire at events. One of their groups, Carte Blache performed before the Keynote and panel offering classic standards with a Parisian flair. Their vintage mid 20th century look and the soulful accordion were perfectly paired with the sultry Edith Piaf-esqe lead singer. Merci New York brought the beauty to bridal styling with their traditional and modern touches of jewelry and other accessories.
The best part of the Wedding Library event was the Expert Wedding Panel and Keynote. Before letting the brides and guests loose on the vendor showcases, we were herded into the ballroom to hear Claudia Hanlin and Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings speak and impart their wisdom on these newly minted brides. Because I was press, I got to sit nice and close. Darcy Miller’s keynote was full of great insite like once you have your location and date, everything else will fall into place; by focusing your energy on the location and date from the beginning, you will have a more accurate timeline and be more organized and focused on the overall vision. She also mentioned that you don’t have to follow all of the traditions that weddings usually demand. Martha Stewart’s nephew got married to his partner at Martha’s estate and did a simple afternoon ceremony and catered with an afternoon of specialty cocktails, catered with antipasta and pies for dessert with open seating. The wedding had a freedom and lightness to it that was true to the grooms and their guests didn’t go without. My favorite part was how Darcy showed her own wedding. Ten years ago, Darcy married the love of her life, Andy, and when she speaks of her big day, she speaks with pure joy and love for her husband and her wedding. The ultimate goal is to love your wedding when you look at it a decade later, you will still love every aspect of your wedding. Listening to Darcy speak and watching her face, you could tell she was still so much in love with her wedding. She preached not sweating the small stuff and picking your battles, but if you have great and reliable vendors, this won’t be a problem.
The Expert Wedding Panel was made up of both Darcy Miller and Claudia Hanlin, Southern California wedding planner Mindy Weiss, Amsale Aberra of Amsale Bridal, Syliva Weinstock, florist and designer Matthew Robbins, and innovative catering creator Peter Callahan. Unfortunately, my dear friend Randy Fenoli of TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress” was sick and couldn’t attend. This panel was moderated by Z100 radio host Carolina Bermudez and allowed brides and guests to ask these wedding professionals some really great questions. Some of the questions brought forward some really informative answers. One bride asked whether or not skipping on lighting was a good place to cut her budget. Unanimously, the panel disagreed and stressed the need for good lighting. You don’t need to have LEDs and special gels, twinkle lights can do the trick. Matt and Sylvia suggested using fresh fruits and veggies along with seasonal flowers, props, candles and glass to help create grandeur and save money so you can have beautiful lighting and the beautiful tabletop. Sylvia also mentioned being award of the weather when choosing a venue so the guests and vendors can prepare for what could happen on your wedding day. The panel also stressed the need for a good photographer. All event profs in the room nodded and agreed with that sentiment especially after the viral post about hiring a photographer. Having great photos are essential and if you do get those great shots, you could get published. Darcy pointed out that MSW is always accepting submissions. The entire panel was around after to sign their latest books for the brides and guests.
If I had one complaint abut the event it would be the space. To get to the different booths and really get information from the different vendors, you had to shove other people around. I understand the impressive nature of holding an event at The Palace, but the lack of space for the guests to move around left me frustrated and angry with the other guests. I get to play the sardine game on the Downtown 6 train every morning, I don’t want to do the same and miss the opportunity to meet up with a potential vendor. The event had promoted that grooms got to attend for free, but if I had brought my non-groom Brandon, he would have been frustrated and fed up rather quickly. My girlfriend Paulina brought her groom, John and he landed up winning the custom suit from Kleinfeld Men worth $3,500, so for him it was worth it to be crammed in with all these other people. Brandon, as patient as he is, would have tapped out before the event even started.
Regardless of the space issue, the information provided by the Wedding Library goes unsurpassed. As a bride, it is an event not to be missed. As a vendor, it is an event you want to be a part of. The next event Claudia Hanlin’s Wedding Library does, make sure you’re a part of it. If you’re a bride in NYC looking for a place to start or a little more info about vendors in the area, check out the Wedding Library!
-Hilary
by hilarysmith
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