Indie Wed 2012!

All kinds of amazing! Can I just leave it at that?

I guess I could, but there is just too much to share. Weeks of stress, countless sleepless nights, and long days of preparation and worry, all led up to this past Saturday. Indie Wed day!  And I have to say it was all totally worth it! (I will share more about my actual set-up for the show later this week, but for now I want to give you a feel for how fantastic the event was!) The day was a nonstop fun fest with lots of familiar faces and so many more new faces. Friends, vendors, past clients, new 2012 clients, and dozens of potential clients came by the booth all day long and I loved every minute of it.

Click through to see more of the ‘Love Bike’ in action, my booth, and all the other Indie Wed goodness!

With my amazing support team behind the scenes and at the show, my space came together in no time! I was caffeinated early (not to mention, heavily!) and ready to talk all things weddings with as many awesome Indie Wed couples as possible!

My pre-show support team of the pops who helped with countless projects leading up to the show and made the essential morning Starbucks run and my amazing spouse who puts up with my type A tendencies on a regular basis, carries all the heavy stuff so I don’t fall on ice, and cheers me on at every turn.

It wasn’t long before the Ravenswood Event Center was full of brides, grooms, moms, sisters, and entire wedding parties coming to check out the show! With live music, informative and fun workshops, scrumptious food, photobooths galore, giveaways, and swag for days, this was the place to be, for sure! (Check out my rock star assistant down there, keeping it going at my booth, while I scoped out the rest of the show!)

I was in awe of all the amazing booths and set-ups that everyone had worked so hard on. It made me really appreciate being a part of such a creative and inspiring community! Pollen had absolutely gorgeous florals and I was so lucky to have a couple of Lynn’s beautiful floral arrangements gracing my own space at the show!

The unbelievably kind hearted Anita Vaughan of Anita Weds was showing couples all the unique ways they could personalize and infuse their ceremonies with meaning. (She actually was our wedding officiant! And I adore her so!)

There were stellar photographers, musicians, planners, you name it, at every turn!

Gorgeous styled spaces as entries for the Indie Wed Inspired Creations contest had everyone oohing and ahhing. The Inspired Creations contest was a collaborative effort by groups of vendors and I think it was a truly fantastic vehicle for inspiring couples for their big day.

Models circulated the show throughout the day showing off gorgeous gowns and perfect dresses! Dame Couture even had Chicago Roller Derby girls on skates, showing off the cutest dresses!

Some of my absolute favorites were by Kpoene of Mignonette Bridal! Kpoene is positively the sweetest most giving person I have met in this industry, not to mention crazy talented! And it never fails that her designs wow me. (I’ve been dying to see that gown with the illusion top for weeks now and it is even more perfect in person.)

Her booth, shared with Allison Williams Photography, was impressive to say the least! The creative eye (and fabulously designed paper products) of Suzy from Lily Red Studio, really blew me away! That presentation is just to die for! Those suitcases and frames of moss, amazing!

And this Mignonette dress featured in their space was calling my name! It was the sparkly accessory that did me in!

I also found myself wanting to hang around Pour Soul‘s booth a while, I love all the unique bottle designs and hearing about how to make delicious drinks! (And I knew that I could probably find my friend Emilia there later!)

I spent some time upstairs at Many Schoenbien’s booth with Karen Marie Salon. Mandy Schoenbein Hair and Makeup is doing the hair and makeup for the Just Because Giveaway! (Have you entered yet?!)

As much as I sincerely wish I was able to spend more time hanging out and getting to know more of the other vendors, I really enjoyed being on hand at my booth the entire time to meet and speak with all the wonderful attendees. Hearing about wedding themes, venues, colors, and so much more. And I had some pretty awesome vendors to keep me company right around my booth. Namely, event planner, Katie Jayne of Jayne Weddings, who had the coolest booth on the block, I have to say! Totally modern and on trend, I loved it!

Makeup artist, Nika Vaughan, was across the aisle, wowing brides with her magical makeup skills…that is what I call them, because you should see the magic she has worked on me in the past! Vendors were getting to know each other and collaborating. Such an amazing feeling! People were eating, drinking, dancing, having a good time! It was honestly so much fun! Especially having friends drop by to say hi! (I was so excited to see Emilia and Christy!)

And honestly it was absolutely lovely to spend the day with my ‘assistant’ for the day…my mother. Yup, she was there with bells on, handing out cards and showing people albums. How awesome is that? Like I said, I had the most amazing team that made this all come together. My mom may have been on the front end, working the booth right alongside me, but my father, my spouse, and even my in-laws all played essential parts in the final product. It was such a great feeling to have them involved in my work, in my passion, because I absolutely love what I do and to getting to share that with them was a special gift.

At the end of the day, I wasn’t as exhausted as I thought I would be…I mean I did lose my voice by the end of the day, but I wasn’t tired. I was excited! So excited. I was rejuvenated and inspired to make this year an amazing one, shooting the love stories of wonderful clients and working with the most fantastic of vendors along the way. It is safe to say, my first Indie Wed experience couldn’t possibly have been more perfect. It isn’t just a wedding show, it is an exciting, fun, and inspiring event that I am convinced is just as fun for the vendors as it is for the attendees. (Let me tell you, there was a major dance party going on with Toast & Jam at the end of the day before everyone packed it in!) And I am truly amazed at and thankful for all the hard work that goes into it. Thank you to everyone who made it happen behind the scenes, you are the rock stars of the day! And thank you so much to those who came out to say hi and visit with me at Indie Wed! It was a true delight getting to meet all of you and I hope to see some of your faces in entries for the Giveaway!