Bridal Goes Sample Sale Chic

Engaged ladies listen up!  With a target store opening date of mid-March this Spring (er beginning of Chicago winter?), Glamour Closet comes to us from "sample-sale-crazy" California with heaps of current designer bridal gowns discounted up to 75%.  The photo above is an Angel Sanchez Spring 2011 gown.  Originally $7,810, but only $2,550 at Glamour Closet.  They also carry Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta, Jenny Packham, Jim Hjelm, and more.  How do they do this, you ask?  By having great relationships with all the major designers and selling their sample gowns for them.  A sample gown is one that is used by the designer for evaluation during the design process.  The last produced sample becomes a "salesman sample", and as you can imagine with these major names they have tons of them.  So just to clarify; these are unworn and truly designer gowns and many times you'll be getting the same dress you are currently seeing in Vera's glitzy little window but for so much less.  Some gowns are marked down to as little as $500, and these are designer people!  Saving thousands on the dress, brides from Chicago used to fly to L.A. or San Francisco, the first two locations for Glamour Closet.  All the money saved more than covered the airfare for a sunny weekend in the West, but now that this great little concept is gracing Chicago with its presence you can keep the cash for yourself.

A couple of ground rules apply to keep all you bridezillas in check.  You walk out with the dress the day you choose it, no holds.  I heard a story of a bride crossing the street to get a yogurt and when she got back someone else was buying her dress (yikes!).  You have to be pretty darn close to sample size, which is a bridal size 8 or 10 which is a  fashion size 4 or 6.  They have a list of recommended bridal seamstresses who can take the dress in or let a bit out.  That's all!  Come prepared to walk out with THE DRESS.  My recommendation is to bring some jewelry/shoes that tie into your vision.  They have veils to style with.  Glamour Closet will be located in River North and open 6 days a week, Tuesday through Sunday.  You can use the money you save on these.

Let Them Eat Cake

Man OH man do I love myself a unique cake topper.  Although the exact origin of the decorative figurine is still unknown,  the 1950's were its main debut into American weddings.  While representing togetherness was the cake topper's main purpose in the olden days, I'm way more into its modern day goal: to add an original touch (with maybe the slightest touch of humor) to that deliriously beautiful sweet slab of grub.  Extra points for subtly tying in with other decor.  Bobblehead bride and groom for all of you Office fans?

These "love bird" cake toppers are some of my favorites and as a bonus hand made :) 

Wedding Season '11

Melissa, Paul, Sam, Jake, Stephanie, Marek, Kristina, Edgar, Paulina, Mehran.  These people have all gotten married in the last 4 months, and they are all my friends.  Do the math and you'll get quite the accurate picture of my summer.  Almost every weekend has  been strawberry jam packed with engagement parties, bridal showers, bachelorette parties and what am I forgetting? Oh yea...weddings.  Not that I'm complaining, nothing is better than sharing the happiest day of their lives with people who are quite alright in your book.  Nonetheless, this has been my summer.  Among the dress fittings, rehearsal dinners, talk of looking up to not run your make up while watching "the groom's face first", I've cultivated quite the new obsession; EVERYTHING WEDDING.  Most intriguingly fun are all the details (and hours upon hours) that go into planning that special day and watching them come together for the 12+ hour grand finale that has everything to do with one word. Vision.  I can hear the romantics from a mile away "You mean love? The one word is love, right?"  But nah, I'm strictly speaking here of my obsession with the planning process of these most spectacular events.  How one decision impacts the others and how all the details come together to ensure that the vision is unlike any other, because no two weddings are alike.  The way the lace in the dress ends up getting a mention in the cake frosting selection, and whether people notice the connection or not, the way it all ties together and the feeling these micro coincidences convey.  That is what I love.  And that is what I choose to surround myself with.

I really like this idea for a smaller ceremony-

Warming of the Rings
Around the world the wedding rings are the strongest and most visible sign of the bond these two people are about to make.  A commitment to life, to each other and to the future.  With a ring warming in your ceremony the rings will not only be a gift from one to another but will be given with the love, support and wisdom of all present.  The rings are passed amongst all the guests and they hold the rings thus giving their personal blessing upon the rings before the bride & groom exchange the rings.  At the time the rings are exchanged it might be with words like: "These rings, now warmed by those you love the most will forever show the world you are one and they will carry with them the eternal love and blessing of your families."

What better way to make things more personal and intimate?  As for the rest of my summer?  Congratulations to Rich and Meg!  Their wedding is coming up October 7th, and then a couple month break until Kate and Dan January 7th, the first of many 2012 weddings.  What can I say?  My friends are just a ton of babes in love right now, sigh.