THOUGHTS TUESDAY#10: New York Bridal Market

I'm writing this, like usual, not really on a Tuesday but rather on Wednesday October 1st. But I feel it just makes sense to write this now since well, I was inspired to write it now and well, it's officially October. So as I sip on my chai tea latte outside at Sentient Bean overlooking Forsyth Park while my dog Winnie is laying lazily on the ground looking mopey as usual I decided time to write this blog post. Bridal Market. To anyone in the bridal boutique industry this is kind of like Christmas. Its the time of year where all the bridal designers travel to New York to showcase their new Spring 2015 bridal collections and where all the bridal boutique owners also travel to New York to see the new collections. And it is so exciting and so fun and so magical. I can't even begin to tell you how many hours Adrienna + I spend pouring over bridal designers websites looking at bridal dresses we are interested in... and then looking again... and again... and again... and then looking again and printing out pictures of our favorites. I imagine its the similar feeling a little girl gets looking through Bridal Magazines imagining what her dream wedding will be twenty years from then. It never gets old. Because there are always new dresses to look at. And Bridal Market is just... magical. So today I am on here solely to reminisce and tell you all the reasons why I love Bridal Market. And along for the ride are some lovely sneak peek images of dresses that we are loving from our designers and highly considering adding to Ivory + Beau's permanent inventory so feel free to leave a comment below on which ones you are loving!! [Disclaimer: We will be open while we are in NYC. Adrienna's mom and our amazing intern, McKenzie, will be holding down the fort! We will have Alvina Valenta Spring 2014 bridesmaids for your girls to try on as well as our bridal gowns during this time so please do not hesitate to schedule an appointment, they will take good care of you while we are gone! To schedule something you can call (912)200-4794, e-mail ivoryandbeau@gmail.com or click here! We are almost completely booked for Friday and Saturday so make sure and schedule sooner rather than later!] So now, for my 3 top reasons why I love Bridal Market and am beyond excited for the crazy hectic scheduled weekend we have.

1. Meeting big name bridal designers is like meeting a celebrity (well, to me it is.) Last year the biggest name designer we met in person was Sarah Seven. (Not that our other designers aren't serious rockstars because ya'll are trust me.) I can still remember being so enchanted when meeting her. This designer has made a serious name for herself. She is all over the blogs. Her dresses are amazing. She is everywhere. So much that there does exist such a thing as a "Sarah Seven bride." That's kind of a big deal. And meeting her to me was kind of a big deal and so cool. Now if only Lauren Conrad would make her bridesmaids collection available wholesale so we could buy it and I could meet her... then my life would be complete. Kate Pankoke, of Elaya Vaughn Bridal and Project Runway, was another one who would have felt like a celebrity meeting; however, I had already met her previously in Savannah when she hired me as her Day-Of Coordinator. This year we get to **hopefully** meet some of my other favorite designers.. Miss Hayley Paige, Jessica Williams of Alvina Valenta/Ti Adora, and more... [Seriously you need to follow us on Instagram if you're not already, I will be posting mad Instagram sneak peeks of all thats going on at market so get ready... plus I just bought a jet pack for my phone so it won't die so bring on the picture Instagramming madness!!!]

2. Dresses. Dresses. More dresses. And even more dresses. This is kind of the overwhelming part but is definitely the fun part. Can you imagine being a buyer at Bridal Market? No? Well that's okay here is how it goes... Meeting with a designer. Having 30 minutes with the designer. Checking out their new collection of dresses. Sometimes getting to have their model try on the dresses, sometimes only getting to see the dresses on the hangers. Snapping pictures on your iPhone of the dresses you like. Scribbling notes of your favorites. Trying to think what would be popular, what will sell, what brides want. And time. NEXT designer lets go. Run, run, run, hail taxi, sit in traffic anxiously awaiting our next designer meeting location, scramble, scramble and go meet the next designer and do it all again. Then day over. Time to look back at your terrible pictures on your iPhone, your scribbled almost illegible notes and trying to figure out okay... which dresses did we really love, which dresses will brides also really love, which dresses we actually want in our store... To say its a little overwhelming is an understatement. But you know... it's overwhelming in a really good way. So this year, we only have 2 days at market basically since we have a wedding on Sunday. And our appointments are scattered all over NYC instead of at the Pier 94 in the same place like last year. So we plan to hone our taxi hailing skills, write a little faster and a little better of notes, and well just be general badasses all around. That being said we also plan to do a whole lot of prep work before we go. I am excited ya'll, so so excited.

3. New York, New York. I'm not going to lie because I just don't lie.... but I hated New York. I hated hated hated New York so much, until last year when we went to Bridal Market. And then I fell in love with New York. Is that weird? I think that's weird. I love New York when I'm there for work but I hate it when I'm there for vacation. That's just not normal but it's the truth. I loved being there for a purpose. Having a mission. Being involved in the hustle and bustle of this city that really seriously never sleeps and is always moving at a pace so fast that you can finally really understand what in the world a New York minute is because its fast. So fast. The bustle of the city is not annoying when you are also bustling. I think that has to be it. It was just a fabulous, adrenaline filled experience and I cannot wait to get back there for work this year. 9 days to go. Or well, 2 days to go since the post isn't going live until 2 days before we leave.

Alright, so with all that said I am going to open this up with questions in hopes someone will comment on this post... so we want to know: What do you want to see at Ivory + Beau? Specific fabrics? Long sleeves? More mermaids? More ballgowns? More lace? Tell us. We love your feedback seriously. That's all, thanks folks for reading!!!!!!

{Photo Credits} All sneaks via Instagram! Stay tuned for more!!!!! Can you tell we love surprises?