Weddingbee Blog

Over the next couple of weeks, Bridal Guide Magazine editors will be writing some guest posts on behind the scenes happenings at one of the largest bridal magazines.  This first installment is by Dana Wagner, Fashion & Beauty Editor at Bridal Guide.

One of (and arguably *the*) most important aspects of my job is covering the bi-annual bridal markets—that’s when all the editors, buyers and industry insiders get first glimpse of the gowns that will be available for the new season and, in my case, what I will be featuring in the magazine in the upcoming months. It’s incredibly exhausting (they tend to run over the weekend and into the following week; this time around I worked 19 days straight!), but it’s incredibly exciting, too. After all, if spending your days watching a parade of gorgeous, frothy wedding gowns parade down the catwalk isn’t every girl’s dream…..

The marathon always starts at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, where they tend to show the more affordably priced gowns. I bring a photographer with me to take pictures of everything I see, which is nice because it also means I have a buddy to help me get through the long days. (Added bonus: he’s a total foodie, so we go to some great restaurants at night.) The first morning there, we figure out our plan of attack—there are over 500 different lines to see in only a few days! Not only does that mean thousands of dresses, but there’s also jewelry, shoes, headpieces…and pretty much everything and anything a girl might need (or can be convinced she needs) for a dream wedding.

All the vendors have line sheets and catalogues to list information about their new gowns; add in all the magazines and miscellaneous literature I pick up along the way, and it really adds up. This year we bought a cart to hold everything!

Some of the lines show their dresses on mannequins:

Gowns by Anjolique.

And some of them have formal shows with models and a runway:

Fashion Gala sponsored by the National Bridal Market, featuring gowns from a number of different designers.

This is me, pointing out something that is surely fabulous to my photographer.

After Chicago (sometimes with a small break in between, sometimes not) comes the New York City market. It tends to be more fun for me because I get to walk around with my editor in chief and associate editor, too, and we gossip and critique in between shows. (While my photographer has finally figured out what a crinoline is—aka, the fluffy tulle stuff—it’s not quite the same.) The NYC market is also different because instead of being all under one roof, as it is in Chicago, the shows are held all over the city, so we’re crisscrossing and zigzagging around all day to different photo studios, hotel ballrooms, showrooms and event spaces. (It tends to slow down a little bit towards the end of the week—on Wednesday or Thursday, we usually even have time to grab lunch!) The collections that show in NYC also tend to be the more luxe lines and there are a lot more formal runway shows, which are always fun to watch.

It seems like everyone brings a photographer, if not also a videographer, to the NYC shows—this is what the “pit” (the spot at the end of the runway where the photographers all sit to take pictures) looks like before a show:

Hopefully their pictures are less blurry. In my defense, I took this with my blackberry. (My photographer is the one on the bottom left. He’s cute, right?)

The photographers are very particular about what should or should not be in a picture: they always yell at us to uncross our legs so they don’t get random feet ruining their shots.

This is why we have to uncross our legs. But only if you’re in the first row.

Some designers will invite us backstage to get a sneak peek at the models getting their hair and makeup done. We don’t usually have time (the shows run back to back), but sometimes we do….

At the Monique Lhuillier show.

Shows are scheduled pretty much every hour on the hour. Which means they actually start at twenty past, giving us just enough time to rush to the next show. Luckily, everyone is in the same boat (aka, late), so we rarely miss anything.

Models (and editors) waiting for the show to start at Atelier Aimée.

Just happens at the shows during Fashion Week, the designers often strut the runway after the last look has been shown.

Amsale, after her show—which was (as always) super pretty!

If the designer doesn’t have a formal show, they usually have individual appointments with the editors and buyers either in their showroom or a hotel room. It’s nice, because you can get up close and personal to see the gowns and hear all about the designer’s inspiration behind the design.

Designer Edgardo Bonilla, whom we love. He is just the sweetest. And his gowns are AMAZING.

Some designers like to have fun with market, and come up with unusual ways to showcase their gowns….

Reem Acra turned her showroom into a mad tea party…

… it was more about the feeling than perhaps the details on the gowns.

Kirstie Kelly for Disney Fairy Tale Weddings also had a non-traditional “show” where they set up different vignettes to showcase their gowns.

This set was for the Snow White Collection (get it?)

…from the Cinderella line…

And from the Jasmine collection.

Sometimes the coolest thing about the show is the venue… one year, there was a show in the courtyard of a famous hotel; they piped in church bells and bird songs and the models all pulled up in white vintage cars. It was simply magical. I still get goose bumps when I think about it. This year, Carolina Herrera showed in the newly renovated Plaza Hotel, so we all got to see what it looked like before it was even open to the public.

One of my favorite looks from the Carolina line. How fabulous is this for that bride that can pull it off?

Nothing ever goes totally smoothly… one designer had a fire break out in his building the night before his show. Luckily nothing (and no one) was damaged, but he had to scramble to find a new venue–at 11pm! Luckily, a nearby hotel was able to accommodate him and the show went on….

A line sheet from the Angel Sanchez show, the collection that almost wasn’t due to natural disaster!

One thing I do at market that no one else does (aside from my editor in chief—she’s the one that taught me!) is sketch dresses. That’s right, I sketch every dress I see. Every. Single. One. It’s actually really helpful when I’m trying to figure out which gowns to use in a particular story; I’ve developed a sketching shorthand, so I know which scribble is lace, which means beading and the difference between crystals and sequins.

Sometimes my sketches are actually quite good, if I do say so myself.

And sometimes they’re not. What can I say, some models walk waaaaaay too fast!

This is what they looked like when I first started… pure comedy! I think I’ve come a long way.

And that’s market. Some of it’s really fun, some of it’s quite the ordeal, but at the end of the day we get to see a ton of really fabulous gowns and get inspired for our upcoming issues. That said, I can’t believe the invite for the next market has already landed on my desk…