Indie Wed - Wedding Planning Redefined

You may have already seen this floating around Pinterest but in case you haven’t… here is a handy guide via Refinery 29 for determining if you are at a hipster wedding.  Enjoy.

If you attended the winter Indie Wed event last winter, you may recall as sweet little display on the second floor.  Dubbed the “Belles & Gents Bar“, the installation was for our Inspired Creations contest.  Well we loved it so much that we are teaming up with Beth from SQN Events to essentially “blow out” this concept into a full fledged lounge on the third floor.  Imagine a relaxed, old-fashioned styled, co-ed bar where guests can chat it up while sipping on some refreshing libations.  A rustic wood bar holds a bevy of sweets &  handcrafted beers just for starters.    Relax on a comfortable worn-in leather sofa while mingling with other guests….

This is the type of space we are aiming to create.  It will be a retreat for attendees who need a break from chatting with vendor after vendor and just want to relax.  Beth is working hard to make it a really special space so I don’t want to spill all the beans just yet.  I can say that there will be some wonderful displays and treats from the likes of Fleur, Courtney Callahan Paper, & Truffle Truffle.  Everything else is still under wraps.

Not only will this be a wonderful place for the gals to relax but Beth has got some special things up her sleeves for the guys too.  We can’t wait!

If this wasn’t reason enough to attend, I don’t know what is.  Tickets are now on sale.  Don’t miss out!

If you keep up with our Facebook page you may have seen a few cryptic posts about a fun partnership I’ve been working on.  Well I can now officially spill a little bit of the details.

I am excited to announce that Indie Wed is partnering with Design Bureau magazine as a national media sponsor for the coming year.  DB covers all facets of design and their mantra is “Inspiring Design Dialogue“.  They believe that all art (and artists) is intertwined and they cover everything from fashion, industrial design, to interior design and landscape architecture. Design Bureau is distributed nationally in all major newsstands, specialty bookstores and Barnes & Noble, as well as internationally in 13 countries.

Okay, so you may be wondering what this has to do with weddings.  Currently they are working on a new project, a huge, special edition issue; Weddings By Design featuring inspirational, unique wedding events & those involved with bringing it to life!  This special edition will also have a great resource guide for brides to plan their perfect day. The issue will be distributed nationally in early 2013.   Their hope is that this will become a yearly edition.  I have seen some sneak peeks of the issue but since they are still in the planning stages, I can’t share anything yet. Of course I will as soon as I can.  In addition to the print issue, they will be creating a microsite online to correspond with the launch that will become an online resource for everything in the issue and beyond.

So what does this mean for you and for Indie Wed?  Well for Indie Wed, it means full page ad space in a nationally distributed magazine for all our 2013 events as well as a presence for all our events on their microsite.  There are a few other little details we are working out that are exciting but I want to keep under wraps for now.  This will mean greater exposure for us and in turn for all our fabulous vendors.  In return for all this press love, Design Bureau will be at all our events, handing out magazines, and other related treats regarding the wedding issue.  Attendees will get to see the special issue up close and in person.  From what I have seen so far, this will be jam-packed with all sorts of wedding inspiration that is way cooler than what is on most newstands today.  If you love good design and are interested in the most innovative things in wedding design and planning going on nationally and worldwide, this will be the magazine for you.

Whew.  I’ve been eager to share this for a while.  Although I still keeping some details hush-hush, this is very exciting and I hope something that will be good not only for Indie Wed but for our vendors and attendees.

Just over a week ago, we held our first event outside of Chicago in the not-so-distant Milwaukee.  It was a wonderful evening event with 60 talented vendors.  The weather was perfect and the venue was amazing.  Here are just a few shots of the show taken by Valo Photography.

Between all the food, drinks, live music and displays to browse, there was so much to see and do.  Everyone in Milwaukee was so welcoming of our little event and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Sad you missed it?  Well there are a lot of Indie Wed things on the horizon.  If you live out west, our next event will be in Denver on July 31st.  We are so excited about the special vendors we have found and think this will be another event for the books!  Sadly that will be all the events for 2012 (as I am having a baby Labor Day weekend – ironic!) but we are amping it up for 2013 with even more shows in more cities across the country plus an exciting new partnership with a national magazine (details coming soon).  Our 4th annual winter event in Chicago will be February 2nd so mark your calendars now!

Engagement shoots are always fun but how about one where the bride to be doesn’t even know she is getting engaged!  When photographer Latisha Carlson of Latisha Lyn Photography sent over this super sweet shoot, I knew I had to share.  For weeks Latisha and the future groom, Drew, planned this surprise pop-the-question under the guise a a simple styled photo shoot.

Latisha escorted the lovely Brenna to the surprise destination blindfolded where Drew was eagerly waiting with a hand-painted sign that read “hello best friend”.  How sweet.

When Drew fell to bended knee and proposed, I just love the expression on Brenna’s face.  Such an important moment and one that usually doesn’t get captured on film.  This is something they can cherish forever.

Congratulations to this happy couple.  Hopefully we will get a chance to see the wedding photos as well.  And thank you to Latisha for sending these are way.  So adorable.  Now I want to get engaged all over again….  Did you have an interesting or unique engagement?  Do tell!