my chicago martha stewart’s wedding party recap

the acclaimed martha stewart’s wedding party brought their new york show on the road and debuted in chicago this past sunday!  held at the luxury radisson blu aqua and produced by martha stewart wedddings, new york’s claudia hanlin’s wedding library, and chicago’s own lovebird events, the sunday wedding showcase was stunning!

exhibitors were able to drop items off the day before.  here is what i was welcomed to when i arrived on saturday, a highboy table that i requested and a business sign…

warning: not the best iphone pics

we quickly dropped off heavier items and headed back home for last-minute preparations for sunday’s event.  here are some before shots of the venue…

i woke up early sunday morning and set up.  thank goodness i had the help of my husband and my good friend dawn.  here’s my space all set up…

before all the brides arrived, i was able to sneak a peek at the registration area…

i had great neighbors!  tom of xo pictures is a fellow indie wed exhibitor and a motion picture artist!

and to the other side, seth of spin spun.  hands down, the BEST cotton candy i have ever tasted in my life!  he offers AWESOME gourmet flavors like lemon coconut, jolly rancher watermelon, white truffle!!!  you need to book spin spun for your next party or corporate event.  not kidding.

so many beautiful tablescapes…

it’s great seeing familiar faces.  i ran into lynda of greenstar paperie who styled all of the paper goods for fancy candies…

the fun table of for your party…

and there was food EVERYWHERE.  glasses of mimosa and champagne, sweets, passed hors d’oeuvres…

i wish i was able to take more {and better} photos, but was so busy!  i met so many great people and loved talking to all of the brides and grooms.  if you stopped by and said hello, thank you so much!!

as always, a huge thank you to my husband for hauling all of my stuff to and from the show, my sister for her beautiful wedding card boxes and awesome illustrations, and my friend dawn for assisting me the entire day, from setup to break down!

even with the chicago cold and rain, the folks came out!!  thanks to martha stewart weddings, claudia hanlin, and lovebird events for hosting a fabulous party!

mommy monday: the mother of all wedding shows – MARTHA STEWART’S WEDDING PARTY

i disappeared for a little bit there.  i went straight from indie wed to another wedding show… MARTHA STEWART’S WEDDING PARTY!  martha and her crew are taking their well known new york show on the road and bringing it to chicago for the very first year!  there will be be expert panel speakers, breakout sessions, and me!  for all of you lovely readers in the chicago area, i have a treat… i have a handful of tickets to giveaway {regularly $65/single ticket or $110/for two}!!  send an email to hello@penelopespress.com or write a comment below for a complimentary ticket.  hope to see you there!

workday wednesdays: indie wed recap

this past weekend i participated in my first wedding show– indie wed. indie wed is a non-traditional wedding show + market featuring small, independent businesses. for a first time participant at indie wed and a wedding show in general, it was a fantastic experience! indie wed was started by kelly of paper stories. i was finally able to meet kelly toward the end of the show and gushed on how well organized the event was, the amazing attendance {nearly 1200 attendees!}, and the eclectic mix of vendors… i could not be more impressed!

the morning of the show i was overwhelmingly tired, it was snowing pretty hard, and i was running late. with an hour until the show, my table looked like this…

after a few minutes of sitting and staring at all my neighbors prepare, adrenaline kicked in and my table space whipped into shape quickly…

the event was held at the ravenswood event center in chicago. the space is very urban– an industrial feel with exposed ceilings and concrete floors while the perimeter is flanked with fancy sports cars…

before i knew it, the brides and grooms were flooding in. i was busy handing out swag, talking to potential clients, and meeting wedding industry folks that i really didn’t take many photos {thank you carmela of fiore press for snapping some pictures!}

the day was so busy that it wasn’t until towards the end of the show that i was finally able to sit down for a bit and grab a sampling of the food that i saw everyone eating!

the debut and soft launch of the wedding line was well received and in just a few days, all of these awesome products will be available for purchase in the shop!

as always, all of the images are hand illustrated by my sister… so a HUGE thank you to my sister {like she really has time for my demands when she has a full-time job + a really full household to maintain} for always drawing for me, to lisa my assistant for her helping hand + braving the snow to get us some coffee, my husband who painted my pin boards and covered the cork with fabric, my friends that stopped by the show for support, and to all of the brides + grooms, wedding planners, etc. that made the day a huge success! thank you, thank you, thank you!

wedding invitations: linda + shaun

the overwhelming majority of penelope’s press buyers are out of state, so it’s nice when i can meet face to face with a local client.  i met the groom-to-be, shaun, many moons ago in high school, so i was thrilled when his fiance linda contacted me to discuss invitations!  they both liked this invite because it fit their modern yet classy style and asked if i could tweak it.  congratulations to linda and shaun!  soon i’ll be working on their day of pieces- programs + menus!

workday wednesdays: assistant extaordinaire

i have been having some help around the mess of envelopes and paper these days.  meet lisa!  she. is. awesome.  she has been a huge help with everything from backing wedding invitations {that is what she is doing in the picture}, assembling wedding invitations, taking envelope inventory, computer work… and most importantly, helping me keep my sanity and chit chatting with me while we work {it is amazing how much i miss talking to an adult during the daytime hours}!  tomorrow i will you show you the complete wedding suite, stay tuned!

{a big thank you to all those that participated in the oh, hello friend giveaway!  there was a whopping 344 entries… congrats to jade miles for winning!}