Change is in the air these days. The leaves are changing, the weather is cooler and we’ve been inspired to make some changes of our own!

We’ve been cooking up some pretty delicious new additions to the blog, and all of these amazing new features are almost ready to launch! Where will you find us after all of these divine changes come your way? Celebrating with pumpkin pie and apple cider, of course!

Now, we’re all about the wedding, and, as you know, are more than happy to help you plan your perfect Southern soiree. But what comes after that blessed wedding day? The honeymoon, of course! We’re putting the finishing touches on a highly-curated list of the top honeymoon locations in the South and beyond! The Honey List will be the first place to check for honeymoon planning and inspiration. Think your honeymoon was the bee’s knees? Represent a property that you think would be perfect for this list? Email Marissa and let her know!

There are so many reasons for us to celebrate these days. Lara is expecting a beautiful baby girl and Southern Weddings V4 was met with tons of praise! It’s been pure amazingness around here. One thing that I am forever and always grateful for is that we have SOLD OUT of our past editions! For those of you who missed out on getting them in print, never fear! We’ve created online editions of all three issues so you can flip through each issue to your Southern heart’s delight. The Digital Trilogy will be available super soon!

Last but not least is the project nearest and dearest to my heart. We have been fielding dozens of applications from some absolutely, positively amazing vendors from around the South and in the next few weeks, we will be unveiling the brand-spankin’ new Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory. Brides, you’ll have easy access to a curated resource list in every single wedding category and in every Southern state. Vendors, if you’re devoted to the client experience, produce exemplary work and have glowing peer and client review to back you up, you could be just the type of vendor we’re looking for! We will be adding to this list year-round, so just send an email my way to get an application!

I’m brimming with excitement and we are all thrilled to share the Honey List, the Digital Trilogy and the Blue Ribbon Vendor directory with you! Sit tight, my belles and beaus, these changes are coming up real soon! So soon!

Hello, my pretties! Can you believe how jam-packed our schedule was? We fit as many gorgeous gowns and fabulous friends (new and old) into our three days in the city as possible. It’s certainly making my head whirl!

Marissa and I began day three in Judd Waddell’s beautiful showroom. This collection was most definitely a favorite of mine. I was swooning over the rows of tiny buttons up the backs of many of the designs. Each dress was simple, timeless, and utterly perfect for Southern brides. It was wonderful to chat with Judd after the showing. He’s quite the gentleman!

We spent much of Monday morning jumping from booth to booth at the Piers. Marissa and I were overwhelmed by the hundreds of fabulous designers there. While we didn’t have time to stop by every booth (if only!), it was wonderful to see some familiar faces and make new friends.

We ran into the gorgeous and super trendy Lindsie at Haute Bride and I was so tempted to try on all of her fabulous beads and baubles. We also said a quick hello to Coren Moore, whose lovely ad is featured in Southern Weddings V4.

One of the best surprise finds of the day were Veronica Sheaffer’s stunning gowns. Her newest collection is inspired by weathered white-washed fences. You can’t get much more Southern than that!

After many a tweet back and forth, we finally met up with SW favorite Kristy Rice of Momental Designs. What’s that she’s holding? Only a copy of Southern Weddings V4!

While at the Piers, we had the opportunity to squeeze into the Watters show. The Watters collection featured fun veils and beautiful gowns (of course). I fell in love with these printed bridesmaid dresses. Wouldn’t they be perfect for a garden wedding?

Before we left the Piers, we made sure to stop by and chat with the lovely ladies at Ivy + Aster. They are sweet as sugar and cute to boot!

Who took these fabulous photos? Mr. Trent Bailey, of course!

Be sure to drop back in this afternoon for the very last part of our Bridal Market adventure. Believe me, you won’t want to miss it. Want a hint for what’s ahead? Marissa and I may have had a chance to play dress-up. Just wait till you see what we got to try on!

We’re baaack with even more glorious fashion inspiration for y’all to fall in love with!

On Sunday afternoon, Marissa and I made our way over to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to see the Rivini collection. Marissa was seated right away, but when I tried to check in, they thought that I was a photographer! While I take a mean iPhone photo, that most certainly is not the case. Luckily, I convinced the lovely people at Rivini that I was not a photographer, proven by the fact that I did not have a camera with me, and I was seated right next to my partner in crime.

Everything about the Rivini collection reminded me of a watercolor painting. I adored the use of light silk organza and especially the punches of violet and plumb. Color was huge on the runway this year and I’ve come to love the colored sashes.

After Rivini, we hailed a cab back to the Piers for the Badgley Mischka show. We started off the weekend with no clue how to hail a cab (who knew it could be so difficult?) but by this point we were pros. Just check out Marissa and her newfound New York attitude below!

We were particularly excited for the Badgley Mischka show primarily because Marissa and I have a shared obsession with Badgley Mischka shoes and we knew that their wedding collection had to be spectacular. The show did not disappoint! We were fawning over the glamourous feather accents and unique cowl necklines. Best of all, we had the opportunity to meet the designers after the show! I swear, I’m still on cloud nine!

Onwards we went to the Vera Wang showroom where we ran into the lovely Marcy Blum! We’re huge fans of hers and it was nice to say howdy.

We were really in for a a surprise with Vera’s newest line. The collection, titled Witchcraft, is described as “both mysterious and sexy, frivolous and fun”. The biggest shocker? There wasn’t a white dress in sight! Half of the daring gowns were a fabulous black and the others were in nude!

One of my favorite parts of the entire trip was seeing these beauties up close. Each gown is hand-sewn and the intricacy is absolutely awe-inspiring. It was amazing just to be able to touch these magnificent gowns!

All images courtesy of the marvelous Trent Bailey.

Whew! And with that, we finished up day 2. I hope y’all have been enjoying hearing about our grand adventure. We’ve had a blast writing about it! Come back tomorrow for a final day of lace and tulle (and a few impromptu photoshoots)!

So, what do you think? Would you wear a colored wedding dress? Are you daring enough to wear one of those black Vera Wang gowns?

Hello, my dears! Marissa and I spent three marvelous days galavanting around the city and we are so, so, SO thrilled to bring you the best of the best from Bridal Market! Now, of course we can’t fit all of the goodness into one post, so you are going to come on back this afternoon (and tomorrow and Friday) for many more dream dresses. Fabulous photographer Ashley Minette went along for the ride on Saturday to capture our adventures and Mr. Trent Bailey delighted us with his photographic genius on Sunday and Monday.

We flew in to NYC super, super early Saturday morning and went directly to our first show of the day, Claire Pettibone. It was my very first fashion show ever (!!!) and I was immediately floored by Claire Pettibone’s feminine and romantic gowns. I love the flowing silhouettes and whimsical feel, don’t you?

We also ran into some of our wonderful friends: Christy from Junebug Weddings, Vane of Brooklyn Bride, Amanda from Ruffled, Jackie from Merci New York, Cathleya of Wedding Bee and Jill from The Blogworthy Bride. Definitely not a bad way to start off the day!

Next up, we hailed a cab (well… attempted to hail a cab) and made our way over to EZ Studios for Christos. The Christos collection was full of organza and flowers (yes, please!). I was particularly loving the Anais (second gown pictured below) with it’s full skirt and hand-beaded flowers. We also met up with the always-dashing Randy Fenoli of Kleinfeld Bridal and Say Yes to the Dress. We heart you, Randy!

We stayed at EZ Studios for Kenneth Pool. I was swooning over the drama and luxuriousness of these gowns. Oh, the glamour! The ruffles!

All of these great photos are courtesy of Ashley Minette.

Saturday was a whirlwind, y’all, and we aren’t done yet! We’ll be back with more goodness from Saturday’s shows this afternoon!

Lots of love from your Bridal Market correspondents,

Whitney and Marissa

Marissa and I have been counting down the days to Bridal Market for months now and suddenly, it’s here! Yippee! Time flies when you’re making a magazine, right Marissa? MK: Yes, ma’am! I just had to pop in and say how excited I am, y’all!

Our suitcases are packed (full of Southern Weddings V4s), I’ve printed out my plane tickets, and I could not be more excited! Those New York yankees need a good dash of Southern love and we are happy to oblige!

Image credit: Fred Egan at Amsale 2010

We are flying in early on Saturday morning and dashing right to the Piers. We have a full schedule of shows to attend and we will be reporting every little detail back to you next week. We’re thrilled to learn all about the upcoming wedding trends and share each and every one of them with you! Be sure to follow Marissa and I (as well as Southern Weddings) on Twitter for all of the tweet-coverage over the weekend. There are sure to be some gorgeous gown Twitpics involved!

Image credit: Fred Egan at Rivini 2010

Will you be at Bridal Market? If so, we have some amazing news for you! You can be one of the very first people in the entire world to see Southern Weddings V4! Copies of Southern Weddings V4 WILL BE AVAILABLE at Bridal Market! Where can you find them, you ask?

Just swing by Coren Moore, Ivy + Aster or Aruna Seth’s booths at Pier 94 to pick up your very own copy of this deliciously huge issue. We are huge fans of Coren Moore’s classic bridesmaid dresses and have you seen Ivy + Aster’s whimsical gowns? Not to mention Aruna Seth’s stunning shoes! We’re thrilled to partner with these fabulous designers and give you the chance to pick up your copy of Southern Weddings V4 weeks before it hits shelves! Copies of Southern Weddings V4 will also be available at the COUTURE show so be sure to grab one while you can. They will be gone faster than you can say ‘sweet tea’!

So there you have it! If you’ll be at Bridal Market this weekend, be sure to say howdy. Marissa and I love to make new friends!

To New York we go!

Love,

Whitney and Marissa