Chicago Bridal Market... A Recap

If you follow us on instagram, then you already know that we spent the majority of last week at Chicago Bridal Market.  If you don't know what a Bridal market is, then get comfortable, because I'm about to tell you all about it!  Each year every manufacturer we carry debuts their gowns at what are called Bridal Markets twice a year (to show their spring and fall collections).  They usually begin in LA, where the major magazine editors, the Knot, as well as many of the Couture bridal designers debut their collections, from there the gowns travel to Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and finally finish in New York City.  Each designer has runway shows in each city to show their collection, and buyers from all over the country travel to these markets and carefully choose the gowns they want to carry for their store.

Last week we visited Chicago, which is unusual for us, since we generally travel to Dallas when we do our buying.  Traveling to Dallas allows us to fly under the radar, and visit the showrooms without the hustle and bustle of Chicago or NYC showrooms.  However due to scheduling conflicts, we opted to visit Chicago this year, and boy did we have a whirlwind of a trip!  Each showroom we visited was jam packed with buyers, sales reps, and even designers!  We had the amazing opportunity to meet David Tutera as well as Sophia Tolli, and even chat with the owner of Mon Cheri Bridals!

We are so used to flying under the radar in Dallas, so shopping this market was completely different for us.  We ended up flipping our name tags around so that while we were walking by manufacturer showrooms we didn't get flagged down to view their collection. It seemed as though every major bridal manufacturer was chasing us down to view their new collections, and even offering to put wedding dresses in our store for free just to test market their new line!  It was such an honor to feel as though all the manufacturers wanted to do business with us, but boy did it slow us down.

We watched endless runway shows, and selected our favorites from what seemed like hundreds and hundreds of wedding dresses to finally choose what we were going to buy.  We too buy our dresses with a budget, and we carefully select what we would like to choose for you to try that way you get the best selection when you visit our store, and we also get the best dresses for you to try.  I've included a few photos, including one of the exterior of the Mart, it's HUGE.  Bridal took up the entire 7th floor, and in 3 days we walked 10 miles to pick the very best wedding dresses for you!  In the end we purchased 3 new wedding dresses manufacturers, 2 new bridesmaids manufacturers, TONS of wedding dresses and accessories; and we can't wait for them to come in for you to try! 

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