Engaged! magazine held its annual Engaged at the Willard event Sunday, with a three-course brunch and talk by special guest Clinton Kelly of TLC’s “What Not to Wear,” who spoke on how to look fabulous on your wedding day.
The event, sponsored by Elizabeth Arden Red Door salon, is for area vendors to showcase why their products are perfect for your next wedding or event. Some are veterans of the wedding business, including OnLine Suburban Video.
“We’ve been doing weddings for over 25 years,” said Tom Trainor, senior videographer and marketer. “We also do a lot of bar and bat mitzvahs.”
Then there’s Rodney Bailey of Rodney Bailey Photography, who attended Engaged at the Willard for 10 years. He recently photographed a $1.5 million wedding with multiple receptions, including one night at the National Building Museum and another at the Mellon Auditorium.
As far as wedding dresses, Betsy Robinson was the only bridal fashion collection at the event. The company is located in Pikesville, Md., but gets many Baltimore, D.C. and Northern Virginia brides as well.
“Brides today typically go for a less conservative, slimmer look,” said Robinson. “Strapless is also very popular because it is comfortable, and brides can do many things, like dance, with ease.”
Robinson recently worked on former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s head speechwriter’s wedding. According to Robinson, the firm does about 1,400 weddings per year.
James Roy Fine Art Photography was perhaps the most interesting vendor, with photos from underwater weddings, period weddings, a wedding at a bayou and a Las Vegas wedding.
“The Vegas wedding was pretty crazy,” Roy said. “They had no family or friends there. I had to sign their marriage certificate.”
There were also place-setting designers as well as wedding cake designers, including The Blushing Bakeshop. Paola Domenge, designer, makes wedding cupcakes as a fun alternative to the traditional tiered cake.
“Our recipes are all gourmet and are high-end pastry presentations,” she said. “Truthfully, we have been doing really well in the recession because cupcakes are very economical.”
Brides attending the event were mostly excited about seeing TLC personality Kelly. Lindsay Young, legislative director for Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) will marry Capt. Mark Kavanaugh of the Navy on Sept. 13.
“We came out to see Clinton,” said Young, who attended with two other friends. “We are huge ‘What Not to Wear’ fans.”
Kelly’s talk focused on four main style tips: fit, proportion, appropriateness and shoes. “The average woman tries on 20 pairs of jeans before she finds the perfect fit,” he said. “The same goes with trying on the perfect wedding gown.”
Kelly also stressed that women are different sizes and therefore need different types of dresses.
“It’s the worst with bridesmaids dresses,” he said. “Women completely disregard their bridesmaids — a size-20 bridesmaid will not look good in spaghetti strap purple chartreuse. Size-zero and size-20 women look completely different in the same dress.”
Kelly also said to not be afraid of collar, as ivory, oyster and silvery-gray dresses are becoming popular.
In an interview after the talk, Clinton said that D.C. does have its own sense of style.
“It’s got a big-city vibe, very cosmopolitan but also with Southern influences,” he said. “There’s that sense of Southern hospitality and grandeur with weddings.”
Doreen Tisone, editor in chief of Engaged! said that the magazine’s goal is to give the newly engaged reader, who probably has not planned a wedding before, a starting point for the wedding planning process.
“D.C.-area brides-to-be are so busy with careers and such, the wedding planner is often the first call,” she said. “Our advertisers are solid professionals offering reputable services and in these tough economic times, one should have confidence that the wedding budget is being spent wisely on proven products and services.”
Brunch during Clinton’s talk included a chilled seafood appetizer, quail’s egg benedict, hash browns with bacon, creamed spinach, smoked salmon and caper on a bagel, and a fresh fruit salad. Dessert was a lemon thyme bread pudding with wild strawberries and Belgian chocolate beignets with caramel sauce.