Ali Eagan has been forging a new path for the wedding industry in Buffalo and Rochester for nearly a decade. The FIT grad was initially designing sweaters for Abercrombie & Fitch in the late 2000’s until her entrepreneurial spirit took over. She moved home to Buffalo to launch Anatomy where she continues to design and producing custom wedding dresses. By 2012, she had launched Buffalo Indie Weddings, followed quickly by Rochester Indie Weddings. These events provided an opportunity for local independent makers and service providers to receive a spotlight. From floral design to jewelry making, photographers and videographers. Dessert makers, photo booth operators, venues and drivers, stylists and more. Ali has been able to do so much for local entrepreneurs in the ever expanding wedding industry by gathering them all and putting them on display at extremely fun, lighthearted events for people planning their weddings. Essentially providing a funnel to keep so much of the thousands of dollars weddings cost spent locally and in our town. It’s been incredible to watch her business and events grow which keeps local couples acutely aware of all the creative talent available in our town.
If you’re getting married this year, it’s most likely not what you had envisioned. This year has undoubtedly thrown curve balls no one could have expected – business owners included! Our work season is already cut short living in WNY due to our winters, and with COVID-19 making it near impossible to have the typical weddings we are used to working – so many of us are hanging on by a thread. We, and couples alike, are anxiously waiting for things to turn around.
In the meantime, so many of us local wedding pros have been pivoting like we mean it and working on ways to continue to serve and connect with our couples. After all, there are still thousands of couples in WNY planning their weddings in the years to come, and we want them to have the opportunity to celebrate, too! We, here at Indie Weddings, are ALL ABOUT THAT PARTY THO! Usually we have grandiose bridal shows that are more like parties full of inspiration, fun activities, fashion shows, giveaways, and the chance to make a connection with the most unique and talented wedding pros around. All of those have been cancelled… but one!
We are bringing ALL of what makes Indie Weddings events so special right into the homes of our brides and grooms in one week long virtual wedding festival! Between our website and social media feeds, we’ll have multiple ways for couples to connect with our Indie Weddings members digitally and in real life. Mini open houses hosted at vendor locations throughout the week will offer couples a chance to meet and experience some of the vendors as well. Each of the over 30 vendors has a giveaway item and there is our grand prize giveaway, worth over $1,000 worth of wedding gifts and items for the bride and groom. The week will kick off on 09/13 with two live streamed fashion shows right from the bridal shops Lovely Bride Rochester and Victoria’s Bridal Shoppe. The week will close out with live drawings of the winners for each giveaway on 09/20! Each $8 ticket is one password for this virtual event.
I had been biding my time when quarantine hit waiting for things to turn around. By May, it became clear to me that we would not be able to host our 400+ person events this year, so I had to think outside of the box. There were other businesses hosting virtual events using Instagram live or Facebook that were intriguing – but not enough to forge a real connection and allow for easy access to the vendors for long enough. I needed to create a space where the authentic connection that happens at our bridal shows could occur virtually.
Sarah Wintle PhotographyMegan Ann PhotographyMoonshine Studio of Photography
This year has been so incredibly difficult. There were times when I wasn’t sure I should do anything at all, considering the mood amongst so many of my peers is quite bleak. There are a lot of wedding vendors who are stepping back from weddings next year, fearing for their safety. The uncertainty and divided attitudes towards the virus has brought so much anxiety, which is a terrible way to feel when you’re trying to create the perfect wedding day for a couple. I have had to do a lot of championing and cheerleading to continue to bring the community together and create something positive for the engaged couples of WNY. It’s been exhausting, but now that the virtual website is all coming together I am truly beaming with pride from my fellow wedding peers. They are really showing up for this by way of their creative video intros that each ticket holder will get to watch as they browse through each vendor’s virtual booth. They are embracing the possibility for change and running with it and giving me life in the process.
I’m hopeful that we can have another big return to bridal shows in the spring – but it’s so hard to tell. I’m thrilled that we have pioneered this new format for hosting a virtual wedding show as it truly shows our resilience and unwavering determination to boost our community of small businesses. We hope that you all come to the party! Tickets on sale now!
Megan Ann PhotographyMegan Ann PhotographySarah Wintle Photography
