Planning a wedding? Hinsdale Wedding Walk comes to town

Save the date! The eighth annual Hinsdale Wedding Walk starts at 1 p.m. on March 11. Sponsored by Hinsdale Bride, the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce, Chicago Social and Wedding Guide Chicago, the affair has evolved into one of the premiere, luxurious events of its kind.

Brides and their guests will stroll through picturesque downtown Hinsdale or ride a quaint trolley while sampling wedding cake and gourmet food, watching hair and makeup demonstrations, and getting discounts and free expert advice.

“Brides can come to the walk at any point in the planning process and find it extremely helpful,” said Brooke Righeimer, wedding and event planner for Tying the Knot, a wedding planning and design service based in Hinsdale.

“Hinsdale is filled with expert wedding-related businesses,” said Righeimer, a participant since the first walk. “We wanted to open our doors for the day and let brides see everything we have to offer. It is an amazing opportunity to join us for an afternoon, meet the owners of the local businesses and come into our ‘homes’ for wedding inspiration.”

The first 100 attendees will receive chic swag bags. Brides who register prior to 2 p.m. at Char Crews, where the walk begins, will have the opportunity to win posh raffle prizes from the event’s vendors.

Brides will receive a map to guide them from business to business. At the end of the walk, there will be a special drawing for the grand prize: a six-night deluxe honeymoon to Riviera Maya in Mexico, round-trip airfare included.

This year’s Wedding Walk features a combination of familiar and first-time vendors, most located in Hinsdale, including Ashley’s Stationery, Bellisima Photography, Belleza, Caffray Jewelers, Char Crews, Classic Party Rentals, Fodeo, Francia Bridal, Hinsdale Travel, Jane’s Blue Iris, Katherine Legge Memorial Park and Lodge, La Cuisine Catering, Morgan Perris Salon, Music by Design, Phillip’s Flowers, Photo Booth by Design, Razny Jewelers, Sass-N-Class, Savory Spice Shop, the Trolley Car Co., Toni Patisserie & Café, Tying the Knot and Viking Travel.

Attendees who bring a gently used bridesmaid dresses to donate to the Mercy Home for Girls qualify for a special prize from Morgan Perris Salon.

By Issy Sampson Comments 11 Feb 2012 13:13 Katy's getting divorced. So she's wearing a wedding dress

oor old Katy Perry, eh? She's preparing for her first big night out since she signed the papers for her divorce from Russell Brand, standing in front of her wardrobe (or probably IN her wardrobe - in our heads, all celebrities have a walk-in wardrobe like Carrie in Sex and the City) and she can't find one thing to wear. Dress with fruit all over it? So 2010. Rubber cat-print wedding dress? So 2011. Literally the only clean, thing Katy could find to wear was an actual wedding dress.          
She also wore a massive hat to distract from her bridal outfit, and we think it totally worked. Oh no, it didn't. Sorry about that, Katy. We love the pink rose fascinator, although we can't see ourselves wearing it to many weddings this summer.

Amazing hat, rubbish for the person sitting behind her though

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 Katy's dress was actually couture, by French designer Alexis Mabille, and KP obviously loved it, which is nice. "Tonight's lewk is Petal Power themed," Katy tweeted before she went to the party, held at LA's Staples Centre. That spelling of the word 'look' makes us feel a bit sad inside.

Katy performed Hey Jude at the party

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Katy - who signed her divorce papers with a smiley face this week, something us non-celebs would get told off for doing - was performing Hey Jude for Sir Paul McCartney and loads of his famous mates at a party to celebrate his music and his charity work, where he was presented with the MusiCares 2012 Person of the Year award.

"Thanks to Sir Paul McCartney for inviting me to give my spin on "Hey Jude". As Eddie Izzard said tonight, your songs are eternal!" she said after the show. The party also saw Eddie Izzard hosting, and Alicia Keys, Coldplay and the Foo Fighters performing for Sir Paul.

Neither Sir Paul or Nancy Shevell wore a wedding dress last night

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You'd think Katy would be hiding at home to avoid all the awkward conversations you end up having when you're newly single ("I should really set you up with my brother!") but she's got the small matter of the Grammys to perform at this week.

She's been promising something big for her performance at the ceremony tomorrow - Tweeting: "Just finished rehearsals for Grammy's... I'm. so. excited." Hang on, are you getting married on stage, Katy? Is this dress a hint? Er, probably not, thinking about it carefully.

Katy really, really likes coffee. Look how happy she is!

 Meanwhile, Russell Brand has been looking decidedly less cheery while he's been performing stand-up gigs in LA this week - maybe because the divorce papers showed that he's not claiming any of Katy's money in the split, despite the fact the couple had no pre-nup. That's around £12m he's turned down. Yep, we'd be looking a bit grumpy if we'd passed on that money too.

Russell Brand and his identical mate earlier this week

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 They'll be officially divorced on 14 July this year, as they have to wait six months before it becomes official. And when that day comes, Katy's ready to get married again. Clearly.

Love Museum

What becomes of a garden gnome hurled in fury at a windscreen during a stormy breakup? Or a teddy bear that was once a Valentine's Day present? A wedding dress from a marriage gone awry? An ax that smashed through household furniture? All are on display at the Museum of Broken Relationships in the Croatian capital, each with written testimonies telling tales of passion, romance and heartbreak。 On Valentine's Day, the museum sees its visits almost double。 "The objects that are here represent all the stages of a breakup ... and how people go through love," said Drazen Grubisic, a designer and artist who co-founded the museum in 2010 in the Croatian capital。 "We might say it's a love museum, just upside down," he said。 The mementos — collected from all over the world — are random and varied, ranging from fake rubber breasts to a cast from a broken leg. Each item comes with dates and locations of the relationships, and notes by their anonymous donors。 Some are funny. The note next to a garter belt says: "I never put them on. The relationship might have lasted longer if I had." Some are bitter. The garden gnome flew over a car driven by a husband who turned "arrogant and heartless." It bounced on the asphalt, shattering its face。 "It was a long loop, drawing an arc of time ... that defined the end of love," the note from Slovenia said。 An ax from Berlin was used by a woman to smash every piece of furniture her girlfriend had left behind。 The museum, located just across from Zagreb's City Hall where couples get married, currently displays some 100 "relics" out of about 1,000 that have been collected from around the world。 Parts of the collection have traveled as far as Manila, London and Singapore to be put on display. In each city, the heartbroken can donate their stuff to the Zagreb museum。 The museum itself is the brainchild of a breakup. When Grubisic and co-founder Olinka Vistica, a filmmaker, split up, they got stuck when it came to dividing their sentimental memorabilia. They didn't want to just get rid of it, so they created a museum。