Morning b.lovelies! Today I shall be… stepping into the shoes of Mrs b.loved herself and reporting from Brides the Show on b.loved’s behalf. A little late, I know, but we’ve been just so busy Darlings.

So back to beginning of October, there we were, the incomparable Mrs Fiona Kelly (once she’d fought her way across from the other side of Battersea Park) and I, sent on a mission to take notes of those things that made us positively swoon.

And swoon we did. First of all over the ridiculously cool exhibition of iconic wedding dresses. Whoever came up with that idea deserves a medal. I am known to have the attention span of a gnat but even my full attention was held, ambling from one dress to the next, accompanied by exclamations of ‘Sweet Jesus, they’ve got Joan Collins’. I don’t think you’d be able to find Fergie x2, as in Duchess of York and Black Eyed Peas, in the same room at any other occasion. Well done Brides – pure genius.

Admiring Cilla’s dress is also where I met the über-cool Chenca Williams, former Principal Ballet Dancer in the Royal Ballet and daughter Ritva Westenius, wedding dress designer par excellence. We bonded over a shared love for an arm full of silver bangles and when she showed me their literally-only-just-finished Jackie O dresses later on, my love was cemented for ever more. Don’t you agree?

Onwards! And straight into the open arms of the fantastically talented (and wonderfully warm-hearted) Paula Rooney. I neither know where to start nor where to end so I’ll let Fiona’s pictures of her breathtaking display speak for themselves. It was stupendous yet not intimidating, which ain’t an easy thing to accomplish. All I can say is that I now dream of having the Chapel decked out in swaths of hydrangeas, snowberries and succulents, interspersed with grapes and gold-leafed apples.

Trying to think like a bride-to-be, we figured now that we had the flowers sorted, we needed some decoration inspiration – and practically stumbled into Eagle Eyed Bride’s corner. Jac & Katie are full of ideas, and the best ones at that. We love, love, LOVED their new invitation range and the bow-tie place cards are just genius. All I can say is if you have a great idea but don’t quite know how to make it happen, J&K are your girls. They will not only run with it but make sure it works just as you envisaged it.

Round the corner and into the arms of the Kay, aka Mrs Intricate Creations. Is there no end to this girl’s talents? IC first burst onto the wedding scene with their laser-cut stationery and knocked us all off our feet. The beauty is in the name: intricate indeed! And now they’ve taken it that bit further with a fantastic range of tealight holders and vases that can be engraved with your initials or anything else that takes your fancy. Ssshhh – I don’t even like gold all that much but have to admit that those vases looked simply beautiful.

I could go on forever but someone has to go earn kibble for the dog so I shall leave you with the last of the pick – the pretty booth that was Peach Blossom’s display. If you know me you’ll know that anything pastel really doesn’t float my boat all that much and yet stepping into the PB world felt happy and celebratory, like a summer’s day. And anybody who has a sequin table cloth has my vote straight away.

Thank you Fiona Kelly Photography for capturing the prettiness!