The First Wedding Expo

Today I (Cassie) attended my first wedding expo! I knew that this would not be something Dave would be interested in doing, so I left him snuggled comfortably at home with the cat!

A girlfriend of mine had told me that she had gone to a lot of wedding expos, and entered as many prize drawings as she could. And as a result, she got a large number of big ticket items for her wedding for free, including their honeymoon! So I figured I might as well give it a shot, too. So when I saw a sign by the side of the road advertising an upcoming expo, I decided to go.

Since I’ve never been to a wedding expo before, I had no idea what to expect. Was it going to be crazy bridzillas climbing over one another to try to win free door prizes? Or would it be an organized, but informative event?

I found the website for the show about two hours before the show was scheduled to begin. It had a section where you can pre-register for free tickets, and mentioned that it is a good idea to pre-register to avoid long lines at the entrance. Anyone who knows me knows that I do NOT like to be forced to stand for long periods of time (I think this is a carryover from standing for long stretches of time in marching band).

Not wanting to get hit with a fee for entrance at the door, and wanting to avoid any lines, I reluctantly gave up all my information to pre-register, only to be told they would MAIL me my tickets 1-2 weeks in advance of the show. Well considering it was the DAY of the show, that wasn’t very helpful! So instead, I decided to head down to the show early, and was there about 11:30am (the show started at noon).

The place was filled with vendors of all types including photographers, entertainment vendors, limousine companies, florists, bridal gown shops, tuxedo shops, liquor distributors, bakers and print shops. I dutifully went around to each vendor and spoke with them individually. Most of the owners of the businesses were there, and it was a great way for me to hear how they feel about their business. By the time I finished at the vendors booths I had three bags full of pamphlets, books, business cards, flyers, etc.

I then made my way over to the fashion show being held in an adjacent room. Although it was slated to start at 2:30, the room was packed by the time I arrived (1:50pm). I managed to find a spot near the back (fine with me), and killed time by browsing through my collected items.

The fashion show was really poorly produced, but what should I have expected? The women came down the runway and back again so quickly that you really didn’t get to see their gowns, which was a shame. After the women came a set of male’s showing off the offerings available from Men’s Warehouse. The men were hamming it up, and having a great time (unlike the women, who looked like they couldn’t STAND doing it). The women in the audience kept hooting and hollering for the men like it was a bachelorette party, which I couldn’t help but feel was grossly inappropriate and unnecessary – but maybe I’m just a stick in the mud!

Overall, most brides-to-be at the event came with their mother, future mother-in-law, maid of honor, and/or several bridesmaids. So what could have been a very efficient event kept breaking down into mobs of people blocking the aisles, doorways, vendors, etc. I was VERY glad I went alone, so I could bob and weave through the crowds at my pace, and not have to worry about my entourage following behind.

After about 3.5 hours, I came home with a load of good information that has really helped spur Dave and I into talking about different aspects of the wedding. Do we want the ceremony at the same place as the reception? Do we want a DJ, or just plug in an iPod? Do we get a cake big enough to feed everyone, or a small decorative cake for the bridal party, with sheet cakes for the rest of the guests?

I also learned that we really need to get underway with choosing our date and our venue for both the ceremony and reception. The venues I spoke with at the show were showing me that dates in August and September in 2012 were already starting to book up! So we’ve put ourselves in gear on that front, and will be scheduling some venue visits soon.

Stay tuned for information about the venues we visit, and photographs that I take along the way!