Well this past weekend was super busy and rather productive surprisingly. Kyle and I drove up from Connecticut to Rochester to go to the 585Wedding.com Bridal Expo at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. We were very excited to go and find more vendors. But honestly the expo was a huge disappoint. We had been to one bridal show before at the Woodcliff Spa and Resort in Victor, NY but it was our first time going to anything like that and it was incredibly overwhelming.
Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine a large room filled to the brim with women. Scatter a few guys through the crowd, but really it is just brides, mostly ranging in age from 20 to 40, with all their bridesmaids and mothers. And everyone is trying to talk to the 50 vendors there to get the best deals and learn all the necessary information. It is loud, crowded, and just crazy. So for Kyle and I the Woodcliff bridal show was too overwhelming. We were unprepared for what it was.
But this time I was ready. I had a clip board (so that I didn't have to bend over to fill out all the forms - and there are a lot of forms. All vendors want your contact information). I had a pen (super important for all those forms I just mentioned). I had a backpack (so that I had somewhere to put all the papers and business cards that I collected). And finally I had my tablet there with me with a list of all the questions I wanted to ask all the different vendors. I was ready for this bridal show. But even after all the hype it was given, the show was a let down. It was smaller than the first one we had gone to and not all the vendors on their "participating vendors" list were even there. This was frustrating because there were two photographers that I wanted to compare to the one at the top of my list and they weren't there. Because of that I will probably be going with my original choice which is too bad for the other two
The reason it was so small was because more than half of the room was taken up the "fashion show." For the fashion show two wedding dress designers showed off their dresses and two tuxedo rental companies showed off their tuxes. To me I felt like it was a waste of time. I can look at all of that online and had.
But the show was not a complete waste. I was able to meet the photographer that I am leaning towards and ask him some new questions that I hadn't had the chance to ask him yet. Kyle and I were also able to score a killer deal on Tuxedos. By signing up that day each of our groomsmen will only spend one hundred dollars total on: their tux, their shoes, their shirt, their vest, and their tie. Which is a great deal. We can also include both of our fathers in that deal. And to top it all off: Kyle gets his tux for free. It was a spur of the moment decision but the price was just too good to pass up. Especially considering we only had to put twenty dollars down right then!
Other than the show, we were able to accomplish other things. I asked my maid of honor and matron of honor to stand with me (they both said yes!). And Kyle asked my brother to be one of his groomsmen.
We also asked our officiant: Marc. Marc is a close family friend of my family and we couldn't be more excited. Marc is signed up online to be an officiant in the state of New York. He was the officiant for my brother's wedding as well. Kyle and I are not very religious so having a friend marry us means a lot.
While home I was also able to see some decorations my mother had bought. She bought 20 black medium sized lanterns to be the focal point of the centerpiece. The lanterns all have fake candles inside (since we can't have open flames anywhere on the property - which is a good idea considering the entire venue is made from wood). She also bought two large plastic copper distressed urns with fake flowers in them, thinking they could sit upfront by us during the ceremony. I'm not sure yet what she spent on them but I will make sure I let you know.
Keeping you posted,
Casey
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