Bridal Fairs- Do I Have To?

I went to my first- and only- bridal fair even before we were officially engaged. I say officially because I didn't have a ring yet and our families didn't know we were planning a wedding. However, we already had a date set and we were currently trying to find a venue.

Wait, are they called bridal fairs or shows? Or showcases? I don't even really know. We will just go with fair. Even if there weren't any deep fried Oreos to feed to our faces. If would have made the whole experience so much better if there had been. Bridal fairs, take note!

I was offered the tickets for free from my favorite Portland cupcakery, Cupcake Jones, or else I would have never gone. I can't imagine paying to attend one of these fairs. And if I did, I would have been upset with myself for wasting money. Yes, I consider this a HUGE waste of money. Now, don't get me wrong. I know some women LOVE bridal fairs and get a lot out of them. I am not one of those woman. But, if it's your thing, I say go for it and I hope you have a  great time.

I went to the bridal fair with my single girlfriend, Lise. Lise was the perfect friend to go with. I knew she wouldn't be big into the whole event so I'd be able to speak my mind on what I really thought of stuff, but that she would support me in coming with. She fully came through in both of these areas.

Why didn't I bring Drew with me? He wants to go to this stuff even less than I do. There was no way I was going to force him to do something like this when I was already forcing myself to go.

Well, I thought the fair really sucked. There weren't very many vendors and they were mostly for things we weren't planning on booking, weren't interested in and really could careless about. There was also a horrendous fashion show. I couldn't believe the "bridal looks" they created for it. Do brides really go for this? And where did they get those models? If it hadn't been for Lise and her snide comments during the show, I don't know if I would have survived.

So cheesy!
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Most of the vendors were just too much. They were over-the-top and pushy. One woman kept insisting that I needed to get her flower girl dresses. She just wouldn't take no for an answer. Even though I told her more than once that we were not having any flower girls and at that point, weren't even having a bridal party. Which of course made me think that they weren't even listening to what I was telling them, but instead were just trying to deliver their sales pitch.

The only vendor that I didn't feel was trying to shove everything they had down my throat was Cupcake Jones. I talked with the owner, enjoyed one of their mini-cupcakes and signed up for a bridal tasting since they were doing a contest for free cupcakes on your wedding day. No, I didn't win, but I still had a really great cupcake tasting a few weeks later. Yes, we did book Cupcake Jones for our Portland wedding celebration.

So why did I even push myself to go to the bridal fair? Well, I thought I could win or get a bunch of free stuff. That mini-cupcake I had was the highlight of our trip though. A great highlight at that, but not really worth spending my Saturday morning there. Oh, I also got a TheKnot nail file and a ton of advertisements. Whoop dee do!!!

Have you gone to any bridal fairs? What did you think of them?