Venturing into a brave new world

Well…today I did something I’ve never done before, went somewhere I’ve never been before and entered dangerous new territory…

I attended my first Wedding Fair!

As you no doubt know by now, I’m the Mother of the Bride (MOB) and my daughter S, Bride to Be, (B2B) is getting married to B, Groom to Be (G2B) in November this year.  B2B wasn’t available to attend the Country Wedding fair, due to distance, so I was given licence to attend on her behalf and check out a few things 🙂

The day started off with the most beautiful sunrise which had even my husband saying WOW as he reached for his proper camera. Here’s my iPhone capture, which hopefully gives you an idea of how stunning the colour of the clouds were.  It too was ephemeral – just like yesterday’s weekly photo challenge morning shots. It must be the time of year for beautiful skies!

I had about 150km to drive and arrived at the venue in good spirits and much warmer than when I’d left home.  The venue was a school hall set up with stalls covering every conceivable wedding paraphernalia…..and lots of people! There were brides, grooms, whole wedding parties, family, parents, grandparents you name it, they were there to have a look at what was available.  The first thing I noticed outside, before I even entered the building, were the stretch limos – they were massive and so white! We won’t be needing them.

Once inside, I registered on B2B’s behalf, just to ensure she was in the running for the lucky door prize, but declined the Bride to Be badge, which all the others were wearing.  Apparently it gave you special status when stall holders talked with you.  I felt special enough – I’m the MOB when all’s said and done!

I did a quick walk around and took in many of the stalls, some of which I didn’t need to visit as B2B has sorted out her photographers and celebrant.  The people I needed to see were some florists and I made a beeline for them.  B2B has made contact with some of them already and my important job today was to check them out.  One of them made a great first impression by saying that she was well aware of B2B’s requirements and seemed to have it all sorted and she was thrilled to meet me! I liked her…a lot.

Another contestant in the running had a unique flower bar where B2Bs could pick out their own floral arrangement and then take their photo holding their bouquet, upload it to Instagram or Facebook to have an opportunity to win a discounted price on wedding flowers.  So of course I did this too…on B2B’s behalf. I think I was probably the only MOB to get so hands on and involved, but hey that’s the type of mother I am!  Here’s my photo in case you missed it on Instagram. Lucky I was wearing yellow to match the flowers!

Then it was time for the first fashion show which was opened by the MC in a garish shiny purple suit and rainbow bowtie (no idea why!). He introduced the Wedding Singer who did a good cover of the big Ed Sheeran wedding hit doing the rounds at the moment, Thinking Out Loud.  It was just a bit early in the day to get too excited and the atmosphere wasn’t quite right but it did sound nice nevertheless. The fashion parade was lovely with many beautiful dresses on display and also some menswear.  The male models got far more comment from the crowd, due to their poses and red carpet walking style.

Those of you who read my earlier post, Shall we Dance, might be interested to know that there was a dance instructor there taking bookings for lessons!! I got his number don’t worry 🙂

There were many interesting ideas, things I hadn’t even thought of like caps for your stiletto heels to stop them from sinking into the ground, blue stickers for the bottom of B2Bs shoes that say ‘I Do’ and for G2B shoes ‘Me Too’.  By the way, the stickers were blue just in case you didn’t have anything else to fit the ‘something blue’ to give to the B2B.  Who thinks of these things? Flowers, photography, video, dresses, stylists, health foods, jewellery, honeymoon travel, bras, cakes, games, venues – you name it and if had anything to do with a wedding, they were represented.  As I said, it’s a brave new world that I’m entering!

My favourite site was a gorgeous Travelling Teahouse.  It’s an adorable pink caravan which will turn up at your venue and serve delicious High Tea, with mouth watering home made treats and delightful tea pots, tea cups and accessories.  Nice!

I have reported back to B2B and given her my findings.  I have a party bag full of bits and pieces, but I must admit to eating all the little chocolates that were inside (well I did have a long drive home)!

It was indeed a brave new world for me to enter  – a world that I find brings smiles to faces whenever you mention the word wedding – as it’s such a happy event to plan.  I look forward to delving further into this special world.  I wish all the Brides 2 Be out there a happy journey too.

We must remember that although it is a special day, the years ahead will be even more special.

Deb (aka MOB) 🙂