Monday, January 09, 2006

Let them eat cake!

This weekend I braved the crowds of brides and their entourages (not sure if that is the proper plural form) and went to the Seattle Wedding Show. Luckily for me, my sister agreed to accompany me, as I didn't want to go alone, and Jeff wasn't exactly pysched to go, despite the promise of cake.

Apparently, the holiday season (Thanksgiving - New Years) is the most popular time to get engaged, and June is the most popular time to get married, making January Wedding Planning Insanity Month (WPIM).

My sister had sent me some links to handy survival guides that along with the FAQ's on the show's website helped me properly prepare for the day.

Before going to the show, I wrote down all of my goals:
- check out a few gowns (one of my few local purchases)
- check out favors (another local purchase)
- get ideas for flowers and decorations
- eat cake
- have fun! (as learned from my stint in corporate American, this item is manditory on any comprehensive list of goals or objectives)

Fortunately, we've made a lot of the major decisions (wedding and reception locations, caterer, officiant, florist), and most of the remainder aren't local, so there was no need to really look for vendors or sign any contracts.

I went to the show wearing comfortable shoes, clothes that were easy to take on and off (for trying on gowns), armed with a camera, notebook, pen, water, and healthy snacks. The thing that I didn't do that I should have was bring preprinted labels with my name, contact info and wedding date.

During the show, Kate was great support: holding my stuff when I needed to fill out a form or try on a dress, finding things she knew I'd like, giving second opinion when asked and not providing one when not asked, keeping me focused on my goals, and generally being a lot of fun (check off that objective).

It was actually very helpful to go to the show. While I didn't buy anything, sign anything, or win anything, it helped to solidify decisions and get a clearer idea of what I was looking for. And, I tasted a lot of very yummy cake.

Photos are here.

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