Bridal Show!

The other day, I went to a bridal show with Shell and one of her bridesmaids, Linnea.

SO. MUCH. FUN.

It was everything a weddingaholic like me loves.

First, I met Linnea at our local mall, because she graciously said she could drive Shell and myself. I have met Linnea before, her being a friend-of-a-friend, but I hadn't seen her in years, so I wasn't sure how it would be in the car, truthfully - if it would be hard to converse or whatever... But it was SO much fun. She is so easy to talk to, and we were laughing hysterically by the end of it. We got a bit mixed up, trying to find Shell's new place, but we eventually found it. After a quick tour of Shell's home (which was gorgeous!), we headed off to the bridal show! I was beyond excited, not only because it was my first bridal show, but also because I hadn't seen Shell in AGES.

When we got there, Shell gave us our tickets and we had the chance to look around at a show room that they had set up. Sooo pretty. I'll upload pictures later. It was a room that they had decorated to look like a wedding reception, with the colour scheme of gold and purple. (Abbey-Shae, you probably would have LOVED it.) After wandering through that room for a couple of minutes, we went upstairs and gave in our tickets. (Linnea and I were hoping to be able to keep them for scrapbooking, but oh well!) Shell was given a goody-bag, which included a bridal magazine, and given a butterfly pin to wear (so the vendors would know who to target, I guess!) We walked around for a couple of minutes, looking at different booths that were set up, such as a hair and make-up table (where the models for the upcoming fashion show were being styled).

But soon, we realized seats for the fashion show were filling up quickly and so we decided to sit down before they were all full. We were able to get the last group of three together, which was so nice. Then, we just chit-chatted for a bit. Linnea went and got us some chocolate-covered strawberries and marshmellows from a nearby booth. (I was positively starving, because I hadn't had the chance to eat anything before coming, but the two of them were so sweet. Shell even dug out some granola bars she had stashed in the pocket of her coat for such instances.) Then, we watched the fashion show! They had bridesmaids' dresses come out first... so pretty! There was this one-shouldered red dress that I thought was absolutely stunning. It was about knee-length, and chiffon-y... so pretty. I wish we had been allowed to take pictures.

Intermittently, the DJ would talk about the different vendors at the show, and also pull names for door prizes. Unfortunately, Shell didn't win anything. There was even a honeymoon up for grabs, but some lucky girl won that. We actually also ran into a girl Shell and I went to highschool with: Angie (and it turned out that Linnea actually knew her, too), and she was joking that she was competition for winning that honeymoon. Haha.

But anyways, back to the fashion show. They only showed about three to five outfits at a time, in different categories: bridesmaids, brides and flower girls, and grooms. The bridal fashion and groom (groomal? Shouldn't that be a word?) fashions came out a few times, so there were probably around ten to fifteen wedding dresses and tuxes/suits that they showed. It was really funny because the girls would come out, walking regularly, looking beautiful, and occasionally interacting sweetly with a flower girl or something. But the men... oh, the men. They were performers, dancing it up on stage. One guy even pulled up a girl from the audience to dance with him. It was pretty funny. There were some beautiful gowns shown, though. We tried to find out the style number of one that Shell had really liked, but were told a bit smartly that the vendors weren't allowed to give out style numbers, for some reason. We were told the name of the dress, which was something like Bellamy? But yeah, it was a really great fashion show. (Though, I will admit, it was a bit long, with lots of pauses in the middle... even an intermission that lasted longer than I thought it would...)

After the fashion show, we looked around at a couple more booths. One booth was advertising this company that would set up this really sleek, modern-looking DONUT STATION at your wedding. Yes, that's right. Apparently mini donuts are the new craze at weddings. Who knew? Shell also looked at a honeymoon table, and the three of us passed by the chocolate fondue table with the strawberries, marshmellows and other treats... Ohhh, how heavenly. When I get married, there are DEFINITELY going to be chocolate-covered strawberries. Mark my words. One of the last stations we looked at was the photo-booth station. How awesome was that? You just go into this booth, press a button, and it takes four pictures of you. It was so much fun! Linnea took the photos that printed off and is going to scan them for Shell and I.

Then, it was time to head home. We dropped Shell off at her house, and then continued on our way. It was such a great chance to talk to Linnea. She is SUCH a sweetheart, and we just had some great discussions. I'm really looking forward to being a bridesmaid with her! AND, she's already married, so she will have a lot of insight as to planning and whatnot. (Shell was actually her bridesmaid, oh, like a year ago now.)

All in all, a great way to spend the evening! I was on a high from it for days, still, afterwards. Haha. Yay for weddings!