The Wedding Blog

It was almost a month ago that Darren and I attended the big Hamilton bridal show, but the remnants of it are still scattered around my apartment. It was convenient and yet oh so overwhelming to have all those vendors in one place. I walked out of the show thinking, “There’s SO MUCH we have to do!” to which Darren replied, “But now we have the tools to do it.”

Sorting through the huge bag of promotional material was another huge task, but we worked through it systematically, categorizing each piece of paper into groups (flowers, attire, favors, halls, etc.) and then eliminating those that we wouldn’t use. The goal was to have 2 vendors for the stuff that we still needed, but I think we cheated a little.

I took my part of the pile home and it still lies on my living room floor, reminding me of all the little (and not so little) things that I have to take care of, and tempting me to just sit and browse at the pretty dresses.

Despite the overwhelming nature of this excursion, it was a productive afternoon. A number of things were settled or began to get settled at the show:

First, we took advantage of Moore’s special price and put a deposit on the tuxedo rentals. We weren’t sure that we were going to rent tuxes, thinking we might opt to simply buy Darren a nice suit that he can use again and let the guys wear whatever black suit they could muster up, but we couldn’t say no to these prices!!

Second, we began to consider cruising as a viable option for our honeymoon. I’ve always been a little anti-cruise, simply because I’m more of a get-into-the-culture tourist than a relax-on-the-beach tourist. But I was willing to do a little relaxing after the wedding (thinking of purchasing an all-inclusive resort package). However, I tend to get bored easily and I was afraid that a week of lounging on a beach would do me in. So this is a great compromise, I think, and comparable in price.

Third, Darren got to look inside a number of limousines, just to check them out. One of the companies whose cars were in the building ended up being the one we booked with the following week. I wasn’t sure that we needed a limo, but since neither I nor anyone who might drive me around in my big poufy dress (aka my sisters) know the city of Hamilton, and since our wedding day itinerary is a little complicated, we decided to go for it. Besides, Friday night rentals are subject to a 40% deduction in the price, so it became affordable.

Finally, I got a call a couple days after the show from a DJ telling me that I had won 2nd place in the draw at his booth which was $200 off the cost of their services for our wedding. We have since met with him, found him worthy of the vital task of showing us a good time all night long, and finalized everything. That’s a big thing!

Besides all that, we got to watch a couple of really cute ring bearers in the fashion show and I could feel good about being able to say to Boutique vendors, “I already have a dress!” But that’s a story for another time.