Back in March, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden hosted a bridal show. Seeing as how Mac and I already booked the Botanical Garden, you might wonder why we chose to attend. Especially considering how badly they misspelled both of our names on the postcard invite. Really, y’all? Neither of our names are that hard to spell.
I basically told Mac he had to go with me, so we could check out the venue layout. I also tempted him with the prospect of food and cake tastings. I was hoping that they would have tables and chairs with table settings staged for wedding receptions. *I didn’t take any photos because I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to.* Sadly, no tables were set up. It was kind of disappointing (even though no indication was ever given that tables would be arranged). But tons of vendors were on hand: linens, rentals, candy bars, horse-drawn carriages, and all that jazz.
Much to Mac’s chagrin, I dawdled by the linens lusting after a gorgeous orange overlay, entered us to win a free candy bar, chatted with a hair and make-up stylist, and asked David’s Bridal about alterations. We eventually worked our way around the Orangery and found ourselves at our caterer’s display. By this time, we had already booked The Invisible Chef and paid a substantial deposit. No going back, so we might as well give the victuals a try. While we went with the Sous Chef package, they had samples of the Fayetteville’s Finest menu: London broil and chicken champlaine. Also available were several appetizers (pasta station and spreads). Everything we tried was quite tasty. I don’t even really like London broil (shocking, I know). Wandering through the Botanical Garden’s visitor center, we came upon Aberdeen Catering. They had lighter fair (salad and such) which was good, but confirmed our decision to go with The Invisible Chef.
Since we were three-ish months out from wedding day, we had all our major vendors booked. The last real decision to be made was the cake. Several bakers were on hand with yummy samples. Sweet Boutique Bakery mentioned that they were hosting a free cake tasting, so we signed up for an invite. We also swung by the AAA table to get some information about honeymooning.
After a successful hour or so at the expo, we headed out with a totebag of fliers and freebies. Any of y’all have a worthwhile trip to a bridal show? Maybe drag the menfolk out with you?
