It's a Wedding World ...

Prior to my February 2010 engagement, I thought I understood the business of weddings.  A definite "girl's girl," I have always been interested in peering through bridal magazines, made the occasional stop at http://www.theknot.com/, and have been recording Say Yes to the Dress (along with other wedding-themed reality shows) for the past few years now.  I even assign a yearly project to my fashion students in which they plan their own wedding with an unlimited budget.  In the months since Mr. BB proposed, as I have been planning my June wedding, I have obviously been enlightened on the bridal industry.  However, it wasn't until yesterday ... when my mother, day-of-wedding-coordinator, and myself attended Uniquely Yours, a bridal showcase which featured the one & only David Tutera ... that I realized how massive the bridal industry really is. 

By the way ... Who is David Tutera? - He is from that show, My Fair Wedding) ... And yes, I saw him in person, but not that close because you had to buy his book to get anywhere near him. 

And yes, he was that pretty when we saw him.  And no, my wedding budget would never place me in a category to meet with him on any aspect of my wedding.

Needless to say, the one business that appears not to be affected by our poor economy is the wedding business.  After spending 20 minutes trying to find a parking spot, we waited for 30 minutes (amongst a multitude of anxious brides, some overwhelmed grooms, and various mothers of the bride, bridesmaids, flower girls, esc.) to enter into an array of wedding hysteria.  Upon entering, we were greeted by rows and rows of rather eager caterers, photographers, bakers, dj's, florists, limo companies, bridal gown shops and even the occasional jeweler,fitness trainer, or makeup artist. 

Here we are waiting to enter the wedding world:



Although I am unsure if even I am girly enough to handle one of these a weekend (and there are!), I am glad that we went & ultimately found the day to be a success.  As overwhelming as it was, it actually made me realize how much we have done (as we turned away florists, bakers, dress shop, dj's ... ).  And if for no other reason, those thinking of attending a bridal show can be tempted by the free food from the caterers, aisles of cupcakes, and chance of winning a door prize.  But beware, one diet coke costs $5.00.