Harry's Savoy Bridal Expo

1/31/10: Lots of snow overnight. Made a mess of the roads. Mr. P's mom was going to accompany me to the Harry's Winter Bridal Expo (my second) but the weather kept her downstate at the beaches. Ever the gentleman, he offered to go in her place. I wouldn't have asked him to go to such an overtly girly event, but he was game. Do you think he was a little curious?

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By going later in the day, we missed most of the crowds. Both of Harry's ballrooms and guest areas were utilized for this paid event. The vendors were concentrated in the ballrooms and thus so were the frenzied brides and family. (I must say this is an unappealing aspect of wedding preparations.) We stood at the edge of the ballroom, unsure about entering the fray and already overwhelmed. Mr. P scanned the room, silently counting, then announced, "I'm one of five guys here." He grinned and reassured me he was happy to be here, participating.

Our goal was to meet with the vendors that were unique, of interest, and weren't mobbed - in that order. Mr. P initiated contact with the hotels regarding room blocks, after parties and shuttle transportation since half of our guests will need hotel rooms. He also took the lead with DJs. Which was a good thing... I had trouble not making faces when they starting with the gooey wedding speak or claiming they weren't cheesy/over the top/just like everyone else.

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My focus was photographers and food. Harry's had a food station and table of hors d'oeuvres along with butlered mimosas and other champagne concoctions. Food was good: $10/head and designed to appeal to the most people good. A high school classmate of his manned the cupcake tower table so we chatted it up while noshing on mini-cakes. Coconut was tasty.

Photographers are a tough vendor to size up at an event. Most of their displayed work is the best of many years of weddings rather than albums. The cards we picked up will have to be reviewed online to see who meshes with our style. A perk of meeting them in person is getting pricing information right away rather than calling/emailing when the information isn't online.

We did get to see the waiting room (prep area for bridal party) and meet with Gloria, their event coordinator. She handles all aspects except for wine, which their sommelier goes over if requested. I might have squeaked when she said I'd have access to a sommelier.

Waiting room
All in all, it was a higher caliber event than the first one, but we were still choosey about who we met with. We departed with a bag full of brochures, some bridal magazines (!), goodie bag and one chocolate chip cookie. Once home, I quickly split the good from the bad (and the cookie with Mr. P).

Did your experience at bridal expos differ if it was a free or fee-paid event?