I’m sure it’s crossed all your minds that I might have become somewhat obsessed with this wedding and d’you know what? I think you might be right. There, I said it. My “step back” hasn’t really been that successful and I seem to be submerging myself in the same amount, if not more, wedding related activities. <shrug> oh well. I reckon its (understandably) beginning to grate on some so I’m trying hard not to rub people’s faces in it. Including Rob’s! I find myself waiting until he’s gone to bed to write this blog, or reply to wedding related emails; when with friends, I sneak out of the room to take a call from a prospective wedding supplier… It’s like I have some dirty habit I’m trying to hide. Hmm. I’ve kinda accepted ‘obsessed’… but you can’t become a wedding planning “addict” can you? Can you?!

Anyway, today’s enlightenment is all about my experience at…. Drum roll please…. The National Wedding Show! Surely a must in any brides’ diary? No. I know… I was actually surprised at the varying reviews I’d read on the show before purchasing tickets. Some found it helpful, a lot found it waste of time, others had just clearly never had a day out before and would have been happy enough in the car park let alone the exhibition as their over exaggerated reviews could never be serious. Regardless of others opinion I knew we were going – there are a few areas of the day that I’m still pondering over and thought it could provide a bit of inspiration. We arrived at Earl’s Court just after lunch (having driven straight from Church!) and let’s be honest, an exhibition is an exhibition. It doesn’t matter whether its business related, marine related, car related and now seemingly wedding related; every one I have been to is the same. I don’t know why I was expecting anything different; line after line of small cubicles advertising photographer after photographer, the ‘best wedding cakes in the UK’ next to ‘multi-award winning wedding cakes’, magician’s, stag/hen nights, copious amounts of venues… It’s set up like any other but to be fair, was truly a melting pot of anything and everything wedding related, no matter what stage of planning you’re at. There were 2 highlights for me. Firstly getting to meet Shoot It Yourself, our videography company (see Suppliers page). They were absolutely lovely and we’ve definitely made the right choice there. Big tick! Secondly, the champagne bar. I know. We could have popped into the pub opposite and had the same (and for half the price) but it was there so why not?

One thing I would say is if you’re looking to actually spend money then you can get some crazy-great bargains. Just a few days prior I had seen, in yet another magazine, an amazing pair of shoes (they even made it into my scrapbook!) and sure enough there they were at the show. Because it was the last day, these shoes, which were normally £499, were… £199. Now that’s a deal an’ a half! I didn’t get them. I wasn’t there to spend money; I was there to be inspired! Although the fact I’m still thinking about them I do wonder if I made the right decision. Anyway, if you have no idea where to start with your big day, or you know what you want and you just want to get it book/bought cheaply then its great and I would highly recommend going. If you’re going for inspiration then it is good and they do cover every aspect of a traditional wedding, but you have to be prepared to be continually jumped on by every cubicle representative trying to lure you into their cavern and bully you into a sale. It took me back to walking to streets of Kavos and having the bar’s PR guys’n’girls pounce on you with tempting shots only to be charged a fortune for drinks upon entry. I’m not into all that and prefer to browse uninterrupted. If I have a question I’ll ask; if I’m interested I’ll make myself known. You continually telling me “how amazing you are” or “how great the quality is” will not suddenly make me want to part with any of my ever-diminishing wedding budget. Rah! I digress. All-in-all, whether you take your fiancé, mum or friends it is a good day out and for £15 you could do a lot worse. Make the most of it while you’re there though; if something catches your eye don’t just take a leaflet and move on – read about it then and there. Why? We came home laden with various pamphlets, magazines, offer’s, contact flyers, demo CDs, the lot. The bag handle even broken on the way back to the car. However it’s sat next to me. Untouched. And for someone that’s so “obsessed” by this wedding I think that says a lot. Its an “in the moment” kinda place. For us, it was a fun couple of hours out & we got a goodie bag out of it (I’m eating the complimentary Galaxy bar as I write). I didn’t get anything out of it per se but at the same time I’m glad we went. It did confirm that we are going in the right direction and every ‘want’ on my excel sheet is physically achievable… if not financially. But that’s another matter…

PS – I should point out there is a huge bridal wear section and a full on catwalk with live shows 3 times a day showcasing the best wedding gowns. I’m sure some would love it. Just not my kina thing.