Bridesmaid Diaries: First Bridal Event

So the venue that my sister and her fiancé are getting married at just recently had an event that was open to the public to sort of show off the venue and a lot of different wedding vendors were there. There was a flute player outside, a local jewelry store was there, some djs, florists, make up and spa things, photographers, people were walking around in dresses from different bridal shops and boutiques with their hair and make up done by the hair and make up artist they recommend at the venue. They also had some food samplings that was from the venue, there was a slider and mac and cheese bar and a wok station and people going around with little appetizers. There was like a fruit and pretzel and cheese stations, there was an open bar...a lot was going on.

What I thought of The Event 

I loved it! There was a lot of stuff to do and see. It didn't go on too long. The food was really really good, service was nice and friendly. It gave some ideas for dresses... my sister already picked hers out, as I mentioned in the last Bridesmaid Diaries but they had Mother of The Bride dresses and stuff like that too. Which was nice. The event was also free and there were a ton of really amazing giveaways and raffles from the vendors. I know a lot of venues must be doing the same type of things, so I would definitely recommend checking them out. 

If you already booked a venue... 

If you already did book a venue and it isn't at the place doing the event... it might still be worth it if you want to try for the raffles. I thought there would maybe be a DJ playing stuff and other caterers that would be there if you wanted to check those out, but there were not... so it might not be as useful if this isn't your venue... but if you're still looking for a dress or a mother of the bride dress or bridesmaid dress or you're in need of a photographer or something, an event like this would be a good thing to go to whether it is your venue or not. 

Make sure to stay till the end because if you weren't in the room at the time of the raffle, then you didm't win the raffle. Someone missed out on 1,000 gift card to a jeweler to use on wedding bands! So either A) Check with whoever is running the event or B) Stay till the end... or have a member of your family stay till the end. 

Why its good to have people go with you 

I think if you have a large group of bridesmaids that don't necessarily know each other, this event is a good way to get them to bond. I was the only bridesmaid with my sister there, but her fiancé's family went too and it was nice to talk to them. So these types of events would kind of be a fun way to get everyone together before the wedding. Lots of food to eat and they also have an open bar. Which is nice.

Tips

I would maybe bring a pen and paper with you if you need a lot of things like photographers, djs, dresses, hair and makeup and stuff like that. My sister has pretty much everything except a DJ. Also Mother of the Bride and Bridesmaids dresses. They give out flyers and we got a tote bag from one of the jewelry places, but a pen and paper would be helpful so you could write down names, prices, phone number, etc. They also gave out a lot of business cards, so the phone number is probably there... but just in case.

There was no real dress code for the place... I just wore jean capri's and a t shirt... but everyone else was kinda dressed up. There were a lot of people in casual clothes... but I don't know. I felt a little underdressed in what I was wearing, so maybe wear a sundress or something thats business casual.

Get everyone in your party to enter the raffles if you can! The jewelry place had the big raffle and all of us entered! They gave away 3 bracelets, so those we could have kept, but no one was getting married other than my sister, so we would have given it to her of corse.

Maybe don't eat dinner before. There was no actual food, just appetizers, but if you're booking them for a venue and want to try a little bit of everything, don't eat a big dinner before. I did and I felt like I ate too much at the end of the night, so maybe something a little lighter.

Also keep in mind the weather and your wedding date. It was July 29th that we went, and it was in the middle of a heat wave and it was hot! My sister is getting married towards the end of May, so hopefully it'll be a little cooler... it can go either way in New Jersey... but keep it in consideration.

And prepare for parking! None of us really considered that there would be a ton of people at this event and the parking lot of the venue is not the easiest to get around in... which is probably the same case for a lot of venues, so just be careful with that. We were able to find a spot, but we were afraid we wouldn't be able to. We were parked pretty far away... but it was still nice.

Overall Thoughts 
Just a Recap of the most important parts:

Bring Bridesmaids and/or family. Let them bond! 

If you don't have a lot of your stuff yet, this is good for you no matter what venue its at. If you have things booked and want to check out a venue this is also great... and if you already booked the venue for the place of the event, its a ton of fun.

Enter the raffles, and bring a lot of people to up your chances of winning.

Try a lot of food, especially if this is your venue. They'll offer tastings also, but usually not until close to the wedding.

Pay attention to the weather.

Write down anything interesting.

Have a good time!

I hope this was helpful for everyone! My next bridal diaries might focus on the first steps of planning a bridal shower. Stacey's won't be for a while... but she still has some things in mind... so that should be fun!

Byeee!
-Shannon