My Favorite Part Might Have Been The Chocolate Fountain

This thing of beauty is what I got to gaze at all last night at the Burlington Evening Bridal Show. The smell permeated the entire floor I was on and it was all I could do to not abandon my table and go scarf down some Rice Krispie Treats covered with warm chocolate.

But seriously, I couldn't have asked for a better neighbor than the 'Chocolate Fountain Girl', as I liked to call her. She was incredibly generous and offered up all of the left-overs after the brides had filtered out to the prize drawing on the first floor. Yum.

I had a fabulous time at my first real wedding show and I felt like my table turned out better than I had hoped and I didn't feel out of place amongst the more seasoned professionals around me. I also got to see Echo for the first time and I was really impressed by the space! We were on the third, or top floor, of the building and right next to the outdoor terrace.



Here is the main part of my display with my fabulous new banner I just had made! My table came with a white tablecloth but I also brought a chocolate brown cloth to put over the top to create some interest and depth of color. I think it worked out great!



Here are my inspiration boards- unfortunately one of the easels I brought was missing some key parts and wasn't usable, but Dorothy, my awesome Mother-In-Law, came up with this stool-covered-with-an-extra-table-cloth and it worked out great!



Here is a close up of the table. I had originally thought I was getting a six foot table but it ended up being five, but even if it had been a six I think I would have had enough stuff to fill it. There were several invitations that I wasn't able to display. And to think I was afraid I didn't have enough stuff?! Pshaw! You can also see the great roses that she picked up at Costco to brighten up the display. I can't even tell you how many people asked us if we did flowers! They were so amazed when we told them we got them at Costco! (Hopefully the florist set up diagonal from us didn't mind)



This was another one of our vendor neighbors- The Spirit of Ethan Allen Cruise. They had some pretty tasty treats to give out, but I didn't get a chance to sample much.



Right next to us was Fiori Bridal, my favorite wedding gown shop of all time! They also had some models walking around with different gowns on- a sort of walking fashion show. They were all gorgeous! I kept thinking, what a fun job to wear amazing wedding dresses all night- how do you get that gig?



Down on the first floor was my friend Calais with Stowe Mountain Resort! It was great to see some familiar faces. Her display had these great hurricane glasses filled with some dark grains and white candles.



This was a jeweler on the second floor. Her stuff was really pretty, but I didn't have much time to look at everyone elses stuff.



These cupcakes were on display on the table next to Calais. I was so tempted to take one before the show even started! But I was good and left them for the brides.



Last, but certainly not least, is this little cutie pie who was hanging out at the DJ's table. He is a Sheltie and was born blind and deaf, but he was the sweatest little thing. He hung out on the table during the whole show with these headphones around his neck! He was a definite hit with the ladies and everyone that went by had to stop and pet him. I am thinking this might be a good marketing tactic, perhaps I should bring my dog Nova to my next show? Ha!



Here is the view from the terrace on the third floor. This is part of the space that you can rent at Echo and a lot of people have their ceremony out there. It was a gorgeous view and I imagine on a clear day at sunset it's just magnificent!

So there you have it, my first wedding show! It is still a little early to know if it was a success or not, but I handed out more than half of my info cards and I got three full sheets of email addresses from brides. I also had someone make an appointment with me right there on the spot! Since most of the brides were planning for Summer 2010 weddings I am not sure how soon they will be looking to purchase invitations, but hopefully I will have the opportunity to do some more shows to really get my name out there.

Now I am super tired after staying up to finish a rush invitation order so I am going to bed!