The Quirky Weddings Fair

I had stumbled upon a flyer for The Quirky Wedding's Alternative Fair a couple months ago and made a mental note to stop by and take a look. We ended up making a bit of a day of it as I was joined by Michael, Megan (Michael's sister and my bridesmaid), my mum (Wendy) and Tracey (Michael's mum). It was the first time our motherbears got to meet, so it was a nice distraction from any awkwardness - not that there was any - everyone got on just fine! Both mums are very artistic with my mum being a florist and Tracey being a keen crafter so their input was very welcome (and important to us!) 

So we all piled into Mum's car and journeyed to the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.  We were among the first 500 there so we got in half price - yay!  Once we'd been given our luminous pink wristbands, much to Michael's despair, we were off!  The place was so loud - we were greeted by one of the singing waiters I've seen advertised.  Opera singing his heart out as he waltzed around the foyer of the Waterfront - pretty annoying if you ask me - and everyone else judging by the looks on everyone's faces. It took us a while to get into the swing of things.  It was so busy and it was difficult getting anywhere near close to each exhibition. 

Mum loved having a good creep at the various florists who had turned up to exhibit their work and Tracey loved looking at all the invitations and other wedding-y crafts.  Megan was getting heavily involved most of the cakes exhibits - she fell head over heels (rather like Alice did...) in love with a giant Alice in Wonderland themed cake.  Michael was accosted by a man who tried to get him talking about suits and it dawned on me how little I'm looking forward to getting him suited and booted as he's so incredibly fussy when it comes to clothing.  We had a few photographers ask us what our photography plans are - and we explained that we haven't quite decided if we should have photos taken or not at the reception party.

The reactions we had to our New York plans were great - everyone thought it sounded magical. In all honesty, there weren't too many exhibits that were relevant to our wedding plans.  Everyone seems to be going for the rustic themed wedding, which makes us glad that we're going down a different route. It seems that every wedding in the next year or two will be adorned with bird cages, rusty bicycles, bunting and cupcakes! The fair helped secure in our minds that we're doing the right thing being that little bit different from most.

Exhibitors that stuck in my mind included a lady who makes bespoke pearl jewellery and head bands.  I would love a custom pearl brooch made for my dress - and I can't wait to discuss it with them. Michael and I also spoke to a lady who made amazing homemade marshmallows - flavours I've never seen before.  Gin and Tonic being a fave!  She was really into the New York theme and was firing ideas at us that we loved! Marshmallows are Michael's ultimate favourites, so would maybe be a nice touch somewhere.  Who knows.  We also got a few ideas for the Hen party too. Leaving that one up to Laura (my sister/Maid of Honour) and Megan! 

We also tried on wedding bands for the first time.  Michael has this look of pure pride and excitement on his face when he tried one on.  We'd both never seen him with a ring on before, so it was strange to see and made it seem even more real.  As it turns out, I may have to get a custom made band made especially for my engagement ring.  But that's okay.  Something very simple and classic will suit me just fine!

There was an exhibit for casino tables etc. Michael got particular excited about having a Roulette table at our wedding to represent the Vegas part of our honeymoon. I, however, was not so keen! His excitement soon dwindled when he realised he hadn't a clue how Roulette works and his attention was quickly diverted when something else caught his eye instead. Probably cake. We met our wedding coordinator Lisa Marie at the Malone Lodge Hotel exhibit and had a good natter with her. Looking forward to taking Megan and everyone else down for a nosey at the hotel and the suite to give them all an idea of what we're working with as we're planning the décor.

We managed to pick up lots of flyer's, business cards and catalogues along the way and we entered some competitions too.  Big thanks to Megan who entered me into a competition to win some of the worlds ugliest balloons for my wedding.  As someone who can't stand balloons at weddings, this wasn't much appreciated!!  Once we'd seen everything the 5 of us went for a late lunch/dinner together for a glass or two of wine and a chat before home. It turned out to be a really great day and Michael and I felt even more secure in choosing to elope.  Weddings are cringey as hell - being referred to as "the bride and groom" all day was so strange - we're really not into the whole wedding thing! We still enjoyed having a look around and grabbing some tips. 

Definitely worthwhile!