Love & Lace Bridal Show 2014

Ashtin Rae's Floral & Decor

This past weekend my mother and I attended the Love & Lace Bridal show sponsored by Indy Wedding Ideas. The event was held at Pipers at the Marriott which was a rather nice facility. They have grand rooms with chandeliers but the best part was the atrium room that featured a lovely pond. 

The above picture I took of Ashtin Rae's Floral & Decor. I was somewhat bummed because they were the ONLY vendor at the expo that had flowers. I must admit that my favorite part about going to bridal shows is looking at tablescapes and flowers. This show however was rather heavy on the photographers. They had so many in fact that I had a difficult time remembering who was who.

Ace Rentals

One of the most helpful vendors we came across was Ace Rentals. They had a very small display showing the nice chairs they rent (beautifully adorned with flowers I might add), BUT Lisa who was the representative for Ace said they rent linens. Our venue does NOT provide linens of any kind so we were milling over the possibility of buying linens or renting them. Their prices seemed to be quite reasonable and they rent other things like tents, tables, concession stands, etc. We do not really have any decent places to rent items in Anderson so I was having a hard time trying to figure out where to rent from since we knew we would have to find a company in Indy. I have not gotten so far as to find out of they do delivery or set up from Ace, but Lisa was very helpful in her e-mails regarding making an appointment in the future to look at swatches.

Indayani Baked Goods

I must admit, a GREAT display makes a world of difference at a bridal show. Indayani Baked Goods presented the most DELECTABLE spread of glorious treats - oh it was gorgeous! They also had a ton of different treats - macarons, mini pies, chocolate dipped pretzels, cookies, etc. All are gourmet as well. I believe they have a physical store located in Indianapolis, but they also have a great Etsy site and they can be found on Facebook. They had by far the most impressive display in my opinion. You could also tell it was very well received by the visitors, and it was a company that I had never heard of before.

Indayani Baked goods

This photo is also of the Indayani Baked Goods spread, and this could be a fabulous inspiration of how you can do a treat table at your wedding. I think the "tower" pictured is a croquembouche but I am not sure. Croquembouche are becoming the new cupcakes in terms of having non-traditional cakes at weddings. I am actually milling over the idea of doing this with A Slice of Heaven Cakery's famous cake balls, which we will be serving at our wedding.

The Riley Party Barn

I was surprised that Riley's Party Barn had a booth at the expo since they are from Anderson. I must admit, I have heard several not-so-good stories about parties held at this facility in the past. Apparently, the previous manager was a relative who really did not put a great deal of work into marketing the barn or helping people book it for weddings. However, a wonderful young man named Blake is now managing the rentals of the barn. We will be attending an open house next week to check it out, because it might be a great space for family reunions, open houses for graduations, or other events. They do not have what I would call a "scenic" area for an outdoor ceremony, but Blake indicated that they have put a lot of money into bringing the barn up to snuff with other wedding venues. I will post pictures when we go for sure because there are NOT many facilities like this in Anderson at all.

Visit Hendricks County

It really is a shame that Anderson/Madison County does not have what Hendricks County has in terms of services for visitors and couples planning a wedding. Visit Hendricks County is BY FAR the most helpful service I have ever seen for tourism. Not only did they have a specific booth to illustrate wedding facilities located in the county, but the representative said that I can go to their website or call them and they can provide recommendations for food, catering, lodging, rentals, florists, etc. AS A FREE SERVICE. Seriously?! Yes! This is taken from their website: "Let us help with your wedding plans. From finding your perfect wedding reception location, to discounted room blocks at Hendricks County lodging facilities, to offering free welcome bags for your out-of-town guests, we can help make your wedding planning a breeze. Best of all, our services are complimentary." 

Visit Hendricks County

I am getting married in Hendricks County and my jaw about hit the floor when I was told this information. I was fretting pretty badly because I have never spent any time in Hendricks County. My fiance has because he worked a job at their waste water treatment plant for quite some time, but I had never been there before. Now, I am actually really excited to be getting married here because it seems there is a lot of stuff to do in the area. They have a fabulous blog written by locals illustrating various hotspots in the county as well as lesser known haunts. For example I found out about McCloud Nature Park through the blog (as avid hikers my fiance and I have never heard about this park). We are totally going here in the spring and I am SUPER excited! 

Oh Happy Days Rentals

OK, back to the bridal show review... Another vendor I was extremely impressed with was Oh Happy Days Rentals. I was partial to this booth because all the stuff they had, I have pretty much the same stuff in storage. As a vintage dealer I have accumulated quite a haul of similar items - but it is refreshing to see it on display for practical use. All my stuff has been packed in boxes for years because I honestly do not know what to do with it. I must admit some of their items were REALLY adorable and whimsical. 

Oh Happy Days Rentals

They had baskets with mason jars to hold flowers - very unique for a centerpiece. They also had various arches available for rent they can rig with vintage chandeliers. They rent ALL kinds of stuff from doors, furniture, flower pots, watering cans, baskets, trunks, dishes, chairs, etc. You name it, they probably have it. Oh Happy Days will also be at the bridal expo we will be attending this Sunday so I will be sure to take more photos. 

Cakes by Cathy

The final display I was really impressed with was Cakes by Cathy. Cakes by Cathy needs no introduction. She is a multi-award winning cake artist located in Needham, Indiana. The cakes are art...it is simple as that. They had a MASSIVE display with over 10 different cake flavors to taste. I love coconut, so I tried Almond Joy. Oh-my-gosh it was so good! Their cakes are on the high end in terms of price, but obviously you ARE getting what you pay for here. If you want a cake your guests will remember for years to come, Cakes by Cathy is the place to go!

Cakes by Cathy

If you can dream it, Cathy and her team can make it. They had a huge book on display as well of many cakes they have made in the past. They had one that looked like an ambulance that was used as a grooms cake. Too cute! Although we have already found a wonderful baker, I would not hesitate for a second to recommend Cathy because I know she would do an impeccable job for any bride! I also have no doubts that she could make anything you could dream up or find on Pinterest.

Cakes by Cathy

Cakes by Cathy also had a GREAT idea in terms of cake display. They had all these little cakes inside bird cages! It was fabulous! Since we found such an elegant venue, we are tweaking our theme to reflect more of a woodland atmosphere. I am going to use a birdcage for our cards and I am milling over the idea of using branches for center pieces and hanging birds from them. This would be so cute for display, and you simply lift off the lid for cutting. 

Cakes by Cathy

This was a very long bridal show for us. We were early to arrive because we were not sure of how the parking would be handled since there was so much snow. We are glad we arrived early because the parking at Pipers was bizarre. There was a little lot in the front - with no outlet. So, we almost got stuck there. Then, the banquet facility is also an apartment complex so other guests had to park all the way in the back and walk in the snow to get inside. I wished they would have had a parking attendant out there because several people almost got stuck in the front lot since there was no way to get out once you got in. 

On a final note: Everyone who goes to these shows attends in hoping they will win a great prize. Well...I WON something! Inside the gift bags they handed out, we were told to look and see if we had a map with a prize card attached. Mine was for Mary Kay! I won a FABULOUS gift certificate for $75 to use towards makeup or a wedding trial. I think me and my mom are going to use it for a wedding trial just to see. I have never had anyone do my makeup before so it should be a lot of fun! 

I also got an e-mail saying I won an engagement photo session. I was beaming until I realized when you win a "photo session" this does not mean you win the photos. I was SO BUMMED when I e-mailed the photographer and asked about the photos because I was told that while we would get a single printed 8X10, if we wanted the digital photos it would be $300. Yea...sorry but I will not be forking over $300 for pictures taken of me and my fiance in hockey jerseys. My mom agreed that when the weather gets better we will go to Mounds Park and she can use my "fancy camera" to take pictures of us to use for our wedding website. From now on I WILL ASK photographers before I enter contests what "winning" a prize from them really means. I was really disappointed the session would not come with the photos.