Weddings and Debuts 2014 Bridal Fair

So last Saturday, me and J together with my sister and two male cousins (yes, so many alalays) went to the 2014 Weddings and Debuts fair in SM Megamall. We leave the house early and arrived at Megamall 15 minutes before opening time.

Since we arrived early, a lot of the suppliers are still coming in and prepping their booths so we decided to have our breakfast first then came back an hour later. I didn't know where to start kaya pabalik-balik kami sa mga aisle (kaya hindi din namin naikot lahat). We went first to Irene Manigo's booth since I've read from w@w that she's from Muntinlupa so less or no OOT fee. Her prices are a bit higher compared to others but she has no OOT fee for Sta. Rosa, Laguna and I've read a couple of good reviews din naman in w@w. My sister is the one who is REALLY excited to have a trial make-up in the fair so s'ya na lang pinatrial ko since we're looking for suppliers for her debut din naman. Her forte is eye make-up and my sister loved what she did to her. Fast forward kwento: I tried looking for other HMUA but I decided to drop by Irene's booth in the afternoon to have my trial as well. I liked din naman what she did to my face but I didn't have the "this is it" feeling. So I told her we'll look for other options first for comparison. I appreciated that she is not makulit and pushy.

tons of flyers again after attending a fair

We were able to check a couple of cake and photobooth suppliers too. Almost all the cake suppliers have a free tasting of their cake flavors but we all liked Top Cakes, Bethany and Honey Glazed the most because it is moist and rich. 

We booked one supplier (we really hunt them down in the fair) and I will do a separate post about it. We finished roaming around by 4 pm and we are not even tired yet. Siguro kase hindi din orgnized yung pagiikot namin kaya andami namin namiss na booths. 

cute photo frame from Weddings and Debuts

Cuppacakes

On our way to the parking lot, we pass by this cute cupcake store and so we bought a few to try at home. They are individually boxed (left bottom corner in the photo) which is soooo cute. I think they also offer dessert buffet and can accommodate orders for weddings and other occasions. I didn't like their Red Velvet but my cousins liked it. What I personally like are the carrot cupcakes and the Brazo de Mercedes (I think with cheesecake in the bottom).

2 bridal fairs down and many more to go! :) 

Before I Do Bridal Fair

It was our first time to attend a bridal fair so I don't know what to expect. I just brought a big bag (not to mention big, empty bag) for the flyers. Good thing I brought one as it was filled with soooo many flyers when we finished checking out booths. I didn't know flyers would be THAT heavy when compiled.

We arrived at around 12 noon on the first day of the fair and good thing, walang masyadong tao pa. Since we already pre-register months before the event, we just show the printed tickets and we were given the color-coded wrist tags. White for the bride/groom/debutante and green for companions. J and I were accompanied by my sister and my cousin. When we entered Megatrade Hall 3, medyo nahihiya pa ko to walk around as the exhibitors are sort of expecting you to check their booths and I hate the attentions. But slowly I began to feel at ease na din. I began to ask questions, check albums and portfolios and displays.

Some of the flyers

There were a couple of suppliers that caught our attention and a few whom we are sure to book once we finalized the date. I realized it was a bonus in decision making on how the exhibitors treated the guests.

My favorite exhibitors on this fair

If you are really on a budget, I suggest go to bridal fairs as you can get big discounts and a lot of freebies there. Some are giving away up to 60% discounts. And with the freebies, panalo ka na. We just don't want to decide right away as 1. we haven't finalized the date yet 2. this is our first bridal fair and I don't want to be impulsive 3. I still need to do my research on feedback about my shortlist.

Special shout out to the following suppliers:

RF himself on his booth

RF is one of my dream supplier. His work are really nice and he is easy to talk to. If not for having other options for our photographer, I would have picked him right from the start. And of course, I didn't let this chance pass without having a photo op with him. I just posted it in my FB page.

Filterpan are real-life husband and wife who's passion is to take photos. The wife (I forgot to ask for her name despite our lengthy conversation) is personally talking to guests. I so love their prenup video ala Asyong Salonga style. I am thinking of getting them for our prenup/engagement shoot because they are excited about my concept and I can really see that they can deliver. The other guy tending the photobooth is also nice. He looks snobbish but he says "God Bless po" when we leave their booth and that was really nice.

OMG. Their Classic Lime Margarita is to die for! Super sarap! I'm not really a drinker (even cocktails) but when I tried their sample, it was soooo yummy. Sa sobrang sarap, I forgot to take a pic of it. Haha! Plus their prices are affordable.

Margarush & LSTmobile have the same owner so if I get them both, I will pay for only 1 OOT fee which is good. Plus their packages for the lights & sounds are reasonable naman. Not to mention that they almost have the cheapest OOT fee for Sta. Rosa, Laguna. We will just check their previous works and we'll decide.

They have the nicest flyer. :) So it's a plus point. Another plus point is that they have a wide array of choices depending on your budget. We haven't checked sample of their works so we haven't included them yet on our shortlist.

They both catch my attention. Ruby from FYI events is the first coordinator we have passed during the fair. J and I felt at ease talking to her. She doesn't sound too pa-impress. For Events on Demand, one of the coordinators showed me a checklist that they will let us fill out regarding the event such as supplier's details, who to call for games at the reception, who will give speeches, etc. and they are the only one who showed me that kind of checklist so they caught my attention. I will look into other coords pa din but they're already on my shortlist. Besides, I still have to search for reviews regarding their services.

There were a handful of HMUA exhibitors on this fair and they are all offering trail makeup sessions but after walking around, binalikan ko talaga si Ms. Ria for a trial. I was a bit hesitant at first as there are many bystanders but I felt comfortable with her. I also felt at ease talking to her and walang "hiya" factor. The only thing that kept me from booking her right on the spot is that our date is not final yet. But I really love her work. Once I booked her already, will post my before/after pic for the trial. Julia, her assistant, is really nice and jolly too. I love her team! :)

Last but definitely not the least, Ms. Chelo of Rachebeli Wines. One of the reason why I registered on Before I do is because I want to visit the booth of Rachebeli Wines. Long before we started talking about getting married, I already have them in mind for our PS gifts. Ms. Chelo is so fun and easy to talk to. They are our first booked supplier. Will talk about it on a separate post.

Our "Before I Do" wrist tags

It was a really tiring day. My bag is so heavy from the flyers we have collected and our feet aches from the long hours of walking around. We also commuted from Laguna to Megamall because our car is coding so it was an added burden pa as it's Friday and traffic is terrible but our first bridal fair was a success. I get to meet awesome suppliers, got to personally talk to my preferred suppliers and get the feel of supplier hunting. Will definitely go to more bridal fairs because it is kinda addicting. Haha!