I have recently begun the fun and stressful adventure of planning a wedding.  As a result, I have decided to write a series of articles chronicling some of the ups and downs of planning a wedding, while hopefully giving newly engaged couples some useful advice.  My fiance is Mexican and I am half Mexican and half “Heinz 57.  Since we both feel close to our Mexican heritage, we decided to have a Mexican-American wedding.

When planning a wedding there are major decisions to be made.  What is the date? Where is the location going to be? Do we want a big or a small wedding? Who is going to stand up? What kind of dress do I want to wear? Pure white or ivory? Satin or organza? Silk flowers or real? Cupcakes or wedding cake? Chicken or fish? Dollar dance or none? DJ or band? And the most important question of all: who the heck is going to pay for all of this?! All of these questions are enough to make your head spin and go running the other direction.

In an effort to help me decide on some of these things, I decided to attend my first bridal show.  I invited my mom and maid of honor along for support. Thank God I did! We walked into the giant hotel ballroom full of brides-to-be and I thought, “I am so glad I have my running shoes on.”

A bridal show is like a wedding on crack. There is booth after booth of photographers, banquet halls, limo services and, even, real estate agents.  Everywhere you turn there are vendors trying to get your attention and suck you in to hear their sales pitch about “today only” specials.  Occasionally, you see a groom-to-be or a dad being tugged along and wearing looks of desperation across their face.  My fiance would have died of boredom.

After a day of collecting brochures and asking DJs if they knew who Celia Cruz and Juanes were, we were ready to leave.  I was tired and mentally exhausted though happy I came.  I felt like I had enough information to get me started.  In the end, I met some really great photographers and got some ideas for some centerpieces.

Wedding Tip: Bridal shows can be overwhelming though well worth it.  Make sure to bring some family and friends for support while leaving the dudes behind!

Author: Gabriella Muñoz