Bridal Show

After the bridal show

So I went to my second bridal show this year on September 16th. I was supposed to go with one of my girls but she couldn't make it, so I recruited my fiance to go with me. I thought he would resist but he was all for it. The show was not what I expected at all, compared to the first bridal show we went to. The first show was back in march a few weeks after I was engaged. My mom and I had such a blast. It was a smaller venue & wasn't very crowded. They kept our glasses filled with passed champagne, tray passed hor dourves, as well as a food station set up with nice appetizers. A live band performed and they were awesome!

I assumed that because this was one of the largest bridal shows (Chicago/Milwaukee) it was going to be 10 times better than the first. Needless to say I was disappointed. The hotel it was held at had a pretty awkward set-up, wayyyyyyyyy to crowded, and it just didn't make me feel special like the other one did. The lines were so long that we didn't get to visit all of the venders. I could have passed on this one, especially with all of the phone calls & emails you get bombarded with afterwards. But I can say some good came out of this bridal show.

One of the venders we visited (Dinner 4 two) signed us up for a dinner/cooking demonstration. We only did it to get the cool red, black & white polka dot pot holders, lol. So a few days later they called and invited us to a cooking demonstration for royal prestige cookware. For coming we would get to sample the food cooked, engraved champagne flutes, and a choice of free wedding bands or two night stay anywhere in the US, bahamas, mexico or the dominican republic (hotel only). I thought there had to be a catch to it, but we were curious anyway. I googled them and there were some mixed reviews. Most people said it was a scam, but there were some who said it was legit. We were not required to purchase anything, so we decided to give it a try, especially with gifts involved.

The demo was at a hotel about 20-30 minutes away. When we arrived they had all of their products out to look at. The chef explained why we were there, the gift options, and we were not obligated to purchase anything. They just offer gifts to get people in the door and hope that they are impressed enough to buy the products. They were not pushy about purchasing anything. They were actually pretty laid back, funny & just overall entertaining. He demonstrated how the cookware cooks food evenly, and they can even be stacked while cooking multiple dishes. He threw a few seasoned chicken breasts in with some frozen vegetables and a teaspoon of water. It cooked for about 30 minutes while he talked and when it was done that was the juciest chicken I had ever had. I mean it was good...as well as the potatoes & other veggies.

They plated our food and we samples while he went over other products. We were there for about 2 hours. Afterwards they handed us our gift choices and we were free to leave. There were 4 other couples there and they left as soon as they got their gifts. We were the only fools left ready to purchase the cookware, lol. We are not normally suckers, but we really do need new cookware. We have the cheap stuff that always end up falling apart or scratching really easily. The cookware is very expensive but thats an investment I'm willing to make, especially since they offer a low payment plan. With us signing up for the cookware, we got the flutes, wedding bands and the trip, As well as a bunch of other free stuff (serving dishes, knives, serving spoons, etc.

Don't always be so quick to judge something as a scam, especially if they don't ask for money or purchases up front. They explained to us on the phone as well as when we were there what we were there for and the gifts were just incentives to get us there hoping we would purchase products in the future. Anyways, I had a great time and enjoyed the food. The gifts were nice too. Only thing with the gifts...the engraved flutes we would have to go online and redeem the certificate, customize them & pay for shipping & handling which is $19. Same thing with wedding bands. We would have to pay for shipping & handling, etc.,which is $50 each. Still not bad for bands. They are plain but you cant complain about something free. We do plan on using them and just having diamonds added to them. The trip only covers the hotel, food & drinks I believe. So we are responsible for our airfare & and taxes & fees associated with the trip, which must be used within 12 months. So we were thinking about using it towards our honeymoon and maybe paying for the extra days, or because we were planning on taking a cruise leaving from Fl...maybe using those 2 nights in Miami before the cruise...we'll see. We were also entered into a drawing to win the ultimate honeymoon package all inclusive including airfare to negril, Jamaica. So hoping we win that one!!!

Did I mention we were the only suckers to actually purchase some expensive cookware? Well we did...not because we felt pressured, but we REALLY needed new cookware that wouldn't scratch or burn easily like the cheap ones we have!