I got a pearl necklace!

[sparklesweetie]

Ah ha....got your attention didn't I? Lol. Actually, I did get a necklace at the bridal fair I went to today. One of those cheap Mardi Gras type....but still fun to say I got a pearl necklace. I also got a free garter from one of the vendors. It's blue on top....so my something blue is covered. I also got some pens (I have a pen fetish, I love pens).
I also found some good info on some various dj's and photographers to research. They also had caterers there, and they all had samples of cake (yum) and chocolate fondue! I am so hunting down someone with a fondue fountain and using it at the reception. Man, I'm making myself drool. I also tried fondant....it was interesting. Then again, I don't like icing period, so I wasn't really expecting to like it. And have you ever heard of cake being charged per person instead of per slice? One caterer there does...$1.50 per person. He said we'd end up with more cake than people. Shrug.
Ok, I'll let ya'll go for now. Just wanted to gush about my freebies today.

[allison]

Originally Posted by sparklesweetie

Ah ha....got your attention didn't I? Lol.

Uh, yeah. After Margie's V-day thread, that definitely got my attention!

I'm glad you got all those freebies and even have your 'something blue' covered. Way to go girl!

[fallbride]

The hall that we are using will give me a discount if I have someone else do my cake. The discount is $1.00 per person. I really do not think it was worth it, so I am having them do the cake for us.

[555Ann555]

Yeah you got my attention too!

I know what you mean about the fondant, it's the texture that gets to me even more than the taste. But I like the results so I'm going with it anyway! If my guests don't like fondant they can pick it off like I do I like how smooth it looks on the cake...

[deputysgurl]

You had a very good attention getter.

I wish there were bridal fairs around here.

[Heather]

Originally Posted by allison

Uh, yeah. After Margie's V-day thread, that definitely got my attention!

Ditto!!

[Marge129]

You had me wondering until I saw what forum this was in! Good one!

[whiddle]

When I saw this thread on the list, Margie was the last one to reply so I thought she started it. Boy, was I shocked!

[Steph]

hahahaha

[Marrying_the_Good_Husband]

Sounds like the bridal show was a big hit for you! Cool! Yeah, I have heard of charging cake per person--just kind of to estimate how much they need--even if not everyone eats it.

[ljeagle]

I am being charged $1.88 per person! The shop that is doing it is good and they are only 2 blocks from the church. Glad u enjoyed your self at the show...

[Solar_Flare]

I went to a bridal fair a couple of weekends ago. Didn't get any free stuff except advertisements, Lucky you! One booth did have that choclate fondue fountain that I got to try, I was in heaven. Best choclate I ever tasted. They have the fountain for sell at walmart for $40 but I don't know if I want to try to supply the 20-odd pounds or so of choclate to go with it.

[Lizbet]

Solar, I rented a choc fountain for my wedding. Then, my Aunt got DH and me a mini one for Christmas. We found out that even if you're not renting the fountain from the rental store, they will sell you the chocolate. It's something to consider.

[Solar_Flare]

Really?! That would be great. Runs to go find those people's ad

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by Lizbet

Solar, I rented a choc fountain for my wedding. Then, my Aunt got DH and me a mini one for Christmas. We found out that even if you're not renting the fountain from the rental store, they will sell you the chocolate. It's something to consider.

I got one for Christmas too. Have you used it yet? I heard they are a pain in the butt and don't work well. I'm throwing one of my BMs a lingerie shower in March or April and I want to use it then.

Back to the charging by the slice. The cake people around here start on average at $2.00/slice and go as high as $6.00/slice. YIKES!!! I found someone that charged $400/cake...regardless of the exact number of people. We said between 400-500 and we had so much cake left over it was ridiculous. We threw away the bottom 2 layers!

[Lizbet]

I used it for DH's B-day party the first of Jan. It was great! Now, I didn't have to clean it up. My Dad was kind enough to do that while I was working on the rest of the kitchen. But, I watched him, and it seems that as long as you don't let the choc dry in the fountain it's not too bad. The only thing we had to watch was to make sure the chocolate was thinned enough. The fountain my Aunt got us did not heat as much as the professional versions. Therefore, to get the chocolate to run smoothly, we had to add a small amount of cooking oil. It really wasn't much, we just added it as we melted the choc, before putting it in the fountain.

Everyone LOVED the fondue. I had a bunch of different fruits, some pretzels, and some marshmallows for dipping. Since the fountain was smaller, and we were all friends, we just used regular toothpicks. At the wedding I bought 6" skewers, so that people were less likely to drop stuff in the fountain or get their fingers in the chocolate.

[555Ann555]

The chocolate fountains over here are a ridiculous price to rent! Most of the companies want £300-£400

Although I did find a mini one for hire for £100... Which I'm still considering for the buffet at night. You can buy them for about £50 but what on earth are you supposed to do with it afterwards? When am I ever going to use it again? And what about all the hassle of cleaning it up? That one for £100 includes the chocolate plus they come and set it up for you and dismantle it and clean it all, so I think I'd rather do that just to save work!

They're very yummy though