Weddingbee boards

Yesterday was the Great Bridal Expo here in Phoenix and I know it is touring other cities as well, so i thought I would post my review. I was extremely disappointed in the expo. It was downtown at the Phoenix Convention Center. Because It's such a long drive for me and my MOH we decided to avoid the insane parking fees and take the new light rail down. So glad we did because we would have each had to pay $12-$15 just for parking!

When we walked in, I was given cards to fill out with my info and they did provide mailing labels for the brides to use to give vendors their contact info (if you had preregistered). There were only about 40-45 vendors there total and really less than that because some of them were not really wedding related - like the chiropractor, timeshare sales booths, laser hair removal, and teeth whitening clinics, etc. There were only 2 cake vendors there and neither one had samples, only pictures. There was only one florist that did real flowers. A bunch of the food vendors were really only rehearsal dinner venues. I saw only one photographer and 2 photo booth companies.

They didn't give away nearly as many prizes as they advertise and the fashion show was pretty lame. Being an older bride, it was truly bizarre for me to see all the 80s trends coming back on the runway. Long gloves, bubble-bottom bridemaids dresses, etc.

I don't know if it's the economy and vendors aren't spending the money to go these bridal shows or if they are all like this (it was my first, and last one). I think the people that run these things are very out of touch with weddings these days and are missing out on a lot of business. Where were the venue reps, alterations/ undergarments experts, florists, menswear store reps, etc.? Has anyone else been to one of these expos recently? What did you think?