TBH Tina

Wedding Expo Tips You Need to Read

Before we even got engaged we saw that there was going to be a wedding expo happening nearby. We decided it would be fun to go and to even ask our moms to come with us. We know, we know.. we weren’t doing things in order and that’s totally okay.

Before we went to the expo I did a lot of research on tips to manage our way through. I searched on Pinterest, I posted in Facebook wedding groups, and I did some Googling. Taking all of that and our actual experience from the expo, I wanted to share my top tips – which I think are really important to share.

  1. Make a new email address – This will really help for a number of reasons. The first is that it’s easy to keep everything in one place for all things wedding related. It will be easy for you and your partner to access individually, keep all proposals and contracts in one place, and to use it as a “spam” email for vendors. Even if you don’t voluntarily give your email address to a vendor, it’s likely they’re buying everyone’s information from the expo organizers.
  2. Make a new phone number – Ok, you’re probably like, “What? Just go get a new number?” No, not really, sort of.. Relating back to #1, if you make your new email address a gmail account, you can use Google Voice to get a new number for free. You can text through it and any calls sent/received will show as the Google number. It’s so easy too. All you will need to do is download the Google Voice app and it will walk you through choosing a new number and logging in. This will come in handy when your information is bought and/or you reject a vendor proposal and they just keep calling you.
  3. Research vendors ahead of time – Depending on where you are in your planning process, it really helps to research the vendors. Make a list of what each vendor does, look them up to see if they’re your style, then decide if you’ll want to take the time to stop by which vendors and in what order.
  4. Make pre-made address labels with your information – When signing up at vendor booths, whether it be for more information, discounts, raffles, they’re going to ask you for the same information. They’ll want to know your name, email, phone, zip code, and wedding date. I purchased some Avery return address labels, put the above information, and printed them at home. This helped and saved so much time when booths were packed but I didn’t want to pass up on receiving more information. Side note, if you don’t have a specific wedding date yet, you can always say say a time frame (Fall 2021, May 2020) or you haven’t decided!
  5. Enter all the raffles – Seriously, if you are remotely interested in something, enter the raffle! I entered every. single. raffle of vendors I was interested in not expecting to win anything.. but then we did! We won time with the CUTEST photo booth bus.
  6. Have fun! – You’re likely going to the expo with someone or some people who are close to you. Take this time to get ideas and have fun with people you care about. We all know wedding planning can be stressful but if there’s a chance to take some of that stress away, you should.

I want to share a specific story on why the first two tips are important (at least to me). After the expo I started getting phone calls that I won a free boudoir photoshoot. I then started to get emails and text messages too. I opted out of the calls, texts, and emails so I thought I was good. But then, I got MAIL, SNAIL MAIL. Not only that but since my mom had come to expo with us, she started to get the same as well. So it was clear that everyone “wins” to them but also, I find it highly inappropriate to be contacting people who not only opted out but people who chose not to voluntarily give you their information.

Minus the whole boudoir thing, we had SO much fun. Both of our moms were able to attend with us and we were able to spend the afternoon with them. For me, I want to make sure both of our moms are included as much as possible. I’m an only child and Sean is the first of his siblings to get married, so I know both of our moms are super excited.

I hope you all have fun with your planning process as well and make this time so memorable for you, your loved one, and your families. I hope the tips come in handy too.

If you have been to an expo before let us know what tips you have that you think others can benefit from as well!

Until next time,

Crumbs & Whiskers Cat Cafe

“Time spent with cats is never wasted.” – Sigmund Freud

You guys, I finally got to visit a cat cafe! What is a cat cafe, you ask, well let me tell you. Cat cafes are a dedicated space that cares for adoptable cats and partners with a local cafe to provide coffees, drinks, pastries, etc for visitors of the cafe. The main mission is to save cats and help them get adopted!

We actually stopped by on a whim. We had plans for an event across the street from Crumbs & Whiskers and had time to spare, so we decided to stop in. I think it cost about ~$15 for 30 minutes. It may seem like a lot of money but it’s for a great cause.

All of the money goes towards caring for the cats, rent for the space, and paying the employees. The cost of food/drinks is extra, which is provided by a local cafe. Since C&W is facility that houses animals, they can’t legally prepare and serve anything edible so the food is prepared at the cafe then brought over throughout the day.

The specific location we visited was the Georgetown location. There is also a location in LA and a pop-up kitten only location also in Georgetown. Homeward Trails Animal Rescue is the official partner for the Georgetown location, providing them with the cats and manages the adoption process.

Crumbs & Whiskers has saved thousands of cats from euthanization, thousands of cats have been adopted, and thousands upon thousands of dollars have been donated to charity.

When you visit, if it is your first time, they will give you a speech about the location, cause, cats, and do’s & don’ts. The cats wear collars for you to identify their gender and a second special collar if they’re sassy. Sassy meaning they don’t like to be touched, they might swat at you, or just may not be friendly. They ask that you do not pick up a cat unless they in a basket with handles, and then in which case you can pick up the basket with the cat in it. If the cat comes to you and lays on your lap, or loves up on you, then woohoo!

There’s an upstairs and downstairs where guests can hangout. There’s also a lower level that they call the cat spa, which is where the cats go to potty, eat, and be cared for – employees only! Folks who can work remotely can also pay to spend the day there with the cats. There is seating galore (for the size of the space). They also provide toys for you to play with them!

The cats all seemed to get along while we were there and to be honest, I would’ve loved to adopt one. However, a lot of the cats already had adoption forms submitted for them – WHICH IS AMAZING! They do have some “resident” cats who have been there for a while, but they’re happy and well taken care of.

There are tons of other cat cafes now, but this is the first one I’d ever heard of (years ago) and I’m so happy I finally had the opportunity to visit. There is a cat cafe opening near us this summer and I am so excited. They’ll have to get used to seeing me!

Have you ever been to a cat cafe? Or somewhere else with a similar mission? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

Until next time.

Categories

Subscribe