Bridal Fair?

We wanted to visit the bridal faire in Pleasanton tomorrow, from Modern Bridal, but wondered if it was worth the drive from San Jose? I'd love to see a fashion show and get some ideas before I make decision based on magazine photos. Any thoughts?

I went to a bridal fair once in Santa Clara and it was such a waste of time. I can't believe they actually charge you money to go in! After the bridal fair I got tons of junk mail from vendors, tons of emails, and a few phone calls from people asking things like "have you hired your DJ yet?" or "you've won a prize! come to this meeting tonight to collect it and give us your personal information." =P

Yeah I was gonna go to a bridal expo today in Los Angeles, and at the last minute I decided against it for fear of that. I have already recieved emails and calls from places...as it is and have decided that talking to you ladies on here and my family and friends is much more helpful.

I went to one in the city and it was OK. I had fun walking around and they had a bridal gown fashion show, but I wasn't too impressed by the vendors plus I was having a destination wedding, so none of those vendors actually worked for me. Then they started calling and spamming me with all these emails.

I went to a few of them in the beginning of my planning. I didn't end up using the vendors because I went to South Bay shows since I live in the South Bay but my wedding was in SF.

In terms of the fashion shows, they didn't help me because the fashion shows were designers that I wasn't going with. It helped me more to just visit a bridal gown store and try on dresses.

Just like Evonne (MrsBabySalute), I got all these emails and calls since you have to register your name. (The crazy thing is I got an email last week for a DJ and I've been married now for over a year).

I was there at the fair in Pleasanton--total ripoff! Even with the printed discount ticket, it was $22 for my mom and I. This price wouldn't be outrageous if there were more than 20 vendors. Plus a groom and another mother of the bride almost got in a fight over prizes and he was jumping on the feet of a young girl... it was just a mess. It was a big mistake for me not to do a little more research. The movie on the website was totally misleading as to the size and scope of these. Needless to say, I was VERY disappointed.

I'm not at all familiar to the one in Pleasonton, but in response to bridal fairs in general, my experience with them has been good. The ones in my area (Sonoma County, CA) tend no to be too large, but they always have great prizes. I haven't yet attended one since I've been engaged but I've gone with friends in the past in preperation for their weddings. One friend of mine won free tux rentals, and another won $1200 in floral design. Huge savings for both!