Bridal Extravaganza Show - Houston, TX

What is wrong with this picture?  I wait until AFTER I'm married to attend a bridal show.  This past weekend Jason and I attended the Bridal Extravangza in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention Center.  Jason's resort, La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa, had a booth. 

Shameless plug - Brides looking for a destination: La Torretta would be a great place for your wedding and reception.  The resort is on Lake Conroe and has wonderful restaurants, an amazing spa, and beautiful rooms.  The resort would also be ideal for rehearsal dinners, bridesmaid days, or day-after brunches!   

Back to the show.  It was actually really fun because J and I could walk around enjoying the flowers, cakes, and photos without feeling stressed or pressured.  We even had on vendor nametags so no one really bothered us. 

Here are some highlights:

Loved this cake from La Torretta...it looked so cute and smelled even better!

Stress brides!  Love it...I needed one of those during the planning process.

The beautiful La Torretta Booth! 

And finally...my fave!  It's a floral peacock!!!  It was so stunning in person.  This pic was taken on my phone so the quality is terrible.  Why didn't I have this at my wedding?  Now that's a centerpiece!

Meet our Venue

I went to our wedding and reception venue today because I drive past it almost everyday and it was just too pretty to resist today...welcome:

Scary bridge that I will have to walk down to get to the alter #1:

Bridge #2:

Almost there....are you out of breath yet?

Getting closer...
Stop! That's enough for today! Let's look at the animals that were there to greet me. Here is Mr. Softshell turtle:

And the other turtles...

Peacock #1...I just love these guys!

I learned today, why they say "leaping lizards." This guy was on the ground, but lizards kept jumping around everywhere!

The ducks...

This guy was in a bad mood. he kept picking on all the other peacocks and he kind of scared me!

That's his bad side...

I also saw a raccoon which is weird since it was 5 in the afternoon. He was way too fast to catch on camera! Have a great Friday.

Our Venue

I shared with you all in this post some pictures from our ceremony and reception venue, Vargo's Restaurant. Vargo's is a Houston landmark since 1965 known for their amazing gardens and animals- swans, ducks, and peacocks. They have a lovely gazebo that we will be married in and a gorgeous dining room with huge windows for enjoying the scenery.

Besides the gorgeous scenery and animals, J and I chose this venue to be married because I literally live across the street from Vargo's. Jason and I often go walking on the grounds and visit our peacock friends. Every weekend when we run errands or go for a bike ride, we get to preview other weddings! There is one just about every Saturday!

I came across these pictures online taken by Serendity Photographers of a wedding at Vargo's. This will be Jason and I on May 23!!!

Open House

Today Jason and I are going to an open house at our wedding/reception venue! They are hosting an open house for couples who are getting married there and for prospective couples. They will have menu samples and lots of different vendors that regularly work there.

Our wedding coordinator at the location said this will be a great way to get inspiration for our wedding day look. I am hoping this will do just that!

I would love to walk away have these things done:

-Linens picked out

-Chair covers decided on

-DJ

-Florist and inspiration for what floral decorations will be needed

Another update: Jason and I have a ceremony musician and she is kind of a big deal...she plays for the Houston Symphony!!!

May 23, 2009

We have a date!!! Last week, we were looking at August, but when we realized that my brother's college graduation conflicted we started stressing! I knew that May was so soon and is such a popular wedding month - I just knew that we would not get our venue of choice or be able to find a weekend that worked for everyone.

Once I started really digging in the calendar there was actually only one weekend that would work, May 23. Any sooner and I was either in finals for the MBA program I am in, or there was college graduations for family members. Any later, and I was back in school. It has to be May 23.
I called our venue with my fingers crossed (and I made a few of my co-workers cross theirs too) and it was open - it was fate because it was the only weekend they had open too!

YAY! J and I are so excited that it is sooner than August. We have a lot to do, but between me (who coordinates events for a living), J (who works in the hospitality industry) and my amazing mom, we can totally get it done!!!

Here are a few pics of the restaurant that we are getting married and having the reception. We are going to have the wedding outside at the gazebo!

P.S. How cool is this: Jason and I met on February 23, our first movie that we saw together was called "23" and now we are getting married on May 23.