Bridal show - do I bring along my FI?

weathergirl87 · August 2013

I'm going to one this weekend just to see what they are all about and maybe get some discounts on things. He kind of wants to come, but is afraid of being the only guy there. I don't want to drag him to an event at which he's going to feel awkward and uncomfortable the whole time.

So here's my question: Are there lots of couples at these things? Or is it usually the bride and bridesmaids/mom/FMIL/etc.?

misssunshine17 · August 2013

I know it would be my FI's version of hell, but that's him. I never went to a bridal show because they seem so gimmick-y to me. I think if he wants to go, he wouldn't be out of place since it's his wedding too.

southernbelle0915 · August 2013

weathergirl87 said:

I'm going to one this weekend just to see what they are all about and maybe get some discounts on things. He kind of wants to come, but is afraid of being the only guy there. I don't want to drag him to an event at which he's going to feel awkward and uncomfortable the whole time.

So here's my question: Are there lots of couples at these things? Or is it usually the bride and bridesmaids/mom/FMIL/etc.?

I don't understand. Discounts? A bridal shower is where you attend a get together for the bride and bring her a gift.

If your FI wasn't on the invitation, he's not invited. If he was on the invitation, leave it up to him whether or not he wants to attend.

ETA: Reading comprehension FAIL. Sorry, OP. I've seen a lot of couples go together. Usually I've seen groups of women, but there are always lots of dudes hanging around.

weathergirl87 · August 2013

southernbelle0915 - Bridal show, not shower. Very different things.

southernbelle0915 · August 2013

Got it... sorry, I edited my post. God give me the weekend.

RebeccaB88 · August 2013

The one I went to, most of the guys were either being drug around by the women looking bored and miserable, or they were off in a corner holding up the wall and playing on their phone. They only perked up long enough to taste cake samples. I'd say unless he wants to go, it's ok to leave him at home.

thisismynickname2 · August 2013

I took my mom, FMIL and fiance to a show (free tickets, woo hoo!). My fiance liked the food tasting and spent time at the travel booth for honeymoon info, but otherwise he was bored. Our moms adored the fashion show (by far the highlight of the whole thing), and while normally that would definitely not be my fiance's thing, it helped me get an idea of what fashions he thought were pretty and what fashions he thought were ugly. That was actually helpful.

Although a male friend of mine who moonlights MCing at weddings told me "definitely take your fiance, it's his wedding too, men go to those all the time"--- frankly maybe 5% of the people at the event were male.

I think more men should go, frankly. There are photographers, caterers, and DJ companies there--- all really big-ticket vendors that men should take an interest in, even if only from a budget perspective. Also, if I saw a centerpiece I thought was gorgeous and fiance made a face at, well now I know what not to do. The boredom of the men says a lot--- do they truly not care (meaning the bride gets free reign on planning that aspect), or do they think things are ugly or dumb? I wouldn't plan a wedding that my fiance thought looked bad, and seeing stuff at the show was such a good way to gauge his feelings.

libby2483 · August 2013

My H had no interest in going, so I went with my mom and my sister. There were not very many guys there.

MayDay513 · August 2013

DH went with me to like 2. He worked on tuxes and cake. He enjoyed it. It was also nice for us to talk to different vendors together. There were about 20-30 guys there.

OjitosVerdes · August 2013

He won't be the only guy there, but the dudes are outnumbered. If he only "kind of" wants to go, I'd let him off the hook. My guy really wanted to go, and within 20 minutes of our arrival was ready to get the heck out of there.

Personally, I've found that vendor reviews on weddingwire and the like are a lot more informative/helpful than were any bridal shows I went to, but if you've never been to one it could be fun.

KDM323 · August 2013

My fiance would probably prefer to have a root canal than attend a bridal show/expo.

Grabows14 · August 2013

My FI went with me. NBD.. . We only stayed long enough to see all the vendors and skipped the bridal run way thing cuz I already had my dress... Not many guys but he wasn't a jerk about it

zizibet · August 2013

MY FI has been with me to the three I've gone to. There were several other men there with their FIs. It wasn't a big deal. He sampled a bunch of cake and talked to some of the vendors with me. I'd take him.

[Deleted User] · August 2013

I only went to one and my husband went with me. We actually had everything booked pretty much by that point. But it was held on a Saturday night at a local reception hall that has fabulous service & food (they were out of our budget) and dinner was being served as a way for everyone to get tasting of the foods they had to offer. It was $15.00 a head, so for $30.00 we got an amazing dinner with apps and desserts, that had we gone out would have cost us $60.00+ not includuing tip. Yes, we basically used it as a date night. During the fashion show we talked about the dresses and I was able to get his opinions on styles he liked or didn't like. We enjoyed ourselves and there were a lot of guys there.

delujm0 · August 2013

If you haven't really started planning yet and still need a lot of vendors, I'd advise going; i got pobably $500-1,000 in discounts from vendors who I initially met at a Bridal show. Otherwise, DO NOT GO. THEY ARE TERRIBLE. You're basically walking around a giant maze-like hall, and vendors are popping out at you every two seconds asking for your details and trying to sell you stuff. Also, be wary of the raffles, etc that you sign up for...many of them lead to scam telemarketing calls.

I went to a bridal show a few weeks after i got engaged. When i heard about it, i ordered two tickets and invited a friend, assuming that FI would hate it. well, he got so offended that i invited a friend instead of him that he wound up coming with me instead. Aside from a few food samples, he very seroiusly regrets that decision. I kind of do to...i wish we hadn't have gone, but we did get some reasonable discounts out of it, so that was good. I'd suggest you look at the vendor list before hand, research them and decide who you REALLY want to talk to, just visit those booths, and then leave.

TerriHugg · August 2013

Well, they are great if you are early in the planning. I took my husband to two of them and he hated it. Of course, I didn't bring him to the next one and he was mad he missed it because they had a full buffet for a meal. Then the last one I went to, I won us a honeymoon. It would have been nice for him to be there for that, but he wasn't.

harper0813 · August 2013

My fiancé was not interested, so I went with my maid of honor (we received free passes). I thought it was a blast - salons were doing hair for free, there were mimosas being passed around, food samples, photobooth, dance lessons, etc. I saw a few guys and I didn't think it was weird at all for them to attend. Who DOESN'T love freebies?

davisse3 · August 2013

If you are hoping to get discounts for going, be prepared to sign contracts and pay for the full price of something on site. At the bridal shows, I've been to most vendors offering discounts required payment on site to get the discount... but some of them were really good discounts.

grumbledore · August 2013

My fiance would probably prefer to have a root canal than attend a bridal show/expo.

I think I would too lol.

kjlamb · August 2013

My fiancee went instead of my MOH because she had a kid emergency, and he LOVED it! I think he liked it more than me. If he wants to go let him-there were other guys there too, and my FI got a groom sticker that he was braging about for weeks!

OjitosVerdes · August 2013

cap816 said:

My H went with me, my mom and his mom. Honestly, I think we all enjoyed it about the same amount. That said, I don't think we got much out of it either. We pretty much already knew our vision, and with the exception of the graphic designer we ended up going with, the high-end vendors we were considering didn't even have a presence there.

That was my experience, too - the vendors that attended were mostly people starting out that were trying to get their names out there. That is great, of course, and there were some good deals to be found, but most of our vendors we were interested in were well-established, and didn't attend the local bridal shows.

CaraMia886 · August 2013

My DH is an amazing human being, but I simply cannot imagine him agreeing to come to a bridal show. It totally depends on your FI, but my DH was mostly interested in the food, the cake, what he got to wear, and the music. Bridal shows tend to showcase bridal fashion (more for the girls), different makeup/spa treatments, flowers, hair places, and mostly 'girly' things. Ask him, though- he may want to join.

sarabopp · August 2013

I went to a typical bridal show with my best friend. We had a blast- drinking champagne, eating cake and playing in a photobooth. We diodn't take it very seriously as most of the vendors were out of my price range. FI was not interested in going to this show held in a large hotel.

There is an expo called Love Sick that is in many major cities. I took my fi, my sister and her fi to this show. It was not typical and a lot of fun! There was a cash bar and a burlesque show- it was held at a local music venue! We all had a great time eating cake and meeting people whose services we could afford and want to use. The vendors were more down to earth and mostly local and unique. I'd recommend that show with friends or your fi.

MuppetOverlord · August 2013

i brought my fiance. He wanted to be part of the planning, we tried some food at these events and got an idea for some venues. We actually didn't book anyone from a bridal show at all, but we did visit a few of the places.

weathergirl87 · August 2013

Thanks for your input, everyone! We ended up meeting up with a good friend of his and his fiancee and the friend's sister (who is also engaged) earlier in the day, so the five of us ended up going (after some debate from the guys about doing something more manly instead). So I and the two other brides went and signed up for a bunch of junk mail/discounts while the guys tasted the food and probably made snarky comments to each other the whole time. Best of both worlds. I was so glad his friend was there; it made things a lot more bearable for everyone involved.

I should note that I told FI about 50 times that I did not expect him to come and that if he didn't want to it was 100% fine with me, and thanked him profusely for coming afterward.

He knows I'm not uptight about things like this which I think is why he was willing to come.

scmurphy2010 · August 2013

I didn't think my fiance would want to go, but he went and he saw it wasn't that bad. We recently went with my best friend/MOH along with her fiance. It was a bridal double date. Granted, he won't go to more than one a month (which is fine). There are several guys who go so he won't be the only guy but if there is a time where he'd rather watch football, go easy on him

Bridal show - do I bring along my FI?

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