Wedding Wednesday//Sedona Bridal Fair

Time to go over the (semi) Fabulous weekend we had in Sedona this weekend!


If you are new here this weekend was the Sedona Bridal Fair. BK and I headed down with his parents to check out the vendors that are key players in the Sedona Wedding scene. I am so glad I went! As someone that has no idea how to plan a wedding, it was a great tool in getting a lot of information. Not only that, I got a lot of free stuff. That being said, let's get into it
We went down Friday and stayed at Poco Diablo Resort. It had been somewhere I was looking into having our wedding at. Early on, I decided against it, but visiting and staying there just affirmed it. While the grounds and rooms were decent. The food wasn't worth the price either. The photos of weddings there definitely amp up the look of the place. It was not what I was expecting and I am glad I did not have it as a contender on my list anymore.

As far as the fair itself goes, it was great. We got there right at 10am when it started. The being said, our raffle tickets were in first and we were able to get the door bags. The bags held plenty of info as well as coupons and goodies. I love the bags. It is durable and pretty cute. Not to mention, it was a durable bag for FREE! The design was pretty cute too. The shaped used for the wedding bell is actually the outline of one of the vortices called Bell Rock which is to the South of Sedona.

One of the very first tables we stopped at was the table for Tlaquepaque. We waiting for information on a photographer and the lady at the next table started asking me questions about the wedding. I was a little disinterested at first because she had all kinds of stuff relating to the Sedona Bride website. I briefly mentioned wanting to get married at Tlaquepaque in November 2012. Next thing I know this woman is in full gear with a day planner, asking the exact date. She was one of the event coordinators for Tlaquepaque! And much to our delight, the date is open! Talking to her was so exciting and energizing. They are so willing to help with everything while being conscious of your budget. I am so ready to get into the bulk of the planning. We have a budget planned out and a time line set for saving the money we need to book the venue!

Tlaquepaque has a list of caterers that can be used for weddings and two of them were at the fair. First was Rosalie's, whose booth was near the entrance. I was excited to taste their food, but it wasn't. It wasn't terrible, but it left much to be desired. It was nothing to write home about, but I will briefly talk about it here. First, there were roast beef sliders. I passed. The meat looked dry and tough. It was just slapped between two buns and served. No sauce, no garnish, nothing. Second, was seared ahi tuna with a wasabi oil on fried wonton wrapper. The tuna was so undercooked. I know the center is supposed to be somewhat raw, but this was just not right. And it was crusted with way too much pepper. I don't even remember what the third item was. On top of all that, the people representing Rosalie's had no desire to speak to us. They offered no information about what we were eating, the company as a whole, or pricing information.

Visiting the Heartline Cafe table was a whole different experience. Everyone seemed very interested in talking with both of us, learning about our wedding plans, and sharing what they have to offer. More importantly, their food was great. They had a hummus that was blended with feta cheese It was new and unique (well to me anyways) and stuck with me. They also had the best tasting Mayan chocolate and chili truffles. SO GOOD! We were at their table for a good 20-30 minutes. After talking with them and looking at photos of events they have done, we decided to move onto other. Before walking away, they handed us a copy of their restaurant's cookbook and gave us 25% off if we joined them for dinner at the restaurant. Of course we went, and I will post a review about it later on. Let's just say Heartline Cafe is the top of our list for catering.

After all of the bridal fair stuff on Saturday, we went over to Tlaquepaque to check out the specific areas that we are considering for our ceremony and reception. I have uploaded photos of Patio de las Campanas to flickr in a set dedicated to pre-wedding stuff. These photos are also on facebook. I will be adding more photos to this album as more things are found that add some kind of inspiration for our wedding.

We spent some time exploring the grounds and some of the shops, and then we ate lunch at Oak Creek Brewery, which I will also do a review on soon. We also went on Sunday after it had snowed. It was gorgeous and I started crying while we were standing in the patio and the bells were ringing. At that moment I knew Tlaquepaque was the place for us!

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I was the first raffle winner of the bridal fair! I won a gift card for Oak Creek Brewery and a bronze Tlaquepaque key chain. It couldn't have been more fitting!