OBX Wedding Expo SWAG!

As Michael Scott can tell you, SWAG stands for "Stuff we all get!" And it's one of the perks of any expo or convention. Of course, I am not exactly pro pamphlets-you-just-end-up-throwing-out-anyway, far from it! But the amount of information available all in one place — not to mention free samples of yummy food stuffs and more free pens than you could possibly dream — plus being able to interact face-to-face with potential vendors... I have to admit, it was very productive, and more than a little inspiring.

So here's a little taste of Wedding Expo weirdness, spread out on the kitchen table of our hotel suite:





You think that's bad? This is nothing! Over breakfast the morning of the Wedding Expo, we very carefully went through the program page by page and highlighted only those vendors and booths we needed or wanted to check out. We'd already nailed down a venue and officiant, and we were well on our way to securing contracts with a photographer and caterer. So what we were primarily looking for by this point were: flowers, cakes, seating and sound equipment rentals, and maybe a DJ or musician, depending on how the budget was looking. Of course, we were going to swing by and sample the food and desserts folks had set out — but we were happy to pass those pamphlets by.

In the end, we did a pretty good job at only taking what we needed. Business cards, pricing sheets and, best of all, reusable treats like tote bags, pens, a wall calendar, music sample CDs, postcards, drinking glasses and an eco-friendly aluminum water bottle. Yeah, okay, and there were some scented candles and chocolate treats in there, too.

All in all, I'd say the OBX Wedding Expo was a big success! Now my task for today is to sit down with all this SWAG and try to sort it into reasonable, organized piles for follow-up.



Wish me luck!