Planning a Glasgow Wedding: Issue #3, Glasgow Wedding Collective Fair
The bank holiday may sadly not have been a sunny one for Glaswegians, but luckily there was plenty of fun to be had indoors for the city’s brides-to-be and their bridesmaids, mothers, fiancés (and even fathers, aunties and uncles if you count the sizeable and supportive entourage I dragged along) on Sunday at The Glasgow Wedding Collective Showcase. Held from 11am-5pm at The Lighthouse on Mitchell Lane (handily, just off Buchanan Street) the GWC’s website promised that their showcase offered ‘An opportunity to unearth & meet with the most creative, inspiring & downright gorgeous handpicked wedding suppliers from throughout Scotland’ so I was definitely intrigued about exactly what I was going to find.
On arrival, the first positives were that entry was free and the welcome was warm – a stark change from my first wedding show experience back in February! The event was held over three floors of the building (the middle floor offering an idea of exactly how The Lighthouse itself can be set out for a wedding) and showcased an array of vendors offering stationery, bridalwear, cakes and bakes, vintage and bespoke jewellery, photography, hair and make-up as well as a few notable little extras.
Although not a vintage fair per se, it is true that a number of the stalls evoked a vintage feel and the businesses involved all looked great together – but it was this vintage-esque design which put my sister off a few of the options slightly, despite the high quality of what we saw. I, however, was in my element! I’m not looking to have a vintage theme for the wedding, but I am looking to have a variety of unique elements –as most brides are- and the choices on offer were plentiful.
At this stage, it is worth pointing out that we arrived shortly after 3pm and almost every vendor we spoke to was still warm and chatty, despite having been there since 11am – a good sign for what to expect on your Big Day itself. It may also be worth pointing out, though, that we were too late for a goody bag or a glass of fizz – these must have long gone. I think there may also have been musical entertainment at some point on the top floor, but this was also over. Lesson: go early if you want to experience everything!
Onto the vendors themselves – as I’ve said they were all very high quality and obviously had a great deal of pride in their business, evident in that there was no market-style hollering or pushy sales people trying to get your attention as the products garnered it easily, making it a very relaxed atmosphere.
We’ll start with cakes, since I believe you can never go wrong if you start with cake. Each one of our sizeable party tried a different taster (as is only fair if I’m to assess) from Big Bear Bakery and there was not a single unhappy face! Peanut butter tarts, lemon and poppy seed sponge, brownies, macaroons, carrot cake, marshmallows…the list goes on and they were each delicious and very reasonably priced. Their ‘naked’ cakes (where the sponge and filling are on show in exquisite fashion) were rivalled by The Three Sister’s Bake, but unfortunately there were no bite-sized pieces available to try from the latter, not that we really needed to consume any more calories.
Moving on to the wedding attire, there were a handful of vendors offering bespoke or vintage dresses in a range of styles. Butterbee bridesmaid dresses (as part of Dragonfly Dress Designs) offer a slightly quirkier option to the usual styles but unfortunately there wasn’t a representative to chat to in further detail. Ribbon and Lace had a truly eye-catching, pale pink dress on show which was hard to turn away from and their accessories looked divine. Around the corner, stood Flossy and Dossy designs who, in a similar fashion to Dragonfly, custom-make a dress for you to your specifications. I am so glad I waited in a small queue to speak to Wendy (the dressmaker) as her dresses were absolutely beautiful and her enthusiasm and friendly manner truly won all of us girls over.
Stationery was another big contender at the fair and each stall certainly grabbed the eyes. EYI Love offer some very unique and creative designs (concert tickets for invites anyone?) which would definitely compliment any wedding. Another advantage of their business is that the prices are laid out easily on their website for you to work out exactly what it will cost for your numbers. It must be said, their attention to detail obviously deserves to be rewarded so if you’re on a miniscule budget, this might not be an affordable option. Skinny Malink was another notable vendor who showcased some quirky designs suitable for a vintage theme and for the more modern wedding.
There were also florists, photographers, wedding planners and jewellers amongst others – too many to mention individually - but I can honestly say as a collective, it was clear that there is a very high standard to be attained in order to be included. In my opinion, every single vendor is worth checking out for your Glasgow wedding. It is clear that these businesses love weddings and know their niche so I’d be hard-pressed to say anything negative from what I saw. Check out their website for links to every vendor I’ve mentioned here and all the ones I couldn’t fit in. Better yet, head along to the next fair when it comes around – you’ll not be disappointed!
If you would like to see more from Kate, the author of this article, find her on Twitter at @CinnamonGirl_KF or on her own website, www.cinnamongirlmag.co.uk.
