Sunday my friend Maggie and I went to a wedding fair on the Queen Mary. I have to admit - I was kind of more excited because I'd never been to the Queen Mary, more than the show.


We started by cruising the different vendors. There were a full three floors of photographers, makeup artists, cake samples, stationers; just about everything you could think of! We saw just about every single one, but I was a little disappointed. I thought a lot of vendors would be from the Long Beach area, and therefore perfect for us, but most of the vendors I talked to were from quite a distance (except for a certain Mary Kay saleswoman who wouldn't leave us alone). After watching a little bit of the fashion show (and an adorable two-year-old flower girl model), we got a free tour of the ship and the ballrooms! The captain led us through three or four rooms, set up for events, before inviting the group to roam the ship. I'd seriously considered the Queen Mary for a reception - it'd be so unique, and I do like art deco design. But the rooms were too big, failed to impress, and smelled kind of funny. It was great to check it out and we took some fun pictures, but not quite what I had envisioned.

After the tour, we headed out and passed the Reef restaurant on the way. I've heard good things about their wedding receptions, and we're planning on going for dinner some weekend. It's a little bit of a distance from the chapel than the places we visited the day before, but they offer a lot of the things I had imagined for our reception.

Andy and I pooped out the day before, so we didn't get around to looking at the Long Beach Museum of Art. Since it was on our way back, we stopped in! Claire's Cafe is in the Anderson House next to the museum, and it was busy. The courtyard was set up with a tent and chairs for what looked like a wedding ceremony. As our last stop of the day, Maggie and I agreed that this was a good contender for the reception.