The Veil and Vows Alternative wedding expo at the Victorian Belle Mansion!
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of participating in another wedding expo called Veil and Vows, which took place on the grounds of the Victorian Belle Mansion in North Portland.
Finishing up a portrait of an engaged couple at Veil and Vows.
I met one of the planners working on this expo, Reese, at my first PDXperts event back in February, which connects vendors in the wedding industry. Judging from the way the expo was presented, a unique and creative alternative to a traditional wedding expo, I knew it would be a good fit for showcasing my own creative work.
I hadn’t been back to the Victorian Belle Mansion in years; I actually had my junior prom there in 2011! It’s such a beautiful venue. I don’t get the chance to see much old architecture having grown up in the area, so it’s special when I can see a building that is even just about 120-150 years old.
This particular expo is run seasonally and they had an Alice in Wonderland theme this time- I was in the section with the theme “Who are you?” referencing the caterpillar with the hookah amidst a garden of giant mushrooms. I tried to dress up my booth a little with LED mushroom lights and mushroom cups, but the star of the show was definitely my dress.
Posing at the Victorian Belle.
My friend lent me her wedding dress, an Edwardian piece that was actually a working class woman’s dress, worth much more today. It was beautiful and I loved how it looked on me, but I needed help to get into it and it took a few hours of struggling with the corset in the back to get it off by myself!
I got to see a variety of vendors at this expo, among which were a few familiar faces like Vacuterie, Bowtie & Brush, and NW Rose Events, but mostly they were new to me. I really admired the creativity that went into all the sets that encapsulated each section’s theme. The guests were given a little passport for vendors to stamp in order to encourage them to visit every vendor.
Since I was set up outside the gazebo, I had the risk of being in direct sunlight, and unfortunately soon enough I lost my shade during the hottest point of the day! For a while I withstood it but I realized I couldn’t make guests and myself sit in the bright light and heat, so I moved my table and chairs across the way still within my designated section; thankfully this was a perfect shady spot.
I was pretty much non-stop drawing at this expo. It ended up being even more successful than the last expo I’d worked- at one point I even had a little line of people waiting to get drawn.
A few guests that I drew were getting married at the Victorian Belle itself, and by the time I’m writing this, I’ve been booked to draw for one of those couples! I can’t wait to go back, and I’ll definitely be vending at this expo the next time it rolls around.
