NEWS Shopper’s Carole Hoggan is getting married in September, and with her preparations in full swing she jumped at the chance to grab some inspiration at the mega Wedding Fair which was at Glow, Bluewater from February 7 to 9.

Having been engaged for just over a year already, I’ve had a few opportunities to get along to various wedding fairs to shop around for the big day.

There’s not many on the scale of this one – it was enormous. It had everything you can think you might need at your wedding and thousands of other things you would never dream of but when you see them are perfect.

The only trouble is, it’s incredibly tempting. Perhaps too tempting if you’re on a tight budget.
As you would expect, there was plenty of opportunity to try on dresses of all shapes, sizes, shades and designs.

I walked past one girl who was trying on a dress. I had to stop because she looked absolutely beautiful in it. She was with her mum and neither of them thought she would go for that type of dress but she tried it on and it was stunning.

I’ve already organised a lot of my wedding but if you have just decided to get married it will blow your mind. There is so much to inspire you.

As well as dresses there were invites, table plans, chocolate fountains, jewellers, sweet treats, caterers, cars, photo booths, shoes, suit hire and tonnes more.

There was even a band and a harpist.

There was a girl I talked to about shoe hire. Rents out top end designer shoes and sparkly wedding shoes for the day or the weekend. It was a great idea I hadn’t even thought about before.

It’s perfect if you want a nice shoe but don’t want to spend the money on something you’ll hardly wear again.

Some of the things were absolutely beautiful, really special stuff.

My sister, who was accompanying me, tried some cake by Munch Moi. Their intricate, decadent designs reminded me of ChoccyWoccyDooDah – they were just beautiful and so unusual. There was one shaped like a wedding dress which was just brilliant. And all chocolate.

Glow is a giant venue and there was lots inside, but it wasn’t too packed in. Sometime exhibitions like these can get too squeezed.

As if seeing the items on stalls wasn’t enough, there was also a catwalk show to give you even more inspiration.

Upstairs was a vintage theme, with vintage dresses and showcases of concepts like a tea party wedding. There was also the chance to grab some refreshments – and boy did we need to sit and chat with a cuppa after two hours of having our minds blown.

Keep an eye out for the next wedding fair and other events at Glow at bluewater.co.uk