I participated in my first Bridal Fair last weekend. I was invited by the
Columbia Gorge Hotel.

The hotel is a local icon, built in 1904 and visited by U.S. presidents and celebrities over the last century. It is built high on a cliff over the Columbia River and has expansive views of the gorge and Washington state across the river.

The lavishly appointed hotel is surrounded by meticulously landscaped gardens and features a creek that ends in a spectacular waterfall to the river below. This unique location well-deserved the designation as one of the ten best places in America to get married. (Watch for a feature on the hotel in a WE television wedding special.)

The hotel has been closed for a period of time and is now back in business, pampering guests and planning elegant weddings. The wedding planners at the hotel have been looking for a local baker to provide wedding cakes for them. After meeting and tasting my orange rum cake I was invited to bring cake samples and participate in their bridal fair.

It was an opportunity I never expected to have and I had one week to prepare a presentation for the engaged couples and parents and wedding coordinators that would be attending the bridal fair.

It was an elegant affair. This spectacular flower design in a sculpted ice vase greeted guest in the hotel lobby.

Local wedding service providers including wedding planners, photographers, stationers and floral designers had presentations for the guests.

I truly felt like I had hit the big time.

I wasn't too sure I was ready for it...
I'm just a lil' country gal, homeschooling mom of seven kids, sometime potter, garden putterer. What am I doing here???

This is the "fake" cake I spent the week working on as part of my presentation. Styrofoam, fondant and fresh flowers. What a combination!

The main feature of my display was my cake samples. I brought fudge cake with strawberry cream filling and my own orange rum cake with marionberry filling. Both cakes were iced with
my signature icing. They were very popular!
I made some very important connections at this event. Networking. It's what we homeschooling moms, wedding-cake-maker-wannabes do.
New things on the horizon. I'll keep you posted.