I heart free stuff

Today Daryl sent me an e-mail entitled: "saw this and thought of you." It contained a link to an article called "how to find free stuff." Aww, he knows me. What's better than a bargain? Free!
Yesterday I went to my first (and probably only) bridal show. When I bought dress #2, this lady approached me about signing up to come to said bridal show. While I wasn't interested in that sort of thing, I went ahead and gave her my info...I thought I'd help a promo girl out. A few days later I received an e-mail confirming my registration to this event. I noticed that normally they charge $50 to get in, PLUS there was a gift bag involved, so when the event rolled around last night, I thought, "why not?" I showed up in my uggs with my hair in a pony tail and not a stitch of makeup. I had no idea it was sort of a fancy deal. People supposedly flew in for this thing and stood in line in the cold to get in. I got there early and only waited for a short time....and it was totally worth it. I had cocktails, cupcakes, coffee, and filled a bag with all kinds of nifty promotional gear from photographers, stationary companies, honeymoon places, etc. The best part of all was when I turned in my ticket and received a huge goodie bag filled with more fun stuff. Later I learned that this particular bridal show is marketed as a luxury event for brides with discerning taste (and a lot of money to blow on one day) Even if I did not already have everything pretty much planned, I still could not take advantage of the services offered to me at this event...financially or morally. No, I can not spend 36,000 to rent an island for a weekend. No, I will not shell out $9,000 for you to photograph my special day. No, I do not need a 500 dollar tiara. Or a 5 foot tall ice sculpture centerpiece. And I certainly could not enjoy eating a cake that costs as much as my rent.
However, there were a lot of talented folks there and I can appreciate and respect their work. It's just not my cup of tea. Or pricetag. But I'm loving my swag bag!