Bridal Shows - Part 2

As promised, here are my thoughts for the brides, couples, and families who attend for how to get the most out of the show.  It's all about the preparation!

First, once you've decided to attend, sit down and think about what you still need for your wedding.  Are you recently engaged, and just trying to figure it all out?  Then maybe make a list of all of the vendor types, and put them in your personal priority order - your priorities are not another bride's priorities, so work from yours.  Otherwise, the shows can be very overwhelming, and definitely not as productive for you.  Are you largely through the planning and only need a few more things?  Then know what those are.  After you have your priorities, go to the bridal show website (in this case www.BridalBazaar.com), and check out each of the vendors in that category.  (A heads-up - some bridal shows do a new website per show, so you know that all of the vendors listed are expected to be there.  Others, like the Bridal Bazaar, list their vendors for the year on their site, so the vendor might have been at the January one, but won't be at the April one.)

Then, here is the part of the prep with the biggest payoff and time saver - take a few minutes to visit the websites of each of those vendors.  That way you know if their style, service offering, and even their price range, matches your needs, and therefore you know whose booths you should visit for a real conversation.  No reason to waste your time stopping by a booth when you only realize afterward that there definitely wouldn't be a match, for one reason or another!  And, with this prep work done, you can actually have a real conversation, as you already know something about them, and can ask whatever else you want to know, as well as focus on next steps, such as a personal meeting to discuss your needs.

Second, a simple and fast thing to do ahead of time is to create a page or two of labels.  What is this for?  Most booths will have giveaways, contests, or, if you want more information from them, will have a form for you to fill out.  If you have prepared with labels (and for every show there are a few prepared brides with them!), this part is easy!  The labels should have your name (or both names), the wedding date and time, mailing address, email address and/or phone number.  This will save a lot of time and hassle in filling things out.  Yes, each vendor may ask for something different, but it's easier to just add that one piece of info than to write it all every single time!

Lastly, dress comfortably, especially with comfortable shoes!  There's a lot of ground to cover and a lots of standing.  And, bring a shoulder tote bag for all of the pieces of material you will be getting.  Some shows, and some booths, give out the plastic or paper shopping bags, but as they get full, they get heavy and tough on the fingers.  Plus, it ties up a hand.  By having a shoulder tote, you can fit more, without the pain, and it frees you up more.

Just my thoughts and advice, from being on both sides at bridal shows!  Any more ideas or thoughts?  Post 'em below as a comment - let's share those great ideas!

Cheers,
Bethel

Bridal Shows - Part 1

As the Bridal Bazaar was just yesterday, at least some of my thoughts and efforts lately have definitely been focused on that.  First off, let me say that the Bridal Bazaars, held four times a year in San Diego, are run very well, and I highly recommend attending them (and displaying in them)...  I am going to blog about them in two parts - first, from the vendors' perspective, and second, with my advice on how to attend one successfully as a bride or couple.

One of the challenges, as a vendor, is how to set up your booth, especially for a vendor like me.  You want to get attention - but good attention, and appropriate attention.  Photographers have amazing pictures to show, DJs are using playing some sort of music with a small set-up, and caterers and bakers are the most loved, as they have food to give out!  What does an officiant show?  I've changed it up each time.  And while I don't think that yesterday's showing for me was the most attractive and eye-catching thus far (especially as I was missing my wonderful helper, aka my husband, who usually builds my arch for me), it was the most clear of what I am.  The new pull-up banner helped with that a lot!  I definitely didn't have to use my oft-repeated "I'm the officiant.  I'm the lucky one who gets to marry you!" as often this time, as I didn't have as many confused faces as they walked by.  And I had more folks coming right over to say, "Oh, great - we still need that!" 

I am very aware that I do not need a thousand folks to come by my booth and take material, or even multiple hundreds, to make it a successful show.  Honestly, if there were that many people trying to come by, I wouldn't have a chance to truly interact with any of them, so I don't want that many.  For me, it's important that I am able to have meaningful conversations with a good handful (or few handfuls) of brides, couples, families - for them to understand who I am, what my style is, and therefore, what working with me might feel like.  And I know that I really need to gain five to seven new weddings to make the show worthwhile for me.  Of course, there can be a lag time of months before some of those couples come back to me, depending on where they are in their planning.  But come back to me they do!  Thankfully!

And, what do you give out as a vendor?  Those who know me well know that I have spent a great deal of time, and money, on my branding and marketing efforts, so this is important to me.  I'm also lucky enough to have a family business in the imprinted products industry, so I have access to great stuff!  I think it's important to have a great postcard or brochure to hand out - they are so overwhelmed at the show, picking up so many things, that you need something that both stands out, and makes clear what you do, when they are going back through that pile of take-aways in the weeks to follow.  Plus, something fun, and useful.  I'm not a big fan of giving away candy, unless that's what you do.  Give away something that will stick with them.  I happen to give away good quality pens.  Yes, pens are not unique, but one they like to write with will stick with them for longer than you'd imagine.  A cheap one that doesn't write?  Worthless, as it will be tossed quickly, and they will judge your quality level on what you gave out.

Enough for now, although this is a subject I could go on about for much longer...  Here are pictures of my bridal show booths - let me know what you think!

Bridal Bazaar - April 2010

Bridal Bazaar - January 2010

Bridal Bazaar - Oct 2009

Wedding Party Show - Oct 2009

Cheers,
Bethel