….I apologize that this article is so huge, turns out I have
a lot of opinions on this stuff… Enjoy :)
Bridal Show Season is here!
Bridal Shows can be extremely helpful for every aspect of
your wedding planning, but can be a little bit overwhelming for some Brides.
These are just some things you may want to keep in mind when choosing which
shows to attend.
It’s better to attend shows in the area the wedding will be
held. You want local vendors for your wedding so you don’t get charged extra
fees for travelling suppliers. That said; if your wedding is very far from
where you live it may not be practical to go to a local show. Also, small towns
don’t often host bridal shows.
Larger cities host larger shows! If you’re easily
overwhelmed or already have a lot of your wedding plans made, getting asked by
50 different bakers if you’d like a cake sample might not be fun. On the other
hand if you’re still in the beginning stages of planning, going to a very big
show can give you LOADS of ideas and get you thinking about what you like and
don’t like, or little things (like Garters!) that you might not have thought
of.
Bridal Shows typically happen in the Fall and the Winter,
January and February being the most popular. Do your research and figure out
which shows you’d like to attend. Ask around to other people who have gone
about the quality of the shows (and the vendors) they will likely have an
opinion about their experience. Think about who you’d like to take to the show
with you. Sometimes an overly large group can be tricky to manage in a crowd
and can make your time there longer or not as well used as it could be. But of
course you probably don’t want to go alone. Think ahead of time about what
areas of planning you’ve already covered and which ones you need. If you
already have a DJ but you still don’t have a gown you’ll obviously want to
spend more time talking to the dress shops than the bands.
TAKE A PEN! (or two…or three…trust me on this)
If you’ve decided on going to a show, check out their
website and the sites of some of the vendors who will be there. They often will
have coupons you can print out for discounts on either their services or the
admission to the show. Some shows offer free admission for the bride but not the entourage, some will give you half price if you register ahead of time or
if you bring a non-perishable food item. And some shows you can only get
tickets to in advance. Price of admission typically ranges $5-$25 per person
and depending on the venue parking might be extra.
Be prepared to be asked the same question A LOT! If you
haven’t set a date for your big day, telling people “spring” might prove to be
easier than saying “we’re not sure yet” and of course nobody’s going to hold
you to it if you change your mind. If there are vendors you’ve pretty much
decided on using already be sure to ask about discounts for booking at the show
or hang onto coupons you can get.
Speaking of stuff you’ll get asked, soooo many booths will
have a draw you can enter to win stuff so DO! Although, use your discretion and
enter draws for stuff you actually would want/need. If you’re snow white pale
and the very idea of being outside makes your skin pink maybe avoid the draw
for the tanning salon. Or if you’ve already got a deposit down on your Groom’s
tuxedo, don’t enter the draw for the tux shop, you likely won’t be able to get
your deposit back from the other place. It can be a good idea to print up some
labels ahead of time if you plan on entering a lot of these draws (or some
shows will do your stickers for you if you register ahead of time!) It will
save you a lot of writing and spelling your name and address to a lot of people.
Don’t forget to ask when the draw will take place, and if it’s just for this
show or for a number of shows in the area. Be sure to include:
·
Bride and Grooms first and last names
·
Wedding date and City of the event
·
Phone number and address
·
Email address***
*** This email address thing can be a bit tricky. You can
expect to receive emails from the vendors you give your email address to.
Although shows hosts are very strict about vendors sending you spam
mail. (If you find yourself getting too much mail from a show vendor I
recommend you email the show hosts about it) Don’t forget you can always
unsubscribe from these emails. A new trend right now is to have an email
address specifically for your wedding! Which is very cool and I’m sure very
handy, if you haven’t done this already, it might be something you want to do
before the shows and use this email address on stuff. Simple as
“CourtneymarriesAdam@gmail.com” and you can simply shut down the account after
the big day passes. Some online communities you might join i.e.
theweddingring.ca will provide you with an email address like this specifically
for this purpose.
Cake samples! …..Enough said.
Fashion shows happen at all of these things, keep your
program and write on it any dress shops you want to visit for dresses you see
in these shows. In a lot of cases they won’t allow you to photograph the
dresses in the shows so don’t depend on that to remember what you see. It also
doesn’t hurt to mention that some vendors (florists, bakers, decorators and
dress shops specifically) can be particular about taking pictures of things in
their booths so it’s best to ask permission before snapping away.
Take a little bit of money with you. I’m not saying put down
a deposit on the spot for $2000 with a photographer or anything, but there
might be stuff there you feel like you need to have right then! It might not
even be something related to weddings, just as a for instance, last year I
bought myself a newspaper subscription at the show (that I regularly buy
anyway) for 75% off just because I bought it at the show, when they were there
asking people to put in engagement and wedding announcements.
Swag bags will have lots of useful stuff in them! You’ll
want to take another bag with you though because you WILL get handed a whoooole
lot of stuff. If you were tricky you could use one bag for stuff you actually
want to look at and another for stuff you take just to be polite. Look for
coupon codes or “bring this flyer in to save $$” kind of things on these
handouts and always check for the expiry date of the promotions. If you choose
to go with a vendor you saw at a show it doesn't hurt to mention that you saw
them there! It will make them happy and they might be willing to give a show
promo when you’re booking.
Keep your options open. Most importantly you go
to these shows to see what’s available and to get ideas so don’t get bullied by
pushy vendors into committing to anything you’re unsure of. It’s fun more than
anything so take it all in as part of your Bridal experience just like a shower
or a stagette, sometimes it’s nice to be the centre of attention.
