What Brides Need To Know About Bridal Shows

From The Wedding Coach - Judith Rivers-Moore

Each January through March and August through October we see huge numbers of bridal shows - wedding shows and WeddingLinks.com personally has booths at approximately thirty a year.  While I believe these are great for exposure for businesses to brides, I believe there are many other ways for brides to shop for their venues and services. You can find links to shows on BridalShowInfo.com  in California, The USA and global show links throughout the world.

So please give us your input on attending a bridal expo....and I will outline my perspective below:

Pros
1. You gain many fresh ideas on design, colors, what new businesses are in the area, and meet face to face with business representatives and sometimes (not often) the owners of a business.
2. Brides and Grooms gain an understanding of the cost of a wedding in their region.
3. Some couples are at the beginning stages of planning and need a focus/pathway to getting the job done.
4. Many brides are seeking fashion ideas from the fashion show and many attend for the prize drawings.

From simple to grand, there are hundreds of decisions to make.  Photo by, DUPhotography.com

Cons
1.  Not every budget is represented. So often a couple is not certain the funds they want to spend on a specific part of their wedding and do not meet at wedding shows the more affordable decision.
2.  The table drawings are often not a direct gift, but a gift with strings attached to do more business.
3.  Some shows are so busy/attended you only gain a piece of paper and no time to discuss how they do business, so you leave the show without the information you desired.
4. First impressions of a business are often not given by the actual owner.

Jump Starting Your Wedding Decisions can boil down to our FREE  wedding planning book with management forms...........online and easy ideas for successful brides and grooms.  Four colorful chapters...plus...
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Using our WeddingLinks.co and HoneymoonLinks.co with previewed services.  We write about the link and preview their history in your selected region, and look at their reviews. It is only then, we add them to our web portals. We also seek every budget levels for venues and services with various sized packages.

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Bridal Shows & Wedding Fairs To Meet Los Angeles to Miami Wedding Venues, Services & Travel

Brides attend local bridal shows for a variety of reasons. The colorful wedding fairs are highly publicized on radio, TV and in the media, plus now on the web and Facebook.  It is fun to attend and can get you in the mood to begin your planning.  The shows offer many exciting prizes, booth prizes and discounts if you book the wedding vendor at the show.  Most have inspiring bridal fashion shows with the recent designs, tuxedos and bridal attendant ideas.  There are workshops at some and speakers who nail specific subjects for couples. Looking for a bridal show in your region - Look to BridalShowInfo and WeddingLinks.com for current dates and places.

 Table Linens by DUphotography.com

Often the wedding shows are held in lovely hotels and wedding locations where the site manager can introduce couples to their venue and tour them through the setting. We occasionally see wedding shows held in shopping malls.  There is also a variety of price tags on the entry fees ranging from free to $25. 

Many couples have never planned a wedding before and in our recent economy, their combined funds are paying for the wedding celebration. Couples need to set their budgets and find out what the local price ranges are in the vicinity of where they plan to be married.  Though grooms do not always want to attend, we do meet many more of these wonderful guys at the shows now. 

                                                     Photo by JR Moore - The Wedding Coach

Through the years, and hundreds of bridal shows we have attended, people ask me if it is better to attend a very large show or a boutique style show.  The larger, over-crowed shows do not give time to speak with the booth vendors.  You might gain some brochures and hardly talk to the owner or representative.  Lets face it you have questions for the wedding photographers, the florist, the party rental company and the various services. Most services discuss their various packages and bring their appointment books.

Here are a few good tips and find current show dates on  WeddingLinks.CO 
(The Web address gives you California to New York, Canada & Worldwide Bridal Shows, Wedding Venues & Services Links - We link businesses with a history of five or more years in business.)
TIPS ...

• Bring your groom or a friend to bounce the information off of later
• You want to hire businesses that have been around for several years and worked on many weddings and/or receptions
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Sign up for the door prizes - winning a prize can off-set your budget in great ways.
• You do not have to contract with anyone without checking their references first
• Take a pen to note on a brochure when you want to call a person or price quotes
• Most shows give you a bag, but sort it out when you get home for people you want to call for appointments. 
• Understand when you call these venues and services, they consider Monday and Tuesdays their off work days – whereby you have Saturday and Sunday off.
• Use your smart phone to store photos, names of businesses you want to contact in the future and find now that more businesses can be accessed through your smart phones.
• Look for unique ideas, themes, party linen ideas and reception table possibilities.

Please ask permission before you take photos of dresses or the displays. Those are considered creative ideas.


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