Wedding Show Tips for Brides

Are you planning to visit a bridal show soon? Here in Toronto the 2020 bridal show season is upon us. But before you go out looking for an amazing wedding photographer, we;ve got some amazing tips for you how to prepare, what to expect and how to make the best out of it when visiting wedding shows.

Let’s start with our first tips. Imagine a massive convention center full of different wedding vendors and everyone wants to sell you something. You go in and start walking around; you don’t really know what you’re doing or where you’re going and it all seems very overwhelming.

So our first tip how to make this experience more successful is all about doing research. Before you check out what wedding vendors are going to be there, check out their social. Get on their Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. See what they’ve done recently – anything catching your eye?

There might be wedding or wedding pictures that you actually love and want to talk to them about. It’s all about finding the right mix of wedding vendors that can realize your wedding vision. It’s also about discovering strong connections with particular wedding vendors.

Doing your research before you go means that you’re going to actually know what you want to look for. When you get there have a game plan. Select maybe three wedding vendors from each category that you want to look for. So if you’re looking for wedding photographers or florist pick your three favorites that are going to be there and go and hit them up.

Our tip relates to who do you want to take to the wedding show. We have seen our share of wedding shows. I’m sure the guys are just as excited about weddings as ladies are but attending a wedding show might be too much for them. I just wanted to make a bit of a point that the groom doesn’t have to go and it’s absolutely okay if it’s not his cup of tea. You can share your experience with your groom afterwards.

It is a long day so think about you know who who’s excited to go to a wedding fair with you. Who’s the die-hard wedding lover that just can’t wait to get there? You can round up your girlfriends or your mom or whoever that core team is going be helping you plan your wedding.

Now as we know sometimes if you make a decision too quickly you might live to regret it. And I wanted to bring this up because during a wedding show of course suppliers and vendors want to sell their products and services.

They’ve paid a lot of money to actually exhibit so it’s in their best interest to get the most out of it, which means signing new clients and booking them. They usually offer discounts or having what they call a show special, just to entice you to book their services on site.

This is fantastic if you’ve been looking to book that wedding vendor for a little while and it’s an absolute bonus because you get to save some money. But I really wanted to just bring this up, that you’re going to experience some pressure from all wedding vendors and to warn you against making any snap or rash decisions.

If you decide to book a vendor during the show just because they offer a on-time deal you might actually live to regret afterwards. When you reflect on the vendor and whether they’re a good fit for your wedding, so just be wary as you’re walking through the show. Our advice would to be only gathering information during the wedding fair and make decisions and bookings after.

Don’t feel rushed to sing a contract on the day of event!

Our next tip is to actually take as many photos as you can during the wedding show. As you’re walking around anything that inspires you or that you love snap it with your phone. Vendors don’t mind – chat with them and get all info. Catalog your experience and the things that you love so that you can look through what you saw when you get home.

You can make some quick notes on the vendors’s business cards or their promo material. Once you met them personally I really encourage you to get onto their social media. Follow them for a little while and check out reviews before you book them.

Remember to wear comfortable shoes. It’s a long day and the last thing you want to worry about is your hurting feet. You can also bring with you a light snack and water bottle.

Next advice would be to create a new email address. You will be entering different info for wedding forms and entering draws. You will be getting a lot of spammy content so do yourself a favor and don’t use your main daily email.

I also wanted to encourage you if you go to a wedding fair and you don’t find any vendors that you think are a good fit that’s okay. A lot great and very reputable wedding vendors here in Toronto area don’t go to wedding fairs.

Personally we’ve only been to a handful. If you haven’t found somebody that’s the right fit for you, don’t be discouraged. Just think of other ways to look them up. Get on social media, find their websites and go from there.

Lastly I really wanted to encourage you to follow up with appointments. Meet some people face-to-face after the wedding fair. Shortlist a maximum of three wedding vendors for each category and follow up with them to get more in-depth info.

Often we’ve seen and met with brides before, where they’ve been to at least 30 different wedding photographers and I don’t think they can now remember most of them. I think it’s really important to find your top three choices, meet with them in person and book them from there. Also remember that great wedding vendors book up quickly so the longer you wait the more chances they might not be available.

So there you have it guys – there’s some before, during and after the show tips how to get the most out of the wedding shows. This whole experience might be a little bit overwhelming at first but with good preparation it can a fun experience. Good luck with you wedding planning!