Bridal shows are a great way to find all of your wedding vendors in under an hour. However, they can be very overwhelming! Stick to these tips so the bridal show doesn’t consume you.
If you are a wedding planning client of Your Dream Day, I can escort you to many of the bridal shows listed below at no charge in most cases. Today I am taking a client to the Dayton Convention Center show.
1) Go in with an agenda. What do you want to accomplish with this show? Are you just getting started and seeing what’s out there? Are you close to being done and you only need to book a DJ or a Photographer?
2) Know what you want out of the service you’re looking for before you go to the show. For example, do you want a band or a DJ? If you want a DJ, don’t talk to the bands. Do you want albums with your photography package, or do you want the negatives instead?
3) When you talk to a wedding vendor you really like, put their business card in your pocket. Place the rest of the literature in a bag, which you will get at the show when you check in. That way, you’ll remember the ones you really liked.
4) Shows will offer you a lot of on-the-spot deals. Make sure you do your homework on a vendor before booking them. Check with the BBB and wedding surveys to see how the vendor measures up. Saving $50 may not be worth all the headaches you could encounter later. However, make sure you call them within the week of the bridal show — the best vendors book up quickly.
5) Create an email address that you will only use for wedding planning. When you go to the show, you will be asked to fill out forms about the services you’re interested in and the date of the wedding. This information will be provided to every vendor at the show and they will contact you. This way you can keep all your wedding-related solicitations separate from your personal emails.
6) Based on my client’s experiences, don’t sign up for a registry at a bridal show. I had a client once who “pre-registered” for a store. The sales lady took it upon herself to register her for all these things she never wanted and she ended up getting them at her wedding. My client didn’t even know she was registered at the store until after her shower — her family members informed her. Needless to say, she was upset and had to return everything to the store for store credit. You can easily sign up for bridal registries online — my favorites are macys.com, bedbathandbeyond.com and homedepot.com.
7) Encourage your friends and family to be guests on your wedding day instead of working at it. That’s what professionals are for. Make sure they are friends after the wedding too!
8) Bring return address labels or preprinted information labels with your name, address, email, phone number and wedding date on them to use when vendors have giveaways or ask for your information.
9) Some shows offer you discounts when you pay for your ticket in advance or are escorted by a vendor. (In my case, I will escort my clients to a bridal show if they'd like to go for a reduced rate.) It depends on the relationships your vendors have established with the show operators.
UPCOMING SHOWS IN DAYTON
January 8 & 9, 2011, 11-5, Dayton Bridal Expo, Dayton Convention Center
Sunday, January 16th, 2011, 12-5pm, McClure Event at Marriott Hotel, Springfield
January 22 & 23 2011 from 11am to 5pm, Dayton Hara Bridal Gala, Hara Arena
Sunday, February 2oth, 2011, 11 am to 4 pm, Dayton Premier Bridal Show, Dayton Marriott
Sunday, March 13, 2011, 1 to 4 p.m., Country Club of the North. Dayton ABC Bridal Luncheon with celebrity wedding planner Mary Dann (who has been featured on "Whose Wedding is it Anyway", "Platinum Weddings" and In Style Weddings Magazine and has oodles of books for sale at Barnes and Noble right now! Lucky for Dayton she is becoming a buddy of mine and is excited to come to Ohio!) Presale tickets are $25 each and include sitdown lunch and wedding cake dessert; swag bag full of goodies (not coupons!); tabletop competition done by local Dayton vendors and judged by Mary, brides and guests; walking fashion show during lunch; book signing and photos with Mary; and exhibits from local vendors. Limit of 100 tickets to be sold. Copies of Mary's books will be sold on site or can be purchased in advance at Barnes and Noble. More details to follow on our blog about this exciting event! This event is being chaired by Kathy Piech-Lukas (me!) of Your Dream Day and my dear friend Jean Neuhart from Weddings from the Heart. (Vendors interested in participating should call me for more information.)
UPCOMING SHOWS IN CINCINNATI
January 8th & 9th 2011 from 11am to 5pm, Cincinnati Wedding Showcase, Sharonville Convention Center
January 15th-16th, 2011, 10-5, Cincinnati Convention Center, Wendys Bridal Show
January 23, 2011 from 12 to 4:30pm, Receptions Bridal Show in Fairfield
January 29, 2011 from 12 to 4 p.m., Fairfield Banquet and Convention Center Show
January 30, 2011 12:30pm-3pm, Mattfields Bridal Show
February 16, 2011, Veils and Cocktails, The Covington Madison
February 20, 2011, Noon-4 P.M Bridal Show at the Meadows
Sunday, February 20, 2011, 12-5pm, McClure Event, Courtyard by Marriott, Hamilton
Sat. & Sun. Feb. 26-27th, 2011, 11am-5pm, BridalRama, Duke Convention Center
Sunday, March 13st, 2011 : 11AM - 4PM, Savannah Center, Cincinnati's Premier Bridal Expo
Sunday, March 20, 2011 12n-4pm, Color of Love Bridal Show, Cincinnati
Happy Planning!! :-) It's the season to be bridal!!
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