Hi, I’m Diana. Firstly, congratulations on your engagement! I wanted to share a blog about the benefits of attending local wedding shows whilst planning your wedding. I have a wealth of event planning experience, working within the wedding industry for over 16 years; hosting wedding shows and publishing successful magazines covering the whole of the UK including Manchester, Exeter, Cheltenham, Ascot and our lovely county, Norfolk!
I founded The Event Co in 2020 as I don’t think you can put a true value of how important it is to attend a local wedding show when planning your wedding. I’m also a firm believer of supporting local businesses, and there are so many amazing wedding suppliers out there I want to give them a platform to show off the amazing work they do. There are so many wedding shows and fairs out there, it is important to find the right shows to suit you! I would recommend attending shows held in great venues, (you never know this could be the venue that you choose for your wedding day), great wedding suppliers, lots of choice, valuable knowledge but most of all the passion they have for their own business means they will equally share the passion for your wedding.
From the moment you get engaged until the day of your wedding, you will be overwhelmed with ideas, suggestions that you may have found online, reading a magazine or recommended by a friend or family. I believe you should work on a feeling, you’ll know the right decision to make when you have that feeling this is the right choice for us. A wedding show will help you make those decisions; you will meet so many suppliers on one day, saving you time visiting numerous places on different days. A wedding show brings everything to you, helping you make that choice. Wedding shows also aspire to inspire you with things you may not have thought of. Will your guests be entertained? Have you considered dance lessons for your first dance? Or did you realise there are so many different types of bouquets? Fresh flowers, artificial or even flowers made out of ribbons! By attending a wedding show it could spark these last minute idea’s and thoughts.
Wedding shows are a chance to make personal connections with wedding suppliers across every category. We all love to touch and feel a magazine or spend endless hours scrolling through social media, this is great and can start you with a mood board of ideas but seeing wedding suppliers in person is far more effective and exciting and can make your decision to book a whole lot easier but also gives you the opportunity to have face to face chats in an efficient but non-committal way. A lot of the venues The Event Co holds wedding shows at gives you the opportunity to sit down and have a coffee and a think about who you’ve met and who you’d like to revisit to ask further questions.
Planning a wedding takes a lot of time so why not save time and attend a wedding show that has an array of local businesses from all different categories, give you a true feeling of what is out there and what could be right for your wedding.
Couples can spend anywhere between 1 – 3 hours walking round a wedding show, speaking to wedding suppliers and learning new ideas. Our wedding shows work to a one way system to ensure to get the chance to meet each and every exhibitor. If you don’t get a chance to speak to them the first time round, don’t worry as you can walk around as many times as you like! Be sure to leave our wedding shows satisfied you’ve spoken to everyone you need to.
Whilst majority of attendees like to arrive at our wedding shows for opening time, our exhibitors are there for the day, offering promotions and trials, so if you have plans in the morning – don’t worry! Our shows are open from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., even arriving at 1 p.m. as you will find after the initial rush you will have more time to stop and chat to the wedding suppliers and they will have more time for you.
Some of the best wedding shows are those with interactive experiences – a company that has multiple photobooths so you can try them all out, Glitter Bars are currently ‘in fashion’ so why not let the wedding supplier try some out on you. With some couples choosing the ‘Dry Hire’ look out for those foodie horseboxes/trucks where you can taste some samples and when the weather is good you will always see an Ice-cream Trike at a wedding show and what better way but to have a little sample, but we mustn’t forget the cake samples. Who doesn’t love cake?!
If you are considering live music at your wedding it’s always great to hear live performances from string quartets to live singers, this gives you a great feel for what they would be like on your big day, and also giving you the opportunity to ask as man questions as you need. Ask them to play a song that could be your first dance and hopefully it will give you that warm feeling, leaving you wanting to book them.
I would recommend entering any competition a wedding show has on offer. Why not?! You could win a honeymoon, engagement shoot or your wedding cake! Most of the time the winner is announced after the show on social media, so keep an eye on their Facebook and Instagram pages!
6 top tips:
- A wedding show is a fun day out! It is a fantastic opportunity to spend time with friends and family. Enjoy a glass of fizz or a spot of lunch and take time to discuss what you have seen.
- Trust me you will be inspired! Don’t forget to pick up flyers from the exhibitors stand and if The Event Co. offers a show guide on arrival keep hold of it, maybe tick off as you go round the wedding show but more importantly when you return home and have a goody bag full of flyers you will know who you have spoken to and may want to speak to again.
- Trends are continuously changing so that’s why attending wedding shows keeps you up to date with the latest trends and what local suppliers have to offer!
- If you are looking for your dream dress, most bridal shops will have a good selection of dresses on display so this will give you an idea of the different shapes and styles are around, and perhaps what you could see yourself in! Many bridal companies offer a discount voucher if you book an appointment on the day of the show, so don’t forget to take advantage of this great offer.
- Exclusive Wedding Show Deals – Exhibitors are likely to have an exclusive offer or discount on the day, be sure to find out more information with your chosen wedding supplier.
- Whilst we don’t always like giving our emails out, sharing your email address at a wedding show gives exhibitors the opportunity to follow up with you after the show, or even share a discount. If you don’t want to use your personal email address, I recommend creating a wedding related email address so all your communication is in one place.
By Diana Sims, Director of The Event Co.