Navigating a Wedding Expo

 Wedding expos are bustling events.  Where vendors and engaged couples converge to explore the latest trends, discover services, and gather inspiration for their big day. Whether you're a vendor looking to showcase your offerings or a couple seeking wedding ideas, attending a wedding expo can be both exciting and overwhelming. In this guide, we'll walk you through how to prepare for and participate in a wedding expo, as both vendors and attendees.

Participating as an Attendee

You probably see and hear adds for multiple wedding expos in your area and are wondering should you go to them? What are they and how do you pick which one to go to? So first off, a wedding expo is an event where multiple wedding vendors gather together and have booths set up so you can shop around and talk with them in person. It is meant as a convenient way to talk to multiple vendors in a single day.  So, as you keep reading remember these events are supposed to make your life easier not more stressful.

How to pick an expo

If your area is anything like the PNW this time of year, it feels like there is a different expo happening every weekend. So how do you decide which one to choose? That depends on what you want out of it. Some happen at local venues and couples use it as an opportunity to tour that venue. Larger expos also happen in convention centers. These are a great way to meet more vendors and explore a larger variety of experiences and vendors available for your wedding. If you have a wedding planner then they can also help advice which opportunity is best for your wedding vision.

Planning Your Visit:

Researching the vendors attending the expo allows you to create a list of services or products you're interested in exploring. You can make a point of talking to these vendors to get a better idea if they fit your wedding day experience.  Plan your schedule for the day, including any seminars or workshops you want to attend, to make the most of your time. Not all expos have these but definitely take advantage of those who do! It is not uncommon for there to even be fashion shows for both brides and grooms.

Coming Prepared

 Bringing a tote bag to collect brochures, business cards, and other materials is essential for organizing your findings. Once a wedding planner told me she recommends that her couples bring two bags one for the vendors they liked and one for the ones they are not interested in. This helps the post expo review be that much easier. You can also have a list of questions ready to ask vendors about their offerings. Some questions can include

• How far ahead do I need to book your service?

• What is your service area? Or do you offer your services in( fill in your wedding venue area)?

• What is the average cost of your services?

• How long do you need to set up on the day?

• When do we need to reach out by to be able to use the discount you are offering today?

 Then have a notebook or a note ready on your phone so you can record anything that stands out or you don’t want to forget. You will have lots of people to talk to and it can be hard to keep them all straight. Also, don’t forget to pack some snacks and water. You will likely be at the event for a couple hours and although a few caterers will often have samples it is always better to come with extra.

Remaining Open-Minded

While it's important to explore vendors aligned with your initial preferences, be open to discovering new trends and ideas. Take advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and engage with vendors to learn more about their services, even if they're outside your initial scope. You never know you may find a unique experience to add for you and your guests. However, also remember you do not need to have everything that is offered.  You still want your big day to be what you want. It is ultimately your big day.

Following Up

After the expo, take time to review the materials you collected and notes you took. If you sorted while at the expo you can immediately set aside the materials in your no bag. Now it is time to collaborate with your partner and your planner if you have one. Reach out to vendors you're interested in to schedule consultations or ask further questions. You do not have to be committed to them to ask more questions. Just keep in mind that often there is a deadline to use any special expo discounts so you might need to be quick about the fallow up if you are wanting to take advantage of those discounts.

Just Engaged

All that said if you are just starting your wedding planning journey and don’t know where to start or what you want. Then expos can be a wonderful opportunity to start getting ideas. I would recommend following the same process mentioned above,  just don’t worry about any of the discounts being offered. Chances are there will be more expos or discounts offered before your wedding comes around anyway.

Preparing as a Vendor

            We recently participated in our first wedding expo. I did my best to make it a success. Including some research so here is what we did to help it be a successful day.

Do your Research

The first step is to pick your expos. This can be tricky, there are so many different expos and it can be overwhelming. Some things to consider: include your budget, how many other vendors are already signed up, who is managing the expo, and who your target audience is, and of course where the expo is located.

We chose an expo at a local barn venue mainly because of our budget. Then, if possible I would try and get an idea of how many people attended your expo in the past and how far out there wedding is.  This will help when you go to start tailoring your marketing material to your audience.

We did not have this luxury so we planned for 200 just to be safe. In the end I believe it was about 75 couples that came and many of them have 18 months until there weddings. That was not ideal for us as we were really hoping for more immediate results. But this also reflects a post COVID shift in wedding planning. This information can also help you to know what expos you want to go to based on your needs and goals.

Stock Up on Marketing Materials

The biggest reason vendors are participating at an expo, is for marketing. Therefore, I put it as the first priority after signing up. The first questions I started asking myself was “ What do attendees get by talking to me?” You have to have a give and take and this is how we did that. They gave us their time so we gave them a prize from our wheel. And if they were willing to give us contact info we gave them a chance to win a free veil.

Why did we choose these as our interactions, you may ask? As for the wheel it was a process to come up with that idea. It was suggested that I sew something since I am a seamstress. Something practical that way every time that is used it is a reminder of my business. This lead me to think what was quick and easy to make, my first thought was a card holder and although they were not bad after making 35 I knew I need something else. So, I went to my scrap bin (It was important to me that what ever I gave away was not going to cost me very much to make) and realized that all of the fabric cut off of hems would be perfect for scrunchies.

So, I made another 75 of those. Unsure of how many people would come I wanted one more option, but I was also running out of time so we added an additional discount. I say additional because with every spin came a coupon code and business card. This meant everyone walked away with 3 reminders of “Shimmer and Show”. Now you might be asking why we wanted a drawing as well. People do not like to give you their contact info for nothing. So, we offered them a reason. Our goal was to get emails and phone numbers so that a few days after the event we could remind them of our existence. We knew that they talked to a lot of different people including another dress shop and two other seamstresses, and might not remember to book right away so we wanted to follow up. I also saw people offering giveaways for following them on social media, this is where it becomes about what you want to get out of the event. No matter what you choose to add, I would definitely suggest having extras of your staple marketing materials as well. This includes things like brochures, business cards, and flyers.

Create an Eye-Catching Booth

When it came to designing our booth we put a lot of thought into what needed to be included and what we wanted to include. The trickiest part for our expo was our tiny booth size. I really liked the idea of creating a space to invite the attendees into and wanted avoid putting a table between myself and the attendees. In the end we used two varying height side tables and a clip board to have the space and function we needed. We also added some vases, my logo mirror sign, a dress, and a few veils. If you have the luxury some extra eyes can be helpful in the end. I had two of my most trusty family members helping out and their input on the finishing touches was invaluable. You might be asking why you don’t want a table between you and the attendees. The answer is simple, it's harder to ignore someone who is also standing and somewhat in front of you, then the person trapped behind a table. As well as allows them to approach you and not your table. There is also science behind this as well but I am not good at explaining it. We did add a chair and when there was no one walking through I would sit down for a few minutes to let my feet rest. And yes they did need to because although I wore a more comfortable pair of shoes, I was definitely not in my favorite sneakers. It is important to remember that how you dress is just as much a reflection of your brand as your booth. Although you don’t want to completely blend into your booth you should still dress as a reflection of your business. For some that means a brand t-shirt with nice jeans and shoes. For me I wore a nice sweater with slacks and my favorite booties. Professional, approachable, and it fit the barn venue,  which is what I wanted to reflect. When you are preparing your booth the last question I would ask yourself  is “why do attendees want to stop at my booth?” In an ideal world it would be to talk to you and get to know what you offer. However, realistically they want to talk to the Vendors that give them something in return and look fun. As I mentioned earlier we did this by having a prize wheel and a drawing. Depending on your industry you could also offer free samples or have a demonstration of your talents, or even just a little goodie bag with chocolates and discount code. Simply stated, when thinking about your booth you can ask these questions

• Does it catch attention?

• Does it reflect my branding?

• Do you know what I sell by looking at it?

• Is it engaging?

• Where do I fit into the booth?

The expo is over, now what?

The Expo closes, you pack up and head home, so now what? That night you are going to be exhausted from a long day. Just go home, eat something and rest. The next day you will start truly wrapping up the event. For us we had to pick our drawing winners and notify them. We also needed to take all of the emails we collected and add them to our list. Then starts the follow up. A few days after the event we sent a reminder email out to book appointments. We did not want to pressure people to book on site but did want to see results so part of the criteria for the discount is booking within a week of the expo. We then sent out a reminder email 6 days after the event and the final evening they could book. And no you’re not done just yet because in a year when the expo rolls around again you need to decide if it is worth your time and money. Once most of your clients have booked from the event it is time to crunch the numbers and decide did you get a return on your investment? Or in other words did you get enough new business to make a profit after considering the cost of your booth and materials? This is also when you should do at least a quick reflection on how things went so next time you go to an expo you can get even better results. Here are some questions to consider for your reflection.

• How many leads did I get/ How many clients did we get?

• How was the expo’s management? Were they good communicators?

• What marketing was provided for you and the event by the event staff?

• Was your ideal client at the event?

• What could you do differently in the future to improve your results?

• Did you see anything other vendors did that you want to use next time?

• Did most people stop at your booth or walk on by and why?

• After the event how did you feel and why?

 Wedding expos offer valuable opportunities for both vendors and attendees to connect, discover, and plan for the big day. By effectively preparing and participating in these events, vendors can showcase their offerings and engage with potential clients. While attendees can gather inspiration and connect with vendors to bring their wedding vision to life. Whether you're a vendor or an attendee, attending a wedding expo can be a rewarding experience that helps create fairytale wedding day experiences.