Tips on Attending Wedding Shows
Helpful Hints, Useful Ideas and Getting the Most from Wedding Shows

Finding a Wedding Show In Your Area
Wedding shows usually occur at two times of the year. The "Spring Shows" usually run during the months of January, February and March, and the "Fall Shows" typically take place during the months of September and October. Of course there are always a few shows outside of these months also. To find out if there are any bridal/wedding shows happening in your area, do a search on the internet for local bridal or wedding shows, view our list above and watch in your local papers for ads. Quite often you can find more than one bridal show happen in one area. Bridal shows are a wonderful way of getting to meet many of the local wedding vendors all under one roof and a great source of inspiration. These tips will help you get the most from the bridal show experience.

Make Notes
Before going to the show, grab a notebook and take some time to write down as many questions as you can for the different types of wedding professionals. You can view each of our wedding planner pages for questions to ask each type of vendor. Take your notebook with you and make notes as you go around about the different wedding vendors. About their services, products and even about how friendly and informed they were. You can also write down the many tips and ideas you pick up from them and their displays. Take a few paperclips with you or a stapler to clip their business card to the appropriate page of your notebook for a quick reference. Most shows don't allow photography, even throughout the fashion show. Another way of helping you remember what you have seen at the show is to draw a sketch in your notebook to remind you of what it looked like. You can make jot notes about what it's made of, its colours, size, shape, trim, fabrics, etc.

Do A Little Research About The Wedding Show
Check to see if registration is required for the wedding show. Many wedding shows do this so they have a better idea of how many Brides and guests to expect to the show to make sure they have the appropriate number of goody bags available for the Brides. Another reason for show registry is for marketing and promotional reasons. Be sure to check and see if the wedding show you are planning to attend has a website. Wedding show websites can really help you out and save you time and sometimes money. You can visit it in advance to see what vendors are registered at the show, print out a map of the show layout and you may even be able to get coupons and savings on the entry fee.

Arrive Early
Try to arrive early to bridal shows. This way you will be able to park close to the entrance of the wedding show. This is handy for a few reasons. You will be able to leave heavy coats in the car. Also, if you find your arms getting tired from carrying too much, you will be able to make a quick trip to the car and trade your full bags for empty ones. Just be sure to get your hand stamped on the way out if there is an entry fee to the show. Another important reason for arriving early is to help deal with the crowds. Most crowd traffic at shows will move in the same direction starting at the front door. It will be easier to get around and visit with vendors if you are in the front of the crowd. Most shows have one or two fashion shows scheduled throughout the day. If you arrive early you will be able to get around visiting many of the vendors before the fashion show begins. By this time your feet will be ready for a rest. Be sure to find your seating for the fashion show early to ensure you get good seats up front.

Material Handling
If you are going to a large wedding show, and some are very large, you may want to bring with you a large backpack or other easy to carry bag. If you have a small rolling briefcase or suitcase you can transfer the material you collect into it and not be bogged down. As you make your way around to the many vendors, you will be collecting an amazing amount of business literature, flyers, business cards, free samples and even gifts. If you have a bag to put them in, it will help keep your hands free for writing notes and filling out forms. Most wedding shows provide a plastic bag when you enter the show but these can be cumbersome and fill up very quickly at large shows. Another great way to help keep your hands free is to bring someone along with you to the show to help you carry things. It's best if you can bring someone who is involved in the wedding plans with you. The Groom is always best, but anyone who you enjoy their company can make the wedding show more fun to attend. They may even think of questions for the vendors that you haven't thought of.

Be As Comfortable As Possible
Be sure to wear comfortable clothes and most importantly comfortable shoes to the wedding show. It will be a very long day if your feet hurt or you may miss out on valuable information if you leave early. Most shows get warm inside with the amount of people inside the show room. So don't wear heavy clothing or coats. The best thing to do is wear layers so you can adjust to the climate inside the wedding show.

Bring a Snack and Drink
Bring a snack and drink along with you. You'll need your strength and you don't want to have to leave midway through the vendors to stop for a drink. Also, try to visit the washroom before you begin your rounds at the wedding show.

Personal Information Labels and Email
Contests and draws will be everywhere at the wedding show. You will find that almost every vendor will have some kind of entry form for you to fill out for a chance to win something. If you don't want to spend a lot of time filling out your personal information again and again. Consider printing out small sticky labels before the show and take them with you. If you have been on the wedding shows website you may have an idea of the number of vendors at the show. On the labels include the names of the Bride and Groom, your wedding date, phone number and your email address. We also suggest creating an email address specifically for your wedding plans. You can give this address to all your wedding vendors and anyone involved in the wedding plans that you don't feel it is important that they have your permanent email address. This way, after the wedding, when you are confident that you will not need to hear from these people anymore, you can delete the email address. People really don't need your home mailing address these days, if they need to reach you they will have your phone number and email address. Otherwise you may find that you get unwanted advertising mail and email for a very long time after your wedding.

Have Fun
Most of all, have fun, enjoy yourself and soak in as much wedding planning knowledge as possible. Nothing will get you more excited about planning your wedding than a great wedding show.

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