Wedding Show Survival Tips

Did you know that between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, a third of the years engagements happen? The holidays are a popular time to pop the question! With so many engagements, this season has been named “engagement season” by wedding professionals. After the holidays, all the bridal shows begin popping up! In Tulsa, the bridal show season kicks off with The Tulsa Wedding Show on January 5th at the Renaissance Hotel! You can stop by my booth and we can talk about your wedding!

I myself got engaged in December. And a few short weeks after, I went to the wedding shows! I can speak from experience, it was a bit overwhelming and a lot to take in! Especially since I was newly engaged and had NOTHING planned! So here are some tips and tricks on how to handle the wedding shows from my personal bridal and wedding pro experience!

1. Go with a plan! Sit down and think about what all you need. If you are just starting out and don’t have anything planned yet, look for venues and planners. Even if you don’t think that you are wanting a wedding planner for the whole wedding, get some information about Day of Packages and schedule a consultation! I always give brides custom vendor recommendations based on their budget and who I really trust! If you already have your venue, look at what other vendors you need, keeping in mind what your venue already provides.
2. Take stickers! Use labels to make stickers with you and your fiancé’s names, wedding date, phone number, and email address. Many vendors ask for you to fill forms out to enter drawings or setup consultations. By making the stickers, you save ourself a hand cramp and time!
3. Setup a wedding only email address. Only use this email address for the wedding! This will keep important wedding emails from getting lost in your main account and make it easier to find everything related to the wedding! *Bonus tip-if you use an email address for your RSVP’s, have them use the wedding email address!
4. Say ‘No Thank You’ I know some vendors can be really pushy (I am so not about that!) but if you already have a DJ, or you simply don’t want the make-up, just tell them “No thank you!” and move along! Don’t waste both of your time. A polite and firm “No thank you” and move along 🙂
5. Go to the show later! Aim to get there the second hour of the show or a little later if it last several hours. The majority of people get there right as the doors open and it is PACKED! Going a little later will give you more time to talk to the vendors that you want to and avoid the crowds! The last hour of the show is usually the slowest but most brides need about 2 hours to talk to all the vendors that they need to, so don’t wait TOO long!

Our final tip is for brides that really don’t like crowds or think that the wedding show experience is for them. If you don’t like the trade show like atmosphere, ditch them and look for open houses! You will get the opportunity to tour a venue that you might be interested in AND visit with some wedding vendors! And the best part? They are free admission!

I hope this helps you avoid some wedding stress while getting some wedding planning in!