Wedding planning inspiration comes in many forms. From traditional sources like wedding magazines and the big days of family members and friends to the modern day wonders of social media, wedding websites and blogs, and wedding podcasts, ideas to craft your very own wedding day can be found everywhere. Bridal shows or fairs are another excellent source of inspiration.
As well as being great fun to attend, bridal shows provide the perfect platform to find key suppliers, check out the latest trends, and bag some fantastic discounts and freebies. These are just some of the benefits of attending a bridal show.
With so much going on at the average bridal show however, finding what you want for your wedding day can be difficult. In this blog post, we share our top tips for attending a bridal show and completing your wedding vision.
Plan your itinerary
Most organisers publish a schedule of events and list of attending suppliers long before the bridal show gets underway. Doing your research and understanding exactly what you’ll be faced with when attending the show will help you decide whether a visit is worthwhile, and enable you to strike a few tasks off your wedding planning to-do list.
Whether you’re just browsing during the early stages of wedding planning, or frantically trying to complete those last minute tasks, a list made ahead of time will streamline the day’s events, and help you prioritise in relation to your own wedding wants and needs. Go into detail with your list by including the types of vendors you want to chat to and the questions you need to ask.
Be prepared
Being physically prepared for the long day that visiting a bridal show often becomes is another must. Make sure you’re well fuelled for your excursion with a hearty breakfast and keep your feet happy throughout the day by donning some comfortable shoes. Take a notepad with you to jot down details of all the inspiration you see and suppliers you meet along the way.
Invite the right people
Partners are excellent company for a great number of wedding planning tasks but you may want to rethink who you invite to the bridal show.
Bridal shows are a fantastic pre-wedding bonding experience with your maid of honour or bridesmaids. Having that support with you throughout will also ensure you make decisions that suit you. Avoid taking anyone you feel might not be an enthusiast source of advice. People who have been particularly overbearing during the wedding-planning process should remain at home too.
Attending a bridal show should be fun and insightful, which makes it the ideal opportunity to bring along a friend. Many brides-to-be attending shows choose to ask a fellow bride, with the shared interest providing a great sounding board when making decisions.
Enter every competition
There are discounts and freebies galore at the average bridal show. You’ll also be able to enter a series of contests with the lucky winners able to score some great, wedding related prizes.
Entering every competition you encounter however can become repetitive with most vendors requiring a long list of details before accepting your entry. Luckily, The Budget Savvy Bride has the solution:
“Create address labels. This is a great tip because of all of the drawings you’ll want to enter! It’s way easier to slap on a label than have to write out the same info 20 or so times. Here’s what you need: your name, address, e-mail, and wedding date. Warning: Don’t put your phone number unless you really want them to contact you this way. I’ve had several vendors call at the same time every day which is super annoying, but I guess I gave them the okay by giving it to them.”
Have fun!
The wedding planning process may be stressful but it should be fun, particularly when attending events like bridal shows. Embrace joy and excitement as your wedding day approaches by throwing yourself wholeheartedly into all the bridal show has to offer.
