# My First Bridal Fair



## dawssvt (Jan 19, 2010)

I started a thread a few months back asking for advice on bridal shows. I had a booth in the Bridal Show in El Paso this weekend and it was a blast! I passed out right around 1,000 business cards and fliers. There was never a point where there weren't at least 4-5 people in my booth from 11am-5pm. Often times there was a line to get in and talk to us.

A few things I learned:

	I had several large canvas prints on easels in my booth. This was a good way to get people into my booth. There was probably 7 different people that I saw that passed my booth, looked back to see the sunset canvas photo, turn back around and come talk to me. The brides eyes always lit up when looking at the large prints. 
     	I had a drawing for 25% off any of my wedding collections. This was a good incentive for people to come to my booth and sign up. It also worked to be great for getting conact names and email addresses from the people who visited my booth. 
     	My fiancé, Allison, went along to the bridal show with me. Let me say, she saved my life! There's no way I would have been able to talk to all the people coming to my booth without her with me. 
     	My albums were the hit of the booth. After explaining to the clients about my services, I would suggest they grab an album and take a seat. Often times, this was exactly what they needed after walking around all day. I were able to focus more on the albums when sitting since they were not having to worry about the people behind them waiting to talk to us.​

All in all, this was a great experience. I got to meet a large amount of potential clients and I also networked with many other wedding vendors. I've booked 5 meetings thus far and it's only 2 days after the show!

Here are a few photos of my booth before the chaos began!


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## jackieclayton (Jan 19, 2010)

great setup, esp with the rug and bench, very inviting!!!  i'm glad you had a good turn out... i can see why!  thanks for sharing!


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## terilicudine (Jan 20, 2010)

I like your setup. It looks romantic without losing the professional look at the same time. Great work!


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## SimpleFoto (Jan 20, 2010)

agreed, it looks nice and if it is in the same feel as your studio is looks like some effective branding.  The bench will be a welcomed feature for tied feet too


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## jacerast (Jan 20, 2010)

I like Your Setup It looks Really great and nice. Thanks For this. Great Setup


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## Double H (Jan 20, 2010)

Thanks so much for posting this, you have given me so many ideas. And, at the same time, you have reassured me that I am on the right track. I have something to continue working toward.


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## mom2eight (Jan 20, 2010)

Thanks for posting.  Keep us posted on clients from this venue.  I also think you did a great job setting up.  The canvas prints are a huge hit now, that was a great idea.  Do you mind me asking where you have them printed?


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## dawssvt (Jan 20, 2010)

jackieclayton said:


> great setup, esp with the rug and bench, very inviting!!!  i'm glad you had a good turn out... i can see why!  thanks for sharing!



Thank you very much :mrgreen:



terilicudine said:


> I like your setup. It looks romantic without losing the professional look at the same time. Great work!



Thanks!



SimpleFoto said:


> agreed, it looks nice and if it is in the same feel as your studio is looks like some effective branding.  The bench will be a welcomed feature for tied feet too



Yea, the bench was definitely a hit!



jacerast said:


> I like Your Setup It looks Really great and nice. Thanks For this. Great Setup



Thank you :thumbup:



Double H said:


> Thanks so much for posting this, you have given me so many ideas. And, at the same time, you have reassured me that I am on the right track. I have something to continue working toward.



I'm glad I could inspire you some. I hope your show goes well also!



mom2eight said:


> Thanks for posting.  Keep us posted on clients from this venue.  I also think you did a great job setting up.  The canvas prints are a huge hit now, that was a great idea.  Do you mind me asking where you have them printed?



I will definitely let you know what the response is from this. Since this was my first show, it was quite a bit more expensive than future shows will be since I had to buy everything for my booth. When I started I had one sample album, the coffee table book. So I really had to buy most of this stuff for the show. It will be such a relief to only have to pay the booth fees next time!

The center canvas was from Black River Imaging and the outside two are float wraps from WHCC.


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## c.cloudwalker (Jan 20, 2010)

From the photos and your text, I would say you approached this the right way. Good job and I hope it brings in the jobs for you.

I learned to appreciate these shows when helping out a friend of mine who owned a limo company. Some of the shows are expensive to get in but I don't understand anyone serious about their wedding business not doing it. At most of the shows that I helped with, my friend was the only limo company present even though there were bigger ones in town. Well, he went from 2 cars to 12 in the space of 4 years... and anyone who knows the price of a stretch limo will understand the amount of business this represents.

Did you or your wife get a chance to go see what the competition was doing at that show?


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## dawssvt (Jan 20, 2010)

c.cloudwalker said:


> From the photos and your text, I would say you approached this the right way. Good job and I hope it brings in the jobs for you.
> 
> I learned to appreciate these shows when helping out a friend of mine who owned a limo company. Some of the shows are expensive to get in but I don't understand anyone serious about their wedding business not doing it. At most of the shows that I helped with, my friend was the only limo company present even though there were bigger ones in town. Well, he went from 2 cars to 12 in the space of 4 years... and anyone who knows the price of a stretch limo will understand the amount of business this represents.
> 
> Did you or your wife get a chance to go see what the competition was doing at that show?




Yea, I went and walked around when the show slowed down around 5pm. There some booths like mine, but the majority were not. Thanks for the comment!


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## c.cloudwalker (Jan 20, 2010)

:thumbup:  Keep doing good.


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## LizardEye (Jan 30, 2010)

hey! i'm going to be showing in a bridal fair at the end of feb.  i've never shown before and have NO IDEA of how much stuff to have to hand out. price lists, etc...  they told me they would get about 400-450 brides (not including other people)  any suggestions?


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## keith foster (Jan 30, 2010)

Wow!  Well done indeed!  You really made it tough on your competition at the show with that set up.  Very classy and everything about it says 1st class.  I hope you get tons of business from it.  I don't see how you couldn't.


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## Becky at the farm (Feb 3, 2010)

dawssvt said:


> I started a thread a few months back asking for advice on bridal shows. I had a booth in the Bridal Show in El Paso this weekend and it was a blast! I passed out right around 1,000 business cards and fliers. There was never a point where there weren't at least 4-5 people in my booth from 11am-5pm. Often times there was a line to get in and talk to us.
> 
> A few things I learned:
> 
> ...


After viewing booths put up by armies of carpenters, I was excited to see a gorgeous one that is easier to set up.  May I ask how you made your "Captured Moments" sign on the easel? So professional.  thanks.


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## Becky at the farm (Feb 3, 2010)

Saw many shows both real and online, using an army of carpenters to put the booths together, but yours is simple, yet gorgeous and very professional.  May I ask how you made the "Captured Moments" sign on the easel?  Thanks.


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