05 January 2011

Bridal Show Season is Here!

Did you get engaged over the holidays? Beside running out and buying all the bridal magazines you can handle and searching the internet for fabulous wedding ideas. It is time to buy your tickets and attend some local bridal shows!
When my husband proposed to me years ago, I so in love and ready to jump into wedding planning with both feet. I immediately purchased every wedding magazine on the racks, and research every show in the city
Months before my wedding my sister and I would attend all of the local bridal shows! I absolutely love walking around drinking champagne trying to decide where I wanted to get married, what the bridesmaids would wear, talking with the DJ's (I wanted a club atmosphere reception, disco ball, lights and fog!) and entering every contest hoping to win one of those FREE honeymoon trips!
Well I never won a free honeymoon, but I did marry the love of my life! and we had an blast at a local location in California.
Over the years I have learned a few tricks on how to work a bridal show and not stress out!
I'm sharing these tips with you! Getting married is a once in a lifetime and unforgettable event in your life, relax, enjoy the process and have fun working your way through the land of wedding fabulous.

1. Create a Wedding Day Email Address
Create a free yahoo, gmail, hotmail or other dot com email address just for wedding information. Use it to organize all things wedding from quotes from vendors, bridal show offers, setup the wedding website, wedding contests, online wedding purchases. You can freely give the wedding email password to another trusted person who can reply to vendors or receive information when you don't have internet access. It will save you time from having to sort through personal email or spam, keep you organized and most importantly it makes for a smooth transition to send all the important vendor details about your wedding day to a Day of Wedding Planner

2. Create Address Labels
Save yourself some time and a manicure and create address labels with your contact information. Signing up for multiple mailing list and entering those FREE honeymoon trips will be a breeze!

3. Map out a Bridal Show Plan
Save yourself some time and money, by researching the internet for upcoming local bridal shows in your city. If you RSVP in advance from some bridal shows you can get free or tickets at a discount! Review the list of vendors in attendance. Use the list of vendors to prepare a bridal show shopping plan. Before the bridal show check out the vendors website that most interest you, be ready with a list of questions on those services you need a little more information on. Make sure to visit your favorite vendors first, you have more time to talk and get all the information you need to make decisions.

4. Attend more than one show
All savvy brides know that vendors offer the best deep discounts when you secure or purchase goods at a bridal show. You can get some sweet deals from vendors such as photographers, disc jockey, caterers,and more at bridal shows! Vendors are in a room full of competitors, which make for price wars in your favor! Make sure to "Map Out Your Bridal Show Plan" so you can go after those vendors or services for specialty items you are ready to buy. Don't forget to take a checkbook with you just in case you have to put a deposit down on a sweet deal!

5. Take a Pink or Red Wedding Sharpie: Bridal shows contain miles and aisles of fabulous vendors. Save yourself some time by taking a pink or red colored sharpie with you to the bridal show! Use your sharpie to mark the brochures from those vendors you want to use on your wedding day. After a day filled with fashion shows, mini tasting, touching, ooooo's and ahhhhhs, those little marks will stand out in the sea of pamphlets, brochures, and business cards OH MY!

6. Make it a day with the girls, take the Bridal Party with you!
This is a great way of asking your best girlfriends to be apart of your wedding! Make a day of it, send out invites to join you at a local bridal show, arrange for brunch, or lunch with a few cocktails, for a face to face will you be my bridesmaid? Plenty of fun and a great time is in store when all the "girls" are together to look at dresses, jewelry, and shoes. You can introduce them to the style, atmosphere you want for your wedding day and get some help with making choices.

7. Relax and Enjoy! Planning a wedding is a unforgettable and grand experience, sit back relax, laugh and enjoy the ride.



Are you a savvy bride, did one of my tips help you? I would like to hear from you!
email me at ebony@californiasolcreations.com

No comments:

Post a Comment