A few weeks ago I attended my first bridal show as a bride. I left with mixed emotions. The vendors who displayed products and services were all top notch but the service delivered by some at the bridal show was not pleasing, in my opinion.
I left the bridal show feeling that some of the vendors were not interested in doing business with me. I had my fiancé, maid of honor, my fiancés mother and my fiancés aunt with me. We all paid $37 per ticket to attend.
The first booth that we approached was a photography studio. The gentleman behind the booth ignored the fact that we were standing and only greeting with an abrupt hello and politely shoved a clipboard in my direction to fill out my contact information. The other gentleman continued the conversation with a prospective client for about 10 minutes before we walked away. The man who shoved the clipboard at me did not say anything to us.
The second booth that we approached happened to be another photography studio. He was more polite and actually ushered us to his booth. He proceeded to scroll through about 30 wedding before he found the one that he was looking for – an African American couple. I guess he wanted to relate to us and let us know that he was used to taking pictures of “people like me”
The day after the bridal show I received my first follow e-mail. Can you guess who it was from? Yes, photographer number 1. It started off with “It was a pleasure meeting you at the bridal show yesterday”. I deleted the e-mail.
Since I am both a bride and a vendor I would like to give wedding vendors a few tips.
- You are selling a product or service. You paid money for a booth in the bridal show it might be a good idea to speak to and greet everyone that you possible can at the bridal show
- When you make follow up contact with prospective clients, Do Not CC every bride that filled out your contact from at the bridal show. This is very impersonal and doesn’t make the bride feel special. Invest in Constant Contact or another marketing plan
- Do Not mail envelopes to prospective brides without a return address. Your mail will get shredded.
- Though you are meeting tons of brides that day, each one has to feel that they will be your only client.
My overall experience with this bridal show was not a good one. Let’s see how the next one turns out.
Here are a few pictures from the bridal show taken with my Iphone.
Happy Planning!
