One of the girls who works in my husband’s office recently got engaged, congratulations, Amanda! She asked me if I would be at the Bridal Bazaar this weekend, sadly, I won’t since I have a wedding this weekend, but I was getting ready to write her an email with my tips on Attacking the Bridal Bazaar and thought it might be a good idea to share them with other newly engaged couples as well.
First off, I love the Bridal Bazaar, it is a great resource and a great jumping off point for planning your wedding. That being said, it is big… thousands of attendees and hundreds of vendors, so it can be overwhelming at times.
What to wear/bring
- Comfy shoes! The floors are all concrete and you are going to be on your feet a long time! We joke at Betty Blue Events that a wedding planner wearing high heels at a wedding must be new.
- Water!
- A salty snack and a piece of fruit (you will be totally cake-d out by the end of the day and craving something salty and something fresh)
- Make a list on your phone or bring a tiny notebook to jot down the names of vendors you meet and like.
- A mental note of what wedding vendors you need and what your overall budget is.
- Don’t bring – you’re whole wedding planning binder. I applaud your organization! But don’t cart it around all day.
Plan of Attack:
- First thing, go get a mimosa, seriously. Don’t stop to say hi to anyone, make a beeline to the mimosa bar, they also have great local beers.
- Hold off on eating cake, if you can resist. I love good cake, but there are so many sweets that if you are like me with zero impulse control you’ll have a tummy ache 20 minutes in.
- Go to booths you think look nice. They don’t have to be in your style, or colors, or wedding-y at all, but they should display that the vendor cares about their business (and your wedding)
- Don’t be afraid to talk to vendors, we love hearing about your wedding vision! I’d guess 99% of wedding vendors are in this business because we love it.
- If you aren’t in the mood to chat, just grab a flier, stuff it in your bag and move on, but don’t be rude about it!
- Don’t work with someone you feel is pushy.
- Pay attention to how you connect with people. You will be working with for up to a year, having a wedding team you feel is trustworthy and you get along with is important.
- Enjoy it! You won’t be able to talk to all the vendors you wanted to, but even if all you got was a mimosa and some cake, that sounds like a successful Sunday to me!
Here is a simplified Wedding Planning Timeline (what I usually hand out at the Bridal Bazaar) to get you started.
Betty Blue Events 