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Best Bridal Show Tips

Couples who attend local bridal shows and expos will find an excellent way to get a handle on the wonderful world of wedding planning. The planning starts at least a year in advance. The average engagement in the United States is between 12-15 months. If you leave yourself plenty of time in advance of your wedding, you will benefit greatly from the time you spent at the bridal show.

Recently engaged couples who are in the early to mid stages of planning a wedding can meet and speak directly with many wedding event professionals – all in one place! Wedding expos feature the latest trends from cakes to limos to photography and video. Many bridal shows will have live band and DJ performances and/or fashion shows featuring the latest in bridal and tuxedo fashions. This is your opportunity to get ideas, gather information and compare services and prices.

Most bridal shows offer free magazines, prizes and honeymoon trips. Individual vendors may also offer discounts only available to bridal show guests. Going to a bridal show can be a lot of fun. Bring your mom, the groom and a bridesmaid or two…

How do I find a bridal show in my area? Most bridal expos will be listed in regional magazines. Bridal Show Producers International is the trade association for bridal show promoters. This directory lists bridal shows nationwide.

Whether you’re a first timer or a seasoned veteran, the following tips will help make your bridal show experience both productive and enjoyable. Have a great time at the show!

1. Be prepared to wait in line to register. Please be patient! This is well worth it. Your registration may entitle you to win door prizes and will allow vendors to get in touch with you after the show. Pre-registration on-line is offered by many wedding expo promoters, who usually give you a discounted ticket price pre-show.

2. Ask your fiancé to come along. It is much more likely that you will be able to make a decision and book a vendor, if accompanied. The groom’s participation in wedding planning is growing. Today, about 30% of grooms accompany their brides to wedding shows.

3. Plan to spend a minimum of three to four hours in order to see all the exhibits and the fashion show.

4. Be prepared to wear a “Bride-To-Be” or “Groom” sticker to receive special attention from the vendors.

5. Remember to bring a pen and notebook to take notes and make certain to write clearly. In addition to a pen and paper or notebook, bring along a clipboard to serve as a solid surface for you. It will be better than leaning on a friend’s back. If there is room, the best place to write notes about a vendor is right on the literature he or she gives you. It will help you after the show to keep the vendors from melding into one another.

6. If organization is your strong suit, bring a binder with envelopes and file tabs for each kind of vendor (caterer, photographer, florist, etc.). Before you leave a vendor’s booth, file the business cards and brochures. This will save you lots of time later.

7. Bring along a Palm or appointment book to record meetings you set up with vendors.

8. A lightweight tote will work well to carry all your goodies.

9. Come with an open mind. One of the best things about a bridal show is that it gives you an opportunity to see what’s new and exciting, things you may not have thought of or considered.

10. Don’t be embarrassed to ask lots of questions. That’s why you are at the show. Professionals are happy to share what they know with you. Be gutsy . . . taste the cake and smell the flowers. Cut to the chase to save time. Your first question to a vendor should be: Are you available on this date ? If you get a “NO”, move on.

11. Collect information from every vendor. Take it home to look over when you have some quiet time. During the course of planning your wedding you may not have thought you wanted certain things, like a harpist or freeze drying your wedding bouquet.

12. Bring along color swatches. They may prove helpful in getting suggestions from vendors, such as bakers, florists, and balloonists.

13. Bring preprinted self-adhesive address labels if you have them. You will be asked for your name, address, phone number and wedding date countless times before the show is over. This will save you time and it will allow you to sign up for many of the prizes that will be given away. If you are out of town, send your mother or a friend to collect information on services you need.

14. Bring along bridal show buddies. There’s plenty of territory to cover, between you and your friends, you’ll be able to locate the hottest booths and the best deals.

15. Wear comfortable shoes. For the better part of the day you’ll be standing and talking to vendors. The only opportunity to sit down is during the fashion show, and even then, seating is limited. The bridal fashion show is often the highlight of a show.

16. Make certain to arrive early enough to get a really good seat. If you have already selected your wedding attire, you may wish to skip the fashion show in order to spend more time with the vendors.

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Gabby Love stresses one to be creative in order to save on your wedding. A main way to cut cost could begin with the date and time of the wedding. Why not look at

having the wedding on Friday evening, Saturday morning, or even Sunday afternoon?

This will still work with your guests schedules,and also qualify for a reduced rates at a church ,or reception hall because it is during off peak times. By having the wedding during off peak times saves money on food. Food for your guest is a main expense for the wedding, especially large weddings. If you really want to have food cost really reduced then have an evening wedding with a dessert-only reception. Also keep the overall guest list down to the minimum which will mean less food ,less work, and less invitations,which will result with less money on weddings.

Another key focus of expense is what to wear during the wedding and how to keep the cost down.

A. Look into renting wedding gowns instead of buying it. Rent a tux as well . Also check around to see if there is a business that will cater the whole wedding party for a much reduced rate.

B. Explore key bridal shops and get a sample wedding as well as the bridesmaid dresses from off the rack. This will also cut down the cost .

C. Look into borrowing shoes from your friends or family members. Hey, there are other people who were married and have shoes from their wedding just sitting in their closets that could match your dress.

D. Get in touch with the tuxedo rental stores and see if they are offering special discounts and specials. Some even offer free tux rental depending on the amount of tux rented. They may even offer free limousine service as well.

E. Find out if there are any friends or family members can sew. If so this could cut down the overall expenses for dresses for the bride and bridesmaid.

F. If the wedding is a casual wedding, the focus will be on color which means that the men could wear their own suits and the bridesmaids could wear their own dresses, all of which in the same color.

The above is just key suggestions offered to keep the overall cost of the wedding to a minimum. The wedding day is just what it means …day. Don’t put yourself in debt.

Many couples get so caught up with planning all the obvious details of their wedding–such as the cake, the wedding decorations, the gown and gifts for members of the wedding party–that they often overlook the importance of selecting the right wedding photographer. It’s important to remember that the photographer you choose will be responsible for capturing the moments and memories of what may be the most important day of your life! With this in mind, you\’ll want to take great care in selecting a wedding photographer considering there are no second chances.

As you might imagine, wedding photography is one of the most challenging types of professional photography. The wedding photographer has to make everyone look beautiful, shooting in a multitude of locations in all kinds of weather conditions–and accomplish all this in minimum amount of time. At the same time, your wedding photographer should have the personality to complement you on your most joyous day. Take your time and follow some of the simple suggestions discussed below, and you will most certainly be satisfied with the outcome.

Where Do You Begin?

Personal referrals or asking friends, relatives and co-workers for suggestions, is a great place to start. Typically, people who have had positive experiences with photographers are more than willing to share that information. In addition, you\’ll already have some insight about the photographer’s personality before you actually meet. After compiling a preliminary list, visit each photographer’s web site and thoughtfully review his or her online portfolio. If a portfolio looks appealing you, chances are, that photographer might be a good fit. Next, call or email each photographer on your list. Through this initial contact, you can determine the photographer’s availability, the type of work they specialize in (candid or traditional) as well as an estimate of the cost and what you\’ll receive for that fee.

Schedule appointments with the photographers who seem most appropriate and ask to view their portfolios in person and discuss more details. Ask each of them to show you a complete portfolio of a single wedding–this will give you a much clearer sense of what you can expect than a collection of choice shots from several different events. Pay attention to whether the photographer is adept at portraying individual expressions and personalities. Ideally, these meetings should include the bride and groom as well as the bride\’s parents since you will all be interacting with the photographer.

What Questions Should You Ask?

Be sure to write down all of your questions beforehand, and take thorough notes during the meetings. Although most professional photographers will provide you with a clear outline of their services and fees prior to your meeting, you will, in all likelihood, still have a large number of questions to ask. Remember, the more information you have, the more confident and relaxed you\’ll feel on your special day. The following are some questions, courtesy of http://www.iqphoto.com/, you may wish to consider asking:

- How will you show me pictures for selection (e.g., electronic, proofs, contact sheets, online gallery, etc.)?

- Will you help me choose the final pictures?

- How will you make it easy for friends and family to order reprints?

- What are the costs of the various levels of coverage?

- Are there different degrees of coverage?

- What is your photography style; photojournalistic, traditional, mixed, etc.?

- How much for the duplicate prints, albums, folios, enlargements, thank you cards, etc.?

- What’s your time frame for preparing the pictures for my selection?

- How about engagement session?

- How long do I have to make up my mind as to which pictures I want and how many?

- How long have you been in business?

- What kind of guarantee comes with my hiring you?

- What’s your philosophy for photographing weddings?

- Will you have an assistant?

- Do you have travel fees?

- How much is your overtime fee?

- What do you plan to do at my wedding to make my wedding photographs unique and personal to me?

- Do you have a backup?

- Will you be shooting my pictures personally?

- Will you use film or digital?

- What\’s your payment policy?

- Do you give any guarantees on your services and photographs?

- What is the possibility of the pictures fading?

How Much Will It Cost?

The following are some points, courtesy of Elegala.com, that will help prepare you for what you might expect to pay for your wedding photography:

- Plan to allocate a significant portion of your wedding budget to ensure photographs are perfect. Expect to spend at least $1000 on a professional wedding photographer to document your event. Albums and prints are usually extra. Other extras that may increase your bottom line include additional hours, additional photographers, custom albums etc. etc. Add on too many extras – and your photography budget could quickly creep to $5000 and beyond!

- Cut the extras and purchase a basic wedding photography package from a skilled photographer. By paying for the photographer’s expertise only, you will ensure great images – and you\’ll buy yourself some time to save up for the custom album and prints after the wedding.

- Get the proofs! To that end, try to find a photographer who will let you keep the proofs. Many photographers consider themselves to be photographers only – artists not in the business of selling photographs. After the big day, they\’ll hand over your proofs and be on their way. They\’re yours to keep – you can print them in any manner you please or save them for printing after you\’ve saved up some cash.

- Enter the digital age with digital photography. It’s less costly than film, and with technological advances in equipment – digital images are no longer a sacrifice in quality. Many photographers have taken the digital plunge – which results in savings for you!

- Cut the timeline – the longer your event, the more it will cost to document it. Since photographers often charge based on the number of hours they will spend at your wedding, a shorter/smaller wedding celebration will yield big savings in your photography budget.

Making a Commitment

At this point, you should have a relatively clear idea of which photographer is best suited to capture your wedding day memories. Once you have made a decision, be prepared to leave a deposit to reserve the date. You may still wish to reassure yourself by asking about a few final details. For example, find out what the photographer\’s policy for wedding-date changes is and what the alternatives are if he or she is not available on the backup date. Also, ask about their policy for an unexpected cancellation. If you feel the photographer is right for you, then relax and make the commitment with the confidence that you\’ve made a well-formed, intelligent decision in planning the most important day of your life.

So, you and your fiancée thought writing your own wedding vows would be sweet, romantic, and a piece of cake, but you are quickly finding out that its anything but a piece of cake. If you are like most couples that choose to write their own vows, you are probably doing it because you feel like you have more to say than what traditional vows can convey. But how do you express those emotions without sounding cheesy? Well, here are some great tips to help you get started when writing your own vows.

Make sure it’s okay. The first thing you should do is check with your minister and your fiancée and make sure that writing your own vows is acceptable. Some religious backgrounds will want you to stick with the traditional vows, so just be sure you check before you start diving into your thesaurus. Start by answering a few questions about your fiancée, such as, when did you first fall in love with them? What are their best qualities? What’s your favorite memory with them? What does marriage and commitment mean to you? What is the number one thing you are going to strive to be for your fiancée throughout your marriage? What did you always look for in a mate and how does your fiancée fit that mold? What does love mean to you? These questions may cause you to think of the answers to new questions. Just be sure to jot down everything you think of, even if its just words that come to mind when you think of marriage. The answers to these questions will be great building blocks for your vows. Consider reading some poetry and great works of literature. You will find great quotes and inspiration for your vows through the words of someone who knows what they’re doing. Don’t be afraid to quote them when you are giving your vows, because the best way to say it is often the way it was already said. You can also search wedding vows online and in books to get an idea from other couples’ vows. Maybe you could mix traditional vows with your vows, or maybe you could use someone else’s vows just reworded a little. Published vows will give you great ideas for the structure and the length. Choose a length and structure and stick to it. Do you want your vows to rhyme and have a poetic rhythm? Do you want them to be short and sweet? Do you want them to sound like a chorus is a song? You choose! But, once you pick a format you need to stick it to, because it will be easier to fit your words into a mold if you already have the mold. Start by writing a rough draft. It can be a paragraph to a page long-it really doesn’t matter. After all, a rough draft is a rough draft. After you get it all out onto paper you can start summarizing or choosing a few lines here and there to help you condense your vows into the format and length that you want. Try to pick the best lines from what you wrote and make them work together. After you get your vows written be sure to practice, practice, practice. Some couples choose to take print outs of their vows up to the altar. Others choose to give them to the minister and have him read them kind of like a responsive reading, where he reads the first line and your repeat it. However, you decide to do it, you will still benefit from practicing. This will keep you from jumping the gun or drawing a blank on the words.

Writing your vows can really be a lot easier than your probably making it. The most important thing is to be sincere and just let the words come from your heart. Your vows are only for your fiancée and no one else, so who care what everyone else thinks. Your fiancée will truly appreciate your honesty and all the thought you put into them.