After getting engaged and throwing myself full fledged into the wedding planning process, my Mom and MOH Jenn were getting into the all the hoopla too. I was getting daily emails at work regarding wedding talk. It was so much fun. We decided to attend some Bridal Expos. I had been to a Pet Expo before so I assumed it was sort of the same deal. Crowds of people swarming around. Lots of tables set up with vendors wanting to sell your on their business.
When we arrived, my predictions were dead on. We squished by people who wouldn't move walked from table to table meeting different vendors. There were some neat giveaways and a fashion show. We looked at some limos and trolleys in the parking lot but I thought their prices were a little on the high end. I did however decide that I did want a limo bus to accommodate our wedding party. I did not like the idea of having a limo that I needed to climb into and then slide down so others could fit. We wandered around and had some snacks. Each bride got their name entered into a drawing for a door prize. I won a $50.00 gift card to a local nursery. This would be perfect for planting some flowers around the house for outdoor wedding pictures! YAY! When we left, I had a ton of stuff and paperwork from all of the vendors. I think in total we went to about four different bridal expos. I was not a huge fan of them because I hated feeling like I had to listen to their spiel and be sold on their business. I would rather just walk from table to table and browse what they had to offer. If I had a question, I would approach them. Not every vendor was pushy but I found most were. With that being said, I did end up finding two of my vendors at two different bridal expos. We ran into Christina from Paper Rock Scissors in Conshohocken (Check our her website). She had the most adorable invitation table set up. We were drawn to all of the lovely pocket folds, gorgeous satin ribbons and amazing letter press invitations. Christina wasn't pushy, answered any questions I had, and even offered advice on when I should start the invitation process. I made a mental note to take a look at her website when I got home. The next vendor we found was Greg from Photo booth Events (Take a look). There were many photo booths at the bridal shows so the competition was tough. Greg was standing at his table with his girlfriend. They were very personable and not pushy what-so-ever. Notice I like the not-pushy vendors. We got some pictures in his photo booth and talked to him for some time. We learned how he first got into the business by making a photo booth for his sisters wedding. We decided to put a down payment on the photo booth that day due to a special he was running.
In conclusion, I would say overall I am not 100% sold on Bridal Expos however they weren't a total waste of time because I did find two of my vendors there. I like the fact that you get to speak with the person right then and there without having to make an appointment. You can get an instant vibe from the person. On the other hand, you are fighting the crowds and competing with other brides for the vendor’s time. Although I am not a huge proponent of bridal expos I think it may be worth it for a newly engaged bride to go to one or two expos. It does give you an idea of what is out there and you can get it all in one shot. Although I found them to be a bit overwhelming, I am glad I went but think I would have been good just going to one or two. Four was too many and I started to recognize vendor’s faces. How do you feel about Bridal Expos? Were they successful for you or did you feel like you were wasting your time?
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