Every wedding and video shoot has its own unique challenges and forces us to learn and re-adapt. Today’s post and lesson is, THE WEDDING EXPO!
Attending wedding vendors expos is always a gamble. You never really know what kind of turnout there is going to be, or if there is going to be any turnout at all. The first one I ever attended as a business last year was scheduled opposite a Seahawks game on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I think in 4 hours 8 couples attended.
I have also attended daylong wedding expos at various hotels and convention centers around the area, the ones where you feel like a zombie standing in a room staring at other vendors literally counting down the hours until you can breath fresh air again!
Today we had the opportunity to attend a vendor open house at Black Diamond Gardens in Black Diamond Washington. I was already well familiar with the venue, having previously shot their promotional video.
It is a beautiful venue located just a few minutes south of Lake Wilderness in Maple Valley, another popular wedding spot. I wasn't sure how the turnout was going to be for today's event, as sometimes newer venues have trouble attracting guests to give up a few hours on a beautiful weekend day to travel out to check out the venue (and the other vendors who have been contacted to participate in the day's event). I must say I was pleasantly surprised with not only the amount of newly engaged couples who attended today's event, but the quality of the guests as well. I think it shows the amount of time and energy the venue spent getting everyone excited to come and tour their open house, I would also like to think our highlight video might have helped out a little as well! lol
It's always tough talking to guests who pass by your booth at a wedding show. You want to seem engaging without being overbearing; you want to sell your product or service without shoving it down their throats. Having been through a year of this last season as practice, both my fiancé and I are far better equipped this year to converse with the brides and grooms than we were this time last year.
I think it's very overwhelming for brides and grooms to attend shows like these. You have 20 or so vendors all basically asking you the same questions. What is your wedding date? Where are you getting married? Have you thought about X-Y or Z yet? Most of the time, people attending these shows might not even have a date finalized for their wedding and are still in the early planning stages. It can either be an enjoyable experience or it can be a stressful one, it all depends how you approach it.
I would encourage any newly engaged couple to attend at least 1 vendor open house, just to get a sense of all the various products and services that are out there. Maybe you weren't originally thinking about wedding videography or a photo booth, or maybe you didn't even know chocolate lockets were a thing one COULD order for their wedding, (yes we sat for 8 hours next to a chocolate locket company at a show last year). It's a good way to experience all the different products and services the wedding industry has to offer, and who knows, maybe you'll pick up a chocolate locket for yourself along the way! lol