Insider Tips on Bridal Shows by a Wedding Professional Photographer

Bridal Show Insider Tips

  

  

Picture this. You are a bride who is planning your wedding and you have been waiting since you got engaged to meet all the wedding “professionals” in your area.

You have your bridesmaids together and enter the Bridal Show.

 

The first booth your approach, the person in the booth seems harried or stressed, even like you are keeping them from enjoying their morning coffee.

What gives? Truth is, they probably arrived late, didn’t have time to eat a proper breakfast, they are frantically trying to finish setting up their booth.

This is clue #1. 

Do you want a wedding vendor who can’t manage their time and didn’t plan better?

Look I know things happen, the alarm didn’t go off, they had an event the night before, or their help stood them up. 

But there are clues here not to be missed.

Next scenario. 

You are looking for a Wedding Photographer.  You go to one booth.

It looks like a photographer.  It has pictures.  Yet there is no sign. 

There is one lone wedding album on the table.

This is clue #2.

This photographer is probably just starting out.  Go ahead and look at the album. You might like the photos.

Is this a “best hits” album?  In other words, is the album of different people on different days?   It isn’t that hard to come up with one stellar image from one wedding.  I mean that is the goal of every wedding photographer.

A true representation of a photographer’s work is a complete album of one bride and one groom from the beginning of the wedding day to the end.

What can you tell from this?

You can see if they can handle different lighting challenges.  It’s probably not going to be the same light all day.  You will probably go from daylight, to sunset, to indoors, to nighttime.  You can see their true range.

 

On to the next booth. 

Here we have a caterer. There is no food to sample.

Clue #3. They are telling you about their great tasting food.

But where is it?  If they don’t have any food to sample, what is the point?

I get that food is expensive, and there will be people there who just want something free, but how do they know if you are a bride or not?  Pass.

 

You approach a booth and it has a sign for a DJ, but they are trying to pushing everything else on you.

Clue #4

This could one of those “jacks of all trades” out there.  They claim to do your music, a photo booth, photographs, oh yeah videos too.  Oh they can also hook you up with a tux, flowers, and a wedding dress.  A wedding cake?

Wait, what?

This is just my opinion, but these bundles don’t really service the bride and groom.

Why?

Because, they would rather have a bigger piece of your wedding budget, than offer you the best in each category. 

They are getting other vendors at a reduced price to do each thing, and they are not the cream of the crop (again my opinion.)

I have witnessed some pretty bad videographers who were bundled in with the DJs.  These videographers have never even met the couple until the wedding day.  They ask me what the bride and groom’s names are. (picture me scowling). They step in front of our shots, ask what we are going to do next, and expect me to do their job for them.

Ask yourself how important is it to know beforehand who will be working with you on your wedding day?

 

You approach a booth. 

They ask you how you are doing.  They tell you briefly what they do. 

They let you look at their product. 

They listen thoughtfully to any questions you may have about their products.

They show you samples.

Clue #5

Now you have hit the big leagues, the true wedding professionals.

Regardless of the vendor category, a true professional will always want to know what you want. What is the dream you have for your wedding day?

https://suttonphotography.com

 

Some Tips for attending a Bridal Show:

1. Make a list beforehand.

What services do you still need?  What are the top 3 vendors to visit?

2. When you get home or the next day: spread out the handouts you got from the show.

Can you remember who those vendors were?  Did they make an impression on you?

3. Call those vendors who you would most like to find out more about, in a more relaxed quiet atmosphere.

Remember this.  Most vendors can only do one event a day. If you know you want someone, don’t hesitate to call them before someone else books them.

Enter the contests.            Have fun.          ­­­  Eat, drink and be merry!