After recently attending my first bridal show, I realized I was completely unprepared for what lied ahead. Bridal shows are amazing and fun, but also overwhelming and crazy. So, to make it easier for all the brides to be after me below are a few steps to help you prepare for, survive, and most of all, enjoy a bridal show.
1) Do your research:
I was stupid. The only research I did before the show was find an address to plug into my Waze GPS App. There are so many vendors at these events. This is a big opportunity for you to save a lot of time. Normally to see three different florists you would need to devote three different Saturdays for flower shopping, or drive around town like a mad woman. These shows bring everyone together for you. So do research beforehand so you know who will be there and a bit about them. Have they done a wedding before in your area? Do they fit your taste? How are their reviews?
2) Make a list of who you want to see:
Once you have done your research make a list of the vendors you would like to see and bring that list with you. When you walk into the show and see how many different vendors there are showing you their photography options, their flowers, dresses, etc, they all start looking the same! Having a list with a few notes about the vendors you want to see and questions you want to ask can be a big help.
2) Bring a small purse:
Once you get to the show they immediately hand you a tote bag to fill with people’s cards and free giveaways. By the end you are carrying so much you are basically lifting weights. Don’t bring an oversized pocketbook to add to the madness. Grab your small bag and get ready for some exercise!
3) Print your information on cards:
I don’t think I have ever written the same information over and over again so much. Name, address, date of wedding, email, phone number. Every booth has some type of contest that all require you to provide the same information. You can win a free engagement photoshoot, free bridal gown, or four free bridesmaid dresses! We all love free stuff. I made sure I put my name in every contest, because let’s be honest, anything can help when spending your life savings planning a wedding. After filling three or four of these out a girl came by and just dropped a printed copy of her info in the bucket and moved on. Genius. So, type that info out before hand ONCE, print a bunch out, drop them in those bins, smile and cross your fingers. You will then be the bride that has it all together and not the one people are looking at with pity, sighhh.
5) Create a wedding email address:
As you drop your information in every giveaway container, you start thinking about how many emails you will be receiving in the next few days. When I first got engaged I read a tip to make a wedding email address to hand out to all the vendors you are in contact with. This way you can get all the information you need without clogging your personal email with spam mail. I wish I listened. Word of advice, before heading to a bridal show, make that email address. My inbox is now overflowing with emails from vendors that I don’t even remember meeting.
6) Don’t get distracted by wine:
Free wine! We all love it. But don’t let it distract you from the mission at hand. Halfway through the night I realized I had only seen 1/4 of the vendors and the wine booth half a dozen times. Like I said before, this is going to save you a lot of time and headaches later – stay focused!
7) Bring family and friends:
There is a lot of ground to cover at one of these events. Having your friends, mom, aunts can be a big help. It’s always great to get someone else’s opinion on the dress you are looking at, or the photo album a photographer is showing you. This can also solve the wine issue. Send someone to retrieve the drinks for you both as you continue on to the next booth. This is what bridesmaids are for anyway, right? (Just kidding!)
5 Comments
Twenty something girls need to focus on the guy and not the wedding. Focus on the marriage because if you twenty something girls are marrying a twenty something guys then you need to prepare yourself for these twenty something guys getting their needs met elsewhere….men don’t care about getting married all that much it’s us women who care more about that. So if you are marrying a guy who has already cheated on you and he has said he would never do it again……. he is lying because he will do it again and again….you can bet your life on this. If a man has an opportunity to get away with it HE WILL DO IT. and if you think you can change a man once you are married to him…….think again. A man can separate love and sex. A man does not need to be in love to have sex. You twenty something’s don’t have a clue about your twenty something boyfriends. But here’s a hint: check all the cougar dating websites….they are begging to date older women…Because these twenty something men know that only an older women can give them EXACTLY what they need….and its not just all about sex either. They crave this. You want to know why? Because you twenty something girls don’t know what your man really desires….. Good luck
Yes you have got it right! Don’t forget to let your groom have his male bonding time and you get plenty of rest the night before! Also if you want to look your prettiest on your big day have your makeup professionally done and all that. Best wishes
Surviving a bridal show? Seriously you need to concentrate on more important things. You have to be super young and immature because your suggestions on a Bridal Show lacks any depth or any true knowledge of getting married and what that really means. Carry a small purse? What kind of advice is that? And you were getting drunk drinking wine at the booths there? Again, ignorant advice. So you before you blog about surviving a bridal show do your homework. Or better yet have one of those tacky country barn type weddings outside if you want to save $$$ and then a bridal show will be unnecessary. And why would you say that you don’t want the bride to be looked at with “pity”. Who cares. Duh. There again what kind of advice is that? People don’t look at the bride with pity. Sounds like you don’t have your act together. And for all you brides to be: if your guy has made you wait for two – five years you can bet he has been with other women. Now that is tried and proven advice. A guy who drags his feet could bolt at the last minute… So remember its not the bridal shows that are overwhelming… It will be married life that’s what’s really hard
Are you marrying a guy named Eric?
Check out the guy you are getting married to ladies. A guy who makes you wait 5+ years is just making excuses AND if you finally do drag him to the altar….he will be unfaithful. Because you can bet all the money in the world that he has cheated on you during this . You have been shown this…it went on for three years and yet you still believe his lies…He said “Marriage for him is not necessary” ….If he REALLY wanted you and wanted to be married to YOU he would have done so long before now. You are wasting your life away WAITING for a guy who does not put you first and gives you excuses. So go to all the Bridal Shows you want to go to….it won’t make a difference. You should know when your boyfriend tells another woman he is in love with her and tells her “Please don’t leave me” over and over that you do not have his heart….she does. Because he said you only had the title of “girlfriend” and that this other woman had his heart and she was the ONE who he was in a relationship with….