Anyway today what I wanted to do is to share with you my top tips for Wedding Fair's.
We went to our first wedding fair on the 7th September which was held in one of the local big Best Western hotels here in Stoke - The Moat House and was organised by our local newspaper the Sentinel.
With this being the first wedding fair I had ever been to, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I certainly hadn't expected it to be as good as it was. It spanned the entirety of the hotel's communal areas - the ballroom, all the reception ares and other rooms off it as well as the court yard outside.
The first of my top tips would be to make sure you take a document wallet with you. Now this is a mistake I picked up on the day that I wish I had read before. As you wander round a wedding fair, you will be handed 100's of leaflets, by the time I got half way round I was juggling with them and dropping them all over the place. It doesn't help that no bodies leaflets are the same size either - some just have business cards, others have A5 leaflets, others A4. Buying one of those popper folders before you go - I got mind for 30p from Morrisons - means not only will you not be dropping everything you look like the most organised Bride to be ever.
My second tip would to be make sure you have a Pen and Paper. Either use the Pen to mark on the leaflets of the people you liked or make a note of the names and any prices in a small note book. I brought one of those tiny little note books to jot all the ideas down we saw and the people we loved.
Tip 3, Don't be afraid to ask if you can take pictures. Most people don't like it as with the culture of DIY's and Pinterest they know people only go to steal ideas but some people may say yes. We saw a style of invitation we really loved but Adams best man's mum had already agreed to make all of our wedding stationary for us. Taking a picture just meant we could show her what we liked.
Tip 4, don't be afraid to talk to people. Yes they are there are there to sell to you but if you don't speak to them you won't know what you can get. We were talking to someone who did room dressing who had some examples of tables laid out but not in the colours we were planning. After discussing with them they quickly whipped of one of their displays and showed us the chairs in the colours we wanted.
My fifth and final tip would be to take advantage of offers. Yes they are designed to lure you in but if you look there are some bloody good offers out there. We booked the mens suits through Greenwoods while at the wedding fair and got an absolutely fantastic deal of 20% off if we booked on the day. They guy was also incredibly helpful and offered us some great advice telling us not to bother hiring the suit for Adam's Nephew who will be 6 as he probably won't wear the suit jacket and we would be better buying him the trousers and a white shirt from somewhere like Asda and hiring the waistcoat and cravat with them. I instantly loved his honesty.
We also ha a great deal with the venue dressers from the picture above who if we booked with them we got the broaches in the centre free. Doesn't sound like a lot but for our afternoon reception saved us £80 by booking on the day of the wedding fair.
And those are my top tips for the wedding fair. Me, my mum and Adams mum are going to the national wedding fair in Manchester on 11th October so I will be sure to share any more tips from that too :)
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