6 Bridal Show and Wedding Expo Tips

6 Tips for Getting the Most out of a Bridal Show

Newly engaged?  Overwhelmed?  Going to a Bridal Show or Bridal Expo is a great start.  However, you can walk out more confused than when you walked in!  Here are some guidlines to help make your trip to Cincinnati's Bridal Shows fun and productive!  

Bridal Shows are a great way to meet a lot of potential wedding vendors such as Wedding Venues, Wedding Photographers, DJs, Cakes, and pretty much anything you can imagine for your big day all in one room.  To make the best of it, you should prepare yourself BEFORE you arrive at the bridal shows  

1. Wedding Email:  Everyone including the show host will want your contact information.  Every vendor will receive a copy of this information which means you will get a lot of vendors contacting you to try to earn your business.  This can get very overwhelming and annoying.  Creating a wedding email helps organize your wedding email seperate from your regular email.
2. Sharpie:  You will talk to so many vendors at the show you will forget who was  who and what made them stand out to you.  With your sharpie, you can mark notes or even just a checkmark to remind you to take a good look at them when you are doing your research at home afterwards.
3. Pre show research:  Inevitably you will have already done some homework on the vendors for your wedding.  Look at the wedding show's website and see which vendors you want to target.
4. Do not waste your time:  If you are not interested in a vendor, do not stop to talk to them.  You don't have time and neither do they.  As salespeople they will try to talk to you but in reality you may be keeping them from talking to someone who may actually hire them.  Don't stay and talk to be polite.
5. Carry two bags:  You will likely collect information from most of the vendors who say hello to you even if you don't like them.  Have one bag for those you are not interested in and throw that in the trash when you leave.  Have another bag for those you are interested in.  This works with bringing a sharpie because you can distinguish your favorites in that bag with the sharpie.
6. Starting Price:  The most common mistake when trying to find out price is to ask for the "starting price".  You're encouraging them to quote a low package that is not relevant to your wedding then followed by up selling and pushing your budget.  The proper question to ask is "What is the average couple's total investment with your company?  I once saw a photographer advertise $200 wedding packages.  By the time you had a full day with two photographers and copyright it was $2700. 

You will find Images by Daniel Michael Photography at:

Wendy's Bridal Show at Duke Cincinnati Convention Center 
Saturday January 4th, 10:00-5:00, Sunday January 5th 2020, 11:00-5:00

Cincinnati Wedding Showcase at Sharonville Convention Center 
Saturday January 11th, & Sunday January 12th, 2020, 11:00-4:00

Bridalrama at Duke Cincinnati Convention  
Saturday February 29th & March 1st, 2020, 11:00-4:00

Newport Aquarium Bridal Show at The Newport Aquarium  
Thursday March 5st, 2020, 6:30-9:30

A Bride's Mafia Show at Cincinnati Music Hall 
Wednesday March 11th, 2020, 6:00-9:00 PM FREE admission