Are wedding shows worth it?

Definitely worth it. Someone at the last one I went to won a veil. And I had my makeup and hair done for free. Plus all the champagne I could want.

@SarahK Wow, that sounds awesome! Thank you so much, now I'm kind of excited.

One thing I disliked about the bridal show, here in AZ, was that I was spammed with emails from all the vendors at the show. I recommend making a new email and using that as your registration email so you don't get spammed to death.

Open houses are great! You get a really good feel and vibe of what a wedding would be like there.

Sometimes deals can be had, well....I'll be honest. These shows are expensive for us. We want to recoup our investments too. Plus we (and you) have the advantage of meeting face to face and making a connection, and there's no better way than to see people under one roof. The environment can be a bit hectic, but personally I make time to talk with those engaging in conversation about my services. Make labels with your name, email and wedding date, phone number if you like. What's the worst that can happen? You spend a couple hours and 5 dollars, and sample some cake and champagne? Give it a try.

@Babs, if you were a vendor in that show, you'd be sending out emails too. lol. Making a Gmail account is a brilliant idea, I agree with that.

@Jay Yeah I know I know, hahaha. I just was only expecting emails from vendors I spoke to, not all of them!! My bad... XP

I only attended one, but I found our photographer there, and won a free dinner for the two of us at a local restaurant (B B King's) - as it turned out the caterer we used was there as well, though we did not hire her from the show

Not all will work the lead list. I put more personal efforts into those I visit with, but do send campaign emails to the list, in case any missed my booth or didn't like who else they found there. They have the option of unsubscribing. It's the ones who call repeatedly or send too many emails, that's obnoxious. With all this said, I'm not sure how many more shows I;m doing. I seem to make a great connection with people there, but it's hard to keep their interest after. many are in the infancy of the planning stages.

I don't find that the top of the line vendors do the cattle call shows. We really only do shows at venues where we're preferred, along with the other pros from the venues. And those venues make it very clear that I am not to contact the list unless the couple specifically visited my display.

If you truly need vendors, go and spend some time talking to the ones you really do need.

We don't have as many venue shows as I wish we did. I agree they're better.

Definitely think about getting another email account to use just for your wedding emails and correspondence, you'l get tons of emails from vendors, every one at the show probably. I went with Gmail so both my email accounts are connected. It was one of the pieces of advice I received about wedding planning that was super useful.

Also I got Dropbox account so I have could have copies of any invoices sent with vendors. Easy to save and print out if needed. I was on my phone a lot so using Dropbox was invaluable. OneNote is ok, but I like Dropbox better.

It's worth the experience to try once. I went shortly after getting engaged and while it was overwhelming, it was still nice to get information from different types of vendors. I ended up winning a free bridal portrait session from a local photographer. Unfortunately the show ended up being useless for me since we're getting married in a different state. But I sill might redeem my free session and figure out something to do with my hair and makeup locally.

Several in my area were free or had options to get free tickets if you registered in advance. I had a great time seeing ideas and examples in person and used one as a fun outing with my junior bridesmaids, who weren't old enough to really feel some of the other activities. I also won a free mini photo shoot for myself at one!

We only went to one and weren't impressed. It was just photo booth after photo booth. But I do think they can be hit or miss. If you go, set up a separate email for all the spam you'll get.

I've been to good ones and not so good ones. I found that if you go with a purpose it's more beneficial. For example the last one we went to we focused on photographers only. We browsed tons of photos and spoke to lots of the photographers. After that show we decided who to hire. The next one we attend we will probably focus on florals.

All sorts of vendors go! Plus most of them give discounts if you book and met them at a show! Worth it if you decide to use any vendors you meet.

I found my caterer and bridal salon at a show! Also got a ton of goodies and cards for people that I can order stuff from. (Garter, veil, etc.) it was very worth it for us.

Most "shows" (bridal, home, rv's, etc) are a waste of money, that is assuming you have to pay for admission. I understand the appeal of wanting to go to a bridal expo, but I don't think they have much value anymore. And who wants to pay to become a lead and be on mailing lists? Before the internet I think events like these were useful, nowadays you can find the same and even more info from you computer.

I found a fabulous baker at a show that I booked, that I never would have found on my own.

But otherwise, they're nice, just don't sign up for anything you don't actually want because all the vendors will hound you with "free" stuff.

I agree with Celia though, it appeared that most of the quality vendors don't attend because their business has a call of it's own, and from what I saw it was a lot of MLM that I don't even know why they were there (scentsy, pampered chef, etc)

Interesting....in my area, sure there are some vendors I've never seen or heard of, but plenty of excellent ones as well. I mean, you have to get yourself out there somehow, and many of us like being able to meet couples face to face. it's good for me since I'm a niche style and it doesn't click when many hear "documentary photography" but when they see it, the connection is made. You never know. It's a mixed bag. If you're looking for vendors, the smart thing to do is research the ones who will be working the show before you go. This way you know who to talk to and who you probably aren't interested in.