Should you attend bridal shows?

Yes! I've been to two and I've had a blast. FH has gotten a free suit to keep, tux to rent, and $60 off our groomsmen rentals.

Just for showing up at my venue booth we got the bridal suite to get ready in for free even though we already booked.

We found our DJ - both the ones we were considering were there and it was nice to meet them without having to schedule individual times.

Free food is always a plus lol

Overall, just go in knowing what you're looking for. The experience itself was worth it for me, but I also was really productive. Some brides looked so miserable at the show. My mom and I were on cloud nine, even FH had fun and got into it.

They can be fun, but honestly with so many vendors already booked you might be a little bored. You'll just have to keep turning down people who want to talk to you. Plus, you get a TON of spam email and phone calls. Pros would be free samples of food and I thought the fashion show was fun. Cons would be dress/vendor regret. You run the risk of seeing something you like better than what you have. In my opinion, I wouldn't drive 2 hours for one unless you really need a lot of vendors.

You don't need to. But in told they have cake sometimes. Lol I'm honestly going for the cake and to just see what it's like. But you do not NEED to go.

Personally, I found it absolutely useless. You sound pretty organized and I'm not sure you'd get any benefit. I found the vendors pushy and excessive. If you do decide to go then I recommend creating a separate email because gosh they will overwhelm you. And avoid giving your number if you can bc they'll abuse that as well.

My mom and I went to a bridal show a year ago when we only had decided on our date and venue. It was a fun day to do something with my mom and get some ideas on different vendors. A lot of bridal shows will have raffles so you may win something or get some great discounts. If you're looking for specific types of vendors like a florist or transportation then it can be helpful, but if not it could just be something fun to do wedding oriented for the day. It's definitely not needed though! I didn't end up using any of the vendors or taking advantage of the discounts I won at the bridal show but that's just me!

With all the stuff you have done I would say no. Unless you find that sort of thing fun or have someone who you have alot of fun doing nothing with. (not trying to be rude but it is not my cup of tea)

Thank you all so much for your input! & yes, the catering has been worked in with our venue since last year and our awesome decorator has real flowers included in with our overall price. I have decided not to attend the bridal show today and save some gas money! Perhaps, if one is closer to home by the time our big day arrives, I just might attend Thanks again! You ladies are awesome!

We actually went to one last weekend. I was going to schedule appointments for dress shopping and I know you get discounts when you schedule your appointment at the show. Also, FH was looking for tuxedo deals and ideas. We met with some honeymoon specialist in search of the best honeymoon deal. Well with that being said, we ended up winning the grand prize which included my dress, his tux, free honeymoon and much more. It was such a unexpected surprise and we are happy we went.

I loved going to the bridal show with my mom. We went to one and will probably go to one more. Go early for food and cake samples before they run out.

It's great to score coupons/discounts for vendors! But if you already have all your vendors then it prob wouldn't be worth it. The key to wedding planning on a good budget is to stick to your ideas & once you've paid, try not too look at new ideas in the same category!

I enjoyed it because I was able to taste cake at my favorite bakeries all in one place vs making appointments at each bakery. Also there are a lot of deals for signing up, so if you have a vendor picked out, you might get additional savings.

Just all done!!!

Nothing outrageous- it was about what I expected- but we did eat a lot of cake- and mini cheese burgers. The bridal show was fun- and they did a "what's in your purse game" which is annoying b/c I don't have a purse- I think one of the questions should be "who doesn't have a purse" ... but they gave out a fair bit of stuff. it was fun- I almost went alone- but my friend offered to go with me- and I'm SUPER glad she did- we had a good time side-eying the crazy bridal nonsense. I was surprised there weren't more people wearing silly little mini veils- but it was fun.

Not over whelmed- but not underwhelmed- cake was good LOL

Yes!! I have been to two, and will hopefully be attending one next month. You can meet with many of your local vendors, get a feel for who they are and what they offer. Get contact information and ideas for your wedding. And they're fun! You get to sample a lot of food/drinks and enter drawings for free stuff or discounts!

I went to one last year and it was a total disappointment. There were no food samples save for one... ice cream, and the vendors were just pushy and of course there were several of the scammers there too... "you can 'win' this amazing vacation if you just fill out the form with all your personal info on it...and then we'll call you and email you for the next 10 years of your life!"

I found using WW and The Knot were much better ways for me to find vendors, read about them, check pricing, etc. Even the wedding gown fashion show they had was terrible. The only good thing about it was I got to spend 3 hrs. with my MOH and FMIL and we all had a good time together.

I went to one my first ever a few weeks ago...I'm not far in the planning process but my friend who I went with is and she used it as an opportunity to see her vendors and find flowers and ideas for place settings and the dress...we tried to win free stuff but lost.