Things to look out for at a wedding expo?

MOST IMPORTANT create a wedding specific email account and ONLY give that out -- you will be slammed with spam (and, it will ultimately make it easier to keep track of all email from vendors, etc. if they are all going to a separate account). Second, print some small labels with your address -- that will save you time in filling out contact info on registration cards. Third, keep in mind many vendors at Expos are just starting out and/or are not yet very successful, so be cautious. (Great vendors are working a wedding every Saturday and many Sundays, so they aren't going to give up the day to hang out at an Expo, plus they get plenty of business through word of mouth.) Finally, there are a million scams, so be wary. Virtually everyone who attends an Expo "wins" some kind of drawing or sweepstakes. That Mary Kay prize? You can host a MK party! That "free" weekend at a resort? You'll have to sit through a timeshare presentation. You'll also receive emails from vendors you never talked with claiming they "met you" at the Expo -- no, no they didn't! The Expo organizers will sell your contact info to people who weren't even there.

Expos are fun things to go to when you first start planning, but keep you guard up and recognize that it's an opportunity to SELL you all kinds of stuff you may or may not be interested in. Good luck!

Wow! This is the perfect response, thank you so much! We have a wedding email, I'll probably update spam filters on it as they come in after the expo. I'm going to read this again right before driving over so I know what to look out for!

Absolutely this!

Good! Also, be prepared for lots of "special discounts if you book while at the Expo!" come-ons. That's likely a really bad idea. You want to have time to vet each vendor and read reviews (and contracts!) thoroughly before committing to anything, so make a pact with your partner that you aren't making any commitments while at the Expo. Also, for some vendors, like photographers or DJs, realize that some of the people you talk with at the Expo are basically just schedulers/brokers. They get people to contract with them for SERVICES, but you won't actually know who your photographer/DJ/whatever will be -- you'll just have a contract that the broker will supply SOMEONE to fulfill the contract (like a middle-man for independent contractors). Honestly, in our experience, there were a lot of shady vendors and practices, so have fun, sample cake & desserts, pick-up any swag/give-aways, but take it all with a grain of salt. If you talk with people you think you might have an interest in, get their card/info and then follow up with them after you've had a chance to read some reviews and do some comparison shopping. Have fun!

Don't feel pressured but definitely put your name in all the drawings. I won so much stuff from going to bridal shows.