The Bride’s Guide to Surviving Bridal Shows {Columbus, GA Wedding Photographer}

It’s a new year and a new season of bridal shows and expos approaches. This is an opportunity to meet vendors that service your area, gather information, test samples, and view portfolios. While it can be daunting to be in a room with a hundred or more vendors vying for your attention, here are a few tips to keep your sanity:

See if you can register early, since some shows offer discounts for pre-registration.
Go to Staples or Office Depot and get a pack of the blank template business cards or address labels. Use these to print out your name, address, phone number, email address, as well as your wedding date. Other bits of information you may include are your budget, venue(s), number in your bridal party, et cetera. Every vendor you are interested in will ask for this information and this is an excellent way to avoid carpal tunnel and use your time efficiently. It’s also great for entering the many raffles.
Bring a canvas bag, the kind you get for $1 from Barnes & Noble or Target. Vendors will have business cards and/or brochures to give you, not to mention all the free samples you’ll be snagging!
Bring someone… your sibling, your best friend, your attendant, or all of the above! They’ll be able to give you their opinion on various vendors. They can also help carry the tons of information you’ll inevitably walk away with.
Though you may have a few people with you, take just one business card and/or brochure from each vendor. The expense we pay to be there and represent ourselves is quite costly.
Take your time. Enjoy mingling and meeting everyone. If you’re interested in speaking to a vendor, let them know. They may be able to talk to you more in depth about what you envision, or if it’s too busy, schedule a time to meet with you at a later date.
Don’t feel like you have to talk to every vendor, but do visit each one for at least a minute or two. This will help develop what you envision for your own day.
Many vendors have discounts or specials if you sign your contract the day of the bridal show. As tempting as any deal may sound, schedule a personal consultation so you can sit down and talk about what you’re looking for, and make sure the vendor is the best fit for you.
Enjoy the fashion show. You’ll get to see how dresses look on real women, and you might see something you like that you were previously set against.
Stay until the raffles and giveaways are done. There are some amazing prizes and you have as much chance to win as any other attendee.
When all is said and done, sit down with your besties and talk about who and what YOU liked, and appreciate any opinions they may have. Use the next few days to schedule personal consultations with your favourites.
For more on what to ask when interviewing wedding photographers, read our blog post here or visit or Helpful Hints section!