What To Do With Bridal Show Swag

Bridal Expo Calgary was just a couple of weekends ago. If you are like most brides, you collected a ton of information at the show and it is probably all still in the swag bag you got at the show. Rather than tipping over the bag and recycling all the contents, here are some tips on what you can do with all that information:



1) Dump everything out onto the floor/desk/table. Once it is all out of the bag, you are more likely to go through it. Don't take out each thing one by one. You will get tired of the whole process and end up recycling it all. (The point is not to do this, in case you didn't already get this.)



2) Organize the promotional material by categories. All the photographers get put together in a stack, you get it. Once you have everything in stacks, you can then decide which "stacks" are relevant to you. If you have already booked a photographer, you don't need to go through the stack of photographers. Pick out the stacks that are relevant and then move to step 3.



3) Determine your criteria when hiring a vendor. Is it their style, their personality, or the costs of services? Once you know this, go through the promotional materials and filter them down.



4) If you have followed these steps, you should now only be left with a couple of promotional materials for a couple of vendors. This is great! You can now check out their websites for more information or even contact them for a meeting. Having done all of this, you can safely say you didn't waste your energy lugging all of that stuff around the show and you accomplished your goal of potentially finding some awesome vendors!



5) Last step, recycle all the promotional materials that you are not interested in and eat any cake samples you might have found at the bottom of your bag. It should still be good. Cake is always good.

~Monica Hui

Owner, Lead Planner and Designer

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V Loves B - A Tale of Two Bridal Expos

Back in September, I attended two bridal expos on back-to-back weekends. This was a little out of character for me, but I was really there for the dress sales! (Spoiler alert: I eventually found my dream dress at Wishahmon, obviously.)

 The first weekend, I attended the Bliss Bridal Show at the Carriage House Inn with two of my bridesmaids. Immediately we were greeted by some hefty swag bags! I know I razzed on bridal magazines in my previous post, but in the end I must admit I did flip through them for some inspiration, so perhaps they're not so bad after all. Anyway, Bliss Bridal Show is actually quite small compared to other bridal expos in the city. There didn't seem to be many brides there, so I was able to easily wander from booth to booth without elbowing anybody. Despite its small size, there seemed to be a good variety of vendors there, from florists and limos to photographers, personal trainers, and travel agents (for the honeymoon!).

The Bay was on hand with some makeup artists as well as their gift registry people, so you could kill two birds with one stone. There were also a few smaller outfits, like Bee Vintage Theme Rentals, which rents out vintage decor and furniture for weddings and other events, and Lollipop Girl Accessories,which makes custom bridal headpieces and hip flasks for a fairly reasonable price.

The dress sale at Bliss Bridal was run by Tafetta and Tulle Bridal from Airdrie. Brides signed up for appointment times that were set 30 minutes apart, with three brides per slot. As I mentioned, the show itself was quite small so we had lots of time to kill between hitting the booths (though admittedly I did not linger as much as I could have) and my appointment time. We sat out in the lobby, looted through our loot bags and flipped through our bridal magazines until my appointment time, but were still waiting outside for another 30 minutes before we were let in.

I was hoping that since we had set appointment times that we would be assigned a specific salesperson, but unfortunately that was not the case. My bridesmaids and I were left to sift through the racks on our own and pull out dresses to try. I tried on a few but none of them were for me, which was OK because I knew I would be looking at more dresses the next week!

Trying dresses on at Bliss Bridal Fair

The next weekend was the big Bridal Expo at the BMO Centre, which I attended with my sister (one of my bridesmaids) and my mom. I was forewarned that it would be a little chaotic, but we got there in the morning/early afternoon so the crowds weren't too bad at that point. Unlike the Bliss Bridal Fair, where the dress sale was separate, the bridal shops at the Bridal Expo were out in the open, so you could wander in, look through the racks, and hop in a change room if you found something to try on. I tried on one dress that I liked, but just didn't feel like "the one".

Not “the one”

The Bridal Expo was definitely huge - the expo hall at the BMO Centre was filled with vendors and elaborate displays, and there was a separate hall where fashion shows were held twice a day. There were stations set up near the entrance for brides to print a sheet of labels for $7 with their name, contact information and wedding date, for ease in entering draws. You could pretty much find anything wedding-related there, from venues (there are some golf courses out there with really delicious food) down to your flower girl’s shoes!

Impressive display by Lynn Fletcher Weddings

At the end of the day, I would say I didn’t find the bridal shows to be particularly helpful for me. Thanks to the internet, I went in already knowing where/when I was having my wedding, who my photographer was, and where I was going to get my accessories and décor. However, if you’re recently engaged and have no idea to start, going to a bridal show can definitely provide inspiration (and maybe you can snag a deal or win a draw!) It was also a good reminder of some things I hadn’t thought a lot about, like AV rentals and transportation.

The winter/spring bridal show season is just around the corner! If you’re looking for some wedding inspo (or just want a fun day out with the girls), here are the upcoming dates:

Bridal Fantasy Calgary

January 11, 2015

www.bridalfantasy.com

The Wedding Fair

January 18, 2015

www.theweddingfair.ca

Bliss Bridal Show

February 22, 2015

www.blissweddingfair.ca

Wishahmon was at Bridal Expo 2013!

This past Sunday, we had our first ever booth at the Bridal Expo. The Wishahmon crew was there to promote our wedding consignment boutique, Wishahmon – Glorious Gowns (WGG) and our wedding planning and design division, Wishahmon – Wedding Creations (WWC). We were overwhelmed by the excitement of the brides that came to our booths and enjoyed every moment we had to chat to each and every one of them.

At the Expo, we offered two promotions! For WGG, brides that signed up for an appointment received a small gift and at their appointment, they will receive a necklace. For WWC, brides will receive a necklace at their consultation meeting and be entered for a draw for a wedding planning gift basket. The winner will be announced soon!

As a design and decor company, we wanted our booth to stand out so we decorated it with handmade and handcut (scalloped) pin wheels. The furniture was moved there from our showroom. Our small booth took a lot longer to decorate than we had anticipated and we didn't even go for coffee breaks! (Imagine that! Working without coffee....or breaks..) I think the majority of the time was spent pinning each of the pinwheels.

We feel our attendance at the Expo was a success! Our Wishahmon crew looks forward to meeting and assisting all the brides that come our way!

~Monica
Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon

Special thanks to my crew: Ivy, Cikiena, Polly, and Ken. You guys were troopers and I couldn't have done any of this without you. Hugs!!

 

 

Pictured above: Ivy, Cikiena, and me!

Toilet Paper Wedding Gowns

There is an annual contest sponsored by Charmin and hosted by Cheap Chic Weddings that challenges women to create wedding gowns with just toilet paper, glue and tape. (No toilet humor!)  Below are pictures of the winning entry and the runner ups.

If you are looking for a gown slightly less absorbent, check out Wishahmon - Glorious Gowns, our consignment boutique! (OMG! Imagine if it rains!)

~Monica
Owner and Lead Designer @Wishahmon






Photo Credits: Cheap Chic Weddings