Exhibiting in wedding show - ideas please

[blazeandshade]

I started a wedding stationery business last year and I will be exhibiting my designs at tghe National Wedding Show. Its my first time to exhibit and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the cheapest way to display my cards.

[clairemackaness]

When I did my first show I made a trellis that went up and over my table and strung nice ribbon accross between the posts to form ribbon washing lines. I then pegged my cards on with mini pegs.

[clairemackaness]

Me again. By the way, dont go for the cheapest option or you will look like the cheapest company. Why not visit some local wedding fairs to get ideas before you sort your stand out.

[fastfences]

Hi Blaze,
You wouldn't expect wedding marketing tips from a fencing guy, but what about this: beg, borrow or steal a mannequin, throw an el-cheapo wedding dress on her (or even a few metres of cheap chiffon) then pin all your cards to the dress. On the tiara or other headwear, place a whole heap of your business cards.
Cheers, Nigel

[blazeandshade]

Thanks for the replies. The idea about using a mannequin is quite interesting - certainly out of the norm - but you never know it might be just what will catch peoples' attention.

[Pebble Communications]

You can hire exhibition stand equipment and it makes a huge difference to the professional look of your stand. This is a major show and you need to compete. It doesn't have to cost you a fortune but do try to get some budget together otherwise it will be a wasted opportunity.

Is it a shell scheme, just an empty space or a table you are hiring? How large an area?

[blazeandshade]

The space is a shell scheme and is 3m x 2.5m. The event is at Olympia, London

[Shelley]

i have seen a table made up of wedding stationary, place names so forth, wedding breakfast menu, cutlery, the whole setting. Looks very effective. Could make a complete table of stationary.

[easyasit]

try milton keynes at middleton hall

Al

[mark_hadfield]

As usual (you'll all get used to this) I have a few different comments... all dependent upon budget etc.

Hire some lookalikes for the day of famous married people... Posh and Becks/ Elton and David/ etc? Get them to walk around with mock invitations (that you have designed) to their wedding that also have your details in - handing out the invites to people in the hall...

A bit off the wall but it'd certainly get you noticed...

I can actually speak with a little experience here as I'm getting married in August and have visited a few wedding fairs... I am very put off by the hard sell and also put off by someone who looks like they're going to grab you if you even look at their stuff... if people are just browsing - let them browse - maybe give them a flyer (very cheap to design and print) with your details on and some examples - and then let them choose when they want to speak to you.

Just my tuppenth worth!

[Rachael]

I'd seriously consider Marks idea!! It's fabulous. People love a bit of novelty and it'll stick out in their minds. Look a likes can be a tad expensive but I think you'll find it's worth it.

[mark_hadfield]

Thanks Rachael,

Ideas like that are the type that get my creative juices flowing! There's obviously a time and place for conservative business ideas and conformity - but as part of my different studies I have found out that sometimes just to try something new! Risk it! What do you have to lose? Sure - there's a tradeoff between cost and potential earnings...

Back on track: I forgot to mention - the wedding fairs I've been to - when I've walked past a stall which is obviously a small, personal business - a passion for the owner - it's very difficult to say to them "I don't like it" - for fear of hurting their feelings... So what am I trying to say? Maybe I'm trying to say - be personal - but not too personal... For all the faults of a faceless large brand - it's a lot easier to say "I don't like it" and walk away - for a one man/ woman band it's much more difficult... If I was looking at your products and got chatting to you but decided not to pursue my interest I would want to know how to do that without causing offence... ie. Don't mentally block people in a corner...

Again - they're just my personal opinions.

[bitsnstuff]

Hi,

Have a big bowl of sweeties and/or giveaways on the stand, as that will make people come over. Also you may like to consider a free to enter competition for an attractive prize, as that will get more names/details for you to follow up (if they tick a box for more info) and you may get more sales later that way.

Also it would give you the opportunity of sending out an email/flyer after the event to the people who entered but didn't win, saying "Never mind, but here is a 10% discount voucher you could spend on our products blah blah blah".

I would put some lovely vases of flowers to make it attractive (maybe team up with Mark at Roses by Design and have his leaflets there too - but check if that is allowed as some organisers don't like promotion by non-exhibitors.

Could you find some of those little stands used in Book Stores to show off different books, which would hold the cards up? Maybe do sample boards attractively decorated each with the full range of items, e.g. invite, reply card, order of service, etc. with one design per board, if you hung those around the backdrop then it would give some height to your stand so people could see even when not standing right at your table.

What about using some lovely wedding photo albums to display your work?

Also maybe put together a display - board, album? - of testimonials from previous customers.

If your work has sparkles on it, consider some little halogen lights to make it twinkle and catch the eye.

That is all I have managed to come up with so far, but if I think of anything else, I will let you know.

Kate :lol: