Curtains Up!

Once or twice a year, I purchase a booth and exhibit at a bridal fair. I do my homework. I make sure that the bridal fair has had high attendance in past shows, I interview other exhibitors from past shows to find out if they had a good experience, and I make sure my booth will be far away from the booths of other musicians, entertainers, and DJs.

I exhibited at the 21st Annual Fantasy Wedding Faire in Reno, Nevada, produced by the American Heart Association, perhaps against my better judgment. Why? Because I broke my own cardinal rule: Never exhibit in the same room as a fashion show. I signed up for this show because several other wedding service colleagues had participated in previous years and successfully booked a number of weddings from the brides who attended.

The event was held in the Silver State Pavilion at the huge Grand Sierra Resort. Very spacious and comfortable–the room was well suited for a bridal fair. Set up was a breeze, with easy load-in, but I didn’t count on walking into DJ Bill McClain’s loading cart when I was setting up. Scraped up my foot! Ouch! Maybe it was a bad omen?

My booth was located on the opposite wall from the fashion show, as far away from the fashion show as I could possibly be. But once the doors opened and the brides entered, I discovered my booth was beneath five PA speakers in the ceiling. These speakers belched constant announcements for raffle ticket prizes, descriptions of dresses and models in the fashion show, and annoying fashion show music at an astounding volume. Anyone approaching my booth had to yell to converse with me. And of course, no one could hear my poor little harp—my amp was no match against those giant speakers. It was no way to introduce my services to brides.

I commonly book weddings at bridal fairs, because I always offer a 10% discount to brides who decide to hire me at the fair. But this show was quite the exception, when people could barely converse with me. Or perhaps, it was a sign of our economy that a larger discount needed to be offered for landing bookings at bridal fairs? I may never know.

At least I do know that many brides were interested in my services, because they waited in line to talk with me, even though they had to shout over the din. More than 100 brochures left my table that day. And I’ll be in touch with those who entered my drawing for a free wedding CD, too.

The networking opportunities were endless. Two very generous florists donated flower displays for my booth: Hattie Reed from Art in Bloom and another floral arrangement from Floral Expressions & Events. I met Kathleen from the Harbor House at Sand Harbor Beach, Lake Tahoe, and learned about their wonderful wedding facilities. Maybe she’ll start recommending me to brides getting married there. Kristy Hawke who produces the Nevada Women’s Expo also introduced herself to me. Adjacent to my booth was Andy and Jennifer from The Pampered Chef and along with my friends Rolf and Eileen from Starling Video, helped watch my booth when I had to take a break.

So, even if a bridal fair may look like a total washout on the surface, the connections between the brides and the exhibitors can make it well worth attending!

Tips for Brides:

Bridal fairs aren’t just about checking out the bridal fashions, sampling cakes, and winning door prizes. Go there with the idea to hire your wedding vendors at the show. Here’s why: most wedding services offer budget-saving discounts if you decide to book them right then and there. Bring your checkbook or credit card, an envelope for your receipts, and your fiancé, mom, and others to help you make decisions. If they cannot attend, bring along a cell phone so that you can call them from the show and help you decide.

Don’t want to make quick decisions at the fair? Then bring something to take notes. Don’t be caught without any way to write down quotes from a potential ceremony site, florist, or musician.

Also prepare a sheet of address labels, and write your email address and phone number onto those labels before you attend the fair. At each booth, you may find a drawing for a prize like a free honeymoon, free flowers, dinner for two at a restaurant, or a substantial discount off of particular services. Instead of wasting your time filling out forms for each drawing, just affix the address stickers to each entry form you encounter and move along to the next booth.

Follow up with those you meet after the bridal fair while their wedding services are still fresh in your mind. The more generous wedding vendors may extend their bridal fair discounts a few days beyond the fair, especially if you hit it off well with them. But if you wait weeks or months, not only will you be paying full price, you may also find that they are no longer available on your wedding date.

Tips for Musicians:

Exhibiting at bridal fairs is a huge monetary and time commitment. The booth price alone is not the only monetary factor—having brochures and promotional materials pre-printed, electricity for your booth, and other booth amenities will add to that cost. And you must plan to perform in your booth. The only way brides will fall in love with the idea of hiring you for their wedding or reception is to see you in action, as if they would see you at their wedding. You may need to put in some extra rehearsal time with your ensemble before the day of the bridal show.

When choosing to buy booth space at a local bridal fair, you can ask all the right questions of the fair promoter, hear that the fair was successful previous years from other wedding vendors, and the event can still stink. All it takes is for the fair to be poorly attended (perhaps due to lack of advertising or bad weather), or even something like being placed under a string of loud speakers, as in the above example. But there are always other wedding colleagues to meet, and they could be in the position to send you a lot of work in the future—the silver lining to participating in a bridal fair.

If a wedding fair was truly a washout for you, look at it rationally and decide what you could have done differently to make it a better experience. That’s what I’m doing about my experience at this last wedding fair. Should I be involved with another bridal fair that has a fashion show in the same building? Should I offer a larger discount to brides who consider booking my services at the wedding fair, because of this down economy? Should I make a formal complaint to the fair producers about being placed under the PA speakers or should I not bother at all? These are some questions I’m pondering.

I’ve only touched on a few of the intricacies of participating in a bridal fair in this blog. I devote an entire chapter to this subject (including negotiating booth prices, setting up your booth, etc.) in my book “The Musician’s Guide to Brides” available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, and of course, at my website at www.celticharpmusic.com.

I’m looking forward to reading your stories, comments, and feedback. And if you have something new to add about your bridal fair experiences, I’d love to hear them.

Sending my best,
Anne

Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos
www.celticharpmusic.com
GigSalad.com/anne