Why we love wedding wedding fairs!
Wedding Fairs and why they are worth attending
A busy wedding fair at the recent Tythe Barn wedding venue, near Bicester
We have a confession...we LOVE wedding fairs. (Or fayres if you prefer.)
Now, we know from the various wedding photography groups we are in on Facebook that not all photographers agree with us on this. For sure, they can be expensive to attend. Photographers are usually the most over subscribed category of wedding suppliers looking to attend a fair, so getting a spot can be a real dogfight. The costs of the flyers, sample albums, pop up banners and other marketing collateral can be prohibitive, especially if you are just starting out. And, they can be a long day standing, especially if the fair is not that busy.
So, many photographers it seems are more keen these days to invest their marketing budgets elsewhere, for example on Google AdWords, directories, social media campaigns or similar. And we know this works well, as we of course do most of these as well!
Sam chatting with a couple at the Tythe Barn wedding fair
So why are we so keen on wedding fairs?
Firstly, we love meeting couples, and hearing about their plans. Whether they have just got engaged, or they are well down the tracks in getting everything arranged for their big day, its always lovely to meet couples in love, and excited about getting married.
Secondly, for us they are our best source of enquiries. Our style of documentary wedding photography is still not fully understood by many couples. By explaining how we work, how we won't take over their day and make them and their guests pose for hours, we often find that couples are a) unaware of this style of wedding photography, and b) find this is exactly right for them! My 20+ years in sales and sales management means that we of course know how to work on a stand professionally; however of course no one gets a hard sell! We just ensure we are always pleasant, happy to chat, and our phones stay safely switched off out of the way.
Finally, they are a great opportunity to network. During set up or break down, or during quieter moments, we always chat with other vendors, exchanging business cards and getting to know their work. We do from time to time get asked by our couples to recommend dress shops, cake makers, florists, etc, and we have an extensive network now of great professionals in these categories.
A lovely floral arrangement by Penny Blossoms at the Tythe Barn wedding fair.
Last Sunday we attended a wedding fair at one of our favourite wedding venues, the Tythe Barn, which is near where we live, in Bicester. The event was organised by our good friends at the leading on line wedding directory, Guides for Brides. It was probably the best fair we have ever attended! Over 150 brides attended, and we probably chatted to over half of these and took 20 plus good enquiries for 2017, 2018 and 2019 weddings. There was a good mix of different types of suppliers and categories to help those attending. A great day!
We will be attending many more wedding fairs in 2018. The best way to keep in touch regarding where we will be and when is our Facebook business page, here. We can't wait to see you at our next one!
Steve
