Meet motivated brides at a bridal show.

What’s the advantage of attending a bridal show?    BSPi member surveys of brides attending their shows reveal that the overwhelming reason engaged couples come to the shows is to find vendors for their weddings.   Sounds like a penetrating glimpse into the obvious…but it is good news for exhibitors.

While fashion shows, samples and prizes also rank highly with bridal show attendees,  meeting and talking with exhibitors is their top priority.   As a result, bridal shows provide an unprecedented opportunity for wedding professionals to present their capabilities face-to-face with highly motivated brides.  And in an environment that is far less competitive than the internet.

If you’re considering adding bridal shows to your marketing mix,  you can’t start at a better place than a BSPi member show.   Find one in your market here.

Terry Mikeska receiving award from Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs

While many wedding businesses have struggled to stay even during this recession, The West Texas Bridal Showcase has thrived.   So much so that this BSPi member was just awarded the 2010 Economic Impact Award by the San Angelo Economic Development Council.  Each year the Council reviews nomination for the award and selects three businesses that have had the most impact on the city’s economy.

The West Texas Bridal Showcase produces an annual event which puts San Angelo wedding professionals in front of the city’s engaged couples.  “We started about 20 years ago with 13 exhibitors and 400 attendees at the Sheraton Hotel,” said Terry Mikeska, owner of the show.  “We now have attendance of nearly 2,500 and will be moving the show to the San Angelo Coliseum in 2011.”

Terry credits a portion of his success to his membership in BSPi.   “In order to stay cutting-edge, we have continued to educate ourselves and learn the industry’s best practices through networking with other bridal show producers across the world.   As a member of BSPi we have had opportunities for continued growth and inspiration that are unparalleled in our market.”

Find out more about The West Texas Bridal Showcase at www.sanangeloweddings.com.

Bridal Show Producers International board of directors met Oct 27-29 in Dallas at the Hyatt Regency DFW for their bi-annual board meeting.  For three days they discussed revisions of their by-laws in order keep in line with Nevada law, talked about industry issues and debateed and voted on association business. Somewhere along the way they found time to relax and share ideas regarding production of their bridal shows.

In attendance were Brad Buckles, Sue Gallardo, Bruce Thiebauth, Tommy Vaughan, Bill Heaton, Debra Hansen, Don Freedman, Fred Jacob, Bob Chevalier, Jerry Russo, Marc Wheeler, and Matthew Trettel. Sharon Sacks was absent due to a family emergency.

 The next conference of BSPI members will be held in Las Vegas, April 28 – May 1 at The Rio Resort. Basic information on this conference can be found on the BSPI website.  Conference applications will start in February.

BSPI Booth at Wedding MBA

Everyone enjoyed the seminars presented by industry experts, networking time and the small gatherings that occurred at the end of the day.  This was a great preview for our upcoming BSPI Convention April 28 through May 1, 2010 at the Rio Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas.

Approximately 25 BSPI members were in attendance at the convention.  Not all of them were available for the group photo.

BSPI Members

Andy Ebon presents at Wedding MBA

After smashing through the 1000-person attendance mark last week, Wedding MBA Conference Producer, Will Hegarty has already announced a return to the Las Vegas Convention Center for September 21-23, 2010.

Aside from the incredibly deep assortment of presentation topics and speakers, Las Vegashas turned out to be an ideal headquarters for the conference. In basing Wedding MBA at the Las Vegas Convention Center, attendees have a plethora of room options and easy use of the Las Vegas Monorail, which makes a stop directly at the LVCC.

Since people want to make their own plans for evenings in Las Vegas, the need for a ‘host hotel’ is not that important. Attendees elected to stay far and wide, at hotels such as theBellagio (for a modest $100/night) to the Riviera (recently remodeled rooms for $27/night, just three blocks from the Convention Center). As well, many attendees stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton (directly adjacent to the convention center). With even more hotels opening up, later this year, there’s a great chance that quality hotel rooms, under $100/night should still be easy to come by, next year.

Wedding MBA attendees had no problem filling their evenings. There were Wedding Chapel tours, shows, local restaurants, high-profile restaurants, among many other activities. The variety of choices made for after-hours networking with friends, old and new.

Look for future announcements, on The Wedding Marketing Blog, and on the Wedding MBA website.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

“We pride ourselves in providing excellent customer services”, says show producer Stacey Vernon, “We strive to create a pleasant and exciting experience for our exhibitors. And because our shows have a wide variety of quality exhibitors, the brides and other guests not only have a fun experience, but an educational and useful one as well.

Beau Monde Productions became a member of BSPi approximately four years ago with the goal of learning more about marketing and advertising for wedding shows, and being able to interact with a group of likeminded people in the same industry.

BSPi has helped us in many ways,” says Stacey,  “We’ve used what we have learned to bring our attendees a great bridal show experience and to maintain our high level of customer service to our exhibitors.   But the best part of BSPi is that it gives us access to a great network of people that are ready to talk and share their experiences, their problems, as well as their solutions!”

More information about Beau Monde Productions can be found at www.bridalshowstoday.com

Today's Bride

Today’s Bride

It was 1989 when, as newlyweds, my wife Denise and I,  embarked on a new, yet novel idea of educating newly engaged couples on the unique and dynamic wedding planning process of Northeast Ohio with a “printed wedding consultant” and creating Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown’s first regionalized bridal publication, Today’s Bride Magazine.

 As we celebrate our twentieth anniversary, I cannot help but reflect upon and thank the hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of brides-to-be who have made us the #1 wedding guide over these past many years. Most notably, I have the sincerest and deepest appreciation for those businesses that have advertised in every issue of the Greater Cleveland and Akron/Canton versions of Today’s Bride Magazine since day one: American Commodore Tuxedo, Studio South Photography, Sheraton Suites, Reeves Cake Shop, Nelson’s Photography, Rosewood Carriage Service, Rustic Hills Country Club, American Federation of Musicians, Miller’s Party Rental Center, Jerry Clay Photography, Country Lakes Party Center, St. Michael’s Woodside, Tuxedo Junction, and Cirino Photography. 

With the superb skills and talent of our dedicated staff, Today’s Bride has evolved into a full service, multi-dimensional bridal resource and marketing provider that has become the industry leader in print, bridal trade shows and on the internet. Our continued success depends on the success of the many fine companies that advertise with Today’s Bride Magazine & Bridal Shows. I encourage every reader to allow these companies the right to earn your business and, in return, they will provide the best products and services for your celebration. More importantly, let them know you saw their advertisement in Today’s Bride. 

In closing, I want to express my fond admiration to my wife Denise for making Today’s Bride Magazine and, more importantly, our marriage a successful adventure for the past twenty years. Her support, drive, determination and vision will certainly assure us another memorable twenty-plus years and beyond.  

Jim Frericks, Editor

 Today’s Bride Magazine

Competition is the rule in almost any business and it doesn’t have to be a negative.  Multiple bridal shows in a community can certainly co- exist and serve the wedding professionals with quality shows as long as they both adhere to a professional code of ethics especially where their advertising is concerned. In our community, where my show has been in existence since 1991 and is the largest bridal show in town, I stick to the facts as I promote and advertise the event.  If I say 1,000 brides or more are expected that is because I have seen those numbers at a past show.  If I say there will be 180 wedding professionals, that means there will be 180 different companies at the show, a figure based on actual contracts signed.  I see no purpose in misleading either the brides or vendors in quoting these figures.

The key to promoting your show in an honest and forthright manner is to take the characteristics of your show and play them up, not attempt to disguise your show as something other than what it is. If you are the new show in town, why not just say so?  If you have a boutique show, or a hotel show, be proud of it and enumerate the advantages of your smaller more intimate show.   Find something unique and positive to say about yourself without tearing at your competition.  Take a note from political research which strongly suggests that we all hate negative and dishonest advertising!

Creating realistic expectations in your promotional programs and advertising will result in brides and exhibitors having a better experience at your show.  Don’t say you have 200 products and services when you only have 100 exhibitors.  Many brides would be perfectly happy with a 100 exhibitor show, but all are sure to be disappointed to find the show is actually half the size they expected. Intentionally deceiving brides is a no win strategy for you, for your exhibitors and for the brides.

Beware of bridal show producers who use blatantly deceptive advertising practices.  One bridal show in my market puts as many as 250 vendor names on their website, when the fact is only about 100 of them are actually participating in the show. Professionals, this is not free advertising for you, this can actually harm you. What will the bride think when she attends the show looking for you and you are not there?  She will think you are unreliable. 

Another sleazy practice is claiming the show has won fictitious awards.  One show actually uses a fake  “Blue Ribbon” logo claiming they are the “best bridal show”.   Its phoney, you know it and the wedding professionals in town know it, it just makes you look bad!

As a member of BSPI, we commit to following a professional code of ethics.  As a wedding professional, you should make sure the shows you are considering are members of this organization. One our code of ethics reads as follows:  

8.   Use honest and factual information in all advertising and protect the public

against fraud and misleading information. 

Now I don’t know who will see this blog, but I hope bridal show producers all over the country will see it and take this advice seriously.

• Be honest in your show promotion, its always the best policy and it’s the law!
• Quote only accurate and true attendance numbers and vendor numbers
• Concentrate on what makes you unique and make that the core of your advertising message.  Don’t claim to be something you are not. Take what you are and make it a benefit!

Co-Authors:  Debra C Hansen and Patty Westbrook

This video done at a member show in Las Vegas shows that vendors can have fun while meeting 1000 brides!

Posted using ShareThis

Bridal shows are often the largest meeting place of wedding vendors and companies that participate in the shows tend to be the kind of companies you’ll want to get to know because bridal shows attract the most active and successful wedding vendors.   Although everyone is focused on meeting the brides who attend the show, with a little creativity and effort the shows can also be a great way to extend your network and strengthen your established relationships with other vendors.  Best of all, it costs nothing extra!

Consider the following tips for maximizing networking opportunities at a bridal show…

• Don’t rush in and out!   Use the time before and after the show is open to the public to walk the show and introduce yourself to other participants.  Some show producers provide more formal networking opportunities before or after the show and taking time to participate will be well worth the extra hour or so you’ll be at the show.

• Connect with other vendors during lunch or breaks.  While it’s tempting to eat with the people you already know, sitting down with new faces can open new opportunities.

• Be a good neighbor.   Working cooperatively with exhibitors in the booths around you is a great way to establish long term relationships.

• Consider requesting a booth location next to other vendors that you currently work with.  While most bridal shows prohibit booth sharing, being located adjacent to vendors you already cross-refer with can help everyone have a better show.