Wedding fayres are wonderful places to meet a range of wedding suppliers under one roof, but they can be a little overwhelming. There will be lots of free samples, tonnes of discounts and mountains of flyers around. While having the opportunity to talk to suppliers is great, they are all there to sell their product. We’ve put together our top 10 wedding fayre tips to get the most out of the event and enjoy the experience.
Before the fayre
1. Create a wedding email account
While planning your wedding there will be times you’re asked to provide an email address. Creating an account just for your wedding keeps all the relevant information in one place. You can share the account with your fiancé so you can both keep up to date with suppliers easily. After the wedding you can just delete the account.
REMEMBER if you’re planning a surprise for your fiancé to use your own account!
2. Register in advance
Take a look at the event website to see if you can register in advance. Some fayres offer discounts, special offers and free goodie bags for brides that register before the event. If it is a ticketed event booking in advance can be cheaper than paying on the door, or even free.
3. Find out which suppliers are attending
Doing some research on who will be there and what they have to offer can help you work out who you’d like to speak to on the day. This information can usually be found on the event website, along with their stand numbers for larger wedding events.
For smaller events take a look at the social media profiles and event pages. Venues tend to advertise the suppliers attending the event.
4. Look for freebies
If the event advertises that brides go free, make sure you read the small print and see if there are any conditions. If it’s a paid event, check the supplier websites and social media. Sometimes they have free tickets to give out. If there are no free tickets, it’s still worth making a note of any offers or discounts the suppliers will have during the day.
5. Make a plan
Having a strong plan is one of our top wedding fayre tips. It’s the key to getting the most out of a wedding fayre. Things you should be asking yourself are:
Who do I want to see?
What do I still need for my wedding?
Do I want to book anything at the fayre?
Are there any specific questions I’d like to ask?
Do I just want to collect ideas?
When you have answers to these questions you can start making a route around the fayre and making notes on what you’d like to know from who so you definitely don’t miss anything.
At the Fayre
6. Mark your bags
At any wedding fayre it’s likely you’ll be bombarded with leaflets, information and goodie bags. The easiest way to separate the things you’re interested in from everything else is to have two bags. Put a star or mark in the top corner of your ‘to keep’ bag and put everything you wanted to collect in there. If you choose to look through the rest you can, if not it can go straight in the recycling bin.
7. Talk to suppliers
This sounds really obvious, but it’s so easy to grab a leaflet and leave. While a leaflet will give you basic information it won’t tell you what that supplier is really like. Knowing who you’re booking is just as important as what you’re booking. All the suppliers are there to show you their work and talk about your wedding, so take advantage of it!
Remember – There’s no such thing as a silly question. Suppliers are there for you, so make sure you’re happy and understand everything that has been said before moving on.
8. Have a tick list
If you have decided there are certain people you would like to speak to a list can help make sure you don’t miss anyone. Have a question or two to ask each supplier and write down any notes or thoughts you have while speaking to them. This will help you remember them clearly when you get home.
After the fayre
9. Go through your bags
Get yourself a cuppa (or something stronger) and your ‘to keep’ bag. Get out the information you have and start to make some decisions on whether you’d like to meet them again. If your fiancé didn’t make it to the fayre, share all your information with them too.
10. Check your emails
During the wedding fayre you will have been given the opportunity to enter prize draws and sign up to mailing lists. Always check your emails to see if you’ve won any of the draws you’ve entered and keep up to date with what the suppliers are doing. Some people will offer discounts for a limited time after the event, so make sure you look out for them. If there are any emails you don’t want to receive just unsubscribe.
You can find out which wedding fayres and events we’ll be attending on our upcoming events page.
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