Attending bridal conventions in venues like SMX or World Trade Center can be overwhelming for any couple. Are the promos worth the crowd and commute?
If it's your first time entering a bridal fair, chances are you will either be 1) intimidated by the flyers being forced into your face 2) be ultra excited and thinking all of those suppliers love you so much too soon, that they want all the best for your wedding day.
Think about it. It's like any other expo event. The goal is to promote and sell. All of them will give you attractive packages and lure you with huge discounts, easy payment schemes and freebies. So how will you actually tell the good ones apart?
You get to taste cakes, wines, and souvenir chocolates for free, bag great deals, and even book your honeymoon all in one day.
Research method. Lol.
Before husband and I ever set foot on bridal fairs, I equipped us with online research data first. I needed to know the list of suppliers joining and check if those that I am targeting to book are present. If they are, great for us. This means we will be able to get better rates or even freebies when we book them. After all, we've been meaning to book them with or without bridal fair packages because we believe in the quality of their work.
So is it a trap?
Is it really that bad? Not exactly. You get to taste cakes, wines, and souvenir chocolates for free; bag great deals, and even book your honeymoon all in one day.
It's so easy to be convinced by sales people during bridal fairs because they will all treat you like queens and kings. And since you are on a wedding preps high, chances are you will fall for their pitches.
There are too many classic stories from brides-to-be who regret booking suppliers on the spot, only to find out the supplier has terrible customer feedback or low ratings. Worse? Deposits are always non-refundable.
If you cannot find enough reviews and are willing to gamble, make sure the deposit is money you can afford to let go.
Tell me what to do!
If I were you, I would:
1) Attend the first day and book nothing. Usually, bridal fairs happen on weekends so you have two to three days to window shop.
2) If your target and screened supplier is on the event, book them right away.
3) Collect fliers first. Go home. Sleep on it. Then compare notes with hubby-to-be.
4) If you are so close to booking a supplier you've met and heard of for the first time during the fair, research and ask actual brides about them. If you cannot find ample reviews and are willing to gamble, make sure the deposit is money you can afford to let go.
Our personal & positive experiences
We had luck in bridal fairs that we attended. We were able to meet, taste and book Rachebeli Wines. I already knew beforehand that they have a good reputation, but we were at a stage where souvenirs were not yet our priority. This changed when Rachebeli Wines gave us samples of their best-sellers. We were sold. For only P1,000 deposit, we did an on-the-spot booking with them and we will always be happy we did. :) They offer great products and customer service.
We were also able to book our targeted suppliers K By Cunanan and Hearts 'n Bells -- caterer and cake supplier, respectively -- in one of the fairs. Their account executives advised us to wait for the fairs so we can avail of their freebies and discounts instead of booking them on an ordinary day. We were dead-set to book them anyway, with or without discounts.
Another thing that I would consider 'positive' is holding back from booking a video and photo supplier team-up. First day of the fair we were so impressed with the video team and their sales talk. They really had cool same-day edit videos. When I asked about their partner photography team, they gave us a name, but no portfolio. I told hubby to give me time to research about the partner photo team. If both are A-Ok, then we will come back the next day to pay. Obviously, it didn't work out. I didn't like the portfolio of the photo team and to be honest, they barely had any portfolio in the first place.
Have you been to bridal fairs? What were they like for you and your partner? Do you have success stories to share or warnings you want to be known? Let us know and we'll give you credit for the info. :)
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