Last week, as a class mandatory event, I went to The Clever Bride trade show. Now, I know that wedding planning is the least of my interests (mine and otherwise), however since it was a mandatory event I went with bells on.
The event itself was... well... very wedding oriented. Walking past a "Just Married" limo, looking at beautiful pink and white centre pieces, being served pink popcorn amidst the cupcakes, cakes and bonbons, and of course, looking through photography portfolios full of happy couples and their mom's aunt's nieces' sister's little flower girl. How cute.
If you couldn't already tell, I am being sarcastic. Not only was the wedding music as I walked down the imaginary, non-existent aisle ringing in my eardrums, but it only made me realize how little I want to even think about wedding planning. This is also a good thing, I suppose, because it did re-affirm my interest in corporate and non-personal events - I like to be a little more intense and a little less ... puffy. Not to say that for my colleagues in wedding planning do not inspire me - in fact I think that they have the hardest job of all: dealing with personal preferences, personal money and that one big day!
Although the event was not my cup of tea (or cake for that matter), there were some good things that I took away from the event:
1) People are much more accepting of a single gal heading to a wedding event if you tell them that you are helping a friend (vs the one line that is like nails on a chalkboard to them : "NO, I'm not getting married"... leading to an awkward silence followed by their soft mumble "I'm so sorry") - sorrry for the tangent - but yes, definitely just say that you are helping a friend with their wedding.
2) Ambience makes the event - so no matter what the event, make sure the ambience matches it. Like I mentioned, I felt like I was walking into a wedding. And for the purpose of the show, it was amazing. Not once during the event did I feel like it was a trade show or that people were actually trying to sell something.
3) The importance of the relationship - The people/vendors I remember were the nicest people to me. The ones who still spoke to me regardless of being engaged (or not). Those individuals are definitely top of my mind looking back on the event; I would be able to tell you their booth location, their service offered and the conversation we had. I am going to take this fact and apply it to my business - remembering that everyone I interact with my not be my client right now, but if I leave a positive taste in their mouth, they will remember my name an my story when they need to.
4) There are a lot of photographers. And when I say alot, I mean ALOT (on a business note, how do they differentiate themselves? What value do they add amongst each other? Just a thought...) This being the case, I know that if I ever require a photographer I can definitely use this fact to leverage my negotiations and aim for a better package.
5) It's a small world: Okay so considering that I know all of 10 vendors in the city and they were all there is good and bad for me. Good because I can build excellent relationships and work on a volume basis with these suppliers. Bad because of the word of mouth that must happen within the industry. Also, if one relationship goes sour - what other options does one have? I think I'm going to start thinking about a backup plan for a situation like this which may come up - believe me, I know what it is like to work in an industry full of women (ie: D-R-A-M-A!!!!)
These are just some of the lessons I learned from attending the Clever Bride event. Can't wait for the Elegant Wedding in November.
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