Bridal Extravaganza

[LadyShutterBug]

Who all was there? How'd it go for you?

I was there... I know Thomas was there. Anyone else?

We had lots of traffic, identified about 25 brides who were enthusiastic about being contacted once they'd seen our pricing, and had a handful who were very enthusiastic about booking.

Ooh, and I met a bride who's a fantastic tattoo artist : ) I've been looking for a tattooed girl with the right look for about three years to do a stylized bridal session, so hopefully that'll work out. She's already booked a photographer but we spoke for a while about a bridal shoot.

I'm contacting the ones who requested to be contacted later today, so we'll see how that goes. We were right around the corner from the company handing out giant fancy flyers for the "$1185" package with their gigantic booth that made a bridge over the aisle. Every time I passed a trash can, all I saw were those giant flyers in the garbage.

Overall, I came away feeling it had been money well spent, and that we made a good showing. I also love seeing all my vendor friends and shooting the breeze, so that was fun too : )

I'd love to hear how it went for others.

[Tom]

Much better than July was. I think we booked 5 at the show and another 3 since. Meeting tonight and tomorrow. We definitely won't have the same booth location again. How did you feel about your spot on Aisle 1?

I saw a FOB holding a sign from a big company and comparing it to my price list. I just told him that if he was going to consider a company that gets photographers off craigslist, then I probably wasn't a good fit for him. I think he is going to book, but not quite sure.

[groovyone]

So what did the spot at the show cost?

[Tom]

Originally Posted by groovyone

So what did the spot at the show cost?

I think the space was almost 3k, plus electricity.

[groovyone]

Ouch, but it sounds like you both recovered that cost and then some.

[ronocnikral]

we always had the smallest booth available, and once we got up and running (did 5 shows I believe), I calculated we were spending $2000 to $3000 all in (meals, transportation, etc).

We used to be in aisle 1, right across from a big tux shop. no one will commit when you are the first they see, but you know those who come back have a strong interest. but, you get very good traffic and at least you know more people are seeing you. there are pluses and minuses to every spot.

I do not miss it one bit!! I enjoy my time here in zion with the bambino! Hope it went well for everyone.

[LadyShutterBug]

we were on the 1800 aisle back across from the original trolley company. i liked it, and think we will book that spot again (though i would like one more space next time, the double-wide booth was not really truly enough space for my company and jack's photobooth company once there were actually brides in there). i guess it's the "last" row, but they had brides coming in two entrances... so from one angle we were the first row (though not the "main" entrance).

we had the mariott at the end of our aisle (helpful, not a zillion people at that booth) then once brides turned the corner it was trolley car or us. i guess you either really want to see the trolley car; or you don't. on the other side of us was a century 21 realtor and "the power center" which, i'm not sure what that even is.

we had really good traffic, and i was happy i'd gotten some extra people to work the space for me! i have to admit, i would love to know how many people would have stopped for so long at our space had there not been a photobooth to use. it's definitely a huge advantage. the photobooth info fits on one side of a handout, so i piggybacked on that and put my info on the back of it.

i put a LOT of design work into the handouts i sent home with people. i worked hard to make sure everything they saw had my branding pic on it, and had an interesting shape/texture (did bookmarks and miller's "ornate" luxe cards). i didn't go modern/black/white/clean lines and metal (as most of the larger companies do), i tried to really make my space look like something that would attract ME so that brides with a similar style would be drawn to it. it was basically an extension of my office/studio...lol. if they come in for a consultation, they'll definitely see familiar colors and images.

i'll do it again because i think it was a great experience, and also because i'm over the nerves part of it, and have a good handle on setup (and have all the stuff).

[ronocnikral]

our first show, it took all day friday to setup with the help of my sister in law.

our last show, we were done by 10:30 am between two of us.

like everything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

I made our entire booth out of 4x4's, 2x4's, some fabric and hung canvases from fishing line off an ikea thing. all in, about $200 for the entire booth (excluding marketing materials such as huge prints).

also, what's your feeling about leaving an expensive print in the back gallery? We did it one time. after being one of the first there, people moved ours. I figured it wasn't worth it to have someone ruin an expensive canvas.

[LadyShutterBug]

i didn't leave a canvas in the back gallery, i left a framed print on foamcore. i REALLY wish they'd do somethign to make the back of the gallery look nicer, it's junky looking with all the backs of the frames showing. half of us use painter's tape to keep the prints in the frames because we switch them often. I used one of my handpainted frames in that gallery and people complimented it when they came by my booth.

i have a black tradeshow backboard setup that i bought off ebay a few years ago. it's the thing with the expanding frame that's covered in berber carpet-like panels. it's easy up and easy down, and all fits into a small rolling case at the end of the day. i use velcro on the back of my prints and hang them on the backboard. the backboard is NOT for an 8x8 booth, though. it's made to fit a 10x10. had we not had two spaces, it wouldn't have worked. it seems like other shows we've done are 10x10 spaces.

the pics are crap, lol, but you get the idea. i really didn't have time to take many pics or drag along cameras... so you get the best of quick P&S photography.

i did have another chair on the other side of the table, these were taken before my last run to the trailer.

[Tom]

We rock a pretty extensive wall made out of corrugated tin. It is a huge pain, but we get a lot of great compliments on it.

[LadyShutterBug]

lol, i had several people ask where i got the paper flower/fans and the wooden tree... and the table.

[groovyone]

It looks good! Very inviting.

[LadyShutterBug]

Just FYI, I have been very happy with the caliber of inquiries I've gotten directly from the show. Several appointments coming up : )

[arich]

I will attest to the pain-in-the-butt-ness of Tom's wall setup.