At the Charletson Bridal Show, Karen Powell negotiated a reduced rate for her booth by offering to make bouquets that models carried around the auditorium. “It was a no-brainer,” Powell said. “This was essentially free advertising.”
Bridal shows attract throngs of newly engaged women. They can introduce you to dozens or hundreds of leads — or, they can be overwhelming, expensive and ineffective, if you don’t strategize. Karen Powell, owner of OK Florist in Summerville, South Carolina, participates in at least two shows a year and insists they help her land significant wedding business. The bridal show veteran shares her best practices for navigating the crowd:
- Partner up.
“The booth is pretty basic looking,” she said. “You get a plastic table and black tablecloth.” During a show last month, she rented a farm table from one of her preferred vendors to make her booth stand out and give brides a better sense of what her floral designs look like in a real setting. “It was great. The event company hauled the furniture and set it all up, so it was no extra work on my part,” she said. “For the next show, we plan to do a direct trade. They’ll provide me furniture for my booth and I’ll give them flowers for theirs.” This tactic will make both vendors’ booths more alluring and allow them to cross-market.
- Stray from extravagant designs.
It’s tempting to show off your biggest, grandest designs, Powell admits, but cautions about doing so. “For starters, it’s expensive to put together and you can’t reuse perishable products,” she said, adding that it’s better to bring albums that include your most elaborate work. “Also, those really fancy arrangements intimidate a lot of brides who will sidestep your booth assuming they could never afford you.” Powell prefers to set up diminutive designs, including chair markers and tablescapes. “They’re more affordable to arrange, easier to transport and give brides a sense of different styles.”
- Offer favors to the organizers.
At the recent Charleston Bridal Show, models in wedding gowns walked around the auditorium. Powell negotiated a 50 percent discount on her booth rental by offering to make bouquets for these models to carry. “It was a no-brainer,” she said. “It saved me a lot of money and this was essentially free advertising.”
- Be helpful.
Most of the attendees are newly engaged and overwhelmed by all the decisions looming before them, Powell said. “It’s astonishing how many of them don’t have venues picked yet,” she said. “This is Charleston, wedding capital of the US! Venues book up so quickly, we often see weddings on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.” When Powell runs across one of these deer-in-the-headlights brides, she offers her expertise from years of wedding experience. “Based on their date, guest list size, theme and other preferences, I offer them suggestions I think would be a good fit and help them get the ball rolling,” she said. This builds trust and appreciation with prospective customers.
