HIB's i need your help again!

Hello again you loverly HIB's

I have been given the job of co-ordinating a wedding fayre, and i need to know where to start, what to do and... well.... everything really.

Would you mind helping me pretty please! With a cherry on top.

x

Ooo how exciting!  Well, I guess the first thing is to find a venue, preferably somewhere who is used to doing them.  Advertising space needs to be booked to let people know about it, canvassing suppliers (the hardest job LOL!) to persuade them to come.  Prior to this, you'll need to work out a budget by the way to establish how much you need to charge. Arrange some sort of refreshments for visitors and some way of getting them to give you their names and addresses as a lot of suppliers expect this to be included in the price so they can do follow up calls.  Table linen for the tables, electricity points are something else needed.  I'm sure there's lots more but cant think just now!

Make sure you work out your advertising top quality companys wont attend if they dont think people will attend.

Work out a deal with the local paper, get posters and leaflets for the companys that are attending so that they can help push the event.

Do you have a venue? + what part of the country will it be in (town)?

I have a venue which is actually my workplace, in Ross on Wye, its a hotel and we have started doing this £1000 wedding thing, we had a meeting with the area manager last week and we have to do a wedding fayre. I will be taking on the role of events organiser, and this is my first step. The manager doesnt know anything about fayres, i have a vague idea after going to a few. But just need to know the ins and outs.

Thankyou, keep it coming.

x

ring around and gather running/advertising costs, find something to attract potential bride and grooms, Prize draw (it will gather information for your hotel as well) then make a list of suppliers and work out how many you want, 1 of each isnt enough and 4 of each tends to be too many, also be stricked on this as you dont want a room full of one service. then work out what you want to charge.

the average cost for a wedding fair for me is about £75 but it ranges from £50 to £200 - also offer free tea and coffee to exhibitors we like this.

If you can tell them where you are advertising and what you are doing then they are more likely to pay to attend.

aww thank you. we were going to offer tables at around £30-£40. hopefully it will bring the suppliers in.

thanks again.

x

I don't know if your package includes a cake, but I was approached to provide a "budget" wedding cake for a venue who are offering what my daughter calls "wedding in a box" packages, they also offered me the chance to exhibit at their wedding open evening .I don't know if this is something you could incorporate?

Also the open evening was a bit different to a wedding fair, they had about 8 tables set up in different styles and had got florist, chair covers, stationery, favours and cake suppliers to contribute their wares to match, they had a dj and drinks and canapes for couples and special offers from all the suppliers and the venue for anyone who booked their wedding on the day, it was good to see the tables set out and they got quite a few bookings too

To be honest, I think that would be a mistake offering the tables at such a low cost.  I've been to lots of wedding fairs in the past and been contacted on countless occasions by various hotels etc to attend and they have all been much more money than £40 a table. The first wedding fair I attended 9 years ago was £75 and that didn't include refreshments.  It may have an adverse effect if you see what I mean - suppliers will think you haven't spent enough on advertising and won't want to attend.  If you aim for around £75-£100 per table to include refreshments, it's a more realistic price not too much but not too cheap either.  The average price is around £75-£200 per table depending on the size of the hotel and the popularity of their fairs.  The main thing suppliers want is footflow which means lots of good advertising which unfortunately costs lots of money.

I agree with Rainbow Florist, and to add to that, you need to look at your advertising costs, you would be better charging more to enable you to advertise more extensively, I would rather pay £75 and know there are going to be more people through the door .

I am sure you know as well if you have attended wedding fairs that there is usually some sort of competition for brides to fill in a form to enter,that way you get loads of names and addresses to send out literature or offers and to chase up later 

jules.40:

I don't know if your package includes a cake, but I was approached to provide a "budget" wedding cake for a venue who are offering what my daughter calls "wedding in a box" packages, they also offered me the chance to exhibit at their wedding open evening .I don't know if this is something you could incorporate?

Also the open evening was a bit different to a wedding fair, they had about 8 tables set up in different styles and had got florist, chair covers, stationery, favours and cake suppliers to contribute their wares to match, they had a dj and drinks and canapes for couples and special offers from all the suppliers and the venue for anyone who booked their wedding on the day, it was good to see the tables set out and they got quite a few bookings too

That is exactly what we do jules at a venue I am preferred supplier, they then help to promote the Hotel & the Brides can actually see what the rooms will look like dressed for a wedding. Much nicer than a Wedding Fayre & it helps the Bride to visualise what the room will look like on the day.

We are holding a Press & Media Launch for the Bristol Evening Post Win a £15,000 Wedding on Tuesday Evening so I will take some pics to give you an idea of what the rooms like like. This was a previous one where we dressed the tables in Different colours to show the potential Brides, so basically sold the venue to the public:

i never thought of it that way, its just that i did a bit of research in to other venues to ask how much they charge for tables at their venue one 60, the other said 50, the thing is, is that its a greene king hotel and they virtually give things away, thats why i thought of the 40 squidder mark. i really like the idea of resident (if you like) cake baker. we will be setting up a table to show people how it would look, we use a good florist in the town and was going to ask if she wouldnt mind us borrowing a centrepiece of some sort, then the same for chair cover people etc so a bit of each us on the table, from each supplier, (if thats a good idea)?.

Sherrie, would you travel to Ross on Wye for a wedding fair? or if you had any customers there?

x

It would depend when it was, we travel Nationwide so there is no one area we cover. Ross is not far for us, I am actaully in Newport tomorrow!

its not going to be till october, but i have to give over rough plans at the next area meeting at the end of april. x

Yep I am sure I would be able to make it I have a few bookings for October but if you can let me know when you have confirmed dates.

i will do, will most prob send you a message on fb when i know. im so excited about doing this, i have always wanted to plan weddings, and its a big step closer. yay. x