Sorry we’ve been MIA for a few weeks. Bridal show season comes and we become swamped with wonderful new couples to meet and help plan their special day.

Which is exactly what I’m wanting to tell you all about!

After meeting dozens of brides and seeing all of their different reactions towards all of the information they were receiving I decided to read how brides felt about the shows to better to relate to them.

Which brings us to the question… Are bridal shows worth it??

Now, if you are asking me as a vendor, they are totally worth it. But if you are a bride how do you feel about it? Turns out most brides felt better than I expected. I read a lot of stories most of them their Maid of honor or Mother/Mother in law dragging them to the shows and in the end not many regret the trip!

Here are some of the ups and downs I see at shows that I have read from brides themselves. First of all you will be meeting tons of vendors in retrospect it would take months to meet the amount of vendors you will be meeting in just 6 hours. Can you say overwhelming?! Yes, I totally agree. You can meet anyone, from venues and dresses to cake toppers and bridesmaids gifts you can literally find it all. Though you’ll feel through a lot of the show you are being attacked by wedding planning vultures you are more than likely to find a few diamonds in the rough than you may think. Maybe a cake you’ve pinned on Pinterest for half the price from a local little bakery or super sweet invitations at a great price ;).

The discounts alone are worth going to the show. Some of the shows offer an entire honeymoon or your entire dream wedding for staying at the show the whole time. Our company alone offers 2 discounts together that equal up to be a $200 value. Which is crazy! We only offer these types of discounts at the show with the exception of black Friday or something. As a plus you get to meet these vendors in person, see what kind of vibe you get. Sometimes you look up a company online and aren’t sure, once you meet them in person it can either make or break the deal for you. Kortnie and I were in Phoenix last weekend at the bridal show and we met this cute girl who approached our booth and said, “no way! I was looking at you guys online yesterday. Your website was darling but I didn’t end up checking out because your prices were so cheap I thought it was a hoax!” Because she came to the show she was able to look at our product and ended up making her deposit right then and there. I love being able to share in person my passion for what our company has to offer.

I think one of the greatest parts of the bridal shows for the bride is that you (the bride) are the guest of honor, everyone is asking about your special day, wanting to see your ring, you really feel important, as you should. This is the one of the most important days of your life and more than likely you’ve been dreaming about it since you were a little girl and wanting to become Mrs. Bell to your elementary school crush. (For the record I wanted to Mrs. Bell) Though now I am happily married and am Mrs. Hess. I remember how crazy the shows were when I was planning my wedding but all the glam and attention is gone once you’re married so soak it up and answer the question of “how it happened” 50 more times because it’s okay to let yourself be in the spotlight for a while. Not to mention it’s fun to get the bridal party together and motivated to get in wedding planning action full force.

All in all even if you don’t end up ordering anything at the shows you get to feel special, gather 34 pounds of brochures to go through while you binge watch Netflix. Some of which you’ll be feeding to your recycling bin and others will be added to your dream board. Plus I mentioned all of the free stuff you get but I didn’t mention all of the samples! MMMM… cake samples, cookies, pulled pork, artichoke dip and meatballs. Need I go on?? I’ll be back later this week with tips on how to get the most out of a bridal show. Check us out on Facebook to see what shows we’ll be at next!