What goes into Planning a Wedding Fair?

The Simple Answer is...... ALOT

Planning a Wedding Fair takes time

People often ask, “What’s involved in organising a wedding fair?” The short answer? A lot! But here’s a look behind the scenes at what it takes to pull off an event that will excite soon-to-be-wed couples and help them find the right vendors for their big day.

Planning and behind the scenes

Start at the very beginning……

The process kicks off with hours upon hours of admin work—sending out emails to potential exhibitors and suppliers, following up, answering queries, and, yes, more follow-ups!

Sometimes, just keeping the inbox in check is a full-time task.

Then, there are phone calls to prospective exhibitors and suppliers to fill in the gaps left by email, answer questions, and build those valuable connections.

Of course, the venue is the heart of any wedding fair, so there are site visits, meetings with venue managers, and follow-ups to finalise the look and feel. And as details fall into place, there’s another round of emails and calls to adjust plans as needed.

The more Wedding Fairs we hold in the area the easier connections it should become. Our first Wedding Fair was about establishing connections, building up a network of people and suppliers and those who would trust us to do a good job and come back to exhibit with us time and time again.

Promote, Promote, Promote

Promoting the fair takes another layer of commitment. Designing social media content, coordinating with a graphic designer (or doing it yourself), scheduling posts, replying to messages, and tracking engagement is a continuous loop.

Then there are the physical marketing efforts, like creating and distributing posters, flyers, and banners around town.

We promise our Exhibitors that with their stand fees, we will aim to do as much paid and free advertising as possible to make sure we stand out from the crowd, we get our name out there as the top Wedding Fair to come to and we want to encourage as many couples that we can offer variety and suit their varying budgets by visiting our Wedding Fair over the others being hosted in the area.

Planning where? How and Why?

Once the exhibitors are lined up, it’s time for site layout planning, which can become a game of Tetris as exhibitors’ needs change and adjustments are needed. Then it’s back to the venue, map in hand, to envision how it will look when it’s filled with excited couples. We will then work out what works and what doesn't. With more and more Wedding Fairs under our belts, we can then adjust to what works well and what we know won't work, without trying it.

Last-Minute Adjustments

As the big day approaches, it’s time for those last-minute adjustments—one more site visit to lay everything out and finalize details. Then, finally, it’s showtime! All the preparation is rewarded by seeing the venue filled with beautiful displays, delighted visitors, and the unique energy only wedding planning brings. It’s a joy to see couples dreaming up their big day and connecting with vendors.

After the Fair and on to the next one…

And after it’s all done? A much-needed rest and then… onto planning the next one! It’s a lot of work, but the satisfaction and connections with incredible people make it all worthwhile.

To read more about our upcoming wedding fairs then take a look at our dedicated Vows & Views Wedding Fairs Website. It is a place to visit for every tiny detail about these events. My Special Event is lucky to be able to work with some amazing people and it makes all the hours of admin and organisation worthwhile when we receive the reviews and thanks we do for putting on these events.

Hosts having fun at the Vows & Views Wedding Fair – Autumn 2024 (Photo by Demonphotobooths)

Photos supplied by Demonphotobooths – https://demonphotobooths.co.uk/