Who is ready for the 2020 OBXWA Wedding Expo this weekend? I’m so excited that the expo is in March this year and it’s a little bit of a different format! This year the expo is all day Saturday and the tour is all day Sunday, so even though there’s a little less time to vendor expo booths, there’s an opportunity to really see so much of the Outer Banks during the tour! I know that this weekend can be equal parts exciting and intimidating, so I wanted to give you a few helpful tips on how to make this weekend the most successful wedding planning weekend it can be!
First, where are you in the planning process? Some brides & grooms will be attending this weekend and they have absolutely nothing planned, maybe not even a venue or a date! Others may have half their wedding planned already and just need a few vendors to finalize their plans. Depending on which category you fall in, there are different ways to approach the expo! Pick where you fall on the planning spectrum for specific tips!
If you’re recently engaged and just getting started….
- Not trying to scare you but…know what you’re walking into! To avoid the “deer in headlights” look as you’re walking around, go ahead and look through the OBXWA Expo Guide and look through the list of vendors who will be there. It’s important to know that it’s not just a handful of vendors….it’s more like 150 of them in long rows and lots of people! It can be loud and congested at times during the day, but just by knowing this fact you’ll be less overwhelmed 🙂
- Be honest with vendors about where you are in the planning process! Everyone at the expo is SO excited to meet you and hear about your plans while also seeing if they may be a good fit for you. At this stage though, you’re more just gathering information and not ready to commit, so let them know you’re just getting started and taking it all in! They’ll understand and just give you their basic info and not try to dive too deep, and you’ll be less overwhelmed by questions you don’t know the answers to quite yet!
- Take your time, enjoy the day, and just gather information! Take pictures of things you are inspired by – maybe it’s a florist, maybe an appetizer presentation. Take notes about people you talked to that you felt a connection with! Take ALL the marketing info and freebies and of course try all the samples 🙂
- If at any point during the day you start to get overwhelmed… take a break! Go find a quiet area to have a conversation or just take a breather. Or even better – go take a quick beach walk and then come back in refreshed!
- After the expo ends, enjoy a nice dinner and/or drinks and then take some time to review all the info you received during the day! Make a plan of places you want to hit at the tour the next day, and specifically make a list of vendors that stood out to you that you would like to have another conversation with! Use the OBXWA Expo Guide and find out where they will be on the tour! Map it out so you’re not driving around in circles!
- If you have time, go to ALL the tour stops on Sunday! Even if you aren’t interested in that particular venue or event home, you’ll still get so much inspiration by seeing it set like a mock wedding and there will be vendors at each that you can chat with and get to know better!
If you’ve secured your venue but that’s about it…
- Decide which vendor categories you want to focus on this weekend. DON’T go in without a game plan and thinking you’ll just book it all or book whichever makes sense. I suggest that those vendors you focus on being “one a day” vendors – ie: Photographer, Videographer, Officiant, etc – these vendors can’t commit themselves to more than one wedding in a day like some can, so those should be your priority!
- Once you’ve made your priority list, do some preliminary research on vendors who have been recommended to you or those you’ve heard about. See who is going to be at the expo and then make a list of those people you 100% want to go talk to! Bonus tip…once you get your Expo Guide – take a few minutes to find where those vendors’ booths are and highlight or circle them on the map!
- Confirm availability of each vendor you talk to and make a list of who is (and isn’t) available! This will help you prevent forgetting who you talked to, who was and wasn’t available, etc. when making a decision! Also make a note of any vendors who offered an expo booking bonus!
- It’s ok to visit with other vendors, soak in the inspiration and fully enjoy the experience of the expo, just make sure you don’t forget your priorities and start trying to tackle too much!
- After the expo ends, enjoy a nice dinner and/or drinks and then take some time to review all the info you received during the day! Narrow down to your top 2-3 in each of your needed vendor categories and then determine where they will be on the tour stop the next day! Go visit them and have a quieter, one on one conversation. Map it out so you’re not driving around in circles!
- Trust your gut! If you loved a vendor and would be bummed if someone else snagged them for your date, go ahead and book them! Either in person the weekend of the expo or shoot them an email immediately after to request a contract!
- If you have time, go to ALL the tour stops on Sunday! Even if you aren’t interested in that particular venue or event home, you’ll still get so much inspiration by seeing them setup in a variety of styles!
If you’ve already started the planning process and have at least a couple vendors booked…
- Make a plan! Chances are, if you’ve already set your date, your venue and maybe even more, then you are ready to commit to the remaining vendors you need to book! So create a plan! Make a list of those vendor categories you need to secure, then do some preliminary research on vendors who have been recommended to you or those you’ve heard about. See who is going to be at the expo and then make a list of those people you 100% want to go talk to! Bonus tip…once you get your Expo Guide – take a few minutes to find where those vendors’ booths are and highlight or circle them on the map!
- Confirm availability of each vendor you talk to and make a list of who is (and isn’t) available! This will help you prevent forgetting who you talked to, who was and wasn’t available, etc. when making a decision! Also make a note of any vendors who offered an expo booking bonus!
- Don’t visit with vendors in categories you’ve already booked! If you’ve already selected your caterer…don’t go talk to another! It’s ok to walk around and get inspiration but don’t play the “what if” game and second guess yourself!
- After the expo ends, enjoy a nice dinner and/or drinks and then take some time to review all the info you received during the day! Narrow down to your top 2-3 in each of your needed vendor categories and then determine where they will be on the tour stop the next day! Go visit them and have a quieter, one on one conversation. Map it out so you’re not driving around in circles!
- Trust your gut! If you loved a vendor and would be bummed if someone else snagged them for your date, go ahead and book them! Either in person the weekend of the expo or shoot them an email immediately after to request a contract!
- If you have time, go to ALL the tour stops on Sunday! Even if you aren’t interested in that particular venue or event home, you’ll still get so much inspiration by seeing them setup in a variety of styles!
Other Helpful Hints
- Not everyone will be at the Expo…and that’s ok! You may have heard of some vendors or been referred to them by others but find they aren’t at this year’s expo. Some just choose not to participate, others may have a scheduling conflict. But just because they aren’t participating, don’t rule them out of your potential vendor options! Still reach out to them and they may even be offering special booking promos even though they aren’t at the show 🙂
- Take full advantage of the tour! I know I included this above, but the tour is the coolest part! Where the expo can be overwhelming to some, the tour is a much more relaxed day with so much inspiration. Vendors are more in their natural element too and one on one conversations are easier to have than in the busy expo atmosphere!
- HIRE A PLANNER – duh! The job of a wedding planner is to take stress off your shoulders and work off your plate so that your engagement and wedding planning experience can be SO much more fun! All the suggestions above are just the tip of the iceberg…imagine if you had a planner on your team who was able to curate a game plan specific to you and your exact wedding needs? That means a tailored list of vendor referrals for your style, budget, etc. – not just a generic list – as well as task list to keep you on track of your planning! If this sounds like something that you would benefit from – reach out! I would love to hear from you!
- HAVE FUN!!! I know this process can be overwhelming but hopefully these tips and tricks can help with that and allow you to just enjoy the weekend! What other time can you come to the Outer Banks, meet over a hundred wedding vendors, try tons of free samples of food & treats, basically see Pinterest boards in real life and knock off some tasks from your to do list?! Have the most fun taking it all in!
- For more info, you can visit www.obxwa.com which will have all the up to date Expo weekend info! They also just shared a tips and tricks blog post! Read that here – blog!
Come visit me!
On Saturday March 7th, you can find me in Expo Booth #10 (in the cafeteria)!
On Sunday March 8th, you can find me at The Whalehead Club along with some amazing other vendors: Ocean Atlantic Event Rentals, Steamers, Genevieve Stewart Photography, Bells & Whistles, Patty Bakes, I Do OBX Wedddings & Events, Amaranth & Artifact, Glimmer
You can find Bethany at The Pine Island Lodge along with this incredible vendor team: Basnight’s Lone Cedar, Brew Dolly, Coleman Shots, OBX Wedding DJ, I Do OBX Weddings & Events, Just Desserts
You can find Naomi at Nags Head Golf Links along with this rockstar vendor team: Ocean Atlantic Event Rentals, Bells & Whistles, Just Desserts, Sarah D’Ambra Photography
Can’t wait to meet you & talk about your wedding!
Happy Planning!
Ashley
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March 3, 2020
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