All Things Included

So some of you may know that over Christmas I was deciding if I should expand my business practice from corporate event planning to wedding planning. After some deliberation I decided to go ahead with the move. I will say that this decision must have been inspired, because everything just seemed to fall in to place during the planning phase.

On Sunday I made the final decision. Monday morning I made the call to the organizers of the Bridal Showcase held at the Salt Palace. Monday afternoon I was told I might be awarded the prestigious planner spot for the Ultimate Utah Wedding (see details on www.ultimateutahwedding.com). Monday I also developed a new logo. Tuesday, I developed literature, booth, and business cards, plus ordered some super cute key-rings for swag. Wednesday I proofed the prints, Thursday everything arrived and Friday I set up my 10x10 space at the show. Friday I found out that I did get the planner spot and it was solidified. I met the couple and their parents later that day and we were all excited to be working together (especially the mom, because she thought she was going to have to look over everything.)

When it ended Saturday night at 7pm I had handed out close to 250 business cards, about 200 literature pieces, took in 100 leads, and booked more than a dozen appointments for initial consulting spots this coming week! OMG!!! What a weekend! I also hired an assistant to help me take care of everything. Oh yeah. This is funny too....I had 3 other girls come to my booth and ask me for a position! haha. That was great. Two from bridal shops, one from a reception house. Good times.

I've uploaded a picture of my booth. The massage chair was my brilliant marketing plan to hold brides and mothers captive while we talked, and explained "this is how we'll pamper you through the planning process." The cardboard standup was allowed in our booth as promotional propaganda for the Ultimate Utah Wedding, which helped as a conversational piece too.

The real disappointing part of the whole weekend, which may destroy a friendship of more than 5 years, happened when I had asked for the help of a friend who owns a bridal shop. Prior to the show I was mocked and told I didn't have any business doing this. During the show this friend's family (bridal shop) told me "no way", and nearly ignored me during the show. Though I did get to talk with them for about 10 minutes during the show, the conversation left me feeling defeated by what I thought was going to be an ally in this new venture, even though in the end he said unconvincingly he'd stick a couple of cards on the desk in the event somebody happened to ask. Oddly enough other bridal shops were just as obstinate, while others still were great to work with and I was able to form some great partnerships.

A really funny story on this note is I was speaking with a lady from a bridal shop in Bountiful. She wasn't super friendly and then just stopped speaking to me and said the show started, good-bye. I said, oh...I'm sorry I didn't realize the time and then looked at my watch and politely said enjoy the day, to which she didn't respond. The best part of this, was there wasn't anyone on the show floor yet. Later on she sat across from me at the lunch table. We were the only two there. I said, hello and asked how the day was going. Her response, was she stood up and walked away. WOW! I've never had the cold shoulder so hard in the 100 or so shows I've been to over the years. Crazy business.

Over all...though it was a great show, and I had far more amazing experiences than these two bad experiences. But the bad experiences are always good for a laugh after the fact.