Blog
St Albans Wedding Exhibition
Tuesday 5th April 2011
A wedding fair organiser persuaded me to take one of my cars to a fair in St Albans a few weeks ago.
My daughter, Kathryn, was bribed to come along and help. It took the promise of a nice dinner and an unlimited supply of wine but it was worth it because she organised her own wedding in January of last year and she can empathise really well with the brides-to-be. Her job was to stand behind a table on which a laptop computer was showing a slideshow of photos of the cars at past weddings and chat to anyone who showed an interest. She has the knack of being friendly and chatty without being pushy which is perfect. I hate high pressure sales tactics!
My job was to stand outside and show the car to people.
We set off early on the Sunday morning and arrived at the hotel just as the rain started to fall. Undeterred by this, Kathryn set up the computer, whilst I decorated the car with ribbons and bows. We had time for a rushed cup of coffee before the doors were flung open to the public. We braced ourselves for the expected tsunami of brides. Sadly the tidal wave proved to be the faintest of trickles.
The day wore on and the rain stopped. Things were looking up! More people were arriving but we still spent long periods of time kicking our heels and silently willing somebody to talk to us. Finally, success!! An enthusiastic group of ladies were admiring the car. They jumped at the chance to sit in the back and they were taking photos with their mobile phones. The bride-to-be was adamant that she wanted the car for her wedding. The date was free in my diary and she made a booking there and then.
After that flurry of activity, normal service was resumed as the trickle of visitors became a slow drip. By 3:30pm the other exhibitors were starting to pack up their stands. We persevered for a while longer, but to no avail.
Looking back, I suppose I should be grateful to have made one booking and, who knows, perhaps somebody else who took a leaflet may call in the future. But I still wonder whether the whole exercise was worth it.
The organisers told me about their earlier wedding fairs which were successful and well attended but, sadly, on that particular day we had a poor turnout for no apparent reason. Just one of those things!
The low attendance at our wedding fair may indeed have been just one of those things. But I am left wondering whether there are simply too many wedding fairs. I see so many advertised in the local press and it is commonplace to see advertising banners outside hotels. Do brides attend several fairs, seeking out the best service providers? Or do they limit themselves to just one or two?
So are there too may? What do you think? I would love to know!