I went to my first wedding fair today as a "student of wedding planning". It was quite an interesting experience and I got a number of different responses from numerous vendors. Most were quite surprised, when I said "I'm studying wedding planning" a couple said "That's a thing?" Others were quite encouraging and supportive and were more than happy to have a chat with me, some were quite unique in the services they provided, such as the "free wedding photography" booth, and I noticed a real trend toward Do It Yourself (DIY) weddings which is quite exciting being a fan of DIY myself.
I heard that there are a few wedding planners in the Canberra region, but my concept of catering to themed weddings is a real niche market and not something that is being targeted by anyone. I also got some great advice from a decorator, who suggested that when looking at vendors to work with, I should really make sure that they can also cater to that niche so, for example, if I'm going to create themed weddings, I need a decorator who can source decorations for those themes, not just throw together something from what they've already got and say 'good enough.'
One thing that did surprise me, is that none of the wedding planners were on display at the fair, so that's definitely something to look into for the future!
Over all, I had a great day (though next time I think I'll reconsider wearing heels!) and I've come away with a great insight into the industry from the perspective of a supplier and over the next few weeks, I hope to share with you some of the vendors I met with who really impressed me. I'll also be posting about some vendors who cater to the ACT region that I have found through my research on-line.
As always, if you have any questions, or if you would like me to write a post about anything specific, just leave me a comment and I'll get right one it!
Until next time,
Bel
