How to Build Your Business at Wedding Shows (and it's more than what you think)

Issue #19

[Read Time < 7 Minutes]

I enjoy wedding shows. I think they are a valuable use of your money to market your wedding business, especially when you’re trying to build your bookings.

Sure, they can be expensive, and the venues are questionable at times, but there are genuine benefits to attending...but not for the reason you might think.

Before getting to that part, first we must prepare for the show itself.

A significant amount of preparation is needed for a wedding show (way more than you might think).

If you’re completely unfamiliar with how trade shows work (and this is a trade show specifically for weddings), I’ve created a mini guide to help get you up to speed.

If you are familiar with wedding shows but have never participated in one, this list will be particularly helpful.

Full Disclosure - I’m a bit of an enthusiast for trade shows in general, regardless of the industry, so I have some strong opinions on the “what and what not to do” and the “shoulds and NEVER should do.” Of course, these are my opinions, and, as always, if you disagree, you have the freedom to be wrong :)

Taken from decades of trade show attendance and participation in numerous industries, I present to you, for the very first time, free of charge, The Wedding Show Guide of Best Practices (working title, don’t judge).

• When booking your space, request a corner booth facing toward the middle fo the room (not the wall). You get the best visibility from the attendees.

• Get there early and get set up as quickly as possible.

• If you can set up the night before, that is preferable.

• Stock your booth with as many giveaway materials and promotional pieces as possible. You never want to run out.

• There are a TON of ways you can decorate your booth. Have fun, but stay on brand and be classy (furry carpeting sounds cool, but it raises eyebrows...and not always in the best way)

• Do NOT use the stock curtain they provide. Bring your own and hang them over theirs.

• NEVER use the cheap cardboard sign the show host provided with your name on it as your signage...EVER. It’s a placeholder for your booth, that’s all. Pitch it once you move in. Invest in nice sign for your booth. You’ll use it again.

• Bring your own flooring (carpet squares are great) if you can. Of course, this only applies to convention halls and not hotel shows, which are typically carpeted.

• Do NOT use the table or chairs provided for your booth. Just ask a staff member to remove them completely. Why? Keep reading.

• You should never sit during the show. You’re there to work and interact with people, not be a customer service agent behind a desk or table. Plus, it created a barrier between you and your prospective clients (this is HUGE).

• Do NOT eat while in your booth. If you need to grab a bite, bring a protein bar to eat while taking a potty break.

• Dress like you’re going to dress at the wedding. This makes it really easy to answer the question, “What do you wear to the wedding?”

• Show off lots of work! Books, prints, as much as you can gather up. THIS is your time to show off your goods. You can’t have too much.

• Be friendly but not TOO friendly. You’re not selling cars - you’re offering them the opportunity to have their wedding preserved in photos by you.

• Don’t act like you’re selling cell phones at the mall. This is a tough reality. Not everyone WANTS to talk to you. For those who ignore you, pretend they already booked their photographer and don’t need another one.

• Attitude is everything. If you feel confident and successful, you’ll appear confident and successful. Perception becomes reality.

• When meeting with prospective clients, discuss weddings. Tell stories about weddings. Show photos of weddings and tell stories about the moments in the photos. They weren’t there, but you can make them FEEL like they were there. Your passion for your craft will come out. THIS is your time to shine!

• Ask questions and answer questions. It’s an exchange, not a negotiation. You want to sound like the photographer who CARES the most. You may be the best photographer, but the one who cares will be the one who wins.

• Don’t know what to ask, ask them about their wedding plans. A simple, “Tell me about about your wedding plans?” is a great way to start the engagement.

• Don’t be afraid to talk money. Be confident with your rates. If you want to have a “Show Special,” fine, but stick to your rates. I prefer adding something to the package rather than lowering your price at this stage of the sales process.

• Wedding shows are an opportunity to educate the bride and her mom. More than likely, they’re new at this, so be the one who teaches them. They might book you, they might not, but YOU will be the authority, and moms, don’t forget that.

• This is a prime opportunity to let your personality come out. At a wedding, you’re not the star of the show, but here, at the wedding show, you can be. Be funny, be friendly, and let them see the type of person they’re entrusting this day with.

• Get cozy with the show organizer. Every show needs photographs, so why can’t they use yours? Whenever they need help with promotion, be THE ONE who provides it. This goodwill goes a long way for the next time (booth upgrades, better positioning, a guest speaker for Q&A and a media resource).

• One huge benefit of being ready early is when the local TV station comes by for a quick LIVE segment (typically before the show opens). Your biggest assets are visuals, and the TV segment needs visuals. Prepare your elevator pitch in advance so you can be ready when the reporter is looking for a vendor to chat with (and make sure you plug the show).

• Almost every show features an “Ask the professionals” segment on stage, where attendees can ask questions about planning a wedding. Volunteer to do this! Being on stage in front of everyone as a professional in your industry is worth the price of the entire show. While your competition is in their booth, you get a priceless moment on stage as the authority for wedding photography.

• NEVER leave early. Stay until the very end and possibly even later. Many brides don’t like the crowds, so they get there late. Be available to them. I’ve booked several weddings with brides who just wanted to “pop in for a quick look” but ended up staying and chatting for 30 minutes while all the other vendors were packing up to leave.

I could keep going but I thing this a good place to start from.

OK, now that you have a solid arsenal of how to prepare for the show itself, let me tell you the real reason WHY you should attend a wedding show.

The Other Vendors

If you’ve done your job, arrived early and have your booth looking good just about the time the others are rolling their plastic tubs in, you can now take full advantage of your extra time and start working the room.

Everyone at this show is a professional who caters to the wedding industry.

Everyone at this show has a business and needs two things: Referrals and Photography.

They might not need photography today, but they do need referrals today, or they wouldn’t be at a wedding show. They’ll need photography later.

This is where you come in.

Take the time to meet the wedding vendor at every single booth. Introduce yourself, get their contact info and discover a way YOU can help THEM.

If you’re chatting with a booth that caters BBQ, give them your card and tell them if you meet a couple having a country-themed wedding and want to serve BBQ, you’ll send them their way. This is a qualified referral!

And if they need any photos for their website or a new brochure, tell them how much you’d love to help...and eat the props after the shoot.

But what if the bride meets the vendor before you can refer them? Simple.

If you’re chatting with a bride who mentions they hired your new BBQ friend, you can congratulate them on a great choice, and now your support becomes social proof for the bride.

After the show, you return to the BBQ booth and say, “Hey, did [insert bride’s name here] stop by to see you? I told them about you.” They don’t know who came first, but now they know you cared enough about them to pass along a referral.

THIS is how connections are made.

Every vendor at the show (and most shows have a LOT of vendors) can benefit from what you do as a photographer.

Be the one who reaches out to them. Who says things like, “Whatever you need, just lemme know.”

Be the one who goes the extra step to gather a business card or contact info from each vendor before the show.

Be the one who contacts them AFTER the show with a thank you for chatting with them (and, of course, a reminder that if they need anything at all, just let you know).

Relationships are the most powerful part of being a successful wedding photographer. When you take the time to get to know the players in your industry and help them get to know you, seriously, good things happen.

And don’t forget, you’ll see some of these folks again...at weddings!

Starting your connection on a nice common ground, like a wedding show, is invaluable.

Yes, it may be pricey on the front end, but what is a career of referrals worth?

“The business of business is relationships; the business of life is human connection.”

– Robin Sharma

Working a wedding show isn’t exactly the kind of sexy wedding photography topics you typically read or learn about. This is the inner game of wedding photography.

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