Over the summer, it just so happened that there was a wedding expo at the St. Pete Times Forum in downtown Tampa, so mom and I decided to attend and see what it was all about!
Hmm, looks deserted???
We arrived a few minutes before they opened the doors to the event...as we walked up to the building, the two of us were wondering if anyone was actually showing up to this shindig; it looked pretty deserted out there! I shrugged and said "well, at least we'll get through the entire event at a decent time!" The clock struck noon, and we were allowed to enter...
Now, this was my first official wedding expo that I attended, and there are some tips that I would highly suggest you implement in order to streamline your visit!
1 - Bring address labels!!! Honestly, this is a complete and utter lifesaver! You are going to want to sign up for every single giveaway at every single booth, and your hand will pretty much fall off from filling out your address, phone, email, etc on each form unless you have these with you. I brought along a sheet of return address labels from home, and it cut down the time it took me to fill things out significantly!
2 - Be methodical!!! Yes, it is exciting and a bit haphazard when you enter the event...you smell food from caterers, hear music and see lights from DJ's...there is a ton of stimulation going on...FOCUS! Being a perfectionist, I figured out a plan of attack before we began; starting from the back row of booths, and snaking our way up and down the aisles to make sure that we did not miss anything. I will say that I HATE crowds, and it was ridiculously packed in there...I tried my best to just push my way through. Yikes....
3 - Sign up to win...everything!!! Ok, so I know its already a given that you'd enter to win whatever each and every booth is giving out...but seriously, it could work out well for you in the end! Many of the vendors have some great prizes...and who knows, you could be a winner (of course, I did pass by the tables of vendors that we didn't need)!
And...wouldn't you know it...I sure did win!
The day after the wedding expo, my phone started ringing. I pick up the phone, and it is one of the florists from the show! Apparently my name was drawn, and I will receive $500 of flowers for my wedding! Yahoo!
And, if that wasn't enough, later on my phone rang AGAIN...and it was an event management company. I won a Day of Coordinator package from them! Holy crap!
I seriously couldn't believe my good fortune! Up until this point, I couldn't tell you a time when I've won something, and to take home two prizes from the expo was seriously mind boggling! Both of them are things that I wanted/needed for the big day. This was a bright shining light on what was an overwhelming start to the wedding planning process!
Did you attend/are you planning to attend any wedding expos during your planning?
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