Ok so I really wanted the title to read “I went to a bridal show and all I got was this stinkin’ t-shirt!” but that didn’t really make sense lol.  I believe that for the most part last weekend officially ended bridal show season for the winter/ spring so now that you’re wedding showed out what do you do with all those flyers, cookies, candies, magnets, and the 5 lbs you gained from all those cake samples?!

First thing you want to do depends on how many shows you went to and how good your memory is… For me I would dump all my bags in one big pile and go through them like that, but I didn’t go to a lot of shows this season. If you did I suggest taking one bag at a time and dump that one bag on the floor, go through the next steps and do it again until you’ve done the initial go through  for all your bags.

Steps!

1) Dump contents of bag on floor… (well as long as you don’t have two oversized dogs that like to get in your business lol)- yes we already went over that, but it can’t hurt to say it again lol.

2) Organize the contents into separate piles; photographers, bakers, venues, caterers, hair/make-up artists, gown salons, wedding planners, honeymoon planners, jewelers, dj’s, party rentals…. and so on. So now the cards are in neat stacks that are wanting so very much to fall over, but you won’t let them!

3) Trash any piles that you already have booked. So if you already have your venue booked there’s no reason to go looking through all those brochures (unless you have a girlfriend getting married that might be interested, then you just let her be responsible for the towering piles you’ve kindly organized!). Same with every other category you already have booked.

4) The remaining piles will take a little more time. Go through and make sure you don’t have 3 cards/fliers from one person and if you do paper clip them together, then go through each card and put into piles of  “I want to know more” and “doesn’t interest me”, you could even do a “LOVE” pile (for me of course! lol).

5) Ditch all those “Doesn’t interest me” piles! Now we’re getting somewhere!

6) Repeat with all bags till your piles are complete- making sure you disregard any doubles between bags lol.

Now the hard work comes in!

7) Start with the most important pile- if you’re just starting your planning then first vendors that need booked are your venue and your wedding planner. Once you have them then it’s your photographer/videographers, officiant, and your caterer, then your dress and so on… If you have most of your wedding planned then start with what’s most important to you (knowing that vendors like photographers usually book far in advance so call them/ me soon! :]).

8) So now that you know what’s most important go to each person’s website in that pile and check out their blogs especially. If you find you’re not liking their style after all then go ahead and discard them right away. For those you still like, and maybe even love, call or email them right away to set up a consultation/ meeting. You want to meet them in person for many reasons but mainly to make sure your visions and personalities match. Especially with your photographer and wedding planner because you’ll be spending the most time with them and no matter how beautiful their work, if you don’t get a long with them then you’ll just be miserable on what’s supposed to be a happy day, so make sure you meet your vendors!

9) Now you’ve scheduled your meetings, go with a list of questions and your vision and see who fits you and then your budget best!

Hope that helps you all out a little, I know it can be daunting! What about the cookies, magnets, and 5lbs you ask… Well give the cookies to your maid of honor or future mother-in-law so she can gain the rest of the weight and not you, or just secretly eat them yourself lol, the magnets… well if you need them to hang papers on your fridge, if not throw them out (unless you like the company I guess), and the 5lbs…. pilates, walking, zumba with Kathleen at Elegant Dance Company, or just forgetting lol.

See you Friday for a look at Sara Theisen Designs in our Featured Business Friday post!

Want to see another’s view on how to handle the after show papers? Check out Tammy’s post- liquidcatering.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/i-went-to-a-bridal-show-now-what/