Booking your stall space is just the first step! Attending the wedding fair without considering the user experience and with no plan on how to engage potential clients will not give you the results you are after.

We recommend using the wedding fair as a marketing exercise. Booking clients is great and of course the main objective, but the reality is, very few will book on the day, and instead follow up in the days, weeks and months following the event. We recommend therefore focusing on collecting data, forging industry relationships and connections, running a competition, market research and anything else you can think of to boost the overall performance of your business.

This way, regardless of the number of bookings you secured on the day, you walk away with valuable information that you can use immediately to tweak your services as well as a list of legitimate leads that you can nurture into bookings.

To help plan your stall space, we have put together a list of areas to consider and will give you the best possible chance to secure bookings and get the most out of the day.

Keep scrolling for tips on
how to get the most
out of your stall space!

Considered Stall Space

Design your stall in a way that will attract the attention of couples, making them stop at your stall space. Use appealing visuals: easy to read signage as well as quality service / product displays to showcase your business. If you offer many services or products, consider highlighting the most popular and focusing on those.

Each inclusion at your stall should be evaluated for relevance and should add value to your space. Please also consider your neighbours and keep within your allocated space.* Remember: less is more! Your business will benefit from showcasing a few things well, rather than many things poorly.

*As previously mentioned, there are additional fees applicable to those who exceed their stall space excessively without prior approval.

Brand Consistency

Not only should your logo / business name be visible but your brand should be cohesive throughout your stall space. This includes: your brand colours, or at least a distinguishable ‘theme’ for the day, as well as your marketing collateral, the items you have on display and decoration for your stall such as florals, furniture and even your outfit!

You want your stall space to be unmistakably “your business” which will in turn attract more couples. When searching for their wedding vendors, couples are looking for business owners who they can relate to, putting your personality into your stall space and really displaying who you are and what your business is about, will go a long way in securing those bookings!

Our wedding fair is a unique opportunity to chat to potential clients that you ordinarily wouldn’t be able to talk to face to face so take advantage of the opportunity!

You know what they say: ‘your vibe attracts your tribe!’

Interactive Stall

If your business type allows for opportunities to have an interactive element at your stall – take it!

The longer you can get couples to pause and engage with your stall, the higher your chance of converting them into bookings or at least securing them as a word of mouth referral to other couples they know who are getting married in the South West.

Some ideas are: make up or service demo, free samples, product displays that they can interact with, quote forms, competition entries - anything to make them stop in their tracks!

Marketing Collateral

If you expect couples to invest in your services, you need to invest in them too. A professional suite of marketing material is the first impression you need for your small business.

Well-designed brochures, business cards, and other informative material sets the tone for your business. If you are confident in the proficiency of your graphic design skills you can design them yourself and get them professionally printed however we do recommend using a professional designer to create a cohesive suite of marketing materials for you, they know what they are doing!

Remember, first impressions count, if your business card or flyer will be your sole representation among a goodie bag of other business cards... better make it a good one!

Email List

If it’s relevant to your business, offer a form for couples to fill in on the day so you can generate quotes in the week following the wedding fair. This puts you at the front of the pack and is a great way to get tangible lead generation data for your business from the wedding fair!

In addition to this we highly recommend adding a tick box to your website contact form to gain insight on how your couples found you eg: wedding fair, Google, directory, word of mouth etc

Having a constant presence (that is NOT pushy) goes a long way in securing those bookings!

Tip: create an incentive for signing up to your mailing list, it might be to get a quote, there might be a discount you are willing to offer or additional service that you will throw in if they sign up at the wedding fair etc.

Run a Competition

Run in conjunction with data collection, on-the-day comps are a great way to promote the event in the lead up and give extra incentive to attend on the day. Competitions can be: a package giveaway, a percentage off a package for a few couples or any other prize that is suitable for your business.

If you want to draw your winner on the day, we recommend requesting their contact information as part of the entry process (a mobile number and email address) in addition to their social media handle in case there are any typos or issues getting in touch with the winner. Chances are they will have left the wedding fair by the time you are ready to draw!

You can also run competitions on Instagram and include a QR code that links directly to the post at your stall. Then use a random number generator to select the winning comment! The options are endless!

Tip: don’t make it too hard to enter, and where possible, offer runner up prizes of lesser value to encourage more entries!

Say Hey!

This might seem like a no-brainer but we are going to put it out there anyway!

You don’t have to have an in-depth conversation with every couple who passes your stall and let’s face it, not everyone will be keen on a big conversation with every single vendor! However, a friendly smile and ‘hello’ goes such a long way and might mean the difference between them stopping and saying hello or walking right by!

The majority of couples won’t be the first to strike up a conversation with stall holders so we recommend making the first move. Ask when their wedding is, have they chosen a venue, is there any part of wedding planning that they are struggling with currently? Find out how you can help them!

Another option is having something to offer them that is not just a flyer, you might have a bowl of sweet treats available (with your contact details on them of course!) or maybe you’re running a competition and can offer an entry form!

be Approachable

While we definitely appreciate that initiating conversation and putting yourself out there is not everyone’s default personality, we do want to highlight a few areas that will help your physical presence at your stall.

Over the last few years we have noticed many stall holders remaining seated and not engaging with passing couples throughout the course of the event. We do understand that you will need a break at some point and that not everyone can be ‘on’ the whole time. However we do recommend that where possible, you endeavour to make couples feel they can approach you and your stall, a simple welcoming smile and open body language (without actually having to say anything!) goes SO far!

Combine this with our data collection suggestions and you are on the path to a successful wedding fair!