The Beauty of Wedding Expos

As a little girl, I don’t think I imagined what my wedding would be like very much. I loved watching shows like ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ and ‘Four Weddings’ as a teenager, but I oohed and ahhed over the finery and festivities in a largely abstract way.

This year, however, I am actually getting married! My fiancé proposed on New Year’s Eve in 2023. We’ve been planning for a little over a year now, and we’ve found wedding expos to be absolutely phenomenal resources.

In February of 2024, I attended a bridal expo to help man the booth for the business for which I work. The business is a tea shop, tea room, and florist, so we were showcasing our wedding floral designer’s pieces and advertising the tea room as a venue for bridal showers.

I was able to go visit the other booths while there and—wow! Bridal and wedding expos often attract an array of vendors and there was a huge range of local businesses displaying their services at this one.

This expo had booths for venues, caterers, and wedding dresses—some core considerations when wedding planning. Some of these vendors offered fantastic discounts and deals for attending the event. For example, I was able to save $200 on my wedding dress because I booked an appointment at the bridal store while at the expo. This formal wear store also presented a fashion show filled with lovely wedding gowns

However, there were several booths pertaining to different beautifying aspects for the wedding parties and soon-to-be newlyweds. Aestheticians and hairdressers, I wasn’t surprised by, though seeing them did reinforce that I needed—and still need—to decide on hair and makeup styles for the big day. What I didn’t expect were businesses offering shots and IVs for vitamins and hydration. I’m not much of a spa person, so seeing options that felt completely novel to me was really cool!

One of my favorite booths was for a business that preserves wedding flowers in resin and then frames the art pieces. I’m incredibly sentimental, so I might be reaching out to this business soon.

Florals and alternatives to fresh flowers were a big portion of the next bridal expo I went to later in August, this time with my fiancé rather than for work. I think he enjoyed it almost as much as I did! We were both impressed by a booth showcasing wooden flowers. They were actually fairly soft to the touch! While I love the idea of having flowers that I could keep exactly as they looked on my wedding day, I do find myself still drawn to predominantly fresh florals. A different business also made resin pieces with dried wedding flowers. Some were made into bookends and other decor. Again, resin preservation appeals to me (especially the bookends since my fiancé and I are both bookaholics).

Another booth, though, really caught our attention. This company offered a photo booth along with props, an attendant, and a scrapbook filled with copies of the photos taken for the bride and groom to take with them!

We booked them, and, again because we attended the expo, got a several hundred dollar discount!

So, if you are planning your wedding and have the opportunity, time, and energy to check out a wedding expo, I think it’s a great idea! Both of the expos I have been to were local affairs, which has been helpful since they happened in the city where my fiancé and I will be married. A lot of the businesses that attended the expos were small and often niche, and the booths offered a chance for interaction with business owners or employees. This chance to become personable to someone who might be involved with the wedding was invaluable.

Will you say ‘yes’ to going to a wedding or bridal expo?