Bridal Shows.....Aarrgh!!!!!

[awhitt99]

The studio I work for does two main bridal shows a year, twice a year. The ones

in the "off seasons" for booking happen in June for one, and August for the

other. In January,the busy booking time, they usually fall on consecutive

weekends, for example last year they were Jan 7th and 8th for the one, then the

next show was Jan 14th and 15th.

 

This year however, things have gone very very bad......For the first time in the

history of the studio I work for (35 years in business), the big two bridal

shows fall on exactly the same weekend. This is running us into a bit of a

dilemma, considering we have materials for one and only one display. There are

only three employees at the studio, but that's not the problem, we can outsource

some temporary help (i.e. family and friends) but we have no idea what to do

for displays (and we go all out every year, so we've got big end-cap or double

booths to fill.)

 

Our main we usually use consists of some black-carpeted light-weight doors, 4 in

total hinged together, which we velcro some pictures in frames on. This main

display will probably be used for the bigger show of the two. We are having a

hard time coming up with something affordable, yet sturdy, yet aesthetically

pleasing enough to show at the other. My idea was to use a heavy-cardboard or

light-weight plywood carpeted in the same material, and velcrow some

board-mounted prints on...without frames, but with a simple "digital framing" in

photoshop,to unite the images together and kind of feign a contemporary look

while staying on a tight budget. We have about two weeks to get this thing

together, so our creativity, time, and expenses are a bit limited.

 

If anyone has any ideas/suggestions to help, please let me know.....and soon!!!

 

Much appreciated,

Allison

[j_c38]

The big show I'm doing in January has a supply company. You can rent chairs, tables, skirts, table top displays, and the big mega 8' displays. Since they're working for the shows they get delivered to your booth!

 

Check with the promoter on this.

[diya_gill]

You could consider renting a laptop and projector w screen and make the smaller show completely digital, with one large portrait in a tasteful frame on easel, and one album to show... Of course, you will need constant manning of the booth to protect the laptop/projector...

[jeffrey_blake_adams]

Bridal shows are a waste to money and time, spend the day shooting a high end client that will give you great referals, not talking to brides that have failed to plan and are running around a circus looking for deals. Jeffrey

[awhitt99]

Well Jeffrey, to you and where you live, bridal shows may be a waste of time and money. The studio I work for employs 5 or more freelance photographers to shoot on the weekends. We get plenty of word of mouth business, but not enough to book all photographers out. That said, the bridal shows were this weekend. The total cost to be in the shows including duplicating our display was around two grand. We had 6 brides book at one show alone, and have made back at least 5 times what was put in. Had we just sit back and wait for them to come to us, we'd be sitting with no phone calls and letting our competition have all the clients, and I'd be on my way to the unemployment office. Some business tactics work well for some, but not for others. Maybe your images are just that good, but I know for a fact that the highest end photographers around where I live still depend on the shows.