We celebrated a huge milestone last Sunday, exhibiting at our first bridal show with Premier Bridal in Burbank!
We were one of the first vendors to arrive at the convention center, and thank goodness for that! With all of the furniture my husband and I carried in, we were grateful there weren’t many people we could traffic jam.
Of course, we immediately realized we forgot one crucial piece of equipment: our ladder. But, the show must go on. So I climbed atop his shoulders, two-kids-in-a-trenchcoat style to hang up our 8 foot banner.
As we set up our booth space, we had other vendors passing by and complimenting us. Being our first time at an expo, we were nervous going into it, but the support we got from our new community was exhilarating and we were SO excited when the brides started lining up at the front door.
From the time the expo started to the natural lull during the fashion show, neither one of us had more than a minute break before we found ourselves talking to another bride. We were absolutely overwhelmed by the positive feedback we received and amount of interest. Despite only having one available aesthetic, people loved it, and nothing else has ever felt so fulfilling. To our surprise, many brides already had a bridal suite at their venue, but were still interested to hire us for styling. I loved the way their eyes lit up looking at our mini suite on the expo floor, and I can’t wait to see those expressions tenfold on their wedding days!
Not only did we connect with so many amazing brides, but we also got the opportunity to meet many of our new colleagues. Networking with planners and photographers was a big goal for us to get our business off the ground, and we did exactly that at the show. There are some truly wonderful people in this community and we are thrilled to finally become a part of it.
We left the expo reeling, in disbelief that it was such a success. For a niche like ours, there is always the fear that other people won’t see the value in it. It’s a fear that we are going to put so much effort into something that ultimately fails and possibly costs us everything. But the anxiety of starting a business evaporated after connecting with the brides in Burbank. We are certain we will be booking our first client by the end of the summer!
