Get the most out of your Wedding Fair…

Between now and Easter 2014, hotels across the country will be advertising and holding their annual (some bi-annual) wedding fair events trying to get the most out of the wedding fair so as to attract would-be couples to come in and view their wedding day offerings. All with the hope that they will celebrate their wedding day with them amongst family, friends and relations. Usually held over weekends on Sunday\’s, sometime Saturday\’s, hotels are now holding what they call \’Wedding Showcases\’ midweek. The event is mainly to showcase the hotel itself, where they would invite a select few of wedding suppliers / providers to support them and make the evening more appealing to their visitor couples. Organizing a wedding fair / showcase can be more time-consuming than expensive, where the main objective is to encourage couples to pay a deposit and book their wedding day. With so many hotels to choose from and with sports stadiums, clubs and the like now offering their premises for wedding couples to celebrate their wedding day in the surrounds of a major, famous sporting venue, hotels need to up their game in every way. Whatever type of venue you are trying to promote, how do you get people in the door and talking about you afterwards? Advertise People need to know that you are holding a wedding fair in your hotel. You would be amazed how people hear about things; the old-fashioned ways and the new ways. Old-fashioned ways include local newspapers, magazines, local radio, flyers, word of mouth, within the confines of the hotel. New ways include your Website, Facebook, Twitter, Text, E-mail. You need to ask the question, \’Where would couples about to get married be looking, reading, searching. Where do they get their news from, what is their preferred way of receiving information such as your information and how do they make decisions whether to go or not? Offers It is all about cost, it really is! Couples are looking at cost per head. The day of the couples wedding guests presents paying for the hotel bill is gone, as they are now giving smaller amounts of financial gifts. As a wedding venue, you need to be able to provide your unique wedding offerings at a cost that is attractive to the couple (yet not too cheap!) and that you cover your overheads and make a small profit. Adding in the extra pre- and post-wedding bits \’n\’ pieces to make you look unique and different is key. It\’s the small things that make the difference. Recognition Recognizing and rewarding couples who do decide to book their wedding with you, before, during and after their wedding can reap many benefits in the long term; some linked to future weddings, but also to other family events and occasions. Ideas like free pre-wedding meal sampling (which a lot of hotels do now), unique wedding room suite ideas and post-honeymoon celebrations and / or first anniversary celebrations. It is about making the memory last and trying to bring in more than just the couple back to the hotel, you need to think of all the people they know that need to know about you and your wedding showcase offerings and more…