How to get the most out of Wedding Shows

You’re engaged, congratulations! Now it’s time to start wedding planning.

For many brides the first port of call is a wedding show. With hundreds of suppliers all under one roof, it’s certainly an efficient way to start the planning process. But a lot of people find it quite daunting. They arrive at the venue and realise they have no idea where to start!

Fortunately, just a little bit of pre-game preparation can help alleviate wedding show nerves and make the day worthwhile.

I’ve worked with a lot of brides and I’ve seen them approach wedding planning in many, many different ways. I’ve used this experience to put together a few handy tips that I hope will help you get the most out of the next wedding show you attend.  

      
Make a Game Plan

Spend some time before the event thinking about the type of vendors you’d like to talk to. If you’re completely new to wedding planning you might want to start with venues, caterers and photographers. If you’re further along in the process you might only need to talk with florists, DJs and bakers.

 

You can take this even further by pre-selecting companies to talk to. Most wedding shows will provide a full exhibitor list prior to the event. You can usually find this on their website.

Sticking to a game plan will ensure you’re not overwhelmed and you actually leave with some good contacts.

Set Realistic Goals

Don’t expect to rush in, plan your wedding in its entirety and swoop out before lunch. You’ll only leave disappointed.

Instead, make a few realistic goals like finding a florist or booking a trial with a hairdresser. You’re much more likely to achieve smaller aims like this and so you’ll leave feeling pretty pleased with yourself.

Don’t Bring Your Entire Family

Wedding shows might sound exciting (free cake samples, hello!) but the reality is they can be a little boring for those who aren’t getting married. Do you really want to spend the day worrying about dad?

Bring your partner and maybe two or three genuinely interested people. This will usually be mother of the bride/groom and bridesmaids.

Be Your Best Self

Be friendly, be polite, wear your favourite (but most comfortable) shoes and bring your organisation a-game.

You’ll need a wedding show survival kit, which should include the following:

      Notebook and pen

      A tote bag for all the leaflets and samples

      Any relevant swatches of fabric or colour schemes

      A calendar to schedule appointments

It might also be useful to print your contact details onto small labels. That way you can just peel and stick, rather than write your name and address over and over again.

And all those hundreds of leaflets you’ll inevitably collect? Fold down the corners of your favourite vendors so when you get home you can quickly identify them in the pile.

Enjoy the Day

Wedding shows can be daunting but they can also be lots of fun. Soak up the atmosphere, talk to other happy couples and make sure you pay a visit to the champagne bar!

Calling all Essex brides! I’m going to be at the Heart Essex Wedding Show on the 25^th and 26^th February. Be sure to stop by for a chat, I’ll be on Stand 3!

For any other advice on wedding's please do get in touch! Our Webpage

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Wedding Photography at Dunston Hall, Norwich, Norfolk.

Hi All,

Sorry for the big gap in my Blogs.

It has been a crazy with lots of family portraits, which is obviously a good thing. Plus a well needed break which has left my batteries recharged so I am raring to go.

I would love to share with you a wedding that I had the privilege of photographing a few months ago in a beautiful venue in Norfolk called Dunston Hall.

The wedding between Nick & Hayley Baines was a very glamorous affair, with fantastic weather which enabled us to use the grounds of this majestic venue to the fullest.

My first duty of the day was to capture the bridal preparations.

Sometimes the bride and bridesmaids can be a little nervous, but Hayley and the girls were very at ease and had me in fits of laughter with some great banter.

A knock at the door revealed a beautiful bunch of flowers from the Groom to be, which had Hayley reaching for the Kleenex.

The girls work in the beauty industry, so helped each other to arrange their make up which was styled perfectly.

Nick, his best men and Grooms men arrived a little flustered as they thought they were running behind, but I assured them that, as the ceremony and reception were to be held at the same venue, we would have plenty of time to capture the images of the 'lads' later on in the day.

The ceremony took place in a large function room, which although it had plenty of space, never felt too large or that it didn't have any atmosphere, quite the opposite in fact, a very emotional service had many in tears, it was hard not to well up myself. 

We had decided to capture the large groups from above as a large balcony area would suit my purpose extremely well and give the large group image a different perspective.

The rest of the group shots we photographed in front of the fountain, although we were spoilt for places to do this, I felt that due to the position of natural light this would be the most advantageous location.

When I first met Nick and Hayley I felt that they were pretty much at ease with me straight away.

I feel this is a necessity for working up close with a couple on such an important and intimate occasion.

We had the perfect backdrop to work with and with the help of the new Mr and Mrs Baines we achieved some truly stunning images.

An amazing day had by all and I absolutely loved capturing this beautiful couples special day!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Baines

Essex wedding photographers day out to Reading.

Yesterday took Visions of View to a beautiful part of the country, a little village called Swallowfield in Wokingham, near to Reading.

The wedding was held in a gorgeous venue called The Mill House Hotel.

If you are ever looking for a venue in this area I can highly recommend it. 

The staff were amazing and extremely helpful, rearranging the furniture in order for me to complete my groups shots, as due to the time of year it was pitch black outside. 

Where some venues just say, 'no' you can't do that or 'no' you can't move that, the staff were happy to do pretty much anything all with a smile on their face.

The wedding between Karen & Paul was a fairly small affair compared to some, but in no way understated, they both looked amazing and were great fun to work with. 

My wedding photography takes me all over the Uk and Ireland and it is always a pleasure to meet such warm hearted, genuine people.

Congratulations to the newly married couple, Mr & Mrs Mason!

Brighten up your morning

Here is an image to brighten up a dull Monday morning.

This picture was taken in the Amazon Basin in Peru.

Hope you 'LIKE'

Brighten up my monday.

Sofa Sunday and working......again.

I have just created a business page on Google+ for  my photography company Visions of View.

It's worth a quick look, I have added some of my wedding images on there and a video montage.

https://plus.google.com/b/104259808094438311416/104259808094438311416/posts/p/pub

I'm trying to add my business on every search engine and free listing at the moment, extremely time consuming but very necessary. (also a little boring)

Wedding video - A montage of those special moments I have had the privilege of capturing

And so it begins

So here it begins a little bit of what I get up to and with who.

No nothing like that.

Just a few bits and pieces about a day in the life of me Matthew Harrison, a professional photographer, husband and lover of all things fun.