Wedding fayres seem to attract quite a Marmite reaction. Some couples swear by them and strongly recommend that all their friends who subsequently get married go to as many as they can. Others recoil at the very thought, viewing the prospect of an entire event dedicated to wedding planning as far too much to cope with in one go.
But if you are planning your wedding and haven’t attended any wedding fayres before, it is well worth considering. The key thing is to have a clear plan in mind about what you want to get out of it. Just turning up hoping for some inspiration is likely to leave you feeling overwhelmed by all the different exhibitors clamouring to sell you their products. And if you’re not sure what you’re looking for anyway, you risk leaving feeling disappointed.
Here are a few tips for making an afternoon at a wedding fayre well worth your while.
Choose a fayre at a venue you are interested in
Wedding fayres often double up as open days for venues that host wedding receptions, and that means you can kill two birds with one stone. If you spot that a venue you already like the look of is holding a fayre, then absolutely go. It gives you a chance to look round properly, and the venue’s event organisers will likely be on hand to give you the grand tour, answer questions, discuss catering options and so on.
Look up the list of exhibitors in advance
This will give you a chance to decide what you are interested in finding out more about, and give your visit a greater sense of purpose. You will save time looking for things that might not even be there, and you can also avoid that frazzled ‘there’s too much to choose’ from feeling when you feel obliged to stop at every stall as you desperately try to make decisions on the hoof.
Choose your partner carefully
No, this is not a veiled attempt to offer advice for married life in general. But you will get more out of any wedding fayre if you go with the right person. It might be a case that going as a couple works best for you. But be honest with yourselves – if it is the bride taking the lead in the wedding planning, and if the groom is happier taking instructions rather than offering opinions and taking decisions, then the bride might be better choosing someone else to go with (careful about how enthusiastically you make this suggestion, grooms).
It should be someone who is playing a key role in the wedding preparations – a parent, sibling, best friend or even a hired wedding planner – but also someone who you can bounce ideas off and get alternative points of view from, without it descending into bickering. It is also probably a good idea to go with just one or at the most two trusted confidants. Once you start turning up in larger groups, you will find the multiple opinions only confuse the decision-making process further.
At Colony HQ, we are holding our next Wedding Fayre and Open Day on Sunday 29th September between 12pm and 4pm. To find out more about our exhibitors, or to book an appointment with one of our wedding organisers on that date or any other time to suit, please get in touch with us today.
