Your Dream Day Wedding Planning Podcast with Kathy Piech-Lukas
Your Dream Day Wedding Planning Podcast with Kathy Piech-Lukas
Navigating Wedding Shows and Booking Wedding Vendors: Tips from Kristie Bulach of A Bride's Mafia
Are you ready to turn your dream wedding into a reality? Kathy Piech-Lukas of Your Dream Day and Kristie Bulach, wedding show producer for A Bride's Mafia, spotlight an upcoming wedding show in Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday, November 30 at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton, where you'll find wedding vendors and services, from picturesque venues and delectable food sampling to professional photographers and unique decor. We share our exclusive tips to help you get the most out of your wedding show experience and what to expect following the show. Be prepared to share your contact information at the show, and set up a separate email account for the information you'll definitely receive from all exhibitors following the event.
Fun activities planned for the after hours wedding show include engaging activities like photo booths and ice rinks, cake samples and food samples. We've also got you covered for special discounts from White Wisteria Bridal Boutique and a special giveaway from Susan's Getaways and Dream Vacations.
We remind you of the importance of dealing only with reputable, licensed and insured vendors. Hear our cautionary tale about a videography company handing out business cards without a booth, and couples who have booked wedding vendors through Facebook groups only to have them cancel last minute or not show up at all. We stress the need to research your vendors thoroughly and share insights on the latest wedding trends, like live painters, and how to get referrals of quality wedding vendors. So, let's join hands and make your dream wedding a seamless reality.
To listen to more episodes visit www.yourdreamday.com
We are making our own story as we go, as we go, as we go. Hopin', we are, hopin', that we'll go, so we'll be ever after, ever after. Hi, welcome to your Dream Day podcast. I'm Kathy Piech-Lukas, wedding planner here in the Greater Cincinnati area, and I'm joined today by Kristie Bülach of A Brides Mafia, and we're going to talk a little bit about wedding shows because, Kristie, you have a wedding show coming up, don't you?
Speaker 2:I do, it's coming up very quickly.
Speaker 1:Tell us a little bit about the show when, where, what time?
Speaker 2:So it is November 30th at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts in downtown historic Hamilton, 101 South Monument Avenue. It is from 6 to 9.30 pm, and again it's Thursday, november 30th, so it's after hours wedding show. Come after work, bring some friends hang out, it's a whole lot of fun.
Speaker 1:So they don't have to worry about missing a football game, right.
Speaker 2:Well, you know what it is Thursday night football. But they can get there, get out, plan their entire wedding and make the men happy by making it for kickoff. There you go Well.
Speaker 1:and I'll tell you, I always find that the grooms enjoy going to the wedding shows because they get food samples and cake samples and all sorts of food.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, we are going to have a cash bar, as well as many, many samples donuts, cake, all kinds of food. Condado tacos is going to be there. I'm very excited for it.
Speaker 1:That's. My favorite thing about wedding shows is the cakes. I tell myself this, and I don't know if it's true, but I tell myself that all these little cake samples are one weight watcher's point and it's okay for me to have it at the wedding show.
Speaker 2:Yes, oh, for sure.
Speaker 1:But for a couple who's newly engaged and this might be their first wedding show, wedding shows are a great way to plan your wedding. You, in theory, could plan your wedding in one night, but they're a fantastic resource for helping you get your feet wet and see exactly what is out there, like with photography, with catering, with decorations. Do you want to talk a little bit about what some of the things that are available at a Bridesmafia's wedding show?
Speaker 2:Yes, everything you just mentioned and more. We've got, obviously, an amazing venue. The Fitton Center has three different spaces that you can actually host a wedding, actually technically four if you want to have it in the theater, so you can come in check out that space, but we're going to have other venues there as well. They will have pamphlets and computers there with all kinds of photos so you can check out that. You can schedule to do tours right there with them. And then we've got all the food vendors.
Speaker 2:So coming out tasting multiple vendors in one night, that is keeping you from driving all around the city and having to spend your weekends, you know, going different places. This is like a one-stop shop. Photography, videography. We've got tons of gift and decor. So if you're looking for something for your wedding party, if you need a little something for a gift for them or your parents, there's going to be vendors there that will have these things actually on hand that you can purchase right then. And there We've got photo booth companies. So jump in with either your fiance or the group that you've come with and check out our 360 photo booth that's going to be there 360.
Speaker 1:Those are really hot right now. Photo booths are still a huge trend.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. We even have a dance studio. So come learn a few dance moves and maybe you know, schedule something with your fiance to do a nice little intro or learn a few steps so you can kind of, you know, impress all of your guests at the wedding, Knock their socks off with that first dance.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you don't want to do what I call the seventh grade rock back and forth what you did when you were in junior high or middle school, and you put your hands on their hips and they put their hands on your shoulders and you rocked back and forth.
Speaker 1:That's no way to have a first dance. You want it to be memorable and fun. Now, one thing I think that couples need to understand in the process is when they go to a wedding show it's no different than any other expo, like the homeowner show. When they get there, they have to register their information. So, whether it's when you purchase the ticket or when you get to the event itself, you're going to have to disclose your contact information, which includes your name, your wedding date, email address, phone number and things like that, and that information is shared with all of the exhibitors at that show so that they can help you with planning your wedding. But one thing that you should definitely expect is you will be contacted by some of the people who are exhibiting at this show. What are some tips for these couples who are going to be getting a lot of phone calls and emails from people saying hey, I'd love to tell you more about how I can help you with your wedding.
Speaker 2:So we always say create your own wedding email. That way, when this is all done, you can just kind of take that one off your phone. You don't have to worry about the notifications for that. It's all in one location. Email is usually the most popular way that the vendors will reach out to you with their newsletters or things that they are offering specials, different things like that. We always tell people create an email it takes five seconds on Gmail. It could be your hashtag, it could be your new name or whatever it might be, and create that. Give that to the vendors. Register with that email. That way you're not getting bombarded with that in your personal email. So you can really set those two things aside and then, like I said, when it's all said and done, take it off your phone, if you have it on your phone, so you don't get that little notification bubble, because I know I can't stand that bubble when there's a bunch of numbers there. So that's the first thing I would do when the wedding is done and we're wrapping things up. But also just know that you came to the show to meet with them. They're very excited to be a part of your big day. Nobody is going to spam you information. They're really there to help you and hopefully be a vendor for your day. So hear them out and if you don't want their service or don't need their service, just politely tell them we've already booked somebody. Or thank you so much, we're going a different route.
Speaker 2:It's always in the wedding industry such a bummer to just be left on red and not know. You know you're kind of ghosted. It's like did you book someone? Are you still hanging around? Like people will pencil you in for a date. You know, if you had a great conversation with somebody, they're like oh, you know, I love this couple, I'm going to put their date down. And then you reach out. You reach out, you don't hear from them and you don't want to book the date. Because what if, like a month later, they're like oh okay, we're ready to book now? And you're like I'm so sorry, I already booked this date. Just let them know your intentions, let them be a part of the process to see you know if it's something that you're still needing but you just don't need to book it, right, that time you might be trying to figure something else out. So just that communication is huge with the vendors.
Speaker 1:It is and with my planning, had on the ghosting it it. You wondered did I say something? Are they just not getting back to me? Have I contacted them too much Now?
Speaker 1:I went to a wedding conference earlier this month and one of the presenters had the funniest thing I've ever heard about ghosting and following up with with couples. He said for the first one you know you do your initial hi, how you do in, what can I do to help you? Blah, blah, blah. And then the second one is more of the just wanted to check in, haven't heard from you. Then the third one was we haven't heard from you. So I'm assuming that you decided to alope and run away to a destination island somewhere and, you know, get married in the sand because we haven't heard from you. So we're going to assume that that's what happened. And then he said what ends up happening is then, all of a sudden, these couples feel like, oh my gosh, I feel bad now. And then they reach back out.
Speaker 1:But no, I mean just be honest with your vendors, because I think that's one thing in the wedding industry is we do what we do because we genuinely want to make people happy. I mean that's really passion of ours. We're professional people pleasers and we genuinely want you to have a happy day. And if you don't want our services or if our service isn't the best fit for you, that's okay. We get that, you know. Just tell us so that we, you know we don't get to the point where you feel like we're constantly coming after you because that's not what we're doing at all. We're genuinely trying to help you with your planning. What are some fun things that you have scheduled for the mafia show during the show, do you tell? Do you tell?
Speaker 2:Well, we have, like I said, a lineup of vendors who are super fun. So when you enter in, there's going to be a super fun photo booth that the Fitton Center is going to provide, so you'll get a photo with all of your attendees with you. We're going to have some great decor. There's going to be talk I heard about like a little kind of icy ice rink. You'll have to come find out. That's gonna be in the theater, but don't be. Is it gonna?
Speaker 2:be, warm ice skating. You don't need ice skates for this one, but you need to come check it out for sure. There's some really cool things that our vendors can do. So if you're planning a winter wedding, this is definitely something that you want to check out. If that's in your realm. If you're planning a summer wedding, fall wedding, you name it please still come out, because there's going to be vendors showcasing everything.
Speaker 2:We're just having a little bit of fun with the Christmas and the winter theme for the show, but know that our vendors really can do just about anything, and that's kind of what I tell them when they are booking with us and they're planning out their booths. I'm like, do something so fun and over the top because that's going to show the brides man. They really can just bring it with whatever I throw at them. If I throw at them a winter wonderland and they bring it, I know that if I throw at them a spring, summer, fall event, they're going to show up at big time. Check out the ice rink that we're doing A lot of. It's really a surprise to me too, because the vendors are they like to go crazy and do some fun things. So I know that some are planning some games. They said we've got the dance group coming in so you can learn how to do a little bit of dancing. The photo booths and then tons of food and drink. Lots to do while you're there.
Speaker 1:Well, I know they're going to have something to do with me when they get there. They are.
Speaker 1:We're actually going to be doing some one-on-one interviews with couples at the show that maybe, just maybe, might make your Dream Day podcast or our YouTube channel. So, yes, make sure to pop by. We've got we come up with about a dozen fun questions. I'm hoping it goes over as well as the late show does, but I'm not going to run out on Times Square and ask everybody. I'm going to hopefully have all these couples come to our, to our pop-up banner and answer those questions. But we'll see how can people buy tickets.
Speaker 2:You can go to abridesmafiacom. You can also find us on our social media Facebook and Instagram, abridesmafia and both of those have links to the Eventbrite page, so it will take you to Eventbrite. You can either purchase a VIP ticket, which will give you a swag bag with some extra goodies and also a drink ticket, or you can just get a free ticket, so it's free to attend. It's also free parking around Hamilton area, so the Fitton Center has tons of free parking and also there are a few other lots local and some street parking available for free as well. So it's not going to cost you anything to come out and meet with some of Cincinnati's finest wedding vendors. That's the greatest thing about this show. But if you do want a little extra something, grab you one of those bags and check out to see what you've got. We're also going to have a $500 giveaway that night for Susan's getaways I'm in dream, so you can put that towards either your destination wedding.
Speaker 2:You decide after all of this, you just you want to run away and elope and leave us all behind $500 towards that wedding of your dreams or the honeymoon of your dreams. Susan and her team are marvelous. They can book you anywhere in the world and they are so much fun. They are graciously giving away a $500 credit for your honeymoon that night, but you have to show up, so you have to come, you have to register and we will give it away. That night.
Speaker 1:Well, and you are talking about the giveaway. That is one thing that you do see at wedding shows Are give like door prizes, giveaways. But vendors also offer special quote unquote show rates that they only offer at that show and if you don't attend you can't take advantage of that special. You really have nothing to lose in everything to gain because this particular show is free to attend. But you could potentially save maybe $200 off your photo booth. It depends on what that particular special, that particular vendor is running that evening, but a lot of them do.
Speaker 2:I know some photographers are offering free engagement sessions. Those can be anywhere from $300 to $800, depending on what it is. It is worth coming out, seeing who's there, chatting with them and finding out the exclusive discounts that are offered that night.
Speaker 1:White Wisteria is, which is a bridal shop in the Reading Bridal District. They do a big spread at the Brides Mafia, don't they?
Speaker 2:They do. They're gonna have models they're in gowns as well as their booths set up so you can check out the latest trends. They will also be offering, I believe, some discounts if you book your consultation in their Reading Bridal District store. Their store, if you've not been is top notch, absolutely gorgeous. The dresses that they carry are stunning. You'll wanna definitely stop by them. They are a huge show sponsor of ours and we just love to see what all they bring out. Their dresses are by far our favorite.
Speaker 1:They're right down the street from my office because I'm in the Reading Bridal District. So they're on the corner of Reading Road and Benson Street, so they're literally the first shop you see when you're coming down Reading Road.
Speaker 2:I love window shopping there. Every time I drive by to see all the fun beautiful sparkles and lace and you name it. They're amazing. They're the girls are so much fun. They make you feel so welcome. I've been with some of my brides that I've planned weddings with there and some of my friends and family. I take them there and the going in and trying on the dresses. They make you feel so special and there's something for everybody there.
Speaker 1:I feel like Just dress shopping in general is so much fun. I mean, when I joke that there's the three stages of buying your wedding dress and stage number one is you start swishing back and forth and then you I swear, I swear, this is what happens you start swishing back and forth, you start petting your hips and checking yourself out in the mirror, then you start getting giddy and you don't wanna take it off. Then, if you're going to cry, usually it happens shortly after that. But it's like the dress is like a person. It really is. I think I went three, two one on mine.
Speaker 2:I think I cried first when I saw myself Like I just I knew it felt right, and then it was like I went out and I showed everybody else, did the whole petting of the hips and then I think I started swishing. So I think I went three, two, one.
Speaker 1:I remember the type of dress I got a strapless dress and never in a million years would I have thought that a strapless dress would look good on me. And what happened was the salesperson brought the dresses that I asked her to, with the pictures that I showed her because I thought I wanted spaghetti straps, and she said, well, try on these ones just for fun. And it was like she knew my body type because I looked in the mirror and went, oh my gosh, this looks amazing on me, wow.
Speaker 1:I never would have expected this.
Speaker 2:And what's been really big lately that I think a lot of people don't think that they would like on themselves, are the sleeves.
Speaker 1:Yes, detachable sleeves.
Speaker 2:I love having these sleeves, whether they're looking filler, so I'm here for it.
Speaker 1:I had the pleasure I was doing a new segment for Channel 2 in Dayton. So I went up and down Benson Street into a dress shop and one of them had this beautiful dress that had the detachable sleeves and it was very boho. I asked her. I said can I try that on? Because it was my size. It looked amazing on. I did this teeny, weeny little five second video wearing this dress and it got over 100 interactions on Facebook. I was shocked.
Speaker 1:But it was so nice, because it's like you can have a whole new look for your dress at the reception just by taking off the sleeves.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, exactly. It's almost like you're changing dresses but you've got built-in and one dress one time you have to pay for it. So if your budget doesn't allow for two dresses and you want to switch something out, they can definitely do belts, sleeves, hair pieces, veils, all kinds of different things, so you can kind of change up your look.
Speaker 1:Very cool. Who are some of the other people that we should look out for, other vendors we should look out for at the show?
Speaker 2:We are going to have a couple different decor people. We've got A&S Party Rental. They can oh my gosh, kathy, you know a lot about them, but they can do a whole lot of anything that you want, from rentals to all of your linens, decor, your centerpieces. They're going to have a big spread out there. Also, sk Designs she's one of our decor sponsors too. She's going to have all kinds of fun stuff that you can see that she has on hand. We've got Fire Elegance, chair covers and sashes. They also do a lot of our Chevari chairs as well too. So if you're in the need for rentals, we have got you covered Right. We're going to have a bunch of photographers out there, and when I need a bunch, our show is limited, so you're not going to be fighting with 30 photographers contacting you.
Speaker 2:We don't have more than eight in our show of any category, so it's a boutique show. So we are finding and picking out the best of the best in Cincinnati and bringing those right in front of you. You don't have to worry that somebody's got a $500 package and somebody's got a $5,000 package. Everybody's kind of in a similar price range. So the mafia is total families. What you're finding is, all of these vendors are referring each other, so if they are booked, they're going to refer you to another mafia member, because we are like family, we know how each other works. We know that it's not a fly by night company. You're getting somebody who's very reputable in Cincinnati. That's one thing that we pride ourselves on. We do our research on our end, as far as being the show producer, to find the best people in Cincinnati. That's going to give you by far top notch experience and you're going to walk away happy with them.
Speaker 1:And that is such a critical piece that I think a lot of couples don't realize the fact that a lot of homework goes into the exhibitors that are at your particular show. One time shall we tell the story about the.
Speaker 2:I think we should. I think people need to know.
Speaker 1:The last mafia show. I was the elevator attendant. I was in the elevator asking people what floor they wanted to go on. What were they looking for? Oh, you should go check out this, this, this, this, this, and, kind of being like the little pointer director, send them on their way.
Speaker 1:We had a couple that brought it to our attention that there was a videography company that was handing out their business cards, didn't have a booth and had a clipboard that they were gathering information from. That is a huge no. No, if you are a new vendor listening to this podcast right now, be aware that the show producers will remove you promptly from that show, because they put a lot of effort and a lot of time into finding the vendors that are exhibiting at that show and their name is on them. They don't want to just refer somebody who maybe decided that they were going to buy a video camera and now they're a videographer. They don't know anything about them. Ironically, that person was hand. He handed me a card in the elevator which I thought was just. It was just apropos.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So we had all the contact information to reach out to them, let them know that we would be reaching out to all of the other shows that take place around this area, and I believe they had like a Tennessee phone number or something like that. When we did the research, I'm part of some organizations of bridal show producers international. I reached out to all of them and said be on the lookout. Like this is what's happening. And every single show producer came back and said they will never be a part of our show. They just blacklisted themselves.
Speaker 2:That's not the way you go about doing it.
Speaker 2:We pride in what we do and making sure that our vendors are going to deliver on the wedding day. We don't want to hear that there's a no show or somebody scamming on a money. There's been other instances around Cincinnati luckily not with our show, because of the research that we do where this has happened and I've dealt with it with mothers of the brides I know that they've gone to the attorney general's office with losing money because there was 12, 13 other brides that they'd scammed out of money. So it's just sad. But you can rest assured, coming to the after hour's wedding show, you're not going to have that, and if you run into a situation that feels a little sketchy, kind of like the clipboard thing and it's not on our show program, bring it to the attention of one of the vendors right there in the show and we will promptly remove them and make sure that we send out an email to people letting them know. If you get any contact from this company, please know that they were not part of our show.
Speaker 2:We can't trust them pretty much just what we had to say because we had no idea who they were, where they came from, and to do that was just crazy. And it cracks me up that they handed you a card still.
Speaker 1:I thought that was funny. I'm like, okay, I'm giving this to the show producer, but okay, that's another reason why I love wedding shows, because one thing that I have seen and I will be doing a future podcast about this very topic is the Facebook scams that have been happening. And what will happen is you'll have a wedding planning group. You'll post hey, I'm in search of a florist, a DJ and a photographer. And then the next thing you know you have 100 comments of people who are giving you names of people, but you don't know anything about them. You don't know if that's the actual vendor who's posting for themselves.
Speaker 1:There was a situation a couple years ago with a florist and what happened with her was she just stopped showing up at weddings and there were dozens of brides who went without flowers on their big day because she couldn't manage her business. There's another one it's a photographer same situation where basically she just was taking people's money and running. The other thing that you're seeing a lot on Facebook is somebody putting down a retainer for a service and then that DJ or that photographer cancelling two weeks before their wedding with no cause real just cause and in most cases we, the industry, know that the likely just cause is not a personal tragedy. It's that they found somebody who was willing to pay them more and they canceled on the other one. And so you have to be really, really careful with pole reputable vendor piece of things, even with your dream day and the planning side of the business. We don't refer anybody that we don't know, that we haven't worked with, or that somebody we trust very, very much has worked with.
Speaker 2:Coming to the show is great for networking as well. If you have a vendor there who you fell in love with, you booked and they will also give you kind of their two cents of oh my gosh, yes, I've worked with this florist before and they have just knocked it out of the park. Or we love working with this wedding planner. They're going to keep you on timely schedule and make sure everything gets done. That type of thing. Networking at the show is just as important as coming out. Make sure you meet everybody. You might learn a little something just by talking with a vendor, or they might be able to point you into a direction that might not necessarily be at the bridal show, but because, like, one thing we actually do not have at the show is like a live painter, and I know that that's very important.
Speaker 1:That's a huge trend now, right now Huge trend.
Speaker 2:And unfortunately our live painters that we've had in the past are all booked for this time. We do have referrals. So that is, you come up to the Bridesmafia booth and say I was really wanting a live painter, we can still give you some network people in our network that we've worked with that can be really great. So just because they can't be there at this show due to a conflict of calendar, we can still help you in that sense too. But yeah, we've seen a lot of that happening with people canceling really close to the day or we're getting phone calls saying help, do you have anybody who can show up and DJ because he didn't show up and we've had to call in. You know, and luckily we've got some great, great people in our network that have shown up for these couples and help them out. I am so, so tired of reading these stories of people saying that read your contract If it's a vinyl contract.
Speaker 2:Yes, if it is a reputable company, they are going to have a contract with you. Read through it, sign it, talk it over with them. That right there is going to show you that this company is a little bit more on the up and up if they have a nice, solid contract that not only protects them but protects you as well if something were to happen.
Speaker 1:And that's huge. I think couples don't realize that the contract isn't just for the business, it's to protect them as well. Well, Christy, thank you so much for being a guest today. You're just this wealth of information when it comes to wedding shows.
Speaker 2:Thank you. We are so excited and cannot wait for our show.
Speaker 1:Be sure to check out a bridesmafiacom where you can purchase your tickets to the after hours wedding show which is taking place on November 30th at the Fitton Center in downtown Hamilton. Christy, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Kathy, it's been a pleasure. Thanks so much for listening. Be sure to subscribe to your Dream Day podcast. Otherwise, this is Kathy Peach Lucas. Happy planning.
