Wedding fairs - slight rant

amberlindsay

Hi all,

Ok; so I'm a little bit taken aback by my first ever (and prob last) wedding fair. Whenever I hear people talking about them; I always assumed they were fun and that you could browse, get ideas etc

Anyway; I went to my first one today and was severely disappointed. It seemed to be full of people who just wanted your money and would almost grab you to give you the hard sell as you walked past (I know they're there to sell - but that is not the way!). It seemed so fake and superficial; like the only thing people cared about was whether the photo albums were hand made in Italy - people seem to have forgotten about the 'marriage' part of the day.

Did anyone else feel like this at their first wedding fair or am I just completely unrealistic about what to expect at this kind of thing!:o

<rant over> :rotfl:

bubble96

they are all a little bit like that, but i would add that they vary greatly, i have been to some awful ones, and some fantastic ones. the only thing we booked through a wedding fayre however was a magician, and thats because he was decent enough to say to us to go away and think about it and email him during the week and say that we had seen him at the fayre and he would still do it for the same price. so there are some decent people, there are some rubbish people, and after going to a few in your area you will know which people to avoid! i would give a couple more a chance incase you went to a particularly rubbish one (and often i found that the rubbish ones were the ones that were overseen by big companies that forced you to fill in details before you went through the door - they often had the same people, big companies, and none of the little companies)

nickyhutch

amberlindsay wrote: »

Hi all,

Ok; so I'm a little bit taken aback by my first ever (and prob last) wedding fair. Whenever I hear people talking about them; I always assumed they were fun and that you could browse, get ideas etc

Anyway; I went to my first one today and was severely disappointed. It seemed to be full of people who just wanted your money and would almost grab you to give you the hard sell as you walked past (I know they're there to sell - but that is not the way!). It seemed so fake and superficial; like the only thing people cared about was whether the photo albums were hand made in Italy - people seem to have forgotten about the 'marriage' part of the day.

Did anyone else feel like this at their first wedding fair or am I just completely unrealistic about what to expect at this kind of thing!:o

<rant over> :rotfl:

Sadly, when people start planning a wedding and get carried away with it all, that sort of thing is often the only thing that seems to matter.

Gleeful

Sounds like we both went to the same one today!

There are good and bad. It can be fun though.

I'm always curious about the videographers, as making films was a big part of my degree. Some of the ones I see at wedding fairs make me want to bang my head against a wall.

chelle2k9

I have been to a couple of wedding fairs and felt exactly the same but thought it was just me! we're not getting married until 2012 but when I mentioned the date the people at the stands just completely lost interest and I almost felt like I shouldn't be there! don't think i'm going to bother going to anymore lol

greenmoneysaver_2

It seems you can't get the timing right Chelle!

I went to my one and only wedding fair about 1 month ago, when I mentioned I was getting married in July THIS year there was looks of shock and awe!

I left at least 1 stationery stall as there was a lead time of 12-14 weeks on the invites, once a decision had been made!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

However, got some good contacts for invites and flowers - the things I think you need to see in person, and although from "posh" companies, the sort I would have avoided for fear of being ripped off, having compared them to the others they are well worth the extra money!

I was alarmed at how many people at these things weren't actually getting married (and this was one you paid to get into!), and when we chose our rings the staff there also commented they get ladies in who try on engagement rings and then declare they need to find a man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am glad we are keeping sane about it! Many thanks to all the stories people share on this forum!

chelle2k9

yep perhaps i was a little keen lol

Gleeful

greenmoneysaver wrote: »

I was alarmed at how many people at these things weren't actually getting married (and this was one you paid to get into!), and when we chose our rings the staff there also commented they get ladies in who try on engagement rings and then declare they need to find a man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's just......wierd!

amberlindsay

Oh; I'm glad it's not just me who thinks this about these wedding fairs then!

>>>and often i found that the rubbish ones were the ones that were overseen by big companies that forced you to fill in details before you went through the door

That explains a lot - that's exactly what this one was; I had to register last week, which I thought was a bit odd anyway. I just assumed that because it was at one of the nice Universities in Cambridge; it would be quite organized - sounds like I ought to seek out the individually smaller run ones.

Oh well - on the bright side we looked at our first 3 potential venues this weekend - 1 was rubbish, 1 was ok and 1 was REALLY nice; but a tad expensive for what you get...the search continues...:j

Gleeful

I've been to two run by the same 'Wedding Guide' - the first one was brilliant, the second not so great. The catwalk show today was so 'chav' it made us giggle.

SeaBee

I dragged DF along to one right at the start of our planning - mainly because I was looking for my dress and thought I could see lots of styles all in one place.

We both hated it - it felt like we were being herded around and the exhibitors kept trying to drag us in, even though we were desperatey avoiding making eye contact!!

I left my details at the one stall I was actually interested in and they never bothered to contact me, so a total waste of time for us.