With only 4 weeks to go till The Dark Wedding Fair, lets help you get planned, organised and ready for whats to come!
Wedding fairs have a reputation. Clipboards. Prize draws that are really mailing lists. Someone pressing a leaflet into your hand before you've taken your coat off.
It doesn't have to be like that. A good fair can save you weeks of scrolling, because ten minutes talking to someone tells you more than their entire Instagram grid.
With our next Dark Wedding Fair coming to The Old Library in Digbeth, Birmingham on Saturday 14th November, here's how to walk out with actual progress.
Know What You're Looking For Before You Arrive
You don't need a spreadsheet. You do need a rough list of what's booked and what isn't.
Write down the three suppliers you most need to find. Those are your priority conversations. Everything else is a bonus, and you can enjoy it properly once the important ones are done.
It's Fine If You've Booked Nothing At All
Plenty of couples come to a fair with a ring and no plan. That's a perfectly good reason to be there.
If that's you, don't try to book anything. Look around. Notice what you're drawn to and what you walk straight past. You'll learn more about the wedding you want in an afternoon than in a month of saved posts.
Bring The Right Person
Bring whoever will be honest with you and won't hurry you along. That might be your partner. It might be your best friend, your mum or nobody at all.
If someone in your life has strong opinions about what a wedding "should" be, this may not be the day to bring them. You're here to work out what you want, not to defend it.
Have A Few Facts Ready
Suppliers can help you much faster if you can tell them:
Your date, or the season and year you're aiming for
Your venue, or the area you're looking in
Rough guest numbers
A rough budget for what they do
Rough is fine. "Autumn 2027, somewhere in the Midlands, about 60 people" is enough for a real conversation.
Ask Better Questions
"How much are you?" gets you a number. These get you an answer:
What's your favourite wedding you've worked on, and why?
What would you do with our venue?
What do couples usually wish they'd asked you sooner?
How far ahead do you tend to book up?
You're listening for curiosity. The right supplier will start asking you questions back.
Touch Things, Try Things, Taste Things
This is the whole advantage of being in the room. Feel the weight of the fabric. Try the ring on. Hold the stationery. Eat the cake sample.
Photographs online are edited, cropped and chosen. What's on the table in front of you is the real thing.
Take Notes As You Go
By the fifth conversation, everyone blurs together. Take a photo of each stand you liked, then a photo of their card, so the two sit next to each other in your camera roll.
Add a one line note on your phone while it's fresh. "Loved her, booked up for October" will mean a lot to you in a fortnight.
Don't Feel Pressured To Book On The Day
Some suppliers offer fair discounts, and if you already knew you wanted them, lovely. Take it.
If you're not sure, go home. A supplier worth booking will still be worth booking on Monday. Anyone who makes you feel otherwise has told you something useful.
Follow Up Within A Week
Message the two or three you really connected with while they still remember your face. Mention the fair and something you talked about. It makes you a person rather than an enquiry form.
Then Let Yourself Enjoy It
Our fairs are built to feel like a good day out, not a sales floor. There's live music that doesn't sound like a wedding playlist, and a room full of people who don't need you to explain why you love a gothic arch.
Planning a wedding is allowed to be fun. This is one of the afternoons where it really is.
The Dark Wedding Fair is at The Old Library, Digbeth, Birmingham on Saturday 14th November, 11am to 4pm. Tickets start at £5 and you can book them on our Events page.
