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That's us just last year at the Pink Bride Show before the flood gates of brides poured in. 

Each Christmas season more and more grooms get their brides-to-be a ring and pop the question with all the family around. Smart move. Then, quicker than you can say Happy New Year, there are billboards and social media ads for wedding expos and bridal shows. These shows start in January and run through early spring.

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The Pink Bride is growing all over the south. But I think secretly Knoxville is their favorite!

If you live in east Tennessee, The Pink Bride Show is HUGE!!! There are billboards everywhere. And on January 8 there’ll be 800+ brides with full entourage descending upon Knoxville Convention Center. Come early and stay late. And be ready to be overwhelmed – in a good way! Throughout the spring there are several venue open houses and the ever-popular Foothills Bridal Show on February 26^th.

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The Foothills Bridal Show is another great show!

This blog is dedicated to helping brides, and the few grooms who’ll forego football games on TV, have a better experience at a wedding expo. This post is about saving you time and money! Mostly money. Hint: Read to the end to discover our best offers.

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Better get on top of your wedding budget!

1. SAVE MONEY – “Money isn’t the only thing, just they main thing.”

The day of wedding expos will be the day you can save the most money. Period. Savvy wedding pros will have a killer deal THAT DAY! Some may extend it a day or two, maybe a week. But they want you to book with them right away and they’ll give you a real deal to make it happen. Have your priorities set. Start right now thinking about your budget. It’s your guiding priority. And phrases like"not very expensive" or "we can't afford much" are not budgets. Real dollar amounts are a budget. Not more than $100,000 isn't helpful either. Think in terms of a range - $6000 to $9000 is a budget that has meaning. The average wedding in Knoxville, in 2015 was $18952 according to The Wedding Report. 

HINT: Don’t get analysis paralysis - can’t make up your mind thinking about everything. If you like a wedding pro hire them. It’s one less thing to get done. Hire as many as you can. You can save more money at the expo than any other day. And if you need a photographer, I know a good one that has 33% OFF on January 8^th only!

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You can always find us by the Mile Marker Post. Photo Credit: Pink Bride. expo diagram 1 Maybe this helps you see us amongst the hustle and bustle.

IMG_8518 2 Another overhead shot. Photo Credit: Pink Bride.

expo diagram 2 Where's Waldo? 

2. MAKE A LIST – Know what you need.

You may not know anything about anything as it pertains to your wedding. And that’s ok until you walk into a wedding expo. There’ll be lights flashing, loud music, fancy dressed people parading around, the smells of the best caterers and wedding professionals at every turn wanting your business. The wedding professionals paid to be there and they need business to make this work. So they’ll want your attention. And the shows spread out all similar professionals. It’s not like grocery shopping where all the soups are next to all the soups. Photographers are never near another photographer; DJs are not near DJs, and so on. It’ll be spread out and somewhat confusing. So if you need a caterer, cake maker, photographer, and DJ, then make that list. Go see those types of wedding pros first. 

HINT: Many wedding pros are single person businesses. They can only work one wedding a Saturday. And even if they have staff, your wedding date may be popular. More about your date later. And these pros must fill their calendars. The sooner they fill their calendars the sooner they can relax. This is why many give show deals.

3. REGISTER  - Sign up before you go for the best deals & offers!

Register for the shows you want to attend. In east Tennessee, there’s the Foothills Bridal Extravaganza on Feb 26^th in addition to the Pink Bride Show. There are lots of Open Houses at various venues too. So get registered! There are tons of prizes and discounts. If you don’t register, you can’t win. Plus you’ll get a list of wedding professionals that will be there.

HINT: Get an email address just for your wedding. This way you can keep all your wedding correspondence in one place. I recommend Gmail because it’s great & FREE.

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Best Wedding Expo hack ever - you'll be a genius!!

Another helpful hint – use your mad office skills and make stickers with your name, email, wedding date & phone number. Get several sheets, maybe 60-75 total stickers. Every booth will be giving away a service or product. You’ll be tired of scribbling your info after the 3^rd booth you visit. And if the wedding professional can’t read your chicken scratch, you might win but can’t be notified. REGISTER before you attend. MAKE STICKERS.

4. ENTOURAGE - Surround yourself with fun!!!

Bring people that will help you – no “Debbie Downers” allowed. If someone with you is not feeling it or just a negative person, leave her at home. And if there’s someone that’s paying for portions of your wedding, bring them. Most of all bring fun people that are there to help you make good choices. Your attitude sets the tone for how much you’ll get from the show. And if you have a fun entourage, you’ll have fun.

HINT: Wear something that says “BRIDE.” Brides get more attention that anyone else. I say work it for all it’s worth!

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Set your wedding date NOW!!!

5. DATE – first thing you must have, after the ring, is a date.

If you just got engaged but haven’t set a date, be prepared to hear, “I’d love to work with you, but I can’t until you set a date.” So right now, figure out a date that works. Sit down. Sort it out. Then celebrate!! Without a date you’re not getting married. Without a date you’re only engaged. That’s fun too. But when you are at a wedding expo you need to be “getting married” with a date. I know it’s harsh. And some of the wedding show promoters would say, “Come on down anyway. Have a look. Learn a little bit.” And they want your entrance fees. But if you don’t have a wedding date, you’re going to be frustrated. And you’ll be treated differently. The first question I ask when greeting guests at wedding shows, “When is your wedding?”

If you have a date – CONGRATS!! YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED!!! Get to the expos and get your planning list completed!! And if you need a photographer, I know a good one. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

HINT: Making up a fake date is worse than not having one. Having a month is not any more helpful. Sometime in 2018 isn’t helpful either. The sooner you have a date, the sooner you can plan. And the sooner you can book the services you need. Want to save some real money? Book everything this year for a wedding next year! Prices always go up. So set the date. There were 5,609 weddings in the greater Knoxville area in 2015 according to The Wedding Report. There's only 52 Saturdays in the year. Better pick your date soon or it'll be sold out too!

And if you attend the Pink Bride Show, stop by ands see us. We’ll be offering 33% OFF at the expo. Tell me you read this blog and I’ll give you an additional $100 OFF any photo package or planning package.