As some of you may know, I recently exhibited at my first wedding fair: The Seaside Spring Spectacular in Brighton. It was a great experience and I’d love to share some of my learnings with you! Some of these tips are more specific to wedding fairs (as they tend to be more for exhibiting your wares as opposed to selling them), but many can be applied to craft fairs too. Here goes…
Plan your stall ahead of time
As this was my first fair, I didn’t want to leave anything to chance, so I did quite a lot of forward planning, including practising the set up of my stall in its entirety! I found this really helpful as I was able to take photos and ask some lovely folks in social media groups for feedback and advice. On the day I had the pics to consult when it came to set-up, which made it really quick and easy and meant I wasn’t faffing about trying to arrange things nicely. Highly recommended!
Build up your mailing list
I had a mailing list set up before the fair but to be honest, I’d been struggling to get enough people signed up to warrant sending a newsletter out! I decided to incentivise signing up to it for the fair and set up a competition offering personalised wedding bunting as the prize. This seemed to work pretty well and my mailing list is starting to look pretty good now! The giveaway also makes for a good talking point if you’re struggling for something to say 😊
Don’t forget to network
While the main aim of being at a fair is to exhibit or sell your wares, don’t underestimate the importance of having a chat with your fellow stall holders! Opportunities for joint photoshoots and some helpful tips from experienced peers were just 2 of the things I gained from having a natter with others. Not to mention it helps to pass the time if things are a bit slow-going and you might just make some new friends!
Hand out those business cards
As I mentioned, wedding fair tend to be more about exhibiting rather than selling on the day, which is why having lots of business cards to hand is extra-important! Be sure to place them somewhere prominent on your stall where people won’t be worried about taking one (I had mine on a cake stand and people thought that they were part of the display!).
Relax, smile and enjoy yourself
The best tip I can probably give is the simplest one: relax, smile and enjoy yourself! Potential customers are more likely to engage in conversation if you’re smiling and look approachable and it’s always good to have a few questions up your sleeve too (wedding fairs are a bit easier as you can ask who’s getting married and where the wedding is to get the conversation going!).
What are your top tips for exhibiting at wedding or craft fairs? Tell us in the comments below!
