The Exhibitors Story – Part 3

OMG. I know things are stressful when we are communicating in acronyms. With only two full days left in the office (one by the time you read this) before we have to pack everything up and take it down to Earls Court for The National Wedding Show, our favourite acronyms in indisputably ASAP.

Please can we have the leaflets ASAP? Please can you arrange special delivery for those shoes, ASAP? Artwork for posters? Ah yes...ASAP. AAMOF I would LOL if I wasn’t so PANIC stricken. And that’s not an acronym, in case you’re wondering, it is in BIG letters because it is BIG panic.

However, we are making progress now. The backdrop to the stand is now printed (cough..hum..nearly) and all the artwork for posters and leaflets is signed off. We have enquiry forms (you’d better do some serious enquiring, people) and a fantastic Alter Ego competition and exclusive show offer.

Our outfits for the show are planned, we know who is working on which days, and the hotel rooms are booked. I have an email to confirm that our exhibitors’ passes are ready, and we’ve even got down to the nitty-gritty ‘flowers’ and ‘sweets’ level of detail – which is reassuring.
I have to admit, the costs do grow as you get closer to the show. We started with a really detailed budget but still there are little add-ons which creep up. One of the biggest areas for this, for us, has been printed items. My advice to any potential exhibitors: really plan your printed material to make sure it is ‘multi-functional’ (for example, we have one form to handle enquiries and competition entries) and shop around to get the best prices. However, it still is, without doubt, one of the most cost-effective ways of talking (properly) to 20,000 people.

So, more importantly, about that competition I mentioned. We will be offering one bride a complete Alter Ego Vintage Hen Party for up to four people in our free prize draw. The lucky Hen will get to bring her three Chicks to the studio for a full day of pampering and vintage styling. In addition to the fab sets and props, inspirational photography, and wonderfully friendly team...we’ll also provide a light lunch and a few glasses of bubbly. Plus every guest will get a gorgeous, complementary framed print of the day. I can promise you with absolute confidence (and experience), it beats propping up the bar in some dodgy nightclub hands-down. It is classy, relaxed, indulgent and hugely good fun – and you will have the pictures to treasure for a lifetime.

We are all getting exceptionally excited about Friday. I simply cannot wait to see what the stand looks like in real-life, speak to the visitors at the show, and find out what they think about Alter Ego. And, as this is the first wedding show we have attended, I’m sure it will be a real eye-opener.

This will be my last post before the show (you haven’t seen my to-do list), but I can’t wait to meet you all over the weekend. If you’ve got this far...thank you for listening!
The last few weeks have, as they say, been emotional...
B4N!

Erica

Erica from Alter Ego Portraits:http://www.alteregoportraits.com/www.facebook.com/alteregoportraitsor call 01604 871187

The exhibitor’s story – Part 2

One minute we were four weeks away, and then – we blinked – and now there are only two weeks left. How did that happen?

The National Wedding Show is looming large on our horizon at the moment. Have you ever had one of those dreams where you turned up at your wedding with no frock and a bad-hair day? (No? Maybe that was just me then....erm...anyhow...) Well, I have definitely had a dream that we were standing at the wedding show in an empty stand – or ‘shell scheme’ as the exhibitors’ pack calls us..

So, what have we done? Firstly we have moved up a gear today. Gone are the chocolate hobnobs, we’re on the serious stuff now. Oh yes. Krispy Kreme doughnuts are now powering our organisational skills.

We have spent the last two weeks designing, and redesigning, stand graphics. Taking a brand and converting it into a 2m x 2m stand, we have found, is a tricky business. As with all forms of marketing, people look at different media in different ways – what works in a gift voucher pack, isn’t necessarily going to work on an email – and all the team had different ideas about how Alter Ego should be presented.

We did all decide that it needs to be simple and striking, but we decided to get advice and ask the experts – so we picked up the phone and called (the wonderfully patient) Gabi, the Marketing Manager at The National Wedding Show. Her advice was to think about our objectives and to consider doing something interactive on the stand. For example, do we want to hand out three thousand leaflets, or do we want to be able to talk to people after the show?

In previous years, exhibitors have created interest by having stilt-walkers on the stand and women in wedding dresses – both of which made the stands and the companies memorable. Gabi also recommended continuing the themes from our website and gave the example of the lovely lady from a business called Shoot It Yourself who pulled this off perfectly and had great success at the last show.

In addition, she suggested overlaying the shell scheme with beautiful wall paper or a back-drop to create an environment which draws people in, and encourages them to investigate further.
So, we now have a background which we all love. It is simple, elegant and carries on our branding from all of the other work we are doing in the studio, in our literature, in the press and online. We had a fabulous vintage hen-party shoot last week, and the girls have kindly said we can use some of these fantastic shots for our literature. And, we also have a few tricks up our sleeves which will hopefully cause a bit of a stir during the show. We just need to find a way of getting all of the equipment down to London on the set-up day. Van anyone?
Erica from Alter Ego Portraits:

http://www.alteregoportraits.com/
www.facebook.com/alteregoportraits
or call 01604 871187

Tips for brides speeches on the big day!

I gave a wink to our MC and took the microphone. No one knew I was going to make a speech and up until that point, I was not sure if I was going to do it either. There were some things that I wanted to say too, and anyone who knows me realises that I am not one to keep quiet!!! However standing up in front of the most important people in your life can be quite daunting. The best advice I can give when making your wedding speech is look at it like as if it is a skirt – long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to be interesting! I was also told – don’t try to be funny – you wont be, but I am pleased to say I had them all laughing in their seats just from my general anecdotes and stories of situations that might arise in day-to-day life. The point of my speech was to toast to friendship – they give me a unique blend of affection, loyalty, love, respect, trust and best of all - loads of fun!!

If you would like to say a few words, but like me are not sure if you have the confidence in front of your guests, visit the Bridal Confidence coaching Clinic at the National Wedding Show. Michelle Paradise is on hand to give you tips to feel confident in yourself and keep your emotions in check. If you use her tips to help you through the ceremony and posing for your pictures - by the time you get to the point of standing up in front of 100 guests you will be feeling fabulous!

Just one last thing to remember – everyone who will be sharing your special day loves you and will be embracing the magic. Enjoy it!!!

An exhibitors story - Part 1

Yesterday, life in the studio was cracking on as merrily as ever. Today, panic has set in and we are all sitting looking at the longest to-do list any of us has ever seen. What happened? What else – The National Wedding Show of course.

I’m not sure who’s idea it was, although I think we all talked each other into this (helped in no small amount by the lovely Kelly at The National Wedding Show team) but I have a feeling life is just about to get very, very busy.

It will be brilliant. We have no doubt. The National Wedding Show is the perfect place for us to showcase our services and, as this is the first time that Alter Ego Portraits has done anything like this – we figured we ought to do it properly!

So, where to start? The contract has gone back, and we know the stand number (K2, just in case you are wondering) which we have chosen because it is in the corner of the exhibition space near to the toilets. Unlike in a restaurant - this is a positive thing. Apparently, there is reliable research which demonstrates visitors at the show go to the toilet 2.4 times during their visit, so everyone is very likely to see us at least 2.4 times after they have powdered their noses! You have to admit, it makes sense.

The first step this morning was to consider the space we have. We have marked out the equivalent size space on the floor in our studio using masking tape. Then, we all stood in it and wondered how we would fit everything in. Then we sat down, had a coffee and some biscuits (think this could be a regular feature of the next few weeks) and looked at the masking tape for a bit longer. It didn’t make it any bigger. However, the coffee and the biscuits did the trick and we now have a plan in our minds for the furniture we need on the stand.

Practical stuff first. We have albums and pictures that we need to display, so we need something for them to be perched on. However, this display needs to draw visitors onto the stand, not block their access. We need storage space for leaflets and vouchers, and we need to make sure the stand feels open and welcoming. Do we build it ourselves (this could be a very interesting set-up day), or do we find existing pieces we can personalise? I feel a trip to some well know furniture shops coming on....

Erica from Alter Ego Portraits: http://www.alteregoportraits.com/ , www.facebook.com/alteregoportraits or call 01604 871187.

Win a Benjamin Roberts wedding dress at the show courtesy of hitched.co.uk

No one said that planning a wedding was easy. From viewing and choosing the perfect wedding venue to booking the photographer, DJ and honeymoon a wedding planning couple work hard together as a team to create and organise a magical day.

One of the biggest parts of a wedding budget, and something that will guide the style of any day is the all important wedding dress. Typically this would be something that a bride purchases with the help of her bridesmaids or mother, however how would you like to involve your groom and give him the chance to win you your beautiful gown!

Hitched.co.uk know how important your wedding dress will be as you walk down that aisle, and therefore we are giving your groom the opportunity to play a major part in what will be one of the most important moments of your big day.

By simply playing and winning 3 straight games of pool in a row your groom, or yourself, will be entered into a draw to win a Blue by Enzoani designer wedding dress, plus a cocktail dress from the LOVE collection for the evening, or A £1200 contribution towards an Enzoani collection dress plus a cocktail dress from the LOVE collection for the evening.

If your groom has taken a back seat when it comes to helping you plan your big day then bring him down to the hitched.co.uk stand at the National Wedding Show for a game, or 3, of pool. The hitched team will be at both London and Birmingham in order to raise awareness to your grooms on how important your wedding dress is to you, the fabulous bride.

Visit http://www.hitched.co.uk/ for further information