Through the eyes on an intern; In a brides's shoes
Riding along with Carrie when she is driving any sort of vehicle can be a scary idea in itself, but having Carrie say to me “we are going to play a little game today” on our way to the Arizona Bride’s Look of Love event that Sterling helped sponsor… was a whole new level of horrifying.
The Look of Love event, was an intimate bridal show that had less than twenty five vendors through out the beautiful Clayton on the Park venue in Old Town Scottsdale. There was vendors from all areas of the wedding planning process, venues to apparel in a comfortable and lovely setting.
Concept:
I, the intern, would play the part of the Bride
Carrie played my wedding planner (she should be an actress since she played her part so well)
Date of my wedding: Spring of 2013
Number of guests: about 150
Location: Somewhere in Arizona
Right as you enter the room with that lovely nametag, that only says “Bride”, you would be amazed to see that all eyes were on me. Immediately, when I would walk by a table, the vendor would start asking me questions “Have you found a photographer yet”, “Have you chosen a site”, “Do you have a caterer”? Even though Carrie was right next to me, it appeared that no one else could see her standing there, except me.. It was like she was a ghost. None of the vendors really knew she was suppose to be my wedding planner, for all they knew she could have been my older sister or mother. I wouldn’t want my family to feel excluded from my planning process and was surprised that not one vendor even acknowledged her.
I chose to keep all of my answers broad and be the typical Bride that had just started my planning process. Everyone was nice to me; though some I felt had judging eyes from my appeared age. Yes, I am only 19, but still felt uncomfortable about the way some vendors made me feel.
After asking me if I had already chosen a vendor for what they had to offer (venue, photographer, caterer) they would ask me my expected wedding date. Once I told them it would be sometime in the Spring of 2013 all lights shut off and excitement in their face and voice withdrew. They would then hand me some information, tell me a tiny bit about what they had to offer and asked me to contact them when I chose a date and they were off to the next Bride coming by.
I understand that they really couldn’t help me when I appeared so early into the planning process, but it would have been nice if they still appeared just a little interested in my “big day” still, right? How is that supposed to sell me on your service?
Over all having people ask me about a guy that doesn’t exist yet and telling me congratulations for something that has yet to take place was hard to get use to. On the bright side of this game, I won a teeth-whitening appointment for my bridal party and I, my close friends may get lucky and get to continue this little game with me.
Tips:
Check out Care’s tips on how to best prepare here!
Have questions ready for each category of vendor you are looking for if you are going to only collect information.
If you have a date, be ready to get a long winded sales pitch, if you don’t prepare to be brushed off.
If you are nervous and feel like a bridal show is like being thrown to the wolves, visit smaller shows, they really are a lot easier to handle and much more comfortable then you can attempt to hit the larger ones.
Note: This game was meant for trickery, it was merely to teach me what it is like to be in your shoes at bridal shows and when you meet with vendors, which I now know can be a nerve racking event.
