Bridal Show

Ken Diewert · January 19th, 2010, 12:37 AM

I know that there has been a lot of talk about the relative merits of attending Bridal shows and I just wanted to report on the show I attended this past weekend.

I was at the same show last year and the difference in brides attitudes towards my work and the subject in general were very tangible. Brides actually stopped by because they are seriously looking at video, which was a real switch from the previous year. This particular show cost about $600, for a table for a 1-day show that really only runs 6 hours. The brides and their guests also pay $10.00 each admission to get in. The show is one of a few good ones in a city of about 350,000 people.

I used a 40" Samsung LCD as a monitor and ran .avi off of my desktop system. It looked real sharp and I must say there was a lot of attention on the 5d2 footage - with many comments about how they didn't think that wedding videos were like that. I've only started taking wedding videos seriously for the last year and a half, so I'm still building my portfolio.

One notable thing was that there were at least 8 photogs at the show and only one only videog. Several of the brides mentioned that the sample from the other videog was like watching a home movie. I was swamped pretty much all day and didn't get a chance to check it out.

I fully expect to get at least 4-6 bookings from the show, and the exposure is great.

Anyways, I snapped off a timelapse using the 5D2 that shot about 3600 stills. It's the first timelapse I've shot, but I just picked up a lightly used 20d and a remote timer, so I'm going to shoot some more.

YouTube - Bridal Exhibition Timelapse.mp4

Bill Vincent · January 19th, 2010, 07:34 AM

Hi Ken,

We just did our first bridal show this past weekend as well. We felt like it was a great success. There was a huge amount of traffic, and we had two 22" HD screens and a projector screen in the middle of those. I was fortunate because one of our previous client brides asked us if she could help out, and she worked almost the entire day with us and talked to a ton of brides - she was invaluable.

We actually booked a bride and got a deposit at the show, and made several consultation appts for later, and handed out a ton of brochures. Brides were very interested, for the most part. We felt like it was a really great successful show for our first time out! :)

Nice timelapse too, Ken!!

Carla Raposo · January 19th, 2010, 11:05 AM

Thanks for sharing Ken. I really enjoyed watching it.

We were also at a bridal show this weekend. And like you, we noticed an increase in the number of brides considering videography. We received a lot of positive feedback about our samples, but we'll have to wait and see if it translates to any bookings.

Mike Harvey · January 19th, 2010, 03:09 PM

Very nice. One of these days I'm going to have to actually hop the ferry and go over there. (been in NW Washington my whole life, and never been to Vancouver Island).

January 19th, 2010, 12:37 AM	#1
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	Bridal Show - Review (with Timelapse) I know that there has been a lot of talk about the relative merits of attending Bridal shows and I just wanted to report on the show I attended this past weekend. I was at the same show last year and the difference in brides attitudes towards my work and the subject in general were very tangible. Brides actually stopped by because they are seriously looking at video, which was a real switch from the previous year. This particular show cost about $600, for a table for a 1-day show that really only runs 6 hours. The brides and their guests also pay $10.00 each admission to get in. The show is one of a few good ones in a city of about 350,000 people. I used a 40" Samsung LCD as a monitor and ran .avi off of my desktop system. It looked real sharp and I must say there was a lot of attention on the 5d2 footage - with many comments about how they didn't think that wedding videos were like that. I've only started taking wedding videos seriously for the last year and a half, so I'm still building my portfolio. One notable thing was that there were at least 8 photogs at the show and only one only videog. Several of the brides mentioned that the sample from the other videog was like watching a home movie. I was swamped pretty much all day and didn't get a chance to check it out. I fully expect to get at least 4-6 bookings from the show, and the exposure is great. Anyways, I snapped off a timelapse using the 5D2 that shot about 3600 stills. It's the first timelapse I've shot, but I just picked up a lightly used 20d and a remote timer, so I'm going to shoot some more. YouTube - Bridal Exhibition Timelapse.mp4 __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX

January 19th, 2010, 07:34 AM	#2
Bill Vincent Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 253	Hi Ken, We just did our first bridal show this past weekend as well. We felt like it was a great success. There was a huge amount of traffic, and we had two 22" HD screens and a projector screen in the middle of those. I was fortunate because one of our previous client brides asked us if she could help out, and she worked almost the entire day with us and talked to a ton of brides - she was invaluable. We actually booked a bride and got a deposit at the show, and made several consultation appts for later, and handed out a ton of brochures. Brides were very interested, for the most part. We felt like it was a really great successful show for our first time out! :) Nice timelapse too, Ken!!

January 19th, 2010, 11:05 AM	#3
Carla Raposo New Boot Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Winnipeg, Canada Posts: 8	Thanks for sharing Ken. I really enjoyed watching it. We were also at a bridal show this weekend. And like you, we noticed an increase in the number of brides considering videography. We received a lot of positive feedback about our samples, but we'll have to wait and see if it translates to any bookings.

January 19th, 2010, 03:09 PM	#4
Mike Harvey Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Renton, WA Posts: 43	Very nice. One of these days I'm going to have to actually hop the ferry and go over there. (been in NW Washington my whole life, and never been to Vancouver Island).