Over the past 4 years I’ve attended a fair few wedding fayres as a stall holder. I’ve been to good ones, quiet ones and ones that have almost made me want to have nothing to do with the wedding industry ever again.
Wedding Fayre season is in full flow at the moment – I’m getting calls several times a week asking me if I want a stall at the latest event. I turn most of them down straightaway due to expense, distance and quite frankly, them being held in a hideous venue. Every now and then, though, one invitation will tickle my fancy and I find myself saying yes.
And that’s how I found myself staying up til 2am Saturday night just gone to prepare for a local Wedding Fayre the next day. I decided that week that that was the end of my wedding fayre days and announced it on Facebook. Since then, I’ve been asked several times why I won’t be doing anymore wedding fayres. So here are my reasons:
* I’m really lucky to get enough orders through word of mouth, repeat business and website traffic. I don’t depend on wedding cakes solely and feel even more lucky that since having a period of maternity leave, customers still remember me and trust that my work is exactly what they want to help celebrate their marriage.
* I’ve enjoyed meeting other professionals involved in the local wedding industry and pride myself on building up some friendships with these businesses. I have met, though, some other business owners that are very cut-throat and think nothing of belittling other people’s work. I’m amazed by the talent that we all have – surely there is enough work spread out between everyone and we should be helping each other, not trying to pinch business?
* Its an unwritten rule that cake and other food businesses provide free samples at wedding fayres. I’ve got used to this over the years and have a good feel for how much to prepare beforehand. What does grate though, is the other stall holders that come around expecting you to feed them. I have a family to feed and I would much rather take my leftover cakes home to them.
The amount of work involved with being a stall holder is incredible. I had to start preparing weeks in advance and am still finding myself catching up. The benefits when you first set out as a stall holder are great – you meet plenty of contacts, find out the current trends and generally build up a lot of confidence but for now I need to catch up. Over the next few weeks, I intend on converting the craft room properly, sorting out up-to-date home insurance and spending time with the mini Costellos.
Some points to remember if you are booking a stall at a wedding fayre:
* Factor in the cost of the free samples you will need to give out.
* Take some refreshments for yourself and your helper – Some wedding fayres have refreshments available to buy but if you are spending all your potential earnings then it defeats the object of going.
* Have forms ready or a notepad for all the people that want to leave their contact details. You will get so much more out of wedding fayre if you approach them afterwards, rather than waiting for them to contact you.
* Be prepared to work hard. I’ve seen so many people sit behind the table rather than getting up and greeting people as they approach your stand/table. Its hard work but its worth it!
* Say if you are not happy. There’s no point staying quiet if your table isn’t as you expected when you arrive to set up – I’ve spoken up before and more often than not, end up with a fabulous stand.
* Take a laptop with a slide show – you will never be able to show everything that you can do with examples but if you have a slideshow running potential customers will hang around while they watch it. Particularly handy if you are held up talking to other clients and don’t want people to walk away.
* Get talking to the other stall holders. You never know what contacts you might make that may lead to a recommendation in the future.
* And enjoy it! This fayre could lead to wonderful things. You won’t attract business by being quiet/grumpy.
Good Luck!
I’ve only done one wedding fair (a speciality vintage one) and it was interesting but, as you say, an awful lot of work preparing samples and packing up things to make the table look nice and stylish. I wanted to test the water for wedding cake tables and hen parties, and to meet other people in the “industry” and I think it was worth it from that point of view, but I’m a little like you in that I’m rushed off my feet with word of mouth business and so why spend money and time on a fair when I have other more useful things to do.
Hello, I am just starting up my business making handmade wedding stationary and am struggling to get any responses from venues regarding stalls at their wedding fayres. Do you have any advice on how to get a stall? Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Charlotte, Sorry to hear you have been struggling to get access to wedding fayres. A lot of fayres have policies of only 1 or 2 of a particular genre at each fayre so you need to get in with other companies. Make yourself acquainted with cake businesses in your area, wedding dressers, jewellery, photographers and they may be able to pass on your details. The wedding world is very cut throat but there are some friendly people out there who appreciate that if they help someone, they are more likely to be helped themselves. Good Luck – hope you get somewhere. let me know! x
How do you go about deciding which to attend and which not to? ( or how did you)
Thanks