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What To Expect At A Wedding Expo

July 31, 2022 | kailey

Image by Boston Mountain Photo. See more of this styled shoot here

Wedding planning is exciting, stressful, and overwhelming all at the same time. But lucky for newly engaged couples, there are tools and events that can help limit the stress. And less stress means more time spent enjoying your engagement season—what a win! 

Before securing your wedding vendors, touring venues, or creating your mood board, there’s one thing you should prioritize. It’s a wedding tool that’ll help you get inspired, meet vendors, and score freebies. We’re talking about wedding expos. To help make sure you get the most out of your experience, here’s everything you need to know about attending your first wedding expo. 

What Is A Wedding Expo? 

Wedding expos are an efficient tool for newly engaged couples, especially during the early wedding planning stages. They are essentially a one-stop shop for all things weddings, including fashion, venues, vendors, and even honeymoon destinations. Picture a large warehouse filled with rows and rows of helpful wedding planning tools and information. 

Image by Rachel Artime Photo. See more of this styled-shoot here.

Why Should You Attend A Wedding Expo? 

Wedding expos may seem like information overload, which can be overwhelming for some couples.  But there are many reasons why people decide to attend these events all over the world. The first and most obvious reason is for inspiration. Seeing all of your options first-hand will allow you to get a clear understanding of what it is you like and don’t like. 

Wedding expos are also a great resource for hunting down trusted wedding vendors in your area. And when it comes to building your dream team, it’s important to love their work and vibe with their personality—which is hard to do over the phone. Meeting potential vendors in person gives you a chance to interact and see if you’d work well together. Plus, wedding expos are a great place to score good deals and even freebies. If that’s not enough motivation to purchase an expo ticket, we don’t know what is. 

How to Prepare For A Wedding Expo 

The beauty of attending an expo is that you don’t have to know exactly what it is you’re looking for. That’s actually the point of attending an event like this. But, with that being said, there are a couple of things you can prepare ahead of time to ensure you get the most out of your experience.

Before attending your first wedding expo, sit down with your significant other to finalize a budget that’s comfortable for you both. It’s also important to create a “wedding day must-haves” list and estimate how much of your budget will be put towards each wedding element (florals, fashion, cake, honeymoon, etc.). This will help you stay on track when face-to-face with countless vendors.

Tips For Attending Your First Wedding Expo

Wedding expos are supposed to be fun. But, as we’ve said before, a lot of preparation is involved. Here are a few tips to keep in mind before attending your first wedding expo: 

  • Buy your wedding expo tickets online to save from waiting in line at the door. Keep in mind the earlier you purchase your expo tickets, the cheaper they will be 
  • Plan out what shows, speakers, and events you don’t want to miss ahead of time 
  • Wear comfortable shoes
  • Bring friends and family that are actually interested in attending with a good attitude 
  • Enter all giveaways for a chance to win 

Image by Meraki Weddings. See more of this real wedding here.

2022 Wedding Expos You Should Attend 

1. Great Bridal Expo

  • Boston, Massachusetts: September 24, 2022
  • Baltimore, Maryland: September 25, 2022
  • Washington, DC: October 2, 2022
  • Atlanta, Georgia: October 9, 2022
  • Phoenix, Arizona: October 16, 2022
  • Houston, Texas: October 30, 2022
  • Dallas, Texas: November 6, 2022
  • Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: November 13, 2022
  • Miami, Florida: November 13, 2022

2. The Pink Bride

  • Nashville, Tennessee: August 7, 2022
  • Knoxville, Tennessee: August 14, 2022
  • Birmingham, Alabama: August 28, 2022
  • Memphis, Tennessee: September 18, 2022

3. Florida Wedding Expo

  • Orlando, Florida: August 7, 2022

4. Bridal Wars Event & Festival

  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: August 7, 2022
  • Manchester, Maryland: August 21, 2022
  • Providence, Rhode Island: September 11, 2022
  • Charlotte, North Carolina: September 18, 2022
  • Oklahoma, Oklahoma: September 18, 2022 
  • Bono, Arkansas: September 25, 2022
  • New Orleans, Louisiana: September 25, 2022
  • Voluntown, Connecticut: October 16, 2022
  • Houston, Texas: November 6, 2022 

After attending your first wedding expo, it’s time to kickstart your creative wedding planning. Take all the wedding inspiration you loved at the event and start piecing it all together. Not exactly sure how to start? Check out this five-step process to create a wedding mood board that captures the essence of your personality, style, and wedding dreams.

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Bright And Colorful Costa Careyes Wedding

July 30, 2022 | justine

Picture this: a blue tower sitting on a secluded cliff with a colorful artsy bohemian interior and panoramic ocean views. You could say Stephanie and Hugo had a love at first sight moment  with their wedding venue, Tigre Del Mar. So when the time came to tie the knot, the pair couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place to get married. With the help of their planner Que Brille El Soul, the couple pulled off an unforgettable Costa Careyes wedding featuring a bohemian luxe aesthetic, a bright color palette, and a relaxed vibe.

With panoramic ocean views as a dreamy backdrop, the pair said their “I dos” surrounded by their closest loved ones. Following the terrace ceremony, their small group made their way down the estate grounds for a romantic reception under the stars. Mismatched basket pendant lamps and greenery hung above a tablescape full of colorful florals, taper candles in glass sleeves, and boho accents. The pair surprised their guests by throwing an after-party at the Main Palapa, dancing the night away under a whimsical chandelier of floral baskets and disco balls. 

The couple left no detail to chance, and their stunning attire proves just that. The bride was a vision in her Monique Lhuillier off-the-shoulder textured organza gown with puff sleeves. While the groom was effortlessly stylish in his cream suit. This seaside soiree is serving major destination wedding inspiration. Scroll through these gorgeous photos by Meraki Weddings and get ready to be blown away!

The Couple:

Stephanie and Hugo

The Wedding:

Tigre Del Mar, Costa Careyes, Mexico

How This Costa Careyes Wedding Came To Be

We went to Costa Careyes five years ago for my birthday and truly fell in love with Tigre Del Mar. It’s so magical, different, and unexpected. This place has an extremely energetic feel for us. After that trip, I told Hugo that I would love to get married in Costa Careyes, and years later, we made it happen. I think that the majestic architecture, the colors, and the mix between Mexican, Italian, and the Pacific culture is such a great vibe for us. Also, we love that it’s exclusive and that not so many people know about it. Costa Careyes is such a unique place, and we definitely fell in love the first time.

Being Surrounded By Loved Ones Was The Highlight Of Their Costa Careyes Wedding

Everything was beyond perfect, but if I had to choose, I would say that the ceremony was beyond beautiful and emotional. We were looking toward the sea, and we saw dolphins, whales, and the rainbow during the gorgeous ceremony. It was such a magical and surreal moment. We are proud to have had a very intimate wedding with friends and family and to showcase the best of Costa Careyes. We feel grateful to everyone that took the time to travel to such a different and exquisite destination to celebrate our love. The energy of our guests was insane, and the love they gave us made everything so special. This was definitely the highlight of our wedding. 

Mexican-Themed Welcome Gifts

We gave all our wedding guests a welcome gift. We gave the ladies an artisanal handmade Mexican tote, embroidered caps for the men, Mexican chili mango sweets, and a handwritten personal note for every guest.

Wedding Planning Advice: Prepare For Unexpected Costs And Maintain Open Communication With Vendors

Tigre Del Mar is in the middle of the jungle. Many of the challenges resulted from the price increase in transportation that we didn’t account for. We advise that you have to budget for inflation for all transportation and all other unforeseen expenses. For all brides, our best advice is to plan in advance and stay calm when problems arise during planning. Also, I think it’s very important to communicate with your wedding planner. Every aspect is important and must be communicated from the beginning of the process. 

Guest Names Handwritten On Lemons Used As Place Cards

My mom is an artist, so we wanted to have a touch of her artistic hand. In my mom’s beautiful handwriting, all our guests’ names were written on lemons

How They Built A Great Relationship With Their Photographer

We loved working with Meraki Weddings. We previously had a private session, only Hugo and I, and it was great as we got to know each other. We told them about us, and our relationship, which made us more relaxed in our photos as Hugo is not a fan of having his photo taken. We are forever grateful to our photographer. They are so talented and so amazing to work with. They understood exactly what we wanted and portrayed it in such a beautiful manner.

The Wedding Team:

Photography + Videography – Meraki Weddings
Event Planning – Quw Brille El Soul
Ceremony Venue – Tigre de Mar Careyes
DJ – DJ Staff Colombia
Invitation Design – Pickled Pulp
Makeup Artist – Oscar Fonseca
Hair Styling – Vanessa Lopez Angel
Wedding Dress – Monique Lhuillier Bride

 

Congratulations to Stephanie and Hugo on their bright and colorful Costa Careyes wedding. And big thanks to Junebug member Meraki Weddings for capturing every detail—all the way down to the vibrant color palette—and moments that made this celebration so special. To see more of the incredible photos that Meraki has captured, check out their profile in our directory of wedding photographers from around the world!

If you’re ready to kickstart your planning process, a mood board is always a great first step. If you and your partner are struggling to decide on a wedding color combo, let these bright and bold summer color palettes inspire your own.

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Elegant Italian Castle Wedding

July 29, 2022 | kailey

German castle wedding

Picture this: tying the knot at a historic Italian castle then dancing under the stars with a glass atrium reception. Sounds like a fairytale doesn’t it? With the right vendors on your side, this fairytale could become a royal reality. And for Christine and Christoph hunting down their dream vendors—like planner Svenja Fischer—was top priority while planning their destination wedding. 

This couple wanted their wedding venue to be the main event and Schloss Freudenstein didn’t fall short. From the existing historic architecture to the modern glass enclosed reception addition, this venue was the best of both worlds. Neutral florals by Evelina Florence Flowers added elegance and allowed for the venue’s existing features to shine.

Keep scrolling for all the details captured by Junebug photographer and videographer Wedding and Waves that’ll have you dreaming of a faraway celebration of your own.

The Couple:

Christine and Christoph

The Wedding:

Schloss Freudenstein, Italy

Enjoying The Planning Process 

Planning our wedding was a very special time we both enjoyed to the fullest. As destination weddings are not already challenging enough our planning got impacted by Covid. However, we were lucky enough to work with an amazing wedding planner and two creative wedding designers. That’s why we prioritized vendors when creating our budget.

Memorable First Look At This Italian Castle Wedding

The most memorable moment for both of us was the first look. When the chapel’s bells started to ring Christine set out on her way accomplished by her father. While walking through the castle and courtyard was already very special for her, the entrance into the chapel and walking down the aisle was just a wow for both us and a moment we will never forget.

The Importance Of Hiring A Trusted Photographer 

Working with Wedding and Waves was an amazing experience. As we have been able to already book them for our civil wedding a view days before the church wedding it felt like a very trusted and familiar atmosphere on the day of. This made it possible that the couple shooting turned out to be one of the most special and intimate moments for us. We really enjoyed having a view minutes just for the two of us and almost didn’t realize them being around and taking photos. Overall they perfectly blended into our wedding party and therefore have been able to capture the most special moments of our most important day in life.

The Wedding Team:

Photography + Videography – Wedding and Waves
Event Planning – Svenja Fischer
Wedding Design – Bianco Antico + Laura Bravi
Ceremony + Reception Venue – Schloss Freudenstein
Floral Design – Evelina Florence Flowers
Catering – Emotion Events
Officiant – Tobi Wörner
DJ – DJ Rockman
Live Music – Mojo Pin
Invitation Design – Oh Julie Atelier
Makeup Artist + Hair Styling – Isabella Kirchner
Wedding Dress – All The Feels Bridal Store
Groom’s Apparel – PLOUG´S
Rings – Juwelier Jacobi
Rentals – Event Set

 

Congratulations to Christine and Christoph on their stunning Italian castle wedding. And big thanks to Junebug photographer and videographer Wedding and Waves for capturing all the details that made this destination celebration one for the books. 

If you’re dreaming of a faraway celebration surrounded by your loved ones, we don’t blame you. But, before you jet-set off to your dream wedding destination, you’ll want to make sure that you’re prepared. That’s why we’ve put together the ultimate guide to planning a destination wedding to help you plan the perfect “I do’s.”

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