Last summer, I decided it was time to do a bridal show! I had been thinking about it for awhile, but had not been quite ready to make a commitment to do it. I had never done one while I lived in Chicago, but in the South, it seems to be the thing to do!!
The Forever Bridal team did a great job in putting the show together. If I thought I had a million details to take care of, they had that times 280 vendors!! It was quite the production. I really appreciated the friendliness of the Forever Bridal team, being just one of the many vendors, they always had time to answer my questions, help me resolve a problem or make sure that things were running smoothly. Overall – great experience!!
Plans for the show started early October, and started picking up pace in November and full steam ahead in December. Can we say insane? How you can have Christmas, photo shoots, travel and preparation for a bridal show in one month is beyond me! My dad (David Jensen Construction) agreed to build “the wall” for the booth, and he tackled that project on Christmas Eve. My dad is amazing!! He thought of so many details that would make the initial assembly, travel, take down, paint, re-package, travel, assemble and display go smoothly. The wall went up beautifully at set up!! Jamie helped in the building process, and I think it was good bonding time for the two of them. Growing up dad always joked that whomever I married would have to work with him for a month…and while that never happened, this was a good project for them to tackle!
Two days prior to our departure from the snowy North, Mom decided that this project was too much for Jamie and I to tackle alone. Especially since Jamie had to work all week, and wasn’t going to have a lot of time off to help me. I have no idea how we could have pulled off all of the preparation without Mom!! Through the years, we have always worked on projects very well together. We make a great team, and it seems like we can read each others minds for what needs to get done. It was fun to have her visit our home for the first time, and plenty of shopping took place (we were forever going out for that “one more thing”) and long days and late nights ran together. She is the one responsible for putting the majority of my Joy Lyn magnets together…250 of those, with 4 detailed elements in each one makes for a time consuming process!! Plus all of the brochures she assembled….the list never ended!
Finally set up day arrived and Mom and I were hard at work getting everything done. We put the final touches on the booth New Years Eve day, and called it quits in order to celebrate the new year. My brother, sister in law and nephew arrived that day and we had a blast that night, hanging out, watching a movie and just enjoying each other. My nephew gets funnier every time we see him!! Quite the entertainer!
We took it easy New Years day, and rested up for a long weekend ahead!! The show started bright and early Saturday morning, and we were so ready to meet with brides for 2010 and 2011. What a fun day!! About 150 wonderful people stopped by our booth that first day, I loved talking to each one and finding out details for their day. The handouts/magnets seemed to go over so well and we kept hearing how much everyone loved the magnets. Whew! All that hard work on those paid off…
Sunday was just as busy, and we had another 100 come by the booth. It was nice have Sweet Bliss Cakes next to us, because brides and their entourage would get some yummy cake and then come see us!! It worked out so well!!
Overall we think the show was a huge success and I have loved hearing from brides in the days to follow the show!! I held a drawing for an engagement session….and a winner has been named! So brides, check your e-mail!
Thank you SO much Jamie, Dad and Mom for the endless hours you invested into the project. Couldn’t have done it without you!
Here are a few shots of the booth and details:
by Joy Lyn
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