Wedding Expo - Wohoooo

Wow..

Where do I start?

It was the most interesting time of my life yesterday. I went in thinking I wouldn't get much out of this because people don't tend to decide on the day they just go and have a look etc...

It started at 9.30 but I was on my feet from 7am. We went in on the Saturday to set up but there were things we needed to do in the morning as well.

The photos don't do it justice I reckon. I put it all up and then went around to look at the other stalls and there were 2 other invite businesses and one of them was fabulous... she was a professional and you could tell. I said to hubby that I felt like I shouldn't be in it because I don't think people would take a second look at my homemade invites and I was pretty much upset on Saturday and Saturday night thinking it was going to be a disaster.

I got to know the people around my stall... there was a naming stall (your family origin etc) and Liquorland, The photographer we had at our wedding almost 12 years ago freakkkky, and Judge Valley vineyard and a jewellery maker.. it was nice to get to know them all.

I made sure I went up and said hello just so that I could get to know how many expos they had been to etc and they were all so nice and we chatted when we could through the day.... (tell you more about one of them at the end of this post).

I spent all day handing out my pamplets and my business cards and I had soooo many people come to look at my invites and tell me that they were different and out of the square and how beautiful they were. OMG I was on a high. I couldn't stop smiling (had sore cheeks by the end of it). I showed them that I did wine bottle labels for the table and also that I put menu's in the plates too and people found that I was a person that thought out of the square.

Tania wasn't happy because they were coming towards my part of the stall. But as I said to her it was a black background and I made sure that I was using bright colours to attract people... with my orange etc people just came over. Tania didn't do enough bouquets but what she did was beautiful but it wasn't enough for people to come over and take a look. I think next time she will know.

Our space was 1 metre by 250 OMG how small was that but we shared it so we couldn't have too much there but it worked out well.

So I had my big picture frame with invites in the middle of it and then I had a little table covered with black material and I had my wine bottles and my scrapbook of other invites I couldn't fit on the board. There were more things I could have done but hey I just didn't get time and I have only just started.

I even had one of the other invite ladies turn up to my stall (she didn't think I knew who she was but I did) and she was complementing my invites too so he he he he na na na na to you lady. She was impressed. Wohooooo.

I had a lot of people interested in my wine bottle labels and so I am going to do well on them. During the day I had other business come up to me as well.

One was a function centre and asked if I would design some menus for them and place names as they didn't have the time and would like to hire my expertise (OMG expertise he he he).

Also Lodge real estate was there and he said he will be in touch as he would like to get some wine bottle labels made up for him.

At the end of it Liquorland Director came to me and said that they do sell bottles of wine with no labels on it for just this occasion and she would like to put up some of my business cards in her stores and that she would give me a discount on the wine (without labels) wohooo me... he he he

I had a lot of brides to be say that it was nice to have a Hamilton owned business doing invites such as mine, a lady that lives in the same area as me was sooo pleased that I didn't live so far and that she could pop in and have a chat about invites.

I had a couple of ladies ask if I did 21st invites etc and I said yes.

OMG I had so much positive feedback I was on a high. I might not get many invites out of this but I do have 3 different contracts that could eventuate and that is the main thing.

One bottle label lot will make up for the expo money and it was worth it.

Also I did a wine bottle label for a lady here at work for her hubby and he asked her to ask me if he could send me some emails of horse studs in the Waikato that would be interested in getting some of the wine bottle labels done for their business OMG OMG it is like expanding like you wouldn't believe. I didn't think that it would spiral like this.

I didn't think that the wine bottle labels would get to the stage where I was getting more interest than the invites. It is amazing how I am feeling about it.

I got home soooo exhausted and my calf muscles were soooo sore and this morning I am soooo tired because I didn't get much sleep in the weekend. I am totally exhausted and TOTALLY glad that it is over but I am glad I did it.

I am not too sure that Tania feels the same way but I did tell her on Saturday night that she didn't seem to have too many flowers and she said simple and elegant is what she was going for but if people can't see a lot and can't see some different ideas they just don't stop ya know?

I think next year she will do something totally different. She also wasn't pleased that the side I was in was getting more of a look in because of the way the people were coming down the isle... but I couldn't help that.

All in all it was FABULOUS and I can't stop feeling happy about it.

I forgot to mention that at the expo I had my Weight Watcher leaders come up to me and say OMG look at you Look at you. You look fantastic and you look like you have lost more weight. Woohooooo.... it felt fantastic that they noticed (even though it was only 1.3 kilos lost since last seeing them) and I told them that but they said it looked like I had lost more as my whole shape had changed around my waist he he he... I felt on an even more high after seeing them it was great.

Anyway at work so I better get my A in to G.

Love Chubbymum