Ok... I was just asked to share a booth with a cater in an upcomming bridal show. Is that a good idea??? I am sooooo clueless as to what to expect... what to do? Any Any Any pointers from bridal show pros or even recent brides would be so helpful. thanks for comming through!
Oh.. PS
Do very busy, or sought after designers participate in these bridal shows? There is a particullarly good one that i suspect will participate... which sux because shell blow my sox off. 
Yes, very busy decorators often participate.
Don't let that bother you.....there is enough business for everyone out there.
Just do your *VERY!* best work and give out samples. Keep your pricing right for you....not too low or too high.
As for sharing a booth...be sure you both understand what the other expects of you. Find out what the health dept (h/ds) laws are....you don't want them coming in & finding you in vialation. Are you licensed? Most h/ds are really cracking down. Many do not allow food to be handed out unless it was made & pre-pkged in a licensed kitchen.
As few as 2 or 3 display cakes would be fine.
it's not necessary to have dozens
What you could do, depending on the booth arrangement/size, is make one cake divided in 1/2 - one design on one side, turn it around & put another design on that side. Some have even divided their cake into 3rds and a sq cake give you 4 designs easily.
As for the day of the show....wear comfortable shoes! You will be on your feet all day. Take an extra pair of shoes and change a couple of times.
Dress nice, doesn't have to be a dress, but look good.
Have *lots* of business cards &/or broshures to hand out. I seldom booked a cake at a show....let them come into your shop for a consultation & tasting. But you do have to be ready so take a calender and pen/paper for notes.
I do several shows a year. In fact that's how I got started in the wedding cake biz.
May I digress for a moment? Picture this: I graduated from culinary school in December. Three weeks later I had signed up for a bridal fair, made four dummy cakes, printed business cards on my ink jet printer at home, put on my chef's uniform, marched into the show and started talking a good game.
I figured that I had better get myself some business if I was going to make a living doing this.
It worked for me. I got 12 wedding cakes that first year, 30 the second year. Now I'm doing 90 or so a year, and turning down that many again.
I just signed a deal that could double my business next year. Dare I think triple?
OK that was 2001 when I graduated from culinary school.
So are wedding shows worth the time and expense? I'd say yes.
Now, back on topic. A valuable trick I've learned is to bake a thin sheet cake, only 1" tall. Ice it, cut into 1 X 1 inch squares and place each one in a souffle cup with a lid. You can get them at Sam's or any restaurant supply store and a lot of party supply stores. Slap a label on the lid with your name and contact info. Why? 1) easy to hand out. 2) everyone will get so full of samples that they just can't eat any more. They'll have your sample to enjoy at home--with your contact info. At the show they're scarfing down food samples and when they get home they have no idea which sample belonged to who.
Three or four flavors is plenty.
As many pictures as you can muster. I found one of those stand up room divider picture frame things that holds about 16 photos and used that for a long time. Doesn't take up much floor space and shows a lot of pictures. Those digital photo frames are great too if you have one. I run a powerpoint show on my laptop.
Four dummy cakes are nice.
Hand people your business card. Make eye contact. Smile. Engage them briefly. Don't even let them just walk by your booth and grab a card off the table. "Hi! When's your wedding?" "Oh that's a fabulous venue!" "What a beautiful time of year to plan a wedding!" Whatever. Plan on being upbeat and unbearably cheerful for four hours. You will be standing.
Have a website.
If you need inexpensive biz cards, then I recommend www.vistaprint.com. Also good for labels. If you've got some time, then use their pay for shiping only deals. You can't get a lot at one time, but over a few months you build up a supply. Even if you have to order a truckload from them their prices are very reasonable.
OK, that's it. Have fun!!
leahs, very well said. I got my liscense then signed up for the bridal show...kinda expensive but my first cake ordered more than paid for the booth. now I stay very busy for my first year of advertising.
If your ready to start your business, I would recommend doing a show.
good luck!
melody
wow.. im glad i asked... I would never of thought about making 1 cake with several designs. Yes i am licensed so that wont be a problem. How do you suggest cutting/serving the cakes? Prepare ahead of time? Cut there per each request? thanks
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