Bridal Extravaganza Show

Holy geez, brace yourself for the overwhelming!
I spent the last year in the bridal industry before moving to Houston, so if I can offer you some tips based on my experience at this year’s Houston bridal show:
First, the cost:
Check Groupon as the event gets nearer. This year was 2 tickets for $ 19. If Groupon sells out, you can buy tickets from the website for $ 15. As the event gets closer, tickets are $ 20. If you buy at the event, cash only! ATM available with $ 4.25 fee.
This is a 2-​day event. Go on Sunday as a greater percentage will be attending Saturday. Plus, city street parking is free on a Sundays, so save yourself $ 12 and walk a few blocks!
MY BIGGEST TIP: Every single stall you talk to will want your contact information. DO NOT give your phone number out, or you will get cold calls non-​stop! You will also receive about 429 emails per week after this, so I recommend you create a separate wedding email address ahead of time so they don’t bomb the hell outta your personal email forevaaaaa.
Bridal shows are a place to collect information to go home and assess, so don’t think too dang hard about what everyone is telling you. Take notes on their flyers and go home to review.
Bring a lightweight bag for you to dump your 8,000 fliers into.
I’d bring a friend or two but not a whole entourage! There is a mathematical equation out somewhere out there that multiplies the # of opinions you bring x time spent there x # of vendors to equal your stress level!
Vendors were surprisingly stingy with food for such a big event, but maybe bigger event = more mouths for each vendor to feed. There were several different cake samples available and a lot of candy, but that’s it, so eat a big breakfast before you come out here!
Plenty of space in the back for you to take a rest should you need one. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

I went here on a Sunday as a Bridesmaid with my Bride-​to– be bestfriend. My mom used to be a vendor here and it’s just as crazy as it was how many years ago.
Things to keep in mind to absolutely make sure you have the most efficient use of the day:
1. Print out sticker labels of your name, phone, email & maybe address.
2. Prepare to be approached by everybody you make eye contact with, Bride-​to– be’s!
3. Wear comfy shoes!!!
4. Bring a bag to hold your countless fliers and free gifts (but there are $ 2 bags there as well)
5. Enjoy yourself! There’s alcohol everywhere. And fashion shows every hour.
Vendors will offer discounts on packages if you sign up with them that day. It’s good to come here because they have prices and info readily available to you. This is extremely useful because normally, you’d have to take the time to inquire on their websites on pricing, etc. on your own when shopping around. It was nice to see all of the options available to you and what’s new out there in the bridal world.
The also have giveaways galore, so the sticker labels come in handy when you’re signing up for stuff— my poor bride-​to-​be had to handwrite everything. We totally came unprepared, not knowing really how to approach this show. But I thought it was pretty informative, and I took some fliers for myself just to see roughly the pricing on some of these packages… Man oh man! Weddings are expensive, but I’m sure you already knew that. Happy Wedding Planning!

I attended the event in the Summer of 2014 and it was a little bit too much for me. I understand that this is set up to be a one-​stop shop type of thing for your wedding planning. But I had an issue with how pushy so many vendors were to get your information. I PAID to attend this event and I would be PAYING for any services/​products I were to choose or hire. So it kind of bothered me that some vendors were so pushy and borderline rude in the way they spoke or wouldn’t back off if I said I didn’t need their service/​product. I had been planning my wedding for two months when I walked in and several things were already under contract or purchased. It was a bit difficult to handle and I left absolutely exhausted. Since then I’ve gotten loads of spam mail from some vendors even after opting out of their emails. It also annoyed me that some vendors didn’t seem to be really prepared. Some booths didn’t have enough staff, some booths had plenty and the staff was more concerned with hanging out with each other than helping… and then others were there and able to help but weren’t knowledgeable and I left with less information than when I visited their FB pages. Which is sad.

From a guy’s perspective, this event is actually quite useful.
Both as a way to get wedding items checked off and also as a fascinating study in market economics.
Make sticky labels in advance with your name, email, phone and address. Then you can avoid writing it down at each vendor’s booth and when you want to enter drawings.
You’ll need about three hundred labels to be safe.
Also, by making the labels in advance, you can be escorted past the hour long line where they print labels and charge for them. I forget what they do charge but I think it was like $ 20 just for sticky labels.
This is essentially a place where the vendors want to wow you with their service or venue.
You are networking with vendors and will get price quotes AFTER the event — usually in the form of emails. Talking price at the event is bad form. Just get emails from everyone you liked and you can request this info later.
After the event, there will be a flurry of emails in which the next goal is to get a meeting where you meet the vendor in person after the event.
And, the pressure is on as vendors tell couples about their expiring discounts and vendors seek to lock in most of their business for the year. It’s definitely highly competitive and the vendors are working hard to get your business but also not afraid to remind people that when they are booked for a wedding date then they are unavailable.
Great cake samples here.
Also some food samples will tide you over a bit but you’ll want some real snacks since the food at the food stand is so-​so and overpriced and this is at least a 4 to 5 hour event if you’re moving and organized. If you’re taking your time, you can spend unlimited time here.
It also makes sense to come here just because you can get discounts that aren’t advertised just because you went to the extravaganza.

Well my Bestie is getting hitched and she invited me to go to this last weekend. We both originally thought this would be super fun, however it is if you are wanting to plan the biggest wedding and have the budget to afford a lot of the frills and thrills that most extravagant weddings usually have.
All in all we had fun, aside from all the looooong lines (some in the cold rain) we had to stand in line to get into the GRB, but truthfully her and I are not really super girly– girls and she is really shooting for a Hill Country wedding. Don’t get me wrong there were a lot of great vendors there; the food and cake samples were delish. But please take note Brides to Be: If you are planning a destination wedding or wedding outside the local Houston area. Keep in mind that the vendors attending this were are super close and local. They all charge extra for the traveling if you book them. I would recommend attending a bridal show, if possible, in the destination city. or just use Unilocal

So many amazing vendors! Gives you a great idea for visuals. Some vendors offer discounts if you make an appointment with their company that same day. The staff seemed very knowledgable about their products and services. Oh and plentyyy of cake samples! I would recommend going to any brides :)

Maigen’s Guide On How To *NOT* Become a Bridezilla
1. Have a group of fun and crazy, yet resiliently supportive bridesmaids.
2. Alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol.
3. Frequent spa days.
4. Staying organized with a super-​cute wedding planning binder.
5. Going to Bridal Extravaganza.
Ladies (and gents, I guess?), as important as all these steps are, I *cannot* stress that last one enough. If you’re just starting out on your wedding planning journey, but you have literally NO clue whatsoever on how to even begin tackling this complicated, expensive, and seemingly insurmountable project… then The Bridal Extravaganza Show is an awesome starting point. Twice a year, usually in January and July, Bridal Extravaganza brings together anything and everything you’ll need for your big day… and trust me, there’s enough vendors there to fill up the George R. Brown Center. Especially since they ARE in the George R. Brown Center.
There are rows upon rows of booths for:
+ Ceremony/​reception venues all over Houston, from down south in Texas City all the way up to Conroe
+ Photography/​Videography
+ Wedding dresses and attire (e.g. Winnie Couture, David’s Bridal, Alfred Angelo, etc.)
+ Music (e.g. DJs, small orchestra ensembles)
+ Guest Entertainment (e.g. photobooths, karaōke)
+ Cakes (yes, cake samples! Truffles and macarons too, if you’re lucky!)
+ Décor; Table/​Chair Linens
+ Event Planning
+ Honeymoon Planning (e.g. travel agents, cruise lines)
Plus, misc. needs — make-​up, tanning, custom clothes for the bridal party, ring cleaning, limos, catering (more free samples!), and even a few bars with drinks for purchase to keep you blushing brides buzzed and happy while you browse.
Two things. First, I reeeeally recommend bringing some people because it’s always nice to have second-​opinions and they can help carry all your flyers and pamphlets, plus it makes the convention more fun! Bring your maid of honor or a few bridesmaids, your parents, and definitely your fiancé. That said, the convention is crazy packed, so don’t bring your whole posse. Second, try to get there as early as you can because you’ll definitely use up all those hours perusing through this gigantic convention. I was on-​site for 4 full hours and time STILL flew by!
All in all, I am 110% glad that I went to Bridal Extravaganza. I arrived with three main areas of focus — venue, dress, entertainment — and I left with invitations to multiple venue open houses and a clearer idea of what I wanted for the latter two. Since we’ve still got a way to go until our wedding date, I’m planning to visit the convention again in July and take advantage of those awesome discounted rates. Thanks for keeping me off the path of brutal Bridezilla-​ism, Bridal Extravaganza!

Lots of good vendors and options. Good organization buy would recommend planners chauffeur bridal party to help w the flow of traffic.

I attended the Bridal Extravaganza in January of 2011 for my wedding in July. I attended with one mission: cake and makeup. I found both!
They have a huge selection of vendors with a lot of makeup specialists, bakeries, linen companies and apparel booths (bridal boutiques, etc. but nothing to actually buy such as accessories, etc.).
The best part is the samples of cake (yum!) and the discounts that most vendors give at this time. In hindsight, I should have waited to book a lot more vendors at the show so we could get a bigger discount!
Registering for the event was easy but I never received my tickets in the mail. I called them and they were very apologetic and they said they would have my tickets at will call. The day of I actually ended up with double the tickets at will call because apparently they had printed my info twice!
Overall, it was a good experience and I would recommend doing something like this early on in the planning process that way you can take advantage of the good deals!