December 27, 2023 • 11 mins
Congratulations to all of those couples who got engaged over the holidays! Now it's time to start planning your wedding. One of the most memorable experiences about planning a wedding is attending a wedding bridal show. Kathy Piech-Lukas, wedding planner and host of Your Dream Day Wedding Planning Podcast, talks with Mardi Hull, producer of Wendy's Wedding Show, in part one of this two part series about wedding shows. Formerly known as Wendy's Bridal Show, Wendy's Wedding Show has been a Cincinnati staple for 44 years and is the Tri-State's longest running wedding show. Taking place at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, January 6, 2024, and Sunday, January 7, 2024, brides, grooms, mother of the bride and wedding party can purchase tickets at www.wendysweddingexpo.com for $10 presale, or $12 at the door.
Attending a wedding show is a great way to plan your entire wedding in one day, in theory. Hull says that you can meet with wedding professionals of all types, including DJs, Photographers, Caterers, Venues, and Florists at wedding shows. In addition, Wendy's Wedding Show is one of the few wedding shows in Cincinnati that has a fashion show, featuring designs from Wendy's Bridal. Bring your smartphone and take photos of your favorite dresses, decor, flowers and more. Bringing an entourage with you to a wedding show makes it more fun, and some brides, grooms, mother of the brides, and bridesmaids even dress up for the occasion in special shirts, sashes and tieras. Food samples and cake samples are always available at wedding shows, and are a great way to sample multiple food vendors in under an hour. The other huge benefit of a wedding show is that you actually get to talk with the vendors in person, and get to know them, their style and personality -- something you can't always get from just looking at a wedding directory or on their website.
Enjoy the upcoming wedding show and happy planning!
To listen to more episodes visit www.yourdreamday.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are making our own story as we go, as we go, as we
go, hopin' we are hopin' thatwe'll go.
So either after, either after.
(00:20):
Hi, welcome to your Dream Daypodcast.
I'm your host, Kathy PeachLucas, and today we are here to
talk about Wendy's Wedding Expo,which is going to be happening
the first weekend in January,january 6th and 7th, at the Duke
(00:42):
Energy Convention Center indowntown Cincinnati.
Tickets if you purchase them inadvance online at Wendy's
Wedding Expocom, they'll be $10.
If you purchase them at thedoor, they'll be $12 each.
But it's going to be onSaturday from 10am to 5pm and
then on Sunday from 11am to 5pm.
And today I'm joined by MartyHull, who's the producer of the
(01:05):
show.
We're going to talk a littlebit about what you can expect at
Wendy's Wedding Expo.
Hey, marty, hello Kathy, thanksfor having me.
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
So what's so great about thisshow?
This show has been around fordecades.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
This is our 44th year and we've been consistent,
except of course for the COVIDyear, which everybody had to
miss.
But yes, we have the longestrunning show, we have the
biggest show.
I think we have the bestvendors.
We do a full production runwayfashion show that has the
dresses from our store, wendy'sBridal.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Well, and that's the one thing that, if you're tuning
into this and you just gotengaged over the holidays, this
is the show you want todefinitely attend, because
you're one of the few weddingshows that actually has a
fashion show style Right.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Right we have the, and it's a runway fashion show.
It's high energy, it's music,it's professional models.
It's a lot of fun to be at theshow, so with people who are
going to.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Maybe this is their first wedding show and they've
never been to one before.
What can they expect at Wendy'sWedding Expo?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Well, they can expect to just get a jump start on the
wedding planning.
Especially if you just gotengaged at Christmas, your head
is swimming.
You don't really know where tostart.
This is the place to start.
You can see photographers,venues, just get hundreds of
ideas of what your options mightbe, and you probably already
have a picture in your head ofwhat you want that to be.
(02:28):
And you can find the vendorsthat will help you put all that
together.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Well, and planning a wedding is a part-time job, it
is.
It's like I always say kiddily,you know, when you got that
gift from your fiance, what elsedid you get?
And people will say stuff like,oh, I got the love of my life,
oh, I got, you know, commitmentfrom my best friend, and I'm
like, no, you got a part-timejob.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Right, and there are ways to make that enjoyable.
Exactly, and it should beenjoyable.
Yes, there's certainly a amountof stress involved.
You want it to be just right,but if you find the right
vendors to help you achieve yourdream, that's going to make
everything fall together better.
If you can do a lot of thatshopping and get a hard start on
it and gathering those ideas inone stop face-to-face with
(03:12):
those vendors, you're going tohave a much better relationship
than finding things on a websitethat's just so much more time
consuming.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It is, and I think what a lot of people don't
realize is, you know, it goesback to the whole part-time job
thing.
When you go to a wedding show,you might be there for maybe two
hours, maybe three at the most,depending on how long you stay,
or if you have a goodconversation.
Well, stay for the fashion show, right, exactly, and then
there'll be plenty of timesbecause you want to see every
vendor.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
You want to go up a dem isle.
You may already know, oh, Iwant this particular place or
this style.
But if you go up and down everyaisle, you'll find things you
didn't know you need and you'llget ideas.
And the vendors are so creativeand it's so much fun to see
what they've done with theirspace.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, definitely, If you go to Wendy's Wedding Expo,
bring your camera and takephotos of things that you like
and start your Pinterest board.
Because Pinterest boards I havea love hate relationship with
them, but Pinterest boards arethe best way for your wedding
vendor team to read what's goingon up here and what your ideas
are and translate it intosomething tangible for your
(04:18):
actual wedding.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Another important tip is get an email that is just
for wedding planning.
Absolutely that will also saveyou a lot of time.
So when you're putting yourwedding planning hat on, you can
go to that email.
You can check the offers thatyou've gotten.
There should be discounts fromcoming to the show that you'll
find out at the show.
And then, when you're at workor relaxing, you don't have to
(04:40):
have those popping into yourother emails and then, when the
wedding is over, you can notcheck it anymore or wait to
check it until you have anotherevent that you want to go back
and find a florist or a bakeryfor.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Well, and that's the thing.
When you go to these weddingshows any wedding expo they're
going to ask for your personalinformation, such as your name,
your fiance's name, your weddingdate, venue, if you have it,
and your email address and yourphone number.
You will get contacted by thesevendors after the show.
They're there to help you plan.
Some people get a little bitflustered because they see it as
(05:17):
just getting spam, but reallythese vendors are here to help
you.
And one of the great thingsabout a wedding show is and
going back to what you weresaying, marty you go up and down
the aisle and you talk to everyvendor.
Talk is the key word here,because when you're researching
online on a website, you mightget to see their portfolio of
work.
You would get to learn a littlebit about who they are, but you
(05:41):
might schedule an appointmentwith this vendor.
Drive half an hour there, havean hour long consultation,
realize about 10 minutes into itthat this person is not a good
fit for you, drive home andthree hours later you're right
back where you started, whereasat a wedding show, you have the
opportunity to do that over andover and over again.
And talk to these weddingprofessionals, find out what is
(06:04):
their personality, what is theirstyle, as well as their pricing
and portfolio.
One thing that I find this as aplanner I get price shocked so
much where they just don't knowwhat questions to ask, and the
one question they've beenprogrammed to ask is what is
your cost?
What is your cost?
(06:25):
And the thing is is every vendoris a little bit different.
So if you're just saying I wanta photo booth, well, company A
may offer something differentthan company B and you're not
comparing apples to apples.
It may be a completelydifferent experience.
They may have different props,they may have different types of
photo booths available.
(06:47):
Like it should be a Volkswagenbug, like I've seen a Volkswagen
van.
I've seen something as simpleas a lighted tripod.
I mean, you have to get an ideaof exactly what their service
is, and you'll also find thatsome of the more seasoned
vendors will probably charge alittle bit more than the people
who are just starting out, andin that case, you're paying for
(07:08):
their experience.
You're paying for theirexpertise, you're paying for
their resources, and all thewedding vendors are there to
help you.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
And you know, and that's to me, that's the best
part of the wedding show goingto any wedding expo, but, but
ours in particular is the seeingall the vendors and their
creativity and also figuring outhow it fits in your budget,
because every, every weddingcouple has a budget.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yes, set a budget and stick to it.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
There is a wedding vendor for every single budget,
yes, and then decide what yourpriorities are.
You know, if the dress of yourdreams is your most important
priority, then you need to setthe budget for that and maybe
there's some other places thatyou can adjust.
Or if it's your dream venue oror flowers, overwhelming flowers
that there's a place for thatin every budget, but there's
(07:56):
ways to make it happen and theprofessional wedding vendors can
help you find the ways to makethat happen Absolutely, and you
actually said a very, veryimportant word there
Professional, professionalwedding vendors.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
That is who is going to be at Wendy's wedding expo.
Yes, our professionals.
It's not people that just selltheir services on Facebook.
They're, they're the real deal.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Right.
They've had an experience.
We sort of vet our vendorsbecause our name is behind the
show.
So we want to make sure that wehave quality vendors, that
they're worth the price ofadmission and also that we want
everyone to have a good time.
I mean, bring your friends,bring your family, bring all the
people that are going to helpyou make this day special and
(08:37):
help you plan it and comeplanning to have a good time.
You're going to have samples.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
There are beverages there if you choose to do that,
but it's a party, the entourageis my favorite part of watching,
because sometimes I'm one ofthose people that takes a step
back and I just want to observe.
And these, especially thebrides, they do this where
they'll wear a tiara, they'llhave a sash or they'll have like
(09:03):
their whole entourage, willhave a special t-shirt, like I'm
the maid of honor, I'm themother of the bride, or you know
, and they make a day out of it.
It's like a group activity whenthey go to these wedding shows.
Sure, yeah, so it's a great wayto bond with your wedding party
and, you know, it's also keepslike, if you bring your mom
along, it keeps her involved inthe planning process, yes, and
(09:24):
the show also allows.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
The focus, of course, is planning your big day, but
there's all sorts of things thatlead up to that, certainly
choosing your dress and theshowers and all the other events
, the bachelor parties that thevendors can help you plan that
too, and there's options for allof those things.
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Absolutely, and the other thing that I think is
great about wedding shows isjust the food.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Samples are great.
The food the grooms reallyenjoy the food part of it Well,
and we see more and more groomsthat are part of the wedding
planning.
Either they've been assigned atask or they're working together
.
They're very much moreinterested in this being their
day also, that's very true.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
I've been seeing that a lot where the grooms are,
either they're picking a pieceof the wedding planning and
that's their baby, or they'reright up there with you know, if
it's a bride and a groom,they're up there together just
asking all the questions, goingto every appointment, and
they're doing it together andreally, if you think about it, a
wedding is the first major lifeevent that you plan together.
(10:32):
Right, I mean, for some ofthese couples, maybe they
purchased a house already, butwhen you step into marriage,
that's a whole another.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Right so it does make sense for both parties to be
working together to make this,the launching of their family, a
new family unit, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So how can people get ?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Wendy's WeddingExpocom Find out
everything about the show, thetime, the dates January 6th and
7th, when the fashion shows aretwo on Saturday, one on Sunday
you get discount tickets $10 onour website,
wendysweddingexpocom or $12 atthe door.
Perfect, Perfect, Thank you somuch for joining us.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Marty, thank you for tuning in.
This is part one of two, so besure to tune in next week to
learn about wedding dress trendsand what to expect on the
runway at Wendy's Wedding Expoon January 6th and 7th.
This is Kathy Peach Lucas withyour Dream Day.
Happy planning.
We are making our own story as we go, as we go, as we
go, hopin' we are hopin' thatwe'll go.
So either after, either after.
(00:20):
Hi, welcome to your Dream Daypodcast.
I'm your host, Kathy PeachLucas, and today we are here to
talk about Wendy's Wedding Expo,which is going to be happening
the first weekend in January,january 6th and 7th, at the Duke
(00:42):
Energy Convention Center indowntown Cincinnati.
Tickets if you purchase them inadvance online at Wendy's
Wedding Expocom, they'll be $10.
If you purchase them at thedoor, they'll be $12 each.
But it's going to be onSaturday from 10am to 5pm and
then on Sunday from 11am to 5pm.
And today I'm joined by MartyHull, who's the producer of the
(01:05):
show.
We're going to talk a littlebit about what you can expect at
Wendy's Wedding Expo.
Hey, marty, hello Kathy, thanksfor having me.
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
So what's so great about thisshow?
This show has been around fordecades.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
This is our 44th year and we've been consistent,
except of course for the COVIDyear, which everybody had to
miss.
But yes, we have the longestrunning show, we have the
biggest show.
I think we have the bestvendors.
We do a full production runwayfashion show that has the
dresses from our store, wendy'sBridal.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Well, and that's the one thing that, if you're tuning
into this and you just gotengaged over the holidays, this
is the show you want todefinitely attend, because
you're one of the few weddingshows that actually has a
fashion show style Right.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Right we have the, and it's a runway fashion show.
It's high energy, it's music,it's professional models.
It's a lot of fun to be at theshow, so with people who are
going to.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Maybe this is their first wedding show and they've
never been to one before.
What can they expect at Wendy'sWedding Expo?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Well, they can expect to just get a jump start on the
wedding planning.
Especially if you just gotengaged at Christmas, your head
is swimming.
You don't really know where tostart.
This is the place to start.
You can see photographers,venues, just get hundreds of
ideas of what your options mightbe, and you probably already
have a picture in your head ofwhat you want that to be.
(02:28):
And you can find the vendorsthat will help you put all that
together.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Well, and planning a wedding is a part-time job, it
is.
It's like I always say kiddily,you know, when you got that
gift from your fiance, what elsedid you get?
And people will say stuff like,oh, I got the love of my life,
oh, I got, you know, commitmentfrom my best friend, and I'm
like, no, you got a part-timejob.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Right, and there are ways to make that enjoyable.
Exactly, and it should beenjoyable.
Yes, there's certainly a amountof stress involved.
You want it to be just right,but if you find the right
vendors to help you achieve yourdream, that's going to make
everything fall together better.
If you can do a lot of thatshopping and get a hard start on
it and gathering those ideas inone stop face-to-face with
(03:12):
those vendors, you're going tohave a much better relationship
than finding things on a websitethat's just so much more time
consuming.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
It is, and I think what a lot of people don't
realize is, you know, it goesback to the whole part-time job
thing.
When you go to a wedding show,you might be there for maybe two
hours, maybe three at the most,depending on how long you stay,
or if you have a goodconversation.
Well, stay for the fashion show, right, exactly, and then
there'll be plenty of timesbecause you want to see every
vendor.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
You want to go up a dem isle.
You may already know, oh, Iwant this particular place or
this style.
But if you go up and down everyaisle, you'll find things you
didn't know you need and you'llget ideas.
And the vendors are so creativeand it's so much fun to see
what they've done with theirspace.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, definitely, If you go to Wendy's Wedding Expo,
bring your camera and takephotos of things that you like
and start your Pinterest board.
Because Pinterest boards I havea love hate relationship with
them, but Pinterest boards arethe best way for your wedding
vendor team to read what's goingon up here and what your ideas
are and translate it intosomething tangible for your
(04:18):
actual wedding.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Another important tip is get an email that is just
for wedding planning.
Absolutely that will also saveyou a lot of time.
So when you're putting yourwedding planning hat on, you can
go to that email.
You can check the offers thatyou've gotten.
There should be discounts fromcoming to the show that you'll
find out at the show.
And then, when you're at workor relaxing, you don't have to
(04:40):
have those popping into yourother emails and then, when the
wedding is over, you can notcheck it anymore or wait to
check it until you have anotherevent that you want to go back
and find a florist or a bakeryfor.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Well, and that's the thing.
When you go to these weddingshows any wedding expo they're
going to ask for your personalinformation, such as your name,
your fiance's name, your weddingdate, venue, if you have it,
and your email address and yourphone number.
You will get contacted by thesevendors after the show.
They're there to help you plan.
Some people get a little bitflustered because they see it as
(05:17):
just getting spam, but reallythese vendors are here to help
you.
And one of the great thingsabout a wedding show is and
going back to what you weresaying, marty you go up and down
the aisle and you talk to everyvendor.
Talk is the key word here,because when you're researching
online on a website, you mightget to see their portfolio of
work.
You would get to learn a littlebit about who they are, but you
(05:41):
might schedule an appointmentwith this vendor.
Drive half an hour there, havean hour long consultation,
realize about 10 minutes into itthat this person is not a good
fit for you, drive home andthree hours later you're right
back where you started, whereasat a wedding show, you have the
opportunity to do that over andover and over again.
And talk to these weddingprofessionals, find out what is
(06:04):
their personality, what is theirstyle, as well as their pricing
and portfolio.
One thing that I find this as aplanner I get price shocked so
much where they just don't knowwhat questions to ask, and the
one question they've beenprogrammed to ask is what is
your cost?
What is your cost?
(06:25):
And the thing is is every vendoris a little bit different.
So if you're just saying I wanta photo booth, well, company A
may offer something differentthan company B and you're not
comparing apples to apples.
It may be a completelydifferent experience.
They may have different props,they may have different types of
photo booths available.
(06:47):
Like it should be a Volkswagenbug, like I've seen a Volkswagen
van.
I've seen something as simpleas a lighted tripod.
I mean, you have to get an ideaof exactly what their service
is, and you'll also find thatsome of the more seasoned
vendors will probably charge alittle bit more than the people
who are just starting out, andin that case, you're paying for
(07:08):
their experience.
You're paying for theirexpertise, you're paying for
their resources, and all thewedding vendors are there to
help you.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
And you know, and that's to me, that's the best
part of the wedding show goingto any wedding expo, but, but
ours in particular is the seeingall the vendors and their
creativity and also figuring outhow it fits in your budget,
because every, every weddingcouple has a budget.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Yes, set a budget and stick to it.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
There is a wedding vendor for every single budget,
yes, and then decide what yourpriorities are.
You know, if the dress of yourdreams is your most important
priority, then you need to setthe budget for that and maybe
there's some other places thatyou can adjust.
Or if it's your dream venue oror flowers, overwhelming flowers
that there's a place for thatin every budget, but there's
(07:56):
ways to make it happen and theprofessional wedding vendors can
help you find the ways to makethat happen Absolutely, and you
actually said a very, veryimportant word there
Professional, professionalwedding vendors.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
That is who is going to be at Wendy's wedding expo.
Yes, our professionals.
It's not people that just selltheir services on Facebook.
They're, they're the real deal.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Right.
They've had an experience.
We sort of vet our vendorsbecause our name is behind the
show.
So we want to make sure that wehave quality vendors, that
they're worth the price ofadmission and also that we want
everyone to have a good time.
I mean, bring your friends,bring your family, bring all the
people that are going to helpyou make this day special and
(08:37):
help you plan it and comeplanning to have a good time.
You're going to have samples.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
There are beverages there if you choose to do that,
but it's a party, the entourageis my favorite part of watching,
because sometimes I'm one ofthose people that takes a step
back and I just want to observe.
And these, especially thebrides, they do this where
they'll wear a tiara, they'llhave a sash or they'll have like
(09:03):
their whole entourage, willhave a special t-shirt, like I'm
the maid of honor, I'm themother of the bride, or you know
, and they make a day out of it.
It's like a group activity whenthey go to these wedding shows.
Sure, yeah, so it's a great wayto bond with your wedding party
and, you know, it's also keepslike, if you bring your mom
along, it keeps her involved inthe planning process, yes, and
(09:24):
the show also allows.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
The focus, of course, is planning your big day, but
there's all sorts of things thatlead up to that, certainly
choosing your dress and theshowers and all the other events
, the bachelor parties that thevendors can help you plan that
too, and there's options for allof those things.
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Absolutely, and the other thing that I think is
great about wedding shows isjust the food.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Samples are great.
The food the grooms reallyenjoy the food part of it Well,
and we see more and more groomsthat are part of the wedding
planning.
Either they've been assigned atask or they're working together
.
They're very much moreinterested in this being their
day also, that's very true.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
I've been seeing that a lot where the grooms are,
either they're picking a pieceof the wedding planning and
that's their baby, or they'reright up there with you know, if
it's a bride and a groom,they're up there together just
asking all the questions, goingto every appointment, and
they're doing it together andreally, if you think about it, a
wedding is the first major lifeevent that you plan together.
(10:32):
Right, I mean, for some ofthese couples, maybe they
purchased a house already, butwhen you step into marriage,
that's a whole another.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Right so it does make sense for both parties to be
working together to make this,the launching of their family, a
new family unit, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So how can people get ?
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Wendy's WeddingExpocom Find out
everything about the show, thetime, the dates January 6th and
7th, when the fashion shows aretwo on Saturday, one on Sunday
you get discount tickets $10 onour website,
wendysweddingexpocom or $12 atthe door.
Perfect, Perfect, Thank you somuch for joining us.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Marty, thank you for tuning in.
This is part one of two, so besure to tune in next week to
learn about wedding dress trendsand what to expect on the
runway at Wendy's Wedding Expoon January 6th and 7th.
This is Kathy Peach Lucas withyour Dream Day.
Happy planning.
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