How to Survive a Bridal Show in a Down Economy

Musicians: It's fall bridal show season, and here's the big question: What 2 items cause brides to make decisions about hiring musicians at the bridal show?

Answer:
1. Performing in your booth. Brides will fall in love with your music when they see and hear you live. Plus, other wedding vendors will fall in love with you, too, and recommend you to their clients.

2. Offering a discount available only at the bridal show. This means that the bride must hire you at the the show, sign your performance agreement at the show, and give you a deposit at the show. In this economy, they will make a decision, use a cell phone to confirm with their fiancés, and then do what it takes to receive a discount.

There's more info about exhibiting at bridal fairs in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" published by Hal Leonard and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Brides: How do you get in on discounts at an upcoming bridal show? Take your cell phone, check book, cash, and credit cards to the bridal show. More and more vendors offer discounts that are only good at bridal shows, so be prepared to make up your mind quickly if you want to save money on your wedding services.

My upcoming book, "The Bride's Guide to Musicians: Live Wedding Music Made Easy and Affordable" (also published by Hal Leonard) has tons of money-saving music ideas. You can pre-order it at amazon.com (available for shipping after December 15th).

Do you have more bridal show ideas? I'd love to hear them. Please share them here....

The Gig Must Go On

My friend and virtual assistant Christine Buffaloe went on a motorcycle ride last weekend and a bee went up her helmet and stung her. As she relayed her story to me, I was reminded of; not one, but two weddings where wasps flew up my dress as I played harp during the ceremony. I won’t tell you where I was stung (!), but it sure hurt. I continued to play as if nothing was amiss, even though I was in pain. The show must go on.

Have you encountered bugs and vermin trying to interrupt your performance, and how did you handle it?

(Note, my friend Chris finished her ride before seeking medical attention. So, maybe the “ride must go on” too)

2nd Annual Wedding Faire and Fashion Show

Planning a wedding at Lake Tahoe or Northern Nevada? Meet and audition me at the 2nd Annual Wedding Faire and Fashion Show at Reno’s premiere special event center, The Grove--one of the first green special event centers in the country! Enjoy butler-passed appetizers and a full non-hosted bar as you listen to me perform on my Celtic harp. Email me with your request and I’ll play it for you. Admission is free!

Event details: 
October 3, 2010 at  11am-3pm

Location and information:
The Grove at South Creek
96 Foothill Rd.
Reno,  Nevada
(775)324-7684

Music for Your Wedding

Got wedding questions? Need some music suggestions for your wedding? You'll find answers to many questions, such as what to songs to choose for your wedding march. You can also type in your own questions and receive answers.
WeddingQuestions.net also contains answers for many other wedding questions you may have. It's a sort of "Dear Abbey" for wedding how-to questions and wedding etiquette questions. Check it out. Ask some questions. Get some answers. Have a wonderful wedding day!

When Your Client Isn’t the Bride-Part 3

This is the last in a 3-part series on the ups and downs with working with a client that is not the bride.

When Your Client is the Mother of the Bride, the Groom, or Other Family and Friends of the Bride

These people, the bride’s loved ones, are emotionally connected to the wedding details, unlike booking agents or wedding coordinators.

Most of the musicians I interviewed had no problems or issues working with the mothers of brides, or any of her family and friends, for that matter. They typically do not hover about musicians on the wedding day, because they are part of the wedding party and busy tending to other activities. As long as they are speaking for the best interests of the bride and groom, family members are a pleasure to work with.

The trouble arises when a loved one, typically the mother of the bride or the mother of the groom, makes decisions about your services without consulting with the bride and groom first. Then she is no longer working for the wedding couple’s best interests.

It’s rare when a conflict of interest arises between the wedding couple and the person who actually hired me. When it does, I try to be as diplomatic as possible. I listen to the bride’s concerns and then explain my situation: Her mother signed my contract, and therefore, I must follow her instructions. Then I ask the bride if she can discuss the issue with her mother and come to a mutual agreement.

The person who signs my contract has “veto power.” That’s the way it is, legally. So, I take the time to explain this to the bride and groom if differences of opinion come up. Open communication is the key.

I’ve barely touched the surface of the problems that can arise at weddings and how to solve them.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Bridal Show Shocker!

Today, I received in my inbox some startling news from my friend Becca Carter, wedding insurance agent over at the Wedding Protector Plan®. The first quarter of the year is when some of the largest bridal shows happen, so I wanted to pass this information along...

Boston police say thousands of brides-to-be and wedding vendors have been scammed by a web site advertising a fake Boston bridal show. More than 6,000 individuals and vendors have paid and signed up with the web site, promising all that a large, elegant wedding show provides. Vendors discovered it was a scam after they tried to contact the convention center, asking when they could set up their exhibits for the show. The FBI is now involved and the web site has been taken down. Read more about this tragedy from The Boston Globe.

How can you make sure that a bridal show is legitimate?

Tips for Musicians:
Never sign up to exhibit at a bridal show without talking with the producers on the phone. Ask them the following questions:

1. Have they produced any other wedding shows or is this one of their first events? Get statistics of how many brides have attended past shows so that you’ll know how many bookings may be possible for you.

2. Where is the show located? Exhibit at shows in areas where you’ll want to travel to perform.

3. What are the dimensions of the booth? Can you fit your entire ensemble into that booth?

4. What’s in the contract? Yes, you need a contract! Find out what the promoter will guarantee to you, in writing.

5. Use your gut feelings to decide if you want to work with a particular bridal fair producer. If they come off like a slimy used car salesman with a hard-sell attitude, run in the other direction.

6. What is the total fee that the producer will charge to you? Take into account all the extras that might not be included in the standard booth fee: electricity, linen rental, extra chairs or tables, etc.

My book, “The Musician’s Guide to Brides”, contains an entire chapter about getting the most out of bridal shows. It’s available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, and of course, at my website at Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos

Tips for Brides, Mothers-of-Brides, Event Planners, And Anyone Attending Bridal Fairs:

In my upcoming book, “The Bride’s Guide to Musicians: Live Wedding Music Made Easy and Affordable”, I’ll be devoting an entire section to successfully navigating around bridal shows.

To avoid spending money pre-registering for a bridal fair that is a scam, make sure that the show is well advertised. If a promoter is spending good money advertising the show in your local paper, on billboards, on radio, and even on TV, the show is certainly legitimate. A con artist is not going to spend money that they stole from people to advertise a fake bridal fair.

You can also contact the venue where the show is to take place. They can verify that the show will indeed go on as planned.

And if something still doesn’t feel right and you are in doubt about the legitimacy of a bridal fair, don’t register online. Simply show up at the appointed time of the show. All bridal shows allow you to pay admission at the door if you have not pre-registered online.

Bridal shows are great places to find all your wedding vendors in one shopping trip. Don’t let this one horrible incident prevent you from attending bridal shows in your local area.

Please stay in touch, write and comment. I’m looking forward to reading your stories and feedback.

Anne :-)

Finding the Perfect Bridal Fair to Show Off Your Talents

I will an exhibitor at the Dream Wedding Show on February 28, 2010 at 11 am-4 pm.
Located at the Cal Expo
1600 Exposition Blvd.
Sacramento, California

Before committing to a Bridal Fair, ask the following questions:

1. Has the promoter produced any other wedding fairs or is this one of their first events? If they produce shows on a regular basis, request statistics of how many brides walked through the front door. This way, you will get an idea of how many bookings are possible at the show (but if they quote 1,000, remember that you will only have time to talk with a small percentage of these brides). Keep in mind promoters may quote the number of people in attendance, not brides. If this is the case, this figure will be inflated, since brides often bring parents and friends along with them to shows.

2. Where is the show located? Brides are likely to attend shows that are in the same towns where they plan to get married. If you live in a rural town fifty miles away from where the bridal fair is held, are you willing to drive this distance for each wedding you book at the show?

3. What are the dimensions of the booth? You’ll need to determine if you, your ensemble members, your performance equipment, several chairs, and a table can fit comfortably in the space provided. After your visit to another bridal fair, you should have a good idea of how much space you will need to eff ectively promote your musical talents to brides.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

10 Tips on What it Takes to Play at Weddings

Here are ten general tips that will help you to be a successful wedding musician. Master these, and you'll start receiving a steady flow of referrals, inquiries, and bookings:

1. Be content with taking directrions from the bride and those she appoints to oversee her wedding, no matter how stange you think her expectations of you may be. Follow instructions with a kind smile and a nod, without being argumentative. Aim to please.

2. Educate the bride about the services you have to offer. Keep the lines of communication open so that there is absoulutey no doubt in the bride's mind that she can count on you.

3. Politely stand your own ground when necessary. Be firm regarding such issues as requesting pay, seeing that you are provided with your performance requirements, and squelching impossible demands.

4. Possess a willingness to offer helpful suggestions about how to select weddings or reception music, without actually making up the bride's mind for her. In other words, if you disagree with the bride's musical taste, or you don't like playing the songs she has chosen, let her know why. If she insists, play what she wants to hear anyway. Understand that she is creating her own personal memories with the music she chsooses.

5. Accept the fact that you will be performing background music while people are talking and mingling. You are not a "diva"-You don't have to be the center of attention.

6. Perform smoothly and with confidence. Understand that if you dispaly a lack of confidence, the bride and the other wedding professionals on your team will have a lack of confidence in you too.

7. Look food, No, look GREAT! Smile. Look like you are having fun when you play, Take good care of yourself and the clothes that you wear. Take good care of your equipment, too.

8. Realize thsat you can learn from other experiences.

9. Know that a positive attitude makes you a magnet for enjoyable, high-paying wedding gigs. You'll be viewed as a calm professional. Brides will appreciate that your feathers don't get fuffled too easily. Better yet, other wedding vendors will see that you can handle
situations that come up at a wedding with ease, and they will want to work with you again. They'll refer you over and over.

10. Love what you do and success will come. Show you love of what your do with gratitiude. Thank the bride, your clients and other wedding vendors, and everyone who crosses your path.

These tips are designed to help your set parameters for what you are and to help guarantee success at future wedding gigs.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com,
Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.