A Guide to Wedding Exhibition Costs
One of the first questions wedding suppliers want to know when they get in touch about our wedding exhibitions is how much does it cost to exhibit?
With this question in mind, the aim of this article is to help answer this question honestly to give you a better idea of costings.
You have a few options available to you when looking at showcasing your business at an exhibition, and the price can vary depending on a range of factors.
Similar to how a wedding cake can vary dramatically in price depending on size, flavours, time spent making it and decoration, a wedding exhibition stand works the same way.
At an exhibition, wedding suppliers have 6 hours to promote themselves to visiting couples getting married; it’s a limited amount of time to get your business noticed so it’s important you do it in the best way that fits your business.
Let’s go into a bit more depth into the different aspects that affect the cost of exhibiting depending on what/ how you’re wanting to exhibit.
Factors that affect exhibition cost
Stand Type
There are a few different ways of exhibiting depending on what a supplier is after.
A typical Shell Scheme stand is a metal framed booth with grey panelling; it’s the most popular option for a lot of suppliers as it works like a shop window for you to exhibit within. It’s also ready to go in the sense that the framework is there with the power supply for you to ‘set up and plug in’. Suppliers have a backdrop with grey panels that they can dress with printed panels/wallpaper/twinkle curtains, etc, so this can add to the overall exhibition display.
Space only options are preferred by suppliers who don’t fit the typical shell scheme style of stand. A bespoke décor company for example might have large decorative items to showcase and may want to create a walk round display from all angles.
Wedding car companies and suppliers who have horsebox bars prefer to showcase these in an Outdoor/Indoor Vehicle Display space as they don’t want to be restricted in a shell scheme stand and like to take couples round the vehicles to show them off.
The Lanes are a small space only area often chosen by new suppliers who are just starting out and the cost of a shell scheme stand seems a bit overwhelming at first. Alternatively suppliers who offer a low-cost product/service tend to prefer the lanes to improve their ROI chances at the same rate as a higher cost supplier in a shell scheme stand.
Stand Size
Size usually depends on the amount of product a supplier wants to showcase. A photographer for example provides a service, so won’t necessarily want a larger space, unless they want to display a range of large striking images on their stand.
A Bridal shop might want more space if they have flowing gowns they’d like to display. Similarly, a wedding venue may wish to recreate one of the rooms at their venue and might need a larger stand in order to fit some of their furniture in.
Some suppliers also like to bring couples into their stand, so may want more space in order to create a seating area to chat to couples and get a better idea of their requirements.
Logistics/Equipment Costs
It’s important to factor in the cost of additional equipment and logistics when exhibiting at any event. There could be a cost of hiring/purchasing display equipment if you don’t already have it, such as a podium, display table or additional lighting. And fuel costs should also be factored in along with staff hire costs if you need additional help during the exhibition.
Additional Visibility (catwalk/ décor display)
At any exhibition, there’s usually a few options to gain additional visibility. Bridal wear suppliers for example tend to use the catwalk to showcase important pieces of their bridal collections on professional models in order to attract more couples to their stand. Similarly, décor companies who want to showcase more of what they do will opt for décor display tables to give an idea of how they can dress a wedding; thus extending their exhibition visibility further.
Advertising Boosts
Suppliers who showcase at an exhibition tend to factor in additional costs for advertising. This can come in the form of leaflets/business cards you have printed specifically for the exhibition, as well as any paid promotion you might undertake in the form of social media advertising or additional advertising whilst at the exhibition.
As you can see, there are a range of factors that can affect the cost of exhibiting.
Depending on your business type, the cost of the exhibition to you might be very different from a different sort of supplier.
So how much does it cost to exhibit?
It’s no secret that we’re totally transparent with our pricing. It’s all freely available to view here: https://store.ido-magazine.co.uk.
Nothing’s a secret as we believe it’s important to know how much something’s going to cost, and that information shouldn’t be held under lock and key.
But here are a few exhibition costing examples to give you a better idea:
Let’s take a wedding stationer for example, who books a 1×3 metre shell scheme stand with a table to showcase their stunning designs. At a cost of £290 for the stand, £25 for the table, this comes to £315+ vat in total. That’s their total cost to exhibit.
A bridal boutique on the other hand, might want to display their gowns and so would need a larger space; a 2×3 metre corner stand for instance. They won’t need a table but may want lighting to light up the dresses, and they may also want to showcase on the catwalk too to increase footfall to their stand. So £520 for the stand, £35 for the lighting and £250 for the catwalk comes to £805+ vat. That’s their total cost to exhibit.
A mobile horsebox bar for example might not want to book a stand as they want to showcase their bar and don’t want to be restricted by a shell scheme frame. They still want to be in the thick of the exhibition inside, so they book an indoor display at £350 and add power running to it for £80, they also want to add an advertising bundle to give their promotion a boost at the exhibition which comes to £70, in total spending £500+vat. That’s their total cost to exhibit.
A supplier with a wedding car might just want to exhibit outside with their vehicle on display and nothing else. In total, they spend £150 + vat to exhibit.
As you can see, there’s quite a difference from one supplier to the next and no ‘one size fits all’ approach. Costs can vary quite a lot and it really does depend on the type of your business plus how much you want to get out of your exhibition experience in terms of increasing your ROI.
If you’re wanting a bit of guidance for the best way forward when exhibiting, Click here to request our Exhibition Info Pack including stand sizes, benefits and Flexi-plans – and we will work with you to craft the perfect exhibition package for your wedding business.
