Wowza! What a weekend! The New + Improved Tacoma Wedding Show was a hit and a whirlwind way to start the year out. It showed us some pretty interesting trends in Washington’s small corner of the wedding industry and we’re excited to share them with you!

The TWS of the Past is gone!

Nadine and the Bird + Duck Media, LLC team have run wedding shows in the past, and we’d been present at several of the Tacoma Wedding Show events when they were owned by Bride’s Club. With a few events in the past couple years falling way short of our expectations, I was extremely hesitant to sign up for another event. But Nadine took the time to quell my fears and answer all the questions I came up with. I’m truly thankful she allowed us a space in this show and grateful she reached out to us!

If you’d visited TWS when it was run by Bride’s Club at the Tacoma Dome, you’ll remember the pre-2020 version, where couple’s felt like some vendors were just there to fill space (because truthfully, you’re not shopping for windows or a new roof while finding your wedding vendors. Sorry Brad.) and not really wedding related. This was NOT the case with this year’s Tacoma Wedding Show! The team at Bird + Duck Media, LLC carefully curated a show where every vendor was wedding related, almost exclusively serviced weddings and events, and many of us knew each other. You could legitimately walk through the show and book every possible vendor you needed for your big day, all while getting a team that would make your wedding daydreams come true. The vibe and excitement was overwhelming as we all set up our booths and waited for the crowd to arrive.

And they arrived. Oh, did they arrive. There were times where I would be talking to 2-3 couples, Jake would be talking to 2-3 couples and several more couples would pour in, standing on tiptoe to see the photos behind the groups that were already there. Of course, there were times where people would walk away (some came back!) but if you were one of these couples and didn’t get a chance to return, I’m truly sorry we didn’t get to chat with you! (You can book a consultation here if you’d like one!) The entire show was hopping and we couldn’t believe how many of you stopped by!

Overall, I have to give major props to Nadine and the Bird + Duck Media, LLC team. They truly knocked it out of the park with this come-back 2024 event! Jake and I were both extremely impressed and cannot wait for them to open the Tacoma Wedding Show 2025 vendor application. You better believe we’re jumping on that as soon as it’s ready.

Trends from the Tacoma Wedding Show

It’s hard to summarize how the trends of this year are looking different from years past. There’s a rumor in the National Wedding Industry that engagements are down and they’ve predicted lower numbers of weddings in the next two years. However, we didn’t see these trends over the weekend.

Couples are planning their weddings earlier or faster

As we all know, I (Markie) am not a fan of these super early in the year shows, but this may have changed my mind. In the past, this first weekend has always felt a little slow and we’ve attributed that to it being so quick after the holiday engagement season. This weekend though proved that theory wrong as couples who’d gotten engaged between November and January poured through the doors. Every couple who came by fell into one of three categories: Newly Engaged and just beginning planning, Planning quickly for a 2024 wedding or planning for a more extended engagement (2025-2027 weddings).

Couples who were newly planning were taking the opportunity to stop and chat with vendors extensively. They all appeared to have done their research and knew what questions they wanted to ask. These couples gave us some wonderful feedback on our new package system (I’ll share that in another post!) and many were hoping for early 2025 or late 2024 weddings. A few felt they were way behind in planning as they were having trouble finding their high priority vendors, so we referred them to the next two wedding shows with a coupon code to get discounted tickets. (Use code SWSMJP for a Seattle Wedding Show discount and code PWSMJP for a Puyallup Wedding Show discount!)

Several couples were quickly planning their 2024 weddings or buttoning up those last vendors and they knew just what they needed. Many opened the conversation with “Are you available on…” just so they didn’t waste time falling in love with a vendor who wasn’t available. Some weddings were within 8 weeks, while others were late spring. I’ve done this before and understand the struggle! We honestly really felt for these couples and encouraged them to reach out to their top choices asap. It can be hard to find your ideal vendors when you’re in a rush.

Finally, the rest of the couples fell into the long-term planning group. These were the couples ready to book consultations, asking to view contracts and really wanting to get to know the vendors while they were at the show. We booked several consultations, and I ended up needing to open extra days on my calendar where I could meet with couples via zoom or in person. It’s such an exciting time and getting to know these couples better really makes my heart sing.

Couples love more Control

It’s been a trend in the wedding industry for some time, to push couples towards printing their images. Some photographers do this by offering a selection of prints, others by including an album. We found that couples really just want a mini shopping spree where they can snag those things that mean the most to them. Many were interested in our online shop where you’re able to buy prints, canvases, cards and even design your own album. Others really loved the hands-off approach and wanted to simply choose their favorite images, then let me work my design magic on their wedding album. Both groups were thrilled with the product credits we included this year and I’m excited to see where this goes.

In addition to that, I heard a lot of “oh that’s rare” when we chatted about our online gallery downloads policy. Many couples felt they had added stress when it came to “passing out” the digital images to friends and family members. They were surprised we don’t restrict downloads to just the bride and groom, but the relief on their faces spoke volumes.

The Tacoma Wedding Show is a MUST for future couples

Overall, the response at this show was overwhelmingly positive. We would definitely do it again, and I highly encourage all couples to put this one on their list if you’re getting married in 2025 and beyond. You can bet we’ll be seeing you there.

If you missed this year’s Tacoma Wedding Show but still want to chat with us in person, come on out to the Seattle Wedding Show on January 27th and 28th at the Seattle Convention Center, or the Puyallup Wedding Show on February 24th and 25th in the Agriplex at the Washington State Fair. Tickets for both are on sale now!