The Ultimate Guide to the Wedding Shows

The ultimate couple’s events of the year is finally back to normal. The PNW Wedding Shows are back and bringing you the most amazing vendors for your wedding day! Navigating the show and all it has to offer can be overwhelming (been there done that!) so I’m here to guide you through planning (and executing) your best ever wedding show attendee status.

Quick things to Plan Ahead

Planning ahead can give you an advantage (and keep you from getting overwhelmed) over others who are going in blind. I’ll be honest, you will be targeted by almost every booth you walk past. Vendors will be trying to introduce themselves and get you to step into booths. You’ll likely feel as though you’ve been tossed into a sand pit full of snakes. (I love snakes and that sentence is giving ME anxiety). Depending on where you are in your engagement journey, you’ll want to plan for different things.

One tip for everyone: When you’re making your list of vendors, put them in numerical order by BOOTH. Example: 123 – Markie Jones Photography LLC, 219 – Historic 1625, 303 – Barn at Wilson Farm, 540 – JBK Events, etc. _{(Note: These are made up numbers. Check the show floor plans for actual booth numbers)}. Ascending or Descending order doesn’t matter, but you don’t want to have to take time reordering your must visit vendors on the day of the show.

Newly or Not Yet Engaged Couples

You have the ultimate advantage here. You likely haven’t chosen a date, but probably have a few in mind. For you, I recommend prioritizing your wedding show wishes before walking into the show. I personally recommend the following priority list:

Wedding Date (this was our non-negotiable)
Venue
Photographer*
Wedding Attire (Gown and Groomswear)
Florist
Cake
DJ
Everything else.

_{*Being a photographer myself, I had the unique perspective of hiring associates to shoot and using my own company for all post processing. 0/10 do I recommend this for anyone. It was a nightmare. However, if you’re really dying to do it, chat with me about my vendor to vendor packages.}

Once you have your priorities list, check out the vendors in attendance on the Seattle Wedding Show site and make a list of the booths you want to visit. You’ll also find my recommendations at the bottom of this post. Decide which ones are your priorities (Is it the gown sale? I hope it’s the gown sale and me!) and make a plan to beeline to those booths.

Engaged 3-6 Months or Early Stages of Planning

Much like the group above, you might have knocked a few things off your list, like your venue or photographer. If you haven’t found your dream dress, now is a good time to check out the fashion show and gown sale. The fashion show is held daily (Saturday at 12 pm + 3 pm, and Sunday at 1:30 pm) and features gowns, suits and florals from the shows vendors. This gives you a great idea of how different gowns look when combined with the other wedding attire/floral aspects.

A handful of shops participate in the gown sale (which starts at 9:30 am on Saturday and 10:00 am on Sunday) but the hundreds of gorgeous gowns you can find would leave you believing every gown in Seattle is there. I could personally spend an entire day just browsing the incredible pieces in the gown sale. If a gown is your number one priority, consider doing just that. Plan for Saturday at the gown sale and fashion show. Then return on Sunday for the rest of your needed vendors.

Engaged 6-9 Months or Middle Stages of Planning

You, my friend, probably already know who you want to visit and which booth they’re in. You’re probably in the market for 2-3 specific vendors and have an idea what budget you’d like to stay in for each. I recommend spending an afternoon (go to your favorite coffee shop with your laptop and get some work done!) with your needed vendors list and the Seattle Wedding Show site to narrow down which vendors you want to talk to. Browse their websites, read all their about me pages, drink your favorite coffee and get excited about meeting the final pieces to your dream team!

Engaged 9+ Months or You’re almost to the finish line!

You likely have all your vendors and are just ironing out tiny details, like whether you want copper mugs or colored glassware at the place settings. You’ll want to spend most of your time checking out the decor rental booths, the late night snacky snacks and the jewelry booths. It’s also a great time to check in with your vendors who are at the show and say hi. This always makes us happy and shows other people we aren’t a bunch of frauds.

Prep Tips + Your Show Day Plan

Now that you have your list of vendors and which booths you want to hit, it’s time to get pumped for the show. A couple in-advance things will help make your show experience a breeze!

Create Labels or Set up your phone’s Autofill

Almost every vendor will have a sign up list of some sort where you can get their mailing list or give them your contact info to send you more information. When I first visited the Seattle Wedding Show in 2007, it was recommended to make labels with your name, wedding date, email address and phone number. This helps because sometimes handwriting can be hard to decipher.

If you have an iPhone, set up a contact in your phone with your name, email address (if different from your usual email) and phone number. Then go into your settings and search “autofill”. (It can also be found under Safari > Autofill). Select your new contact card to use for autofill and make sure your phone is set up to use safari as your default browser. This way you can quickly scan vendors QR codes and fill in the necessary contact details to get more information.

Arrive to Seattle Early

Use the Seattle Wedding Show as your excuse to get a hotel in Seattle with your partner, or your group of besties. (Whoever will be attending the show with you!). You have prime opportunity to make it a mini-vacay with a side of wedding planning. I highly recommend checking into Hotel Theodore which is a short walk from the convention center. Homewood Suites (a favorite of ours since we stayed there in 2020) and the Sheraton are both great options as well.

Eat a solid breakfast

I’m not talking the grab and go bags from the breakfast bar at the hotel either. Get up early and head out to a local breakfast joint for a good hearty meal that will keep you fueled through the show. Personally I would love to snag the brioche french toast from The Spruce Cafe or a Lox and cream cheese bagel from Cherry Street Coffee House. Just thinking about those things makes me hungry. I may have to drag Jake up early enough to get breakfast too.

“Rope Drop” when the doors open

Ever heard of a “rope drop”? They’re constantly talked about in the Disney Vacationers groups, and it basically means you arrive a little bit early to be the first people through the door when they open it. (Our family did rope drops at all the parks on our WDW vacation last year!) Doors open at 9:30 am on Saturday for the Gown Show and 10:00 am for the rest of the show. On Sunday the gown show opens at 10:00 am and the rest of the show opens at 10:30 am.

Tackle the Show Floor

I mentioned before that you could spend a whole day at the gown sale, so if that’s what you’re hoping to do, I highly recommend being there for rope drop to get the best selection. (Note: The selection is always fabulous, but I don’t personally know if designers bring more than one dress in each size and brides are buying off the racks). For the rest of you who are looking for vendors on the show floor, here’s what I recommend:

Make a first pass through the show: This is your prime opportunity to get your bearings and feel out the layout of the show. It’s generally easy to navigate but can get painful if you’re going from booth 300 to 1500 to 500 and so on. During the first pass, note any additional vendors that catch your eye. While I don’t recommend stopping to talk to anyone on the first pass, if a vendor you really want to chat with is available, seize the day friend! This first pass should take about 30-45 minutes (unless you’re running).

Break Time: visit the concessions back by the fashion show and snag a coffee. Then take a look at your marked up floorplan and decide where you want to go back to. Depending on the line, you might need 20-30 minutes here to gather your thoughts.

Visit your vendors: This part will likely take the MOST time of your day. Visit your vendors in the numerical order, adding in any that caught your eye during your first pass. While this may not make sense to skip from a photographer to a venue, it is the fastest way through the show. Gather information, sign up for newsletters/etc. during this pass. Also be sure to ask questions.

Break for Lunch*: Overwhelmed yet? I am. Now is where we break for lunch and take all that information with us. While you eat, discuss with your cohorts pros and cons about the vendors you’ve met. Figure out what show specials you’d like to take advantage of. Decide if there are any you have additional questions for or would like to book on the spot.

Head back to the show and tie up loose ends*: If you have additional questions or vendors you’d like to book right away, this is the time to head back to the show and do just that. Snag those show specials, book those vendors and be that much closer to celebrating your wedding day!

*Note: If you’re planning on spending both days at the show, you can move these two steps to your second day. Make the “lunch break” a “dinner break” and mull on your questions overnight.