Wedding Inspiration at Waddesdon – March 2019

Marketing Your Wedding Venue, Wedding Open Days and Showcases

Marketing Your Wedding Venue, Wedding Open Days and Showcases

Gone are the days of boring and bland. It’s now about creating something truly inspiring, innovative and interactive that every couple with their friends and loved ones can enjoy.

Couples now are looking at involving everyone in their wedding journey, yes even including their pets. Visiting a venue showcase to really see first hand what is on offer is an absolute must for most newly engaged couples.

So, as a wedding venue, what better way is there than to go ‘all out’ with your recommended suppliers in order to capture and convert those all important new wedding bookings.

Today I’d like to share with you a client case study detailing exactly how we worked with one of our ambitious venue clients, Waddesdon Manor to deliver another one of their fabulous ‘Wedding Inspiration’ Shows. This is how we collectively created, curated and managed the showcase of all showcases to inspire each and every one of their guests.

So let us begin…..

Waddesdon Manor Wedding Venue Showcase | Kelly Chandler Consulting

Had you heard of it?

Anything other your typical wedding fair, Wedding Inspiration returned to Waddesdon for the 6th time this Spring and has been designed with the aim of only one thing… and that is to delight!

With over 60 of the region’s finest wedding professionals committed to sharing their expert knowledge and expertise, the show has seen guests travel from all over the country to gain a realistic, fun, memorable ‘all under one roof’ experience. Offering a fabulous programme of catwalk shows, talks, tastings and demonstrations that ran throughout the day, the show has evolved to give every couple that attends the ideas they need to help make their wedding day simply like no other.

Where did we start

The show’s success is heavily based on its previous year’s performance and as consultants, we worked closely with the team at the start of the planning process to clearly map out the improvements that could be made to enhance the experience for our guests.

We are always looking to better the show year on year and one area that we always see change with taste and diversification is its suppliers.

Waddesdon Manor Wedding Venue Showcase | Kelly Chandler Consulting

A key ingredient to the show’s popularity is the suppliers themselves and the commitment each and every one of them have for the show and for the venue itself. Some of which have had linked with Waddesdon for over 25 years! We worked closely with the already well-established relationships and took these as inspiration to establish new relationships with other local businesses to build upon their already successful bank of professionals.

We worked together with these new suppliers to create an exciting visual interpretation of each and every one of their businesses to intrigue and entice each guest.

Waddesdon Manor Wedding Venue Showcase | Kelly Chandler Consulting

Once new relationships were established and existing ones secured for the show, it was then a focus shift to the show’s content and what we were going to do as organisers to really encapsulate the overall experience.

Through a series of live talks, hair & makeup demonstrations, food tastings, live music performances, cocktail demonstrations and wine tastings, we were sure to deliver an offering like no other, that guests would want to talk about and share once they had attended.

Waddesdon Manor Wedding Venue Showcase Mixologist and Saxophonist | Kelly Chandler Consulting

Promote promote promote

Through a mix of printed and online content, the team worked hard to campaign the event which saw them receive over 650 pre-registrations prior to the show date which was an all-time high against previous years and helped drive momentum amongst the team and their suppliers.

All exhibitors were also encouraged to heavily promote the show through their own website and social media channels to maximise exposure.

Set up and the day itself

With the ‘beast from the east’ to contend with at last years show, this year, in terms of weather logistics was sure to be a breeze.

Set up commenced on site from the Thursday which saw the 3 main marquees and stretch tent structures being erected. It was then all hands on deck for the next 3 days with furniture hire delivery’s, suppliers’ busy building displays and the finer detail of floral masterpieces and décor all planned cohesively taking shape.

Waddesdon Manor Wedding Venue Showcase Outdoor Ceremony setup | Kelly Chandler Consulting

Everything was starting to come together. After some long hours and hard work, the wedding inspiration story started to build around us. Before we knew it, we were to pull off the mother of all wedding showcases.

At 10am on the Sunday morning, doors flew opened and instantly there was a hum of wedding chat and buzz that descended on the venue. A long line of excited and enthusiastic couples and their families queued in anticipation to see what the show had to offer.

Waddesdon Manor Wedding Venue Showcase | Kelly Chandler Consulting

For 5 hours guests ate, drank, wondered and experienced, soaking in every corner of the venue. Waddesdon staff were on hand to answer any questions potential couples had for them and suppliers smiled with satisfaction as they oozed passion for their business and the hope they too would be involved in that couples wedding journey.

Waddesdon Manor Wedding Venue Showcase Canapes | Kelly Chandler Consulting

The results

This year’s show saw a staggering 627 guests pass through the doors some of which, we are delighted to say, have now confirmed Waddesdon as their wedding venue.

The event is created annually to have a lot of fun and to be a genuinely exciting day out for all who attend. Yes, the reality is there will be a lot of people who come to get ideas to create their own dream day. But, alongside these, we have seen some amazing new business opportunities for our wonderful new and existing suppliers and of course the Waddesdon Estate venues.

The show came to a steady close at 3pm where the last few guests meandered around the outside ceremony spaces, taking shots of their favourite things and what had inspired them from the day. It was smiles all round and feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment that anyone in our industry will understand.

Waddesdon Manor Wedding Venue Showcase Lady Taking Iphone picture | Kelly Chandler Consulting

At Kelly Chandler Consulting, we are passionate about delivering for our clients and creating something that is unique to them in giving the best possible opportunity to drive for the right wedding business.

An amazing showcase is how you as a team can bring your venue to life through sensational offerings and where you can demonstrate collaboration with your trusted suppliers to deliver a ‘one of a kind’ experience where couples find you simply too irresistible not to book for their dream day.

This shows success was down to the commitment of the venue’s team, demonstration of the venue’s versatile spaces and collaboration with their fabulous portfolio of suppliers to offer a not only a unique feast for all senses but a platform for current wedding inspiration.

If you’re an established venue and you would like to elevate your wedding business to new heights, let’s have a conversation about how we can help you.

Please do get in touch on HERE to schedule a discovery call.

Image Credits:

Venue – Waddesdon Manor // Potters Instinct Photography // Mark Sisley Photography // David Bostock Photography // Stuart Bebb Photography 

Kelly is an events industry professional of 25 years having previously planned weddings (often 6-figure) for over 150 discerning global couples. 

A Wedding Venue Business Consultant to many of the UK’s finest Stately Homes, private houses and diversified farms, Kelly supports land and property owners to thrive by generating sustainable profit from hosting weddings.

A live-long learner and personal development devotee, she’s also a Master Coach & Success Coach to high-achievers.

Being endlessly curious about the power of the mind and neuroscience, she’s passionate about unlocking, unblocking and championing the potential of her fellow bold business-leader clients.

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