St. Louis wedding professionals that chose to attend The Wedding Marketing Expo educational conference at the Fox Theater September 9 and 10th were nurtured through an enjoyable, stimulating, diverse business growth experience.
Conference producers Bev Egidi and Linda Smith coordinated a substantial, yet not overwhelming seminar agenda through the two full days that started at 9:00 AM and ended at 5:00PM. Attendees were treated to great cuisine, hospitality and ambiance in the majestic, interestingly ornate Fox Theater environment. Bev and Linda also fostered a strong sense of community by inviting participation and comments by the attendees. Several speakers incorporated group interactive experiences that let them practice networking skills and helped them think about action steps to take after the conference.
The conference started and ended with yours truly. I surprised the audience by singing a couple of lines of the Bye Bye Birdie Classic “Put on a Happy Face”, and quipped, “Now I am can say I sang at the great Fox Theater”. My opening seminar “12 Steps To Wedding Business Success” set the tone for other speakers to elaborate on certain topics . Regional sales manager of the Knot, Tom shared some of the vast marketing intelligence from surveying their audience and shared some of his own insightful marketing tips.
Other prominent national known wedding industry speakers during the 2 day agenda were Cherie Ronning of Wedding Network USA, Charles Oster of MyWedding.com, Shane McMurray of “The Wedding Report”, and Alison Howard of Wedding and Event Institute.
On a sign-up, first come, I also offered free half-hour website reviews to attendees through out the second day as a pre-cursor to my closing talk on “The Anatomy of A Website”. That seminar focused on the ingredients of a website that creates the greatest possibilities of inspiring bridal visitors to contact the business with strong interest.
The trade show was supported by leading St. Louis wedding media companies like Perfect Wedding Guide, St. Louis Best Brides, wholesale suppliers and businesses services like Constant Contact.
Upcoming events are taking place in Denver on October 21-22 and Nashville on November 11-12. Bev and Linda plan to repeat events in those areas in 2015 and expand to other regional markets.