What a week! I've designed, printed, spent money, ordered, spent money, planned, prepped, spent more money and now here we are!

I started with absolutely nothing you could physically hold in your hand before this wedding fayre, so in order to keep the branding consistent throughout, I first came back to my website and logo editor to make sure I had all the files I needed to ensure all my branding fit with my new flyers and business cards. This was really important to me because I know that branding is super important, and if everything is consistent, it will make a memorable and professional impression, and it will distinguish me from my competitors. It's a great way to make sure all my customers get my vibe and know what to expect from me.

The things I decided to spend the most money on are things I really wouldn't be able to complete myself whilst still looking professional. I designed and purchased:

• A pop up roller banner

• Business Cards

• Flyers - (I almost didn't bother with this as everything was starting to add up, but I wanted to make sure anyone who approached me had all the things they needed to make an informed decision).

These items turned out to be the most important, but I also wanted to make some kind of goody bag. In my experience, wedding fayres are always packed, and hot! So in my goody bag I also included a can of still water, lip balm, and an eye mask, along with my business cards and flyers. I also really wanted to this because I thought it would help couples remember me and stand out for the right reasons! Who doesn't want some free stuff?!

I made sure my email address, website and social media tags were easily found on all the products I'd had printed. One annoyance was that the QR code I had printed on my business cards doesn't work! The correct website shows up initially when scanning, but for some reason, when you click on it, it takes you to google, with no link to my contact details! I'd checked the QR code on absolutely everything else and it was working perfectly, but of course, the only QR code I didn't check didn't work! Typical 🙈😂

As I'll be exhibiting alongside top industry professionals and competitors, I really wanted myself and all my banners / goody bags / business cards to stand out. I've chosen a bright orange two piece suit (it's not as hideous as it sounds!), so that if I wanted to follow up with anyone, I could say 'I was the celebrant in the orange suit!'. I'm hoping to stand out, but also look professional.

Because of the 'in your face' suit, I decided I'd tone it down a bit with the table, less is more sometimes (unfortunately for me who loves bright clashing colours!). I didn't want to draw too much attention away from the information on the table, so I'm keeping the theme of the table to my primary branding colours (teal and white). I don't want anyone to leave confused about what I do because I'm sure they'll just give up trying to work it out!

Beause I offer celebrancy services, and entertainment services, I wanted to make sure no one would leave confused, so I decided to set up a mock stall at home on my garden table 😂 This proved to be more eventful than I'd hoped - me wrestling with a folding garden table and eventually dropping it on my foot. Anyway... an hour later, the table was set up. Some things, like the pop up banner, still haven't arrived, so it wasn't an exact recreation, but it gave me enough of an idea with regards to what should go where. Everything on the table was looking a bit flat (literally), so I bought some A4 frames to hold my price list, packages and AMC Wedding Celebrant Certification. I'll still have my flyers and my business cards on the table, but the photo frames meant that I didn't have to crowd the table with piles of paper.

I set up my backdrop behind the table which is VERY DIY. In lockdown, I was all over the garden trends, and bought a projector and projector screen for the garden. I put the stand behind the table, and raided my Mam's fabric room at her house (what a God send that room was!). I saved money in this area in some respects, but still added some fairy lights and some draping around the stand to make it look less... crap 😂

The fayre is taking place on 24th September at the Coal Exchange Cardiff with The Word on Weddings. Come back to find out how it goes!