Pam Schwartz and I went to Highland Manor, (604 East Main Street, Apopka, FL) for a Wedding Wire Mix and Mingle. The Manor is a gorgeous little spot right at the intersection of Semoran and 441. Huge old live oaks line the drive to the property and the Victorian mansion overlooks a quiet lake. I have been doing wedding sketches the last year, and the ad on Wedding Wire has received interest from prospective brides and grooms.
Cara Goldsborough, on the events team at wire, travels the country to do these networking events. The Wedding Wire education guru, Allen Berg who was the main speaker, gave a sales pitch speaking about reaching the client, engaging and converting them to the sale, etc.
Wedding Wire has
1.5 million social media followers,
87 million visits in 2015 and a
585% increase in mobile app downloads last year alone. The main point of wedding wire is connecting vendors with the people looking for them. There are 36,987 searches in Orlando on Wedding Wire in a month. Most couples plan to spend $14,000 and end up spending $22,000 in Orlando on their special day. Most people don’t know what to ask when contacting vendors so they ask about cost, which is the least productive way to begin a new business transaction from either side.
Alan advised on a pricing structure for work and told a story of a photographer who created a pricing structure that included high end package and within a week a couple had ordered that high end package. No one had ever paid that much for his services before. That got me thinking.
The food at the mixer was average with tiny sandwiches on a stick, chicken strips on a stick and plenty of butterfly shaped crackers with cheese. If this was a wedding reception caterer, I would be less than impressed. The room I sketched filled up, got loud and boisterous for about half an hour and then we were all called away to the main power point presentation. Honestly some of the tips were quite helpful as I learn how to grow my events sketch business. What I offer is unique, and I just need to connect with the right clients.