The Big Fake Wedding

I’ve attended one bridal show and with the experience I had, I promised myself that being a vendor at one wouldn’t be a goal for my business. To be honest, the bridal show gave me major anxiety and I wasn’t even the bride! It was very crowded, hugely impersonal, and full of stark white everything. Vendors were a little forceful in pushing brides to sign up for this contest, that email list, etc. It was more overwhelming than helpful and the bride I attended with didn’t leave with great impressions, surely not enough to book any of the vendors there.

The Big Fake Wedding is like the anti-bridal show.  As the name implies, vendors come together to plan and throw a fake wedding. Guests attend a vow renewal ceremony of an actual couple, meet the vendors who put the wedding together, and party at the big fake reception!

When I was asked to participate as a featured vendor in The Big Fake Wedding, I accepted the offer almost immediately! I had a pretty good idea of what this event was about – I know a few people who have participated in previous events, followed The Big Fake Wedding on social media, and had seen their website. I also knew this genius concept was started in Atlanta and was super excited to be a part of the fun!

Prepping for the event was great. Expectations were set, but each vendor is able to truly make/plan/show off their creative vision! A mood board was provided with a theme and color palette. The theme for the Big Fake Wedding Atlanta was “jewel tones”. For the invitation suite, I choose some words I wanted the designs to evoke and created with those words in mind. Magic, playful, and rich were my mood words.

Keeping with the jewel tone color scheme, I created an invitation with a playful design and mounted on a gold leaf pocket with a topaz accent mat. I did two options for the envelope, because I’m obsessed with envelope liners and couldn’t pick just one! The first was made with handmade paper and had the most beautiful (magical!) gold accents, applied to a white envelope to really stand out. The other option was a simple, gold leaf envelope liner in the matching topaz envelope. I definitely think the final product encompassed The Big Fake wedding theme and my inspiration words.

These invitations can be customized! Ready to get started on your Big Day invites? Contact me now!

Vendors at the Big Fake Wedding were able to set up small tables in the Tunnel of Love. To set up my table, I made a canvas displaying some of my favorite wedding invitation suites and save the dates. I gave away wedding stationery timelines magnets and had a contest for free save the dates. Guests browsed the Tunnel of Love prior to the ceremony and during the reception. I was able to meet so many bride-to-bes and potential clients in person, it was wonderful! Typically, many of my clients find me online and I never get to see their face or hear their voice. It was really nice to see so many faces and get to speak with people. Getting to hear immediate feedback from the reactions of seeing the invitations was truly priceless. One bride-to-be commented that she had seen one of my invitation suites on Pinterest and pinned it to her inspiration board. Hearing that seriously made my day!

Being the invitation designer, I’m never present at the actual weddings. My work is done way before the event begins. The Big Fake Wedding provided me with the experience to connect with other vendors that I typically wouldn’t. It was inspiring to be surrounded by fellow creative and business owners. I loved hearing everyone’s story and visions for their businesses!

Overall, I would highly recommend participating in The Big Fake Wedding to any vendor and attending The Big Fake Wedding to anyone planning (or helping plan) a wedding. As a bride-to-be, being able to see a venue decorated makes a huge difference. It is also really nice to be able to hear the band, taste the food, and smell the flowers. The Big Fake wedding does a fabulous job of creating a truly inspiring environment!

Photo Credit: XOXO by Cortni, Tiny Atlas Photography   Event Hosts: The Big Fake Wedding