Want to be guaranteed a $1000+ show? Book a Bridal Shower...
Bridal Showers are Cooking Shows with a twist. Here are my random disjointed Bridal Shower thoughts:
Sorry it got so long....but there is a reason to my business madness.
A bridal shower is basically one cooking show with 2, 3, 4 catalogs included in it. I say that because I always encourage the bride, the fiance, the aunts, the moms, etc. to take catalogs to their places of employment and gather orders! The co-workers do not even need to know it is all for the shower...'just running a catalog show and wanted to share in case there was anything anybody wanted'. Then all those random orders are put into the bridal shower and it just increases the Guest Sales which in turn increases the brides FREEBIES cuz she will be listed as the Host.
Which brings us to...the bride is the Host and gets all the free items...PLUS all the gifts purchased for her from the guests.
So when people are checking out, I ask them to put a STAR or a B(for bride) by the items that are for the Bride. That way when the shipment arrives the sorter knows what goes to the bride, what goes to the guests AND the bride knows who gave what also if thank you cards are being sent!
You will need to Host Coach the bride AND the aunts, friends (whoever is throwing the shower). You want the bride just as excited as the hosts. If the bride is excited and wants the WHOLE catalog the shower is a lot more successful. Ask the bride to create a registry for you....making sure there are a WIDE variety of items...lower priced and higher priced. Some guests may be shopping for the wedding gift as well....and better yet going together with a few guests to buy a larger wedding gift (cookware). So coach the bride accordingly so she isn't shy on listed EVERYTHING she wants.
Now I take those registry items...write each item on a separate sticky note with price & item number. Sometimes is ambitious I may actually cut them out of a catalog. All I will say about this is KEEP IT SIMPLE!! Then...the sticky notes are laid out at the shower so the guests can pick what they would like to get the bride and add them to THEIR personal receipt. This eliminates the chances of any doubles. I do give the bride a pad of sticky notes and pen during the shower demo....telling her I am sure she will be adding to her registry during the demo.
A good introduction idea is: 'How do you know Suzie Bride and What one PC item do you think is a MUST in Suzie Bride's kitchen?" ONLY if the crowd is a manageable size. If too many people just ask for random shout out ideas for "registry must haves and why".
Three to four times during the demo (opening and closing) I explain how a bridal shower works, how their personal shopping today is also a blessing to the bride because she will be getting all the Host Benefit freebies from the home office... so if they have any upcoming showers, Christmas shopping, the bride's wedding gift or other weddings to shop for those today as well...cuz that in turn will be a gift to Suzie Bride as well!!
This is ALL about the bride day. I DO NOT play any bridal shower games. If the Hosts insist I ask them to sneak it in before I start. Cuz once I am done I DO NOT want them to be distracted and forget about all the products they were just excited about. RARELY are there games at my showers though. And I believe it is because of the way I explain to the hosts how I will incorporate the bride in with the demo. Here are some ideas I have done to put the bride on a pedestal and the keep fun in the shower: Get her an apron and have her assist me, make alot of boy/girl/marriage comments throughout the demo, randomly ask questions about the bride/fiance (how they met, colors of the wedding, honeymoon location, etc) ...defer to the bride for the correct answer and always give her the small prize (season's best, quikut paring knife, twixit, etc)...
Still do the ticket game and prize drawing slip at a shower!! Remember this is a Cooking Show with a twist. The basics like ticket game, prize drawing slip and full service checkout are a must. Your excuse before kicking off the ticket game and/or prize drawing slip is: 'now it is somebody else besides the bride to win a prize!'
ONE RECIPE: Yes you will still be doing one recipe during the demo. You are not the caterer for the Shower. If they want to have additional recipes, punch, etc. pre-made rock on. It is not our job or our worry.
VERY IMPORTANT: make sure the bride and the hosts understand the importance of using PC Bridal invites or something of the sort. The bride, the hosts and the guests need to be overly educated on the fact that ALL the gift shopping will happen at the shower. If this is not clear and people walk in with cute gift bags from Target...your Bridal Shower is in jeopardy because nobody is shopping PC today!!
And....CASH. Some people will choose to bring a greeting card with cash in it OR just hand you cash for the bride. Bring it on...however I am the keeper of that cash. I even ask the bride to open her cards to see how much additional cash shopping she has. So now during the Host Coaching after the shower "wahoo...plus you have $125 in cash to spend...why don't you grab the registry sticky notes right now that you want to use that cash for...." This is important otherwise she will take the cash and spend it at Target or to pay the electric bill and not within the Shower.
There you have it! I know many of you have had SUCCESSFUL Bridal Showers..so add your posts here or on Facebook so we can learn from each other.
My last comment will be: A Bridal Shower is a Cooking Show. The only thing that changes is how you market it, how you host coach it, and the verbiage you use at the Shower....really it is that simple!
