Thank you to all that attended the Exhibiting 101 seminar on Thursday, November 9th at the Hilton Park Cities in Dallas. With 60 in attendance current and future bridal show exhibitors gained helpful advice to get the best results from the bridal shows.

A special thanks to Jonathan Bostick of ProTouch Sales for also speaking at the event, and to our host Cathy Moser with Hilton Park Cities for the use of her beautiful facility.

Naomi Hulme also traveled to Bryan/College Station to give a presentation of the Exhibiting 101 seminar to the Brazos Valley Wedding Association. Naomi talked with around 35 local wedding professionals about how to market their business through local consumer trade shows.

Read through some of the testimonials below to hear what the attendees had to say.

"As a first time exhibitor, this seminar was so helpful! I am confident that my newfound knowledge will boost my business. I learned a lot and would recommend it to other vendors."

~Jessica Jeffreys, Affairs of Elegance

"This was a great class for a beginner (like me) in the industry. The words of wisdom I received were spoken from years of experience. It really got me excited about my decision to do this. It was informative and entertaining!"

Lyndsee Rothenburg, Savvy Silk

"I enjoyed it! It was very helpful and know it will be used in the future to help our business."

Nichole Morales, V&N Designs

Some of the most important items attendees said they learned were:

• "Work the leads!"
• Liability Issues/Safety at the show
• "Being prepared well ahead of events"
• "How to present yourself and your staff is so important"
• "Don't give up after one mail-out. Keep up with your leads"
• Networking Opportunities at the show
• "Make every moment count -- don't sit"
• "Be real and genuine...be yourself"

For more information on these two seminars including pictures and testimonials please visit the updated Exhibiting 101 website.

Bridal Shows, Inc. would like to congratulate the Stars Girls Soccer Team on a great 2006 season. The Dallas Bridal Show sponsored the girls' team helping to provide them with their beautiful new jerseys. They certainly did us proud, playing their hearts out in Plano.

We are so excited to announce that The Word 100.7 FM and the Dallas Bridal Show are bringing Dr. Laura to the Dallas Bridal Show on Saturday, January 27th, 2007, at Dallas Market Hall. Dr. Laura Schlessinger is one of the most popular talk show hosts in radio history, and will be selling and autographing her new book, The Proper Care & Feeding of Marriage. Don't miss this unique opportunity to see Dr. Laura!

Watch your email and upcoming newsletters for upcoming details regarding an opportunity for Dallas Bridal Show vendors to be involved with "NBC 5 Throws A Wedding."

If you're interested in being a partner with us with Good Morning Texas (ABC Channel 8) preceding the Dallas Bridal Show, please contact Ruthie Stivers, our media rep, at 214-213-8567.

There are so many things to be thankful for--God's grace, family, friends, business friends & relationships, life and all of its challenges, smiles & laughter, photos of many memories, peace, good food, cell phones, computers, email, vehicles, vacations, holidays, being able to work, pets, hospitals & doctors, rain, flowers, and of course weddings, just to name a few.

Please take a moment this Thanksgiving to let someone know how much you appreciate them. Then, each day after, let someone else know how you appreciate them. Being grateful is good daily medicine for us all.

Thank you to my staff and each of you for making each year very special. I love what I do every day and appreciate everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Aloha natural disaster!" Naomi Hulme, president of Bridal Shows, Inc. enjoyed a seismic adventure on her annual trip to Hawaii this year. She and her family (son Brian from Los Angeles, daughter Mary and sister-in-law Patty from Arizona, and Jack and Naomi from Dallas) arrived the night before a 6.7 earthquake rocked the island.

Naomi, Jack and Brian began the descent down the stairwell from the 23rd floor, as Mary and Patty quickly made it down from the 9th floor. It was raining and the power on the whole island was out the entire day. Their rented SUV became their home for the day as very few places were open, which created a nice place for quality family time. That evening the crew was able to return to their hotel rooms to play spades by the light of their flashlights. The power and plumbing finally came on later in the evening.

"We are all very thankful that everyone was okay and that there was no threat of a tsunami. Thank you so much to those of you who called to check on us. It really meant a lot."

~Naomi

We are always doing research to help benefit our customers and have been asked recently to do some study on current and upcoming wedding trends.

Please contact Bonnie Crumpton at bonnie@bridalshowsinc.com with current trends you are experiencing in the wedding industry so we may compile an informative report for everyone.

Thank you for your help!

If you have any requests or ideas for articles in future newsletters or would like to contribute a testimonial, please contact us at news@bridalshowsinc.com.

Bonnie Crumpton
Newsletter Editor