Date & Weather – Sunday 21st January – 28 Degrees
Expo hours – 9am – 4pm
Location – Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre – Handicap Access.
Parking – Basement parking undercover $20 flat rate.
Public Transport – Yes – tram route 96 and 109, or train to Southern Cross Station and catch the tram
Ticket Cost – $25 online, $29 at the door (a high door fee for an average show!)
Advertising – Saw the advertisements on Facebook and heard on the radio
Prizes – It mentions online that the expo has amazing prizes and giveaways but it doesn’t say what they are.
Giveaways – Only the first 500 brides get pamper bags valued at $80. It includes small gifts like candles, budget cosmetics, a mini sparkling wine and maybe a few lollies. All other brides get a plastic bag with a Toast magazine. No show guide.
Features List – Bridal fashion parade, short dance performance before the parade, fireworks display during the parade, experience lounge with a makeup trial desk, and a mobile bar doing cocktails
Layout – Grid based layout, so easy to manoeuvre through. Fashion parade towards the back. Small number of cars down the sides. Carpet only in the middle, which seemed rather strange.
Queue to Get In – No Queue
Quantity of Exhibitors – 108, yet the expo advertised up to 200. A bit disappointing when they only deliver on half the amount of exhibitors.
| Celebrants | 9 |
| Videographers | 2 |
| Photographers | 17 |
| Photo booths | 4 |
| Cakes | 6 |
| Bridal Fashion | 10 |
| Cars | 7 |
| Menswear | 4 |
| Entertainment | 7 |
| Flowers | 4 |
| Stationery | 7 |
| Health & fitness | 1 |
| Beauty & Wellbeing | 3 |
| Wedding planners | 2 |
| Jewellery | 1 |
| Hair & makeup | 4 |
| Dance | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Wedding directory | 3 |
| Wedding insurance | 1 |
| Financial assistance | 1 |
| Venues | 10 |
| Destination weddings | 1 |
| Mobile bars | 2 |
Overall Star Rating – 3/5
Overall Impression – The Melbourne Bridal and Honeymoon Expo is one of the larger expos Melbourne has to offer. With that come big expectations in the way of a spectacular show with plenty of features and a range of exhibitors. Was this our overall impression at the show? Well, yes and no.
Here’s what out reviewing party thought ticked the boxes, and then missed the mark; On arrival, some our reviewing party members were not registered by the event organisers, neither did we get pamper bags. We were one of the first to arrive and saw the paper bags waiting to be handed out, but for some reason, we were excluded, which was a little disappointing. The bag we were handed only had a magazine in it, but no show guide. The layout of the exhibitors was cleverly done in a grid format, so it was easy to manoeuvre around and not miss any stands.
They were however very tightly spaces in the middle of the venue. We’re not sure if the event organisers did this to make the show appear fuller but put too many people in an aisle and it becomes very frustrating to get around. There was no carpeting on either side of the venue, which looked a bit strange. Maybe to save money? Who knows. But if that was the intention, it was definitely evident.
The Melbourne Bridal and Honeymoon Expo had a good mix of exhibitors that offered a variety of services, with many being smaller businesses as opposed to larger brands. The fashion parade was well executed with some gorgeous grounds on the runway, however the set up was a little outdated. It’s still drew a healthy sized crowd. The fireworks display and dance route at the start was a nice touch. Best not to attend this show hungry as there was very little in the way of choice or ambience. We’ve also not too sure why ‘honeymoon’ makes us the title of the event, as there were no exhibitors offering honeymoon services.
Overall, at $29, we thought the entry fee was a tad steep. There were some great elements to the Melbourne Bridal and Honeymoon Expo that were well done.
It’s not the worst bridal expo we’ve ever attended.
