Wedding Resale Events...What They Are and Why You Need to Attend Them

You may or may not know that I host wedding resale events in Missouri called Bride2Bride Resale. Our next event is September 23, 2018 from 12:00 - 3:00 pm at Parkade Plaza in Columbia, Missouri! So, what are wedding resale events? Should you consider reselling your wedding leftovers at one? I'm here to give you the rundown.

So, after my DIY wedding, I had SO MUCH stuff sitting around in boxes. I knew that I had the option to resell some of it online. To be honest, that option didn't really appeal to me. For one, I had to take everything out of the boxes, take decent pictures, post them online, etc. After going through all of that I would have to deal with a lot of back-and-forth from people who were "interested." I don't know if you've ever tried to sell stuff on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, but people will message you once and then after you respond, you never hear back from them. Or worse yet, you set a time to meet with someone and they stand you up. This happens ALL THE TIME. Of course there is also the added annoyance (and danger!) of meeting up with strangers. I would never consider having a stranger come to my house to look at my leftover wedding stuff. But that means that every time I want to meet up with a potential buyer, I would have to pack up everything they want to look at (and make sure only alike items are boxed together, in case they take only part of my stuff) and take it somewhere for someone to MAYBE buy it. Maybe they won't even like it once they see it in person. Maybe they will try to negotiate the price too much. Then I have to lug it home and put it away again, only to have someone else want to see it two days later.

NO THANK YOU.

So I looked into better options for selling it. There was nothing in my area. So, on a whim I decided to start the Bride2Bride Resale Events. I found a wedding venue to host it, and I started putting the word out.

My first event was actually a HUGE success. I had about 300 people walk through looking to buy stuff! That was great! Since then numbers have gone up and I even started including more traditional wedding vendors and Etsy shops, so it has truly become a one-stop-shop event!

So what does this mean for you after your wedding?

At my first event, at Serenity Valley Winery, we had 15 brides reselling their stuff. We charged a small booth rental fee to those brides for their booth at the event. Out of all those brides, I sold the least stuff. (No surprise really, as my wedding was black and white--it wasn't rustic, which is all the rage right now.) But even selling the least of anyone, I made $450 back on my stuff that day. I sold about 50% of my stuff! That was pretty awesome to me.

Afterward, I talked to some of the other brides who sold stuff at my event. They all sold 80-99% of what they brought with them and made upwards of $750 back! All in all, that's not too shabby for one day's work! Yes, technically you still have to meet strangers, but it's in a very public setting and you know it's all actual future brides--not some random dude from Craigslist.

If you are recently married and looking to sell your leftovers, I think this is a MUCH better way to do it. Plus, it's fun!

So what does this mean for you before your wedding?

These events are a gold mine of new and gently used decor and more. The prices usually range from garage sale pricing to Facebook Marketplace pricing. This is an AMAZING way to find almost everything you might need for your wedding without breaking the bank!

The past brides sell everything you can think of. Seriously. There were wedding dresses, MOB dresses, flower girl dresses, signs, centerpieces, candles, table runners, lace, floral, linens, chargers, jars, vases, jewelry, veils... literally everything. I highly recommend you check out resale events in your area (and if you're in Missouri, you'd better come to mine!)

I can't speak for all the other resale events because I've never been to them. However, at the Bride2Bride Resale Event, we have other great things to do besides just shop. We have sponsors: a wedding venue for you to check out, a caterer that is handing out food samples, and exciting prize giveaways. This year, Savvi Formalwear will be donating reusable totes to the first 100 brides through the door and we will also have a scratch-to-win, mini-giveaway of 20 rose gold reusable totes filled with samples and discounts from several vendors! We also have an area of the venue where we will have traditional wedding vendors you can stop in and talk to! A lot of those vendors will be doing amazing prize giveaways at their booths! This year's sponsors, prizes and vendors will be announced on our Facebook Event Page, so check it out for all the details!

Interested in attending our upcoming event? Check out our website here for tons of additional information! After the event, we will e-mail everyone who came out to the event and you will have a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card for completing a quick survey!

Not ready to attend our next event, but want to attend one of our future events? Subscribe to our e-mail updates here!