If you are planning a wedding, Your Wedding Experience (YWE) is THE place to be. Presented by wedding planner extraordinaire, David Tutuera, and held in major cities across the United States, this event is for top-notch wedding inspiration. Guests gather ideas, mix and mingle with David-approved vendors and experience the latest wedding trends.
On February 28, EastCoast Entertainment served as the entertainment sponsor for the YWE held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Our ECE Philly team was on-site and ready to showcase five of the hottest artists currently rockin’ the area’s wedding scene – Blue Label, Broadway Project, Modern Luxe, DeeJay Shelly and To the Max. ECE Philly agent, Laura Nikolich, takes us behind the scenes leading up to, during and the hours after the big event.
The Preparation
Preparing for this event was like none other. Between the favors, the booth decorations, the set lists, the sound equipment, the stage plots, the promo, the showcase timeline and the videographer- to name a few- Kaitlin, Nikki and I were ready to take this event by storm and make it the best bridal event Philly has ever seen! Knowing we would be seeing about 2500 guests at the event, we had to plan accordingly. We needed to create a booth that was open and inviting. We needed to make sure we had enough favors on hand for all the guests. Last but not least, we had to prep the bands so they would be prepared to put on the show of a lifetime! In the days leading up to the event, we made an embarrassing amount of trips to Michael’s. We were determined not to leave anything out. After hot-gluing 2,500 bows to little pillow boxes, I think we are all in agreement that next year’s favors will be pre-ribboned.
The morning of the event, we met at the convention center to begin the booth setup. By 8am, I was covered in glitter from head to toe. All for the love of event, right? After we finished setting up and made sure the bands had everything they needed, we finished our coffees, put our business cards in hand and took one last breath before the doors opened.
The Show
Madness. The second the doors opened, the room was swarmed with excited faces! We couldn’t believe the excitement in the room. This was no ordinary bridal expo. Between meeting David Tutera, seeing the bands and seeing all of the amazing pieces showcased in the fashion show, the guests were thrilled to be there. Tons of eager, newly-engaged couples approached our booth looking for the perfect entertainment for their big day. Some of the band members were there to talk to the couples as well, which of course made the guests even more eager to see them perform!
At typical bridal expos, we hand out information, chat with attendees and then reconnect after the event to talk about specific bands and DJs. This day, it was different. At Your Wedding Experience, we were able to tell guests at our booth, “We have five perfect examples of amazing wedding entertainment right through those doors!”
As it approached 11:30 AM, guests started lining up an hour in advance to snag a seat for the band showcase and fashion show. Each line to enter the performance area wrapped clear around the expo room and out the back doors. Before we knew it, it was 12:30 PM. Blue Label was set to start! 12:45 PM rolled around and the doors still hadn’t opened. 1:00 PM and no sign of starting the showcase. Luckily, our booth was positioned directly outside of the showcase entrance, so we kept guests busy and entertained by giving them sneak previews of what they would see inside!
Kaitlin went in to investigate the hold up. Bad news… An outlet had failed. While the team rewired the sound system, the girls on the Tutera team made sure the rest of the event was seamless. These bumps in the road happen, and, luckily, the Tutera team was prepared to make sure the guests and vendors were happy. The rest of the show went on without a hitch and the minor delay only made the guests more eager to get inside! Check out this time-lapse video of all the guests entering.
Once the showcase started, guests were in awe at the scale of the event. Blue Label, Broadway Project, Modern Luxe, DeeJay Shelly and To the Max absolutely crushed their sets! The guests were having a blast and David Tutera himself made sure everyone was having the time of their lives. What more could we have asked for?!
Photo Credit: Your Wedding Experience Presented By David Tutera
Photo Credit: Your Wedding Experience Presented By David Tutera
Photo Credit: Your Wedding Experience Presented By David Tutera
Photo Credit: Your Wedding Experience Presented By David Tutera
Photo Credit: Your Wedding Experience Presented By David Tutera
Photo Credit: Your Wedding Experience Presented By David Tutera
Photo Credit: Your Wedding Experience Presented By David Tutera
The artists were a hit. As we checked calendars and crossed off dates, it was such an awesome experience to see guests excited and smiling as they booked their entertainment for one of the biggest days of their lives! Three hours later, as the showcase and final fashion show came to a close, the guests filed out one by one with the most incredible memories and goodies to take home with them.
The Aftermath
After countless hours of preparation, 10+ hours at the event and with no less than 5lbs of glitter in each of our shoes, we left the convention center to celebrate! Four bands, one DJ, two fashion shows and a fabulous expo event made for one amazing day. The guests, the Tutera team and we on the ECE team were thrilled with the success of Your Wedding Experience. We left with great vendor relationships, awesome new clients and a unique experience we’ll never forget. We can’t WAIT for David to come back to Philly. From what we know of David’s style, next year will only be bigger and better!
