WEBSITES - National Wedding Show

The likely objectives for the website presence for the National Wedding Show may be to;
Get the events name known by more people and establish it further.
To sell tickets to public and so increase footfall on the day and
To sell exhibitor space to companies, ensuring there are maximum exhibits for the guests.

The National Wedding Show’s website seems very efficient and relatively easy to navigate. It is very pretty; they have used pastel colours in the images that are very feminine and soft, the bride in the flowing wedding dress in the main image and the National Wedding Show symbol is visible at the top of the page.

I timed how long it takes for the page to load from Google and the result was 00.01.8 seconds, this is very fast, however the video that is also on the home page has music behind it that lags and jumps, this is not as appealing. Between Jan 26th and Feb 3rd the website would not load. This was very negative for the company as I am sure around this time the possibility of people wanting to purchase tickets would have been very high.

The homepage consists of articles about; Latest news updates on Celebrity weddings such as Kate Middleton and Prince Williams wedding. Where the show has been featured and a few examples of what takes place at the show such as ‘the how to look good’ stand and catwalk shows. There is also a short video from previous shows present with music behind it.

There are advert links down the rights hand side of the page, some flash and change. They advertise wedding magazines, online banners, invitation making companies and suit hires. There are also the links to National Wedding Shows twitter and facebook pages aswell as a link to the official blog and the box to sign up for newsletters.

There are 5 main tabs at the top of the screen; Home, Buy Tickets, Competitions, Exhibitors Area and Press. Under buy tickets the ticket prices and ticket options are laid out in clear tables that are very easy to read and understand. On this page there is also a direct phone number for ticket enquiries.

Under the competition section there are details of all the competitions and offers that will be available on the days of the exhibition, these are the individual exhibitors deals and competitions and so the details of the companies locations at the show are given. There are a lot of these deals and competitions making the page look messy and unorganized, this was slightly de-motivating and did not compel me to read down the page to the bottom.


Under the exhibitor tab there are 6 sub categories. In the main exhibitor area there are statistics about the National Wedding Show and the target audience. There is also a TV coverage section with examples of where the National Wedding Show has been a feature alongside video clips.
There is an exhibitor area that requires a log in password available to companies exhibiting at the show.
There is access to a marketing guide, access forms and downloadable banners and buttons. In the exhibitors section there is persuasion as to why the companies should exhibit at the event. There is a tab that has testimonials from past exhibitors, stating how it benefited them and showing the event in the best possible light, again trying to entice exhibitors to purchase show space.
There are examples of press coverage, such as newspaper and magazine articles about or mentioning the National Wedding Show.
The final Press tab is directed towards press outside of the event, giving information of how they can get involved.

The website is visually pleasing, the pretty bridaly background and very recognisable picture make you feel comfortable. The whole website stands out with the iconic image and is typically stereotypical of brides and weddings but is still very attractive.

There was plenty of information for the exhibitors and press of the event, however, the information is slightly lacking for customers, there is not much information on who will be exhibiting and what to expect from the full day. Nor on the location itself such as directions, a map or even an address. However the information that is available, particularly for the exhibitors and press is very useful and has a good quality.

The customer interaction options are great – there is a blog, twitter and facebook, all of which are very easy to access. The blog is not kept very up to date; there were only 4 posts in 2011, the last one being on the 24 Feb. 2011. There are good and quirky tips for brides on their wedding day and the lead up to it, it is all very feminine and aimed at the bride to be so it has the potential to be very successful but it is not kept up to date sufficiently.