Creative Ways to Sell Your Venue; Levine Museum of the New South Hosts a Mock Wedding

When my husband proposed to me in 2008, the planning began almost immediately. I feel confident saying that no one would describe me as a bridezilla, but I definitely had my hands in every aspect of the preparation. One of the hardest decisions was choosing a venue. Charleston is full of beautiful and unique rooms. Some of them are easy to envision as a wedding venue, as that’s their main function. Other options – museums, barns, parks, aquariums – that don’t primarily serve as wedding venues were sometimes hard to imagine. I found myself scouring photographer’s websites and venue blogs – trying to picture the room transformed. I often wished wedding crashing was acceptable!

Well, one organization has made wedding crashing an option – by hosting a mock wedding.

To make this happen, the Levine Museum of the New South, with I Do Wedding Consulting and Split Second Sound came together to create the event, which featured almost 20 vendors. The event was free to the public, with a marketing effort to encourage engaged couples to attend.

The local news and MSN both featured video coverage of the event.

“This was to let people enjoy the experience and really see what makes sense and what it could be like for their own wedding,” said Vinny Esposito, co-owner of DJ Company Split Second Sound.

The event is a great marketing technique for all of the vendors; everyone can showcase their work – caterers, jewelers, bar services, bands, wedding planners, florists, rental companies, bakers … it goes on and on. Each adds to their portfolio and has direct contact with potential clients. With everyone donating their services, the risk is spread between all vendors, making it minimal.

All Photos Courtesy of Indigo Photography

The final icing on the wedding cake (horrible pun intended) is this great video from Carolina Video Productions; a marketing department’s best way to showcase the organization as a wedding venue. Here it is, for all you wedding junkies:

Mock Wedding from Carolina Video Productions on Vimeo.

Located in Charlotte NC, the Levine Museum of the New South was founded in 1991.

Their mission is to engage a broad-based audience in the exploration and appreciation of the diverse history of the South since the Civil War, with a focus on Charlotte and the surrounding Carolina Piedmont. Through the Museum they collect, preserve, and interpret the materials, sights, sounds, and ideas that illumine and enliven this history. The Museum presents opportunities for life-long learning about this history for the benefit, enjoyment and education of children and adults, and provides historical context for contemporary issues and a community forum for thoughtful discussion.

Has anyone else hosted an event like this before? Do you have any suggestions for other creative ways to promote rentals in your event space?

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