My first wedding expo!

Recently I was a vendor at the Alt Wed Expo at Rae Loft, which functions both as a wedding venue as well as a place to host other events. While it was my first time doing an expo (I actually haven’t been a vendor at an art market/fair yet either, but am considering it for 2026!), there was a low barrier to entry with cost, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.

What is an alternative wedding expo?

An alternative wedding expo is basically a little wedding vendor convention for people who are looking for services that aren’t always found in the most traditional, typical wedding! A few vendors there were a costume shop with dresses that definitely weren’t white, a drag officiant service, and an abstract painting service.

Drawing couples at an expo…

Rae Loft’s space was really nice with lots of light, making it good for drawing- as I wasn’t just advertising my services but I was also offering free sample portraits! I wanted to make these drawings even faster than typical, so I cut my usual 9×12” bristol paper into smaller sheets at about 6×8”. I also was luckily gifted a new felt marker pen with a smaller tip recently by my friend, so it was easier to get those little details in black. However, a couple of weeks later I tried it again, and it was already out of ink! I must have really either used it excessively or capped it incorrectly.

This was quite a long expo at about six hours, and my loving partner ran out at one point and grabbed me some food. She was also staying with me for a good chunk of the expo to keep me company. But thankfully I did have quite a few people sit for a little drawing, and I even had a couple waiting to be next at one point!

I consistently get people who want a drawing but I’m always thankful nevertheless because you never know. But I did quite a few drawings at this expo, even though the foot traffic wasn’t non-stop. We had some lulls.

This experience definitely made me want to do more expos! I’m not quite as partial to the giant conventions as the cost is so high, and I don’t think I could feasibly do sample drawings for potential clients in that kind of crowded space, nor would I be allowed to. But smaller expos definitely seem worth it.