OMG!  I think it is safe to say that a fun and crazy time was had by all who attended our third Bride and Groom Garage Sale.  It is safe to say that an event is valued when you have a line out the door and snaking through the parking lot!  Wahoo!  We ended up with about 35 sellers, 350 shoppers, and a huge donation to give to our charity!  Items were flying out the door, and by the end of the first hour, there were several tables that were completely cleaned out!  Shoppers walked out with loaded arms and drove off with loaded cars.  Sellers walked out with a bit more money in pocket than they had when they walked in that morning. 

We even had Bill Wundrum from the QCTimes come to visit our sale!  What a class act!  He stayed to speak with us and then went around to each and every table talking with people and finding out about the sale.  You can find his article recaping the sale here. 

Plus play below to watch a montage of all the pictures from Saturday!

 

And for those of you who are wondering how you can hop on board for the next times, we have scheduled the next two event dates for the Bride and Groom Garage Sale - Sunday, October 28th, 2012 and Saturday, April 27th, 2013.  So mark your calendars, and if you're interested in being a seller, keep checking back on the site for information or send me any questions via email:  jenny@qcweddings.com .  Thanks for all who made our sale an amazing success including the sellers, the shoppers, the Golden Leaf Convention Center, and the amazing volunteers with the Kelly McQuate Memorial Scholarship!  We'd like to hear about your shopping/selling experiences if you came.  If you have any feedback or ways that we can continue to improve in the future, feel free to contact us!  Thanks! 

For those of you in the know, BGGS stands for the Bride and Groom Garage Sale which is coming up this weekend! We are so excited for our three-peat of this fantastic event! Today Jami went on the PSL show to plug the sale, and after the show aired, my cell phone was lit up for a good hour filtering through phone calls of both buyers and sellers who are interested in coming! So much fun to be had! Check out Jami as she chats it up with Ms. Paula Sands herself...

Remember, we accept walk ins for sellers, but it's best to pre-register so that you can be guaranteed tables. It is free to be a seller, and you can have as much room as you need. It's $5 per shopper to come to the sale from 12-2, and all of our proceeds go to the Kelly McQuate Memorial Scholarship Fund! Call with any questions or to reserve a table... 563-343-1581.

It's been six months already! It's time again for our Bride and Groom Garage Sale!! We love, love, LOVE this event, and we feel pretty confident that anyone involved with it loves, loves, LOVES it as well! If you've attended the sale before, you know that it's a worthwhile adventure, and if you've never been, well, you're in for a real treat!

The problem was that we have so many married couples (and families of said married couples) who end up housing a warehouse full of left over wedding items after the big day is over. Do you or someone you know have thirty sets of centerpieces, bolts of leftover fabric, now-useless dresses? There are a thousand items bought for a wedding that end up sitting in storage after because they aren't trash but they have lost their usefulness.

The other part of the problem is that in this day and age, almost everyone getting married has to watch their budget so that their wedding doesn't end up costing them an arm and a leg that they can't afford to give up! If there was a way to save money on say, decor, or other wedding-esque items, maybe there'd be more room in the budget for a dream photographer or location or menu.

THE SOLUTION: The Bride and Groom Garage Sale! We set up an area, invite people to come and sell their "left overs" to engaged couples who are ready to spend some money on a good deal. The result? Married couples do some serious spring cleaning, make some money back, and help a good cause. Engaged couples do some serious wedding shopping, save some money, and help a good cause as well!

We repeat this event every six months (this is our third time doing it!), and each time we have selected a different local charity to sponsor. This time we have selected the Kelly McQuate Memorial Scholarship Fund. I was unfamiliar with this charity until Jami told me all about it: Kelly McQuate passed away in an accident a few days after her wedding. To honor her memory, her new husband established this scholarship fund to help children who have lost one or both parents to attend college. What a seriously amazing way to tribute someone you love!

Interested in attending? Here's how this works...

For sellers - It is FREE to have a table..or two tables...or ten tables. We just ask that you register ahead of time on our site just so that we can make sure we have enough tables set up for you. You can find out all the details about being a seller and register for your tables here. We also accept walk-ins on the day of, but priority goes to those who register ahead of time.

For shoppers - It is $5 a person to come and shop the sale. The sale runs from (CORRECTION) 12-2. We recommend bringing a reusable shopping bag or two because you'll never know what you might find! All proceeds from the event go to our charity, so make this an event! Bring your entire wedding party, your momma, your grandma, your co-workers...everybody! The more the merrier!

Our goal each time is to raise more money and awareness for our charities. Seriously folks, this event is just one of those things to do that helps everyone involved. So, help us out by spreading the word around! Word of mouth is the best advertising!

Here's the official flyer for the event:

 

Not to pat ourselves on the back tooooooooo much, but we knew we were sitting on a good idea here.  And like any baby, our idea just needed nourishment and love to grow a lil'.  We are so pleased to report back that the second Bride and Groom Garage Sale which was held on Saturday, October 29th was an incredible success!!  Just to give you an idea, we went from 8 tables at our first sale to over 30 this time around.  We increased our shoppers by about 50%!  We were able to make nearly $750 for our charity, the River Bend Food Bank.  Beyond our own success, we had countless brides and grooms who walked out of the sale with arms loaded (some needed several trips) to take our their findings from the sales.  And as for our amazing sellers, we had such amazing feedback!  We had two different sellers who shared with us that they made around $2000 at their tables from selling their "left overs"!!  Wow!  And just think, all this stuff was just sitting around everyone's closets and basements and what not. 

The question has already arose as to when the next sale will be, and we have tentatively scheduled April 21st as our next sale date.  It will still be held at the fabulous Golden Leaf Convention Center, so mark your calendars and start planning now!  If you were a shopper this time around, quite possibly you'll be ready to be a seller next time if your wedding is sometime between now and April.  Or maybe you have a later wedding date and just want to come shopping for great deals again!  We don't have our table registration for the next sale set up yet, but we will let you all know as soon as that happens! 

Our one bleak spot on a fabulous weekend is that we have a wedding dress that has gone missing in action!  From the dress racks somehow a wedding dress was taken.  It was in a white David's Bridal garment bag, and the dress is beige with three rows of ribbons near the bottom...new with tags still on it!  We are hoping that this is simply a mix up and that someone just walked off without realizing that they had someone elses dress.  So please - sellers especially - check to see what you went home with.  The woman who brought the dress was actually selling it for a friend and would really like to return the dress to the friend.  Feel free to call me or email me personally if you know anything about the dress. No hard feelings, and I'll arrange the switch!  My number is 563-343-1581, and my email is jenny@qcweddings.com. 

On a related note, at the end of the day, we had one dress left over in the dressing area.  It is a knee length, champagne dress with about 1 inch shoulder straps and beautiful bead work all over the bodice.  We actually have one of our volunteers who was interested in buying the dress!  So again, contact me if you are missing a dress or if you know of the whereabouts of the other dresss! 

Here are some pics of our amazing day!  Check out all the cool stuff that was for sale!  We had such a great time!!! 

 

We cannot wait to have our next go around!  More info to come down the pike as soon as we solidify our chosen charity, registration, and other details!  Thanks again to all of our sellers, shoppers, volunteers, and those who advertised by word of mouth or other method to help bring attention to this wonderful event!  Thank you thank you!

Only one week away to the second ever Bride and Groom Garage Sale!  We've had tons of seller registering, and more are contacting us every day with absolutely fabulous items that they want to sell!

There have been a few frequently asked questions and some changes from the first time that we did the sale this spring, so I wanted to clarify some new changes for everyone...

• There is NO CHARGE for sellers to register for a table where they can sell their items.  We want to encourage as many people as possible to come and sell.  We ask sellers to pre-register only so that we know what kind of set up we need to have on the day of.
• Walk in sellers are definitely welcome, and as long as we have room, you are more than welcome!
• Whatever profit sellers make at their tables is 100% theirs to keep!  We don't ask for a penny of what you make.
• There is a misprint on our flyer stating that only half of our profits are going to our charity.  ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of our profits are going to the food bank. 

Other questions that have been asked:

Q.  When I register for a table, I'm not seeing any confirmation of my registration.  Did I do something wrong?  A.  Nope!  You're good.  Something we need to change next time is to add a page or an auto email that confirms your registration.  We will have that in place for our next sale this spring.  Don't worry if you registered multiple times, we have you down for what you originally registered for. 

Q.  What do the sellers' tables look like?  A.  They are 5' round tables, so you'd have all the surface area on top as well as storage below.  If you think you will need more than one table, just let us know so that we can set that up for you!  Each seller will be given 2 chairs.

Q.  How many dresses can I bring?  A.  Bring as many as you'd like!  This was a very popular area of the sale last time, and we had many happy sellers and buyers who were able to complete transactions on beautiful bridal, bridesmaid, flowergirl, and mother-of-the-bride dresses!  We provide the dress racks, and so you will need to provide the hanger and garment bag if needed.

Q.  What happens to sellers' leftover items at the end of the sale?  A.  The items belong to the seller who can choose to take them home with them or place them in our donation truck which will take anything left over to the Salvation Army. 

Q. How does the dress area work?  A.  Each dress will have a tag attached to the hanger that gives information about the size, price, and seller.  We will have volunteers in our dress area helping people to pick out and try on dresses.  The dress area is a shoe-free and food/drink-free area, so you will not need to worry about your dresses getting dirty.  If a buyer is interested in purchasing a dress, one of our volunteers will walk them over to the seller's table to complete the transaction.  This way our sellers can remain at their tables to sell their other items without worrying about their dresses. 

Q.  What types of payment are accepted?  A.  Just as any garage sale, cash is best.  We suggest that our sellers bring some mixed bills and coins so that they can make change for their shoppers.  There is an ATM on site if needed.  At our registration table, we will not have change available, so please come prepared.

Q.  Where is The Golden Leaf Convention Center?  A.  Right next door to Millertime Billiards on Kimberly Road in Davenport...nearly at the interesection of Kimberly and Elmore Ave. 

Q.  What time is the sale?  A.  Sellers can come between 9 and 11 in the morning to set up their tables.  The sale will open to buyers from 12-2. 

Q.  How many sellers are there this time?  A.  So far we have 22 tables that have been pre-registered...and counting!  In addition, Ducky's Formal Ware and The Bridal Room are going to be selling their discontinued and close out apparel and accessories! 

Q.  How did you choose your charity?  A.  Each time we do this event, we'd like to choose a different deserving Quad City charity.  We want this event to benefit local brides and grooms and the money raised to go back into the community.  If you have any great local charities that you'd like us to consider next time, let us know! 

Q.  I have a great idea on how to make this event better.  How do I communicate this to QCWeddings.com?  A.  Jami and I will be on hand the entire time, and we LOVE hearing feedback from our sellers and buyers.  We plan on repeating this event every six months or so, and each time we are looking to improve the sale.  We will be giving feedback forms to our sellers and buyers and will have a feedback box on our registration table.  You can also email me or call me anytime!  Jenny@QCWeddings.com or 563-343-1581. 

And my favorite question of all that has come up -

Q.  What's in it for you guys?  A.  QCWeddings.com is not taking any profit from this event.  This is just one of those common-sense ideas that seems to benefit everyone.  It's easy, fun, and seems to make a lot of people happy.  Why not host it? 

Other fun info -

• If you're looking for a reception location, you'll get a great opportunity to get a closer look at the Golden Leaf Convention Center.  Patty, the site coordinator, will be on hand and can answer any questions you have or send you home with an informational packet. 
• Does shopping make you thirsty?  The bar will be up and running where you can purchase drinks during the sale. 

So there is still plenty of time to look through those closets if you're planning to sell and to contact us if you need a table, and still plenty of time to round up a fun entourage to come shopping next Saturday afternoon!  We love this event, and we can't wait to see you all there!