Bridal Show Scam “a sad state of affairs.”

Bridal show producers across North America were “horrified” by the widely-reported con perpetrated on Boston area brides and wedding vendors, according to an industry veteran.

“This was certainly the topic du jour among bridal show producers,” said Don Freedman. Freedman is on the Board of Directors of Bridal Show Producers International (BSPi), and has produced bridal shows in North Carolina since 1992.

According to Freedman, the fake bridal show scam was uncovered only when vendors called Boston’s Hynes Convention Center with questions and were met with, “What bridal show? ” That was too late for brides who bought tickets, and vendors who paid for display space.

Freedman has "spoken to bridal show producers in the US and Canada about this,” and says that, while opinions vary, two thoughts are prevalent:

"First, this is a sad state of affairs. We can see how brides, who are eager to attend an event where they would get to meet people who could help make their weddings really special, were duped into buying tickets online. Especially via a professional-looking web site with believable copy.”

“Second,” said Freedman, “we are surprised that wedding professionals would buy exhibit space over the phone without doing any background checking. No one asked the promoter, ”When was your last show? Who were some of the exhibitors? Are you a member of BSPi"

Freedman said that “the only good which can come out of this (aside from the cops catching the bad guys and getting the victims’ money back) is that people may ask more questions in the future.”

Contact Information

Don Freedman

owner

FreedmanAssociates

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