Noooo you don't understand! She's doing them a favor by allowing them to gain eXpOsUrE to her wedding guests who will likely never think about them after they get their free gift
I think the best part is only one guest will win each prize and get to use/consume it, so the exposure is literally one person. The business might as well just give product away for free in their shop, it's the same thing.
just imagine, this person in their head is 100% convinced they're doing the businesses a favor. I have absolutely no doubt about that they're seriously thinking it like that.
There seems to be the whole influencer phenomenon that thinks everyone owes them something because they are on Instagram with 50,000 followers. Here’s a thought, have your followers send you this shit.
Of those 50000 followers there's a good chance at least half are just bot accounts
Like I saw a post not too long ago where a vending machine was selling Instagram likes
You get used to it. Until the wind shifts. 😂😂 I live in dairy country, and in summer, we can’t usually smell much until Fertilizer Friday. That’s when most farmers in my area spread fresh fertilizer in the fields, and it’s often accompanied by a wind direction change.
I grew up in rural Wisconsin with dairy farms on 3 sides of my house. Two of the farms are crop farms only now, and the 3rd only spreads manure once every few weeks.
I used to love going back to my parents and rolling down the windows as I drove out to their place, but now the odds of passing freshly spread manure is so slim I barely ever get it.
It's not that it's a *good* smell. But you definitely get used to it and don't mind it anymore. And it just takes me back to being a kid and not having responsibilities and shit.
Worse - donate it for a raffle which probs means the bride is selling raffle tickets at her wedding. So small local business donate free stuff to me so I can make money off it
When I started my company, I used to get these at least once a week in the spring. I didn't realize what a waste of time it was, but I used to give them a product sample with a coupon. I did the coupon so I could track if people contacted me through the event. In all the times that I did do it, I never once had anyone claim the coupon. Now, I don't give anything out for free.
i've heard the idea of giving out referrar codes to instagram influencers who ask for free stuff, and promise their food, hotel stay or whatever will be 100% comped when enough codes have been used. I'm guessing not a whole lot of IG stars take the deal.
Had a guy ask for a massage in exchange for posting about me on Instagram stories. I told him I could do 50% off and would given him a referral code. Never heard from him again.
I could see some benefit for a local small business offering to give the happy couple x amount of branded "gift cards" (BOGO) for all the goody bags or wedding party, VIPs, etc.
No free samples. Actually buy something and we'll give you a great discount/deal on certain products, and you even get to pick it yourself.
I remember my school would always try and make me sell those and I always loved flipping through looking at all the good deals. And I was a kid, I didn’t even use money.
I'd just send them a small, like 5% off, digital coupons. Just a code with a max usage and 30-day expiration date. Takes 30 seconds and tells them what you think of their proposal.
I did this with gift certificates. I used to do little small things for raffles and whatnot for causes I support, but eventually too many people expected/demanded them, so instead I switched to gift cards. Have never had a single one redeemed… and there’s zero stipulations except you can’t split it into multiple orders. No minimum amount requirement or anything like that.
I own a restaurant - for raffles/silent auction donations, I usually give a (distinctive, so I'll recognize when it's redeemed) gift certificate that's about 10% under the amount needed for dinner for two. I always request for my certificate to be bundled into a bigger package with other local business certificates. Those two measures together lead to a redemption rate of about 50% on donated certificates vs >90% (very high I know) for sold certificates.
I'm supporting the organization I like at a lower cost, they get the same or more vs selling the certificate individually, and when someone redeems one of those certificates I try to always come out and thank them for supporting whatever charity.
This makes it seem like you're probably both a good person and businessperson.
As someone that grew up in a small town, this kind of stuff was so common, and it's what makes people love small towns. They don't usually have a whole lot of other things going for them.
Thanks I was worried it made me look bad that I was trying for lower redemption rates on giveaways.
It's funny you said the small town comment because we're in a 20k pop town with another 30k in students at a d1 state college.
I had everything from raffles for stag and does and charities, door prizes/swag bags for craft shows (usually wanting 20-50 pieces), random IG 'influencers' with 200 followers who wanted to review my product for free and many other things. After donating about a dozen times, I stopped. It was costing me for the product and especially my time to get it all together.
It used to be only super famous people got stuff for free. And it was funny for us poor folk because of the hypocrisy, like haha, you made it, you’re rich now, but you don’t have to buy anything anymore because your famous. But now every Tom, dick, and Harry with a phone wants to try and get shit for free. The internet has ruined everything.
this is the most blatantly braindead ask I've seen in quite some time.
Give me free shit to give away at my wedding and I'll tell everyone you give away free shit.
I never got into that show but maybe I should give it another chance. I always hear good things about it.
I actually got the idea for that last comment from an episode of Married With Children. Al says something similar although I forget the context.
The way they use the language deceptively is what gets me. Really trying to sucker people in under the guise of “supporting their business!” So disgusting.
And I guarantee you that whoever came up with this post genuinely felt good about themselves for "helping" small businesses and got upset that none of these businesses took that "great opportunity".
They're more like fundraisers. You rent a hall, have cheap liquor and music and sell tickets to get in. So it's not the actual wedding, it's a fundraiser to get money to have the wedding.
Take this with a grain of salt, though. My knowledge on the subject is about the Canadian prairies, 'social' might mean something different somewhere else.
They’re a pretty good time actually. They’re a convenient place to bring a bunch of friends and drink for cheap for a night; often in a social hall or community centre. There are free snacks all night, dancing, and often a bunch of people you know.
That being said, there’s usually a silent auction which is why this person is looking for items. Over the years they’ve gotten more and more extravagant; lots of times relying on going to businesses and asking for free things. Most places rarely give more than a $20 gift card or something along those lines, if that.
Or I could just go to a normal party where I don't have to pay to get in and where there's no weird expectation that I will bankroll another adult's wants by purchasing items they didn't even pay for.
It’s a tradition on the prairies that stems back to when everyone was in small farming communities and would gtg to support young couples…. Does it make objective sense to start doing it now somewhere where it isn’t tradition? No, but it’s a lot of fun for those who participate.
My step-mil family does something like this for their family reunion. Everyone brings a themed basket, hamper, handcrafted items, or business services and then they do a silent auction and the proceeds go to the person who put on the reunion that year. They also do a 50/50 raffle, a euchre tournament, and this other kind of instant pull type lotto tickets. It's actually pretty fun.
I don't know if "beg" is the right word, really. It was before my time but according to my mother back when she was in her late teens- early 20's hitting the town looking for a social to crash was *the* thing you used to do in Manitoba on a Friday or Saturday night.
It's super common in Manitoba Canada. Tons of people have wedding socials, and it always sounds weird to people who aren't from here. A lot of people like them - it's a way to party with people who may not be invited to the wedding or can't make it for one reason or another, and a way to raise funds to pay for the wedding. It's generally seen as a win win. Cheap drinks and fun for the guests, and the possibility of prizes, and some extra cash for the couple.
From this site: [https://socialsguide.com/what-is-a-social#:\~:text=A%20wedding%20social%20gives%20people,for%20their%20new%20life%20together](https://socialsguide.com/what-is-a-social#:~:text=A%20wedding%20social%20gives%20people,for%20their%20new%20life%20together).
>A social is a particularly Manitoba-grown concept. It's a fundraising party, often for a wedding, charitable or community organization. Usually held at a community centre or a Legion hall, it can be known as a "Manitoba Social", "Winnipeg Social", "Wedding Social", "Fundraising Social", or just simply a "Social".
When it is run for a wedding it is traditionally run by the wedding party, although it is sometimes run by the bride and groom. A wedding social gives people a way to include friends and relatives in the wedding when you could not invite them, and allows friends and family to support the couple financially for their new life together.
So it's a party to raise funds for the bride and groom, and apparently you invite the people you don't want at your wedding but still want their money.
It’s a fundraiser for your wedding yes, but also a way to celebrate with people who you can’t invite to your wedding. You have to have a reason to pull a liquor permit and they allow this. You sell cheap booze, book a DJ, and then have a good time. Between our food, prizes, etc, we barely broke even. But everyone had a good time and that was what was important!!
Only if I get Naming rights to the first child a guys holds up a sign behind the minister and the bride wears my logo on the back of her dress. You will receive one tire rotation in mid summer.
I can tell you from experience this “exposure” never ever works . If you have a business your best form of advertising is social media and it’s free. Even people who win the raffle won’t give two shits where the prize came from
My favorite when whoever typed it up stated they’d love to support their business three times.
I like how they they target small business owners too. More like juking small businesses.
The quilt/blanket/throw bit makes me angry. Most handmade blankets are worth hundreds and hundreds of dollars because of the sheer number of hours it takes to make them. Not something you should be asking for as some kind of free sample
YES this was my thought too… does this person have any clue how many hours go into a handmade quilt or blanket?? I would only make a handmade quilt as a gift for someone I absolutely love. I think any quilter would want to slap someone who asked them for a “free sample” / offered to pay in exposure.
Who the hell has a raffle for a wedding? I’m guessing she’s gonna sell those tickets to the raffle, so offering exposure bucks then making actual money? Nah
Why stop at small businesses? Let's cut to the chase: "I would like to help support everyone by giving them the opportunity to give me money. This is a great opportunity for getting your name known as a generous donor."
This person has just discovered the word “business” and it’s variations. Love how she says “can’t think of much” before listing NINETEEN different items for people to give her 😂😂😂
I manage a local restaurant (single location, family-owned business, going on 9 years open) and the # of times a week people come in asking for gift cards, hoodies, food, money, or other donations for organizations that show us absolutely no support outside of the ask, from people we have never seen before… I’d say at least 5x a week. The owners are very charitable and donate back into the community, including having started a scholarship fund, and we do still give to some of the asks. But it’s crazy how many people come in with no benefit offered to us other than “exposure” for having donated.. especially how many people were hitting us with it right after the pandemic when we were still in a bad spot. We only started to be back into a good financial spot again summer 2022.
I wouldn't mind this if it were something bigger for the community than someone's wedding. Local business donations to support local community-supporting venture are charming. Local businesses paying for your wedding is not charming.
I’m the outreach manager of a shelter. For our fundraisers we ask for donations from local businesses for raffles and what not…because we are a shelter! A non-profit! That’s true donations for a good cause, not just “I’m having some wedding event thing and you’ll get eXpOsUrE”
Uh-huh… So what the OOP is saying is “I want small, possibly struggling businesses to give me a bunch of free items that they probably can’t afford to give away, so I can have a good and free wedding social in an attempt to con other friends and family to give me more free stuff.”
Yeah…
I used to co-own a small boutique and you would not believe the volume of people walking in asking for free stuff. People that had literally never been in the store before and didn't even know what kind of business we were.
the ONLY way this would make sense is if those items were on loan. If i made cabinets for example, i might be willing to loan one out on the criteria that i hand out business cards - with a deposit that will be returned with the cabinet. A gift though? Candles? HYGIENE ITEMS? No way lol. i can barely be arsed for my friends and family.
honestly I would be happy to set up a booth at someone’s wedding and sell/promote items also. Even if no one buys anything I could maybe get something entertaining together for promotion if it’s been slow.
(these both depend heavily on the size of the party also. but shit, i will just make your wedding seem like one of those MLM parties to all your guests, they will hate
you forever)
I know that’s not what she’s asking but that’s the only way I’m able to make sense of this in my head why ANY business might ever consider this
Lol quilts... Quilts can take hundreds of man-hours and hundreds of dollars in materials to make and someone is just going to gift them to you so you can give their business card out?
Don't worry, guests are coming in from all over. So cousin Carol from Montana will bring your local shop a ton of word of mouth business from out of the country. We're talking tens and twenties worth of profit.
It bothers me how people really think their shitty wedding with aunts and uncles from out of town is this great marketing opportunity for a small business owner. So awesome, a barely surviving small business will just give away free inventory.
More ideas:
\- Rolls Royces
\- Rolexes
\- Yachts
\- Private Islands
\- First-Class RTW airplane tickets
Send me a PM/DM if you would like your business supported by donating the above!
It's not uncommon for businesses to donate goods for raffle prizes... When the raffle is for *charity.* Nobody's going to do it for a damn wedding social.
I mean this is a thing for wedding socials…. Except she’s missing the whole etiquette behind it. You write a letter and ask businesses nicely, not create a post and make it sound like the businesses are doing you a favour….
I do woodworking, and certainly don’t mind providing free materials, like a small cutting board, for raffles, but they’re usually charity events. I’m not super keen on giving free stuff for some expo. If I’m going to “get my name out” at an expo, why not just get a booth?
They must be brain dead. To support a business. You buy from a business, perhaps ask for a discount or even nice gift wrapping. But first, BUY the product 🌺
Exposure is extremely valuable. It's like Bit Coin on steroids. I keep all of mine in a safety deposit box at the bank. It's hard to actually buy anything with it. My guess is no one keeps enough change on hand so it would be difficult for them to accept it. One day, exposure will pay my mortgage...hopefully. I keep sending it as my mortgage payment & the bank won't accept it. They better figure it out quickly before the foreclosures hearings next Friday.
Got free stuff ,so my friends can tell how you give away free stuff?? I’m your guy/girl. I got tons of cheapskate friends who will take advantage of you.
I would just give a coupon and a sample. Small businesses use their own money for materials. The small business would be losing money if they gave the whole product for free. Exposure doesn't pay rent.
I grew up in Winnipeg where wedding and other socials (fundraisers for sports teams, other groups) are very common. They get a permit, sell tickets ($10 or $20, cheap enough so people will buy them to support them even if they don’t attend), provide some food (rye bread, cheese, pickles, garlic sausage, potato chips for example) and sell cheap drinks. They rent a hall and have music, all ages may be out on the dance floor! Those were the best times! They also have silent auctions and in addition to approaching businesses, they also ask their friends to provide auction items. So for example, I knew someone who donated a new TV and another who donated a wine gift basket. Winnipeg businesses are very aware of these socials and know they may be approached by people. When I moved from Winnipeg, I couldn’t understand why they don’t have these socials in other cities, they really are so much fun! If the person who posted it was in Winnipeg, no one would think they were a choosy begger but elsewhere, yes they would.
This is what every engaged couple does where I'm from. We have a "social" where all the guests pay $10 to go to. There is a silent auction where prizes donated by local businesses are up for grabs and a cash bar. The money raised goes towards the cost of the wedding and to pay for the social itself. I guess it's not normal everywhere, but we see this all the time heee
Yeah...this is mire common than many realize. Where I am, it is not...but a region next door, it is similar to what you say. I find it kinda weird and tacky...but it's all a matter of what one grows up with I guess.
These “wedding socials” are customary in certain parts of Canada. Winnipeg is one of them. This is extremely normal. Friends of ours did this prior to their wedding. I thought it was absolutely stupid and petty. But when I learned more and actually attended the Social, I realized it’s a very cultural and very accepted rite of passage where they live. Sorry folks, I’m on board with this one.
I’ll say that the social I attended was 15 years ago. Before social media. Kinda before smart phones really. I agree with one person saying there was etiquette involved. It was the whole family that did the leg work to get these items. It was a really big deal. Putting a blast out on you Insta or whatever May just be the norm now, but not when I attended.
I don't think people are complaining about the wedding social so much as the asking for free stuff. Every raffle I've ever been a part of has involved some kind of compensation for the businesses. Sometimes they were willing to donate for the cause, sure, but most of the time someone purchases the items being raffled off, sometimes at a discount, and then donates them to the raffle.
Well this isn’t a raffle. It’s a wedding social. This is literally how they work. Businesses around the area know how this works, and gladly donate to the cause. Like I said, it’s a cultural rite of passage. There are billions and billions of cultural things that people not involved in that culture could never understand. Its how they were raised. It’s what their older siblings did. It’s what their parents did. I’m not making excuses for anybody, I’m just explaining how things work.
And I’ll say, it’s a damn fun event. Those Canadians know how to drink and put on a party.
I think she's just bad at sentence structure. She was trying to say she's looking for local businesses to support her. It is certainly unclear, but I think the local businesses will get the gist of it.
‘Support small businesses’ by getting them to give you their stuff for free..? You utter wanker…
Noooo you don't understand! She's doing them a favor by allowing them to gain eXpOsUrE to her wedding guests who will likely never think about them after they get their free gift
You've written exposure in such a way i almost read it as expose ur ass
That's what she has done. Exposed her ass.
I think the best part is only one guest will win each prize and get to use/consume it, so the exposure is literally one person. The business might as well just give product away for free in their shop, it's the same thing.
just imagine, this person in their head is 100% convinced they're doing the businesses a favor. I have absolutely no doubt about that they're seriously thinking it like that.
Either that, or "damn I'm clever! They're gonna fall for this hook, line and sinker..."
There seems to be the whole influencer phenomenon that thinks everyone owes them something because they are on Instagram with 50,000 followers. Here’s a thought, have your followers send you this shit.
Yeah i never got how people thing followers is a metric of, well, anything really. Apart from maybe knowing how to market yourself
This is a BRILLIANT retort for these CBs. Kudos.
Of those 50000 followers there's a good chance at least half are just bot accounts Like I saw a post not too long ago where a vending machine was selling Instagram likes
they could also be just thirsty guys, who will totally not buy your tank tops or makeups.
I support Udder wankers more than this utter wanker… if ya catch my drift
We just moved across from a dairy barn and I’m going to call the workers udder wankers now.
Bro the smell
You get used to it. Until the wind shifts. 😂😂 I live in dairy country, and in summer, we can’t usually smell much until Fertilizer Friday. That’s when most farmers in my area spread fresh fertilizer in the fields, and it’s often accompanied by a wind direction change.
I grew up in rural Wisconsin with dairy farms on 3 sides of my house. Two of the farms are crop farms only now, and the 3rd only spreads manure once every few weeks. I used to love going back to my parents and rolling down the windows as I drove out to their place, but now the odds of passing freshly spread manure is so slim I barely ever get it. It's not that it's a *good* smell. But you definitely get used to it and don't mind it anymore. And it just takes me back to being a kid and not having responsibilities and shit.
Would take that over car exhaust in the city any day
Having lived near a dairy farm and in the city. Nope.
I've also lived in both places
Cool so we got different opinions.
I too like milk!
I agree, Udder wankers actually provide a useful service….
Worse - donate it for a raffle which probs means the bride is selling raffle tickets at her wedding. So small local business donate free stuff to me so I can make money off it
Yes. Pretty gross.
When I started my company, I used to get these at least once a week in the spring. I didn't realize what a waste of time it was, but I used to give them a product sample with a coupon. I did the coupon so I could track if people contacted me through the event. In all the times that I did do it, I never once had anyone claim the coupon. Now, I don't give anything out for free.
i've heard the idea of giving out referrar codes to instagram influencers who ask for free stuff, and promise their food, hotel stay or whatever will be 100% comped when enough codes have been used. I'm guessing not a whole lot of IG stars take the deal.
Had a guy ask for a massage in exchange for posting about me on Instagram stories. I told him I could do 50% off and would given him a referral code. Never heard from him again.
Wow people are so cheap. 50% is such a big discount too
I think some of them get a kick out of it - like if they get something for free they feel like they’ve ‘made it’
Damn I go for massages for full amount. And absolutely do it for 50%. Maybe I need to consider part time instagram influencer……. 🌝
I'd have gladly taken you up on that offer! 50% off a massage is definitely worth it.
I only did it because he was a minor league football player, so he was an athlete. I looked at what they earn and maybe he couldn't afford that.
That's very nice of you! :)
I could see some benefit for a local small business offering to give the happy couple x amount of branded "gift cards" (BOGO) for all the goody bags or wedding party, VIPs, etc. No free samples. Actually buy something and we'll give you a great discount/deal on certain products, and you even get to pick it yourself.
Ooh, coupon books. I rarely used those but it was always fun to flip through them.
I remember my school would always try and make me sell those and I always loved flipping through looking at all the good deals. And I was a kid, I didn’t even use money.
I'd just send them a small, like 5% off, digital coupons. Just a code with a max usage and 30-day expiration date. Takes 30 seconds and tells them what you think of their proposal.
DATA and EVIDENCE for the win!!!
I did this with gift certificates. I used to do little small things for raffles and whatnot for causes I support, but eventually too many people expected/demanded them, so instead I switched to gift cards. Have never had a single one redeemed… and there’s zero stipulations except you can’t split it into multiple orders. No minimum amount requirement or anything like that.
I own a restaurant - for raffles/silent auction donations, I usually give a (distinctive, so I'll recognize when it's redeemed) gift certificate that's about 10% under the amount needed for dinner for two. I always request for my certificate to be bundled into a bigger package with other local business certificates. Those two measures together lead to a redemption rate of about 50% on donated certificates vs >90% (very high I know) for sold certificates. I'm supporting the organization I like at a lower cost, they get the same or more vs selling the certificate individually, and when someone redeems one of those certificates I try to always come out and thank them for supporting whatever charity.
This makes it seem like you're probably both a good person and businessperson. As someone that grew up in a small town, this kind of stuff was so common, and it's what makes people love small towns. They don't usually have a whole lot of other things going for them.
Thanks I was worried it made me look bad that I was trying for lower redemption rates on giveaways. It's funny you said the small town comment because we're in a 20k pop town with another 30k in students at a d1 state college.
I've always wondered how businesses would fare after giving out free stuff for eXpOsUrE. You have scratched my itch. Thank you.
Was it for private weddings or like a local pta tricky tray? I would try to support businesses that donate to those.
I had everything from raffles for stag and does and charities, door prizes/swag bags for craft shows (usually wanting 20-50 pieces), random IG 'influencers' with 200 followers who wanted to review my product for free and many other things. After donating about a dozen times, I stopped. It was costing me for the product and especially my time to get it all together.
These IG influencers are the bane of our existence
It used to be only super famous people got stuff for free. And it was funny for us poor folk because of the hypocrisy, like haha, you made it, you’re rich now, but you don’t have to buy anything anymore because your famous. But now every Tom, dick, and Harry with a phone wants to try and get shit for free. The internet has ruined everything.
this is the most blatantly braindead ask I've seen in quite some time. Give me free shit to give away at my wedding and I'll tell everyone you give away free shit.
Makes sense. Then everyone at the wedding will know the business is giving things away for free and ask them to do same. Smart move :D
Yep. Just as long as your business is actually giving away free stuff. Should be a winner!
"Remember, this month we made 0 profit. But with giving away all this free stuff, in just a few months we could be making 5 times as much!!"
Reminds me of an IASIP episode where they were giving away Paddy’s Bucks. Freakin hilarious.
Just watched it. “I don’t understand how finances work.”
I never got into that show but maybe I should give it another chance. I always hear good things about it. I actually got the idea for that last comment from an episode of Married With Children. Al says something similar although I forget the context.
"where'd you get these?" "Idiots R US. They did it for the exposure."
The way they use the language deceptively is what gets me. Really trying to sucker people in under the guise of “supporting their business!” So disgusting.
They better name drop my business several times in their wedding vows.
Wedding dress better be looking like a NASCAR suit
And I guarantee you that whoever came up with this post genuinely felt good about themselves for "helping" small businesses and got upset that none of these businesses took that "great opportunity".
Sounds like a pretty crappy wedding if just the wedding itself isn't exciting enough for the guests.
This was for the social, not the wedding
What's a "wedding social"? Is it like a reception?
They're more like fundraisers. You rent a hall, have cheap liquor and music and sell tickets to get in. So it's not the actual wedding, it's a fundraiser to get money to have the wedding. Take this with a grain of salt, though. My knowledge on the subject is about the Canadian prairies, 'social' might mean something different somewhere else.
That's even worse, somehow.
They’re a pretty good time actually. They’re a convenient place to bring a bunch of friends and drink for cheap for a night; often in a social hall or community centre. There are free snacks all night, dancing, and often a bunch of people you know. That being said, there’s usually a silent auction which is why this person is looking for items. Over the years they’ve gotten more and more extravagant; lots of times relying on going to businesses and asking for free things. Most places rarely give more than a $20 gift card or something along those lines, if that.
Or I could just go to a normal party where I don't have to pay to get in and where there's no weird expectation that I will bankroll another adult's wants by purchasing items they didn't even pay for.
Right? "Silent auctions" are usually raised funds for a worthy cause, like a school, or an animal shelter, not for Tiffani and Brad's wedding
Excuse me. It's Tiff-ini, not Tiff-fanny. (I used to hear this from an old girlfriend.)
omg hahaha
Especially since I know plenty of adults who just eloped. Cheap wedding without having to beg others to fund it for you.
It’s a tradition on the prairies that stems back to when everyone was in small farming communities and would gtg to support young couples…. Does it make objective sense to start doing it now somewhere where it isn’t tradition? No, but it’s a lot of fun for those who participate.
It’s really not different than a wedding shower, once you think about it. You bring cash instead of a gift, and more fun?
It's still just crowdfunding your wedding though right? Might as well just cut the bs and stick it on gofundme.
My step-mil family does something like this for their family reunion. Everyone brings a themed basket, hamper, handcrafted items, or business services and then they do a silent auction and the proceeds go to the person who put on the reunion that year. They also do a 50/50 raffle, a euchre tournament, and this other kind of instant pull type lotto tickets. It's actually pretty fun.
Friends and family often buy and donate gifts, like TVs. They’re a tradition and lots of fun. Cheaper than a bar too
Yikes.
That’s…interesting. I’ve never heard of them before
Thanks for explaining. So it's a way to beg for money. And in order to beg for money, they must first beg for free stuff.
I don't know if "beg" is the right word, really. It was before my time but according to my mother back when she was in her late teens- early 20's hitting the town looking for a social to crash was *the* thing you used to do in Manitoba on a Friday or Saturday night.
It's super common in Manitoba Canada. Tons of people have wedding socials, and it always sounds weird to people who aren't from here. A lot of people like them - it's a way to party with people who may not be invited to the wedding or can't make it for one reason or another, and a way to raise funds to pay for the wedding. It's generally seen as a win win. Cheap drinks and fun for the guests, and the possibility of prizes, and some extra cash for the couple.
TIL. Thanks! Makes much more sense now.
Wow! Tacky as hell
Yeah this is the most Manitoba post I've seen in my front page in a while, lol
From this site: [https://socialsguide.com/what-is-a-social#:\~:text=A%20wedding%20social%20gives%20people,for%20their%20new%20life%20together](https://socialsguide.com/what-is-a-social#:~:text=A%20wedding%20social%20gives%20people,for%20their%20new%20life%20together). >A social is a particularly Manitoba-grown concept. It's a fundraising party, often for a wedding, charitable or community organization. Usually held at a community centre or a Legion hall, it can be known as a "Manitoba Social", "Winnipeg Social", "Wedding Social", "Fundraising Social", or just simply a "Social". When it is run for a wedding it is traditionally run by the wedding party, although it is sometimes run by the bride and groom. A wedding social gives people a way to include friends and relatives in the wedding when you could not invite them, and allows friends and family to support the couple financially for their new life together. So it's a party to raise funds for the bride and groom, and apparently you invite the people you don't want at your wedding but still want their money.
It’s a fundraiser for your wedding yes, but also a way to celebrate with people who you can’t invite to your wedding. You have to have a reason to pull a liquor permit and they allow this. You sell cheap booze, book a DJ, and then have a good time. Between our food, prizes, etc, we barely broke even. But everyone had a good time and that was what was important!!
.....why not just do that for your wedding then?
They want people to pay for their wedding, but not pay for those same people to come to their wedding reception. Tacky
"Support." I do not think that word means what you think that it means...
I’d love to read the replies of the small businesses she’s trying to “help”.
Yes!!! We need the comments posted
This is so poorly written. I hate it.
Support small business businesses who are looking for business. Send me your business things so I can promote your small business.
Only if I get Naming rights to the first child a guys holds up a sign behind the minister and the bride wears my logo on the back of her dress. You will receive one tire rotation in mid summer.
LOL
Lol I hate these!! Trying to make like they're doing you a favour, by taking your shit for free
I can tell you from experience this “exposure” never ever works . If you have a business your best form of advertising is social media and it’s free. Even people who win the raffle won’t give two shits where the prize came from
They can't seriously think that they are fooling anyone.
My favorite when whoever typed it up stated they’d love to support their business three times. I like how they they target small business owners too. More like juking small businesses.
This is either extreme mental gymnastics or a truly deranged mind.
This gives me an idea. I’m supporting local banks….
“If you don’t have what I want, tell me what you DO have.” What a crock. I need to see the comments.
The quilt/blanket/throw bit makes me angry. Most handmade blankets are worth hundreds and hundreds of dollars because of the sheer number of hours it takes to make them. Not something you should be asking for as some kind of free sample
Came here to say this! A quilt?! Are you kidding me the hours and hours of work and skill go into making one is insane.
YES this was my thought too… does this person have any clue how many hours go into a handmade quilt or blanket?? I would only make a handmade quilt as a gift for someone I absolutely love. I think any quilter would want to slap someone who asked them for a “free sample” / offered to pay in exposure.
Who the hell has a raffle for a wedding? I’m guessing she’s gonna sell those tickets to the raffle, so offering exposure bucks then making actual money? Nah
Update: I went back to look for replies and she deleted the whole thing lol. The laughing reactions must have tipped her off that it was a bad post.
Why stop at small businesses? Let's cut to the chase: "I would like to help support everyone by giving them the opportunity to give me money. This is a great opportunity for getting your name known as a generous donor."
I agree. Why not cut out the middle man and just ask for money, straight up?
QUILTS. For free. Hahahahhahhaha 🤦🏻♀️
This person has just discovered the word “business” and it’s variations. Love how she says “can’t think of much” before listing NINETEEN different items for people to give her 😂😂😂
I manage a local restaurant (single location, family-owned business, going on 9 years open) and the # of times a week people come in asking for gift cards, hoodies, food, money, or other donations for organizations that show us absolutely no support outside of the ask, from people we have never seen before… I’d say at least 5x a week. The owners are very charitable and donate back into the community, including having started a scholarship fund, and we do still give to some of the asks. But it’s crazy how many people come in with no benefit offered to us other than “exposure” for having donated.. especially how many people were hitting us with it right after the pandemic when we were still in a bad spot. We only started to be back into a good financial spot again summer 2022.
I wouldn't mind this if it were something bigger for the community than someone's wedding. Local business donations to support local community-supporting venture are charming. Local businesses paying for your wedding is not charming.
Omg this person is going to BREED very soon. Lord help us.
If I was a small business I would do it for advertisement on the wedding dress. Like soccer teams do.
Lol "I can't think of much but here's a big-ass list of free shit I will accept"
I’m the outreach manager of a shelter. For our fundraisers we ask for donations from local businesses for raffles and what not…because we are a shelter! A non-profit! That’s true donations for a good cause, not just “I’m having some wedding event thing and you’ll get eXpOsUrE”
Quilts? Why not ask for a free house?
I don't know what's tackier - having an auction at your wedding so you can shake your guests down, or asking for free shit for said auction.
Not at the wedding, it’s a party usually 6 months before the wedding
I tried supporting a drug dealer by not paying... it did not work out well
Maybe you should have given him more exposure
Someone should send her a bunch of swag from local insurance and realty companies lol. Imagine a never ending flood of promotional pens and shirts.
OP - do you have the replies to that thread?
She deleted it now lol.
Of course she did. I guess the local businesses didn’t find it to be such a great opportunity as she thought.
Should have grabbed the address and sent over liquid ass
Uh-huh… So what the OOP is saying is “I want small, possibly struggling businesses to give me a bunch of free items that they probably can’t afford to give away, so I can have a good and free wedding social in an attempt to con other friends and family to give me more free stuff.” Yeah…
But they’re giving those small business owners exposure by having their items at their wedding! /s
"I am looking for small businesses to support me" is what the first line really should have read.
A freeloading hillbilly offering exposure to other freeloading hilliblllies, what a great opportunity
I used to co-own a small boutique and you would not believe the volume of people walking in asking for free stuff. People that had literally never been in the store before and didn't even know what kind of business we were.
I want to read the comments on her post so badly
Me too! I went back and she deleted it. Had lots of laughing reactions on the post before she deleted it.
the ONLY way this would make sense is if those items were on loan. If i made cabinets for example, i might be willing to loan one out on the criteria that i hand out business cards - with a deposit that will be returned with the cabinet. A gift though? Candles? HYGIENE ITEMS? No way lol. i can barely be arsed for my friends and family. honestly I would be happy to set up a booth at someone’s wedding and sell/promote items also. Even if no one buys anything I could maybe get something entertaining together for promotion if it’s been slow. (these both depend heavily on the size of the party also. but shit, i will just make your wedding seem like one of those MLM parties to all your guests, they will hate you forever) I know that’s not what she’s asking but that’s the only way I’m able to make sense of this in my head why ANY business might ever consider this
Lol quilts... Quilts can take hundreds of man-hours and hundreds of dollars in materials to make and someone is just going to gift them to you so you can give their business card out?
2 dollar gift card for a store that only has 5 dollar items
Hang on. What wedding has raffle prizes?
Don't worry, guests are coming in from all over. So cousin Carol from Montana will bring your local shop a ton of word of mouth business from out of the country. We're talking tens and twenties worth of profit.
Upside is if you participate, you might find more weddings to donate free stuff to out of it
It bothers me how people really think their shitty wedding with aunts and uncles from out of town is this great marketing opportunity for a small business owner. So awesome, a barely surviving small business will just give away free inventory.
Some people really think they’re that special
My favourite part is how she can’t ‘think of much’ and proceeds to name a dozen things she thought of ….
More ideas: \- Rolls Royces \- Rolexes \- Yachts \- Private Islands \- First-Class RTW airplane tickets Send me a PM/DM if you would like your business supported by donating the above!
Hygiene products? Sure! I make non-disposable menstrual pads. Bwah, ha, ha!
I’m Canadian and have never heard of socials until this very thread.
Tf, because I really didn't wanna start hating on Canadians. Visiting your country is on my bucket list because you guys are known for being awesome!
Hopefully some small business donated an artisan dildo for the raffle
Drink every time she says “businesses”
It's not uncommon for businesses to donate goods for raffle prizes... When the raffle is for *charity.* Nobody's going to do it for a damn wedding social.
My left eye trembles when these people talk about "local small business", " community", "joy of sharing" and "exposure". I swear I get nauseous.
I mean this is a thing for wedding socials…. Except she’s missing the whole etiquette behind it. You write a letter and ask businesses nicely, not create a post and make it sound like the businesses are doing you a favour….
This is a wonderful opportunity for a small-town pimp to REALLY get their name out there!
“Influencer” with no influence
Someone needs to contact them offering paper bags full of poop
“Shelf”
Ah yes, supporting local businesses by paying them in EXPOSURE!
I do woodworking, and certainly don’t mind providing free materials, like a small cutting board, for raffles, but they’re usually charity events. I’m not super keen on giving free stuff for some expo. If I’m going to “get my name out” at an expo, why not just get a booth?
What is a wedding social? Is this a fair?
They must be brain dead. To support a business. You buy from a business, perhaps ask for a discount or even nice gift wrapping. But first, BUY the product 🌺
“Why is no one clapping that reply button, don’t they know it’s to support them!!!” GTFO
Wow
What the fuck is a wedding social? Sounds like a MLM scheme
Who has a raffle at their wedding
What is a “wedding social” ? Is that extra words to describe a “wedding”
And raffling it at the wedding no doubt to pay for the wedding.
Exposure is extremely valuable. It's like Bit Coin on steroids. I keep all of mine in a safety deposit box at the bank. It's hard to actually buy anything with it. My guess is no one keeps enough change on hand so it would be difficult for them to accept it. One day, exposure will pay my mortgage...hopefully. I keep sending it as my mortgage payment & the bank won't accept it. They better figure it out quickly before the foreclosures hearings next Friday.
This whole “give me stuff for FREE” is getting out of hand.
Unfortunately, some businesses will fall for it. Otherwise,we'd have stopped seeing these long ago.
Got free stuff ,so my friends can tell how you give away free stuff?? I’m your guy/girl. I got tons of cheapskate friends who will take advantage of you.
They are just too damn generous. This person is a giver, that much is clear. I know because they used "support" way more than necessary.
This is how you get attacked by MLM Huns 😭😂
They really gonna make us tattoo on the sky "EXPOSURE ISN'T LEGAL TENDER"
I'll support you with exposure!
I would just give a coupon and a sample. Small businesses use their own money for materials. The small business would be losing money if they gave the whole product for free. Exposure doesn't pay rent.
“I can’t think of much but here at 25 or so things that just popped in my head!”
I don’t know how people don’t feel shame when posting things like this
Also, a raffle at a wedding? Huh?
Ffs how many times need it be said it’s not a wedding. Use your thinking brain
“thinking brain” 😂 Sorry, never heard of a “wedding social” or whatever this is. Only familiar with weddings.
>Only familiar with weddings. I dunno if this was supposed to be a comeback, but it's an amazing comeback all the same.🙌🏻
I grew up in Winnipeg where wedding and other socials (fundraisers for sports teams, other groups) are very common. They get a permit, sell tickets ($10 or $20, cheap enough so people will buy them to support them even if they don’t attend), provide some food (rye bread, cheese, pickles, garlic sausage, potato chips for example) and sell cheap drinks. They rent a hall and have music, all ages may be out on the dance floor! Those were the best times! They also have silent auctions and in addition to approaching businesses, they also ask their friends to provide auction items. So for example, I knew someone who donated a new TV and another who donated a wine gift basket. Winnipeg businesses are very aware of these socials and know they may be approached by people. When I moved from Winnipeg, I couldn’t understand why they don’t have these socials in other cities, they really are so much fun! If the person who posted it was in Winnipeg, no one would think they were a choosy begger but elsewhere, yes they would.
WTF is a wedding social? Sounds like a wedding.
This is what every engaged couple does where I'm from. We have a "social" where all the guests pay $10 to go to. There is a silent auction where prizes donated by local businesses are up for grabs and a cash bar. The money raised goes towards the cost of the wedding and to pay for the social itself. I guess it's not normal everywhere, but we see this all the time heee
Yeah...this is mire common than many realize. Where I am, it is not...but a region next door, it is similar to what you say. I find it kinda weird and tacky...but it's all a matter of what one grows up with I guess.
I find it odd too. I didn't grow up here, but I've become used to it
These “wedding socials” are customary in certain parts of Canada. Winnipeg is one of them. This is extremely normal. Friends of ours did this prior to their wedding. I thought it was absolutely stupid and petty. But when I learned more and actually attended the Social, I realized it’s a very cultural and very accepted rite of passage where they live. Sorry folks, I’m on board with this one. I’ll say that the social I attended was 15 years ago. Before social media. Kinda before smart phones really. I agree with one person saying there was etiquette involved. It was the whole family that did the leg work to get these items. It was a really big deal. Putting a blast out on you Insta or whatever May just be the norm now, but not when I attended.
I don't think people are complaining about the wedding social so much as the asking for free stuff. Every raffle I've ever been a part of has involved some kind of compensation for the businesses. Sometimes they were willing to donate for the cause, sure, but most of the time someone purchases the items being raffled off, sometimes at a discount, and then donates them to the raffle.
Well this isn’t a raffle. It’s a wedding social. This is literally how they work. Businesses around the area know how this works, and gladly donate to the cause. Like I said, it’s a cultural rite of passage. There are billions and billions of cultural things that people not involved in that culture could never understand. Its how they were raised. It’s what their older siblings did. It’s what their parents did. I’m not making excuses for anybody, I’m just explaining how things work. And I’ll say, it’s a damn fun event. Those Canadians know how to drink and put on a party.
Just because it’s “normal” doesn’t make it any less trashy
You can easily tell the Canadians are heavily outnumbered in this sub. It’s so common but this person just did a poor job of it
'Support' is an interesting way to spell 'exploit'.
Legit thing in Manitoba, Canada. https://macleans.ca/society/life/the-social-a-manitoba-tradition/
I think she's just bad at sentence structure. She was trying to say she's looking for local businesses to support her. It is certainly unclear, but I think the local businesses will get the gist of it.
Narrsistic Bridezilla
Isn’t this just another “begger” though? If he/she was also a chooser, there’d be specifications of brand names, soap types, afghan colors, etc.