About Membership

The Independent Wedding Association is commited to providing a high-quality experience to both vendors and clients. To that end:

  1. We are provisionally limiting our membership in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to 70 vendors. Before we raise that limit, we want to be sure that we can maintain the group’s quality and ensure that all members can make the most of the group’s shared resources.
  2. We are committed to giving all vendor-members at least one opportunity to exhibit at one of our two annual fairs. If a fair would be over-booked by vendors, participation may be determined by lottery.
  3. No fair will ever include more than 50 vendors.
  4. In order to ensure that our vendors are financially accessible to a wide range of clients, no more than 25 percent of vendor-members in a given category will be “super luxury” — i.e. charging fees that are double or more the going average for their cateory. (The IWA will determine “going average” based on a survey of members and competitive professional vendors.)
  5. In order to ensure the diversity of our group, no single category of vendors will make up more than 25 percent of IWA’s membership.
  6. We will review the portfolios, prices, and other professional aspects of our vendor-members on a bi-annual basis to ensure that they’re still a good fit for the IWA. Growth is good, but we do want to ensure that our vendor-members stay close to their product and the community.

Membership in the Independent Wedding Association has many benefits including:

    • A vendor listing in our member directory online – Brides looking for vendors can search through our listings with the assurance that membership is only given to qualified businesses. Because we keep our membership selective, most categories will contain fewer than 10 vendors, giving you a real opportunity to connect with brides looking for services.
    • Access to quarterly networking meet ups – Membership comes with the opportunity to be associated with other vendors that share your commitment to creativity, value, and warmth. The IWA organizes coffee and cocktail meet-up events several times a year for members and occasionally their invited guests.
    • Access to participate in the next fair (tentatively planned for October –  membership levels are purposefully kept low enough to allow all members access to participate in at least one event per year). Only IWA members are eligible to participate in IWA events and fairs.
    • Contributing to the website - As a member, you will have the opportunity to post to the IWA site several times per year with tips or special offers for your business.

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