6 Tips on How to Have the Best BravoCon Experience

Before you buy those 2022 BravoCon tickets, read up…

As a Bravo fanatic, the inaugural BravoCon in 2019 was an amazing experience, well worth every penny (and there were A LOT of pennies). As an inaugural event, I was incredibly impressed at the seamless production, logistics, and overall event staff – all of whom came from a place of YES the whole time. Honestly I was expecting the opposite.

My hopes and dreams were initially dashed when my best friend and I saddled up to our computers at ticket release time and got the big middle finger within seconds.

The depth of my devastation was almost embarrassing to admit. The feeling mimicked what I imagine it might feel like if my husband had left me at the altar and took off with one of my bridesmaids. In the days that followed, I walked around in a depressive fog with Madonna’s “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” on repeat in my head.  

After being kicked in the teeth again when the single day tickets were released and gobbled up in seconds, I decided it was time to pull out all the stops. I took a spin through the mental Rolodex for anyone I had ever slept with, worked with, drank with, or passed in a coffee shop that might have a connection. I even went so far as to pull out my old faithful move from my event planning days and call all the VIP concierges at all the top Manhattan hotels to see what they were able to get.

When I heard Bevy Smith say she couldn’t get a friend a ticket, I knew the jig was up. So I pulled out my big girl credit card and bought two insanely marked-up reseller VIP Saturday passes for around {gulp} $1800 per ticket. If you have to go this route, make sure to do it on a site with guarantees. (I got mine on Vivid Seats and when one of the tickets didn’t come thru, they got me another.)

So here are some pointers based on the experience:

Which Tickets to Buy

If you are going to do this, the VIP experience is 10,000x better and worth the investment. Yes, this is an investment. An investment in your life experiences. This is the time to live the “go big or go home” mantra.

VIP tickets meant no or very minimal lines for photo ops, front rows at panels, special reserved bars, and just an overall spirit of “yes of course” from event staff at every turn.

The only benefit to SVIP tickets over the VIP tickets is that you get tickets to every “extra” event (for 2019 that meant a Southern Charm brunch, the WWHL taping, the Vanderpump Rules club night, and a Top Chef experience). But at all of the BravoCon panels and experiences covered under your BravoCon pass, VIPs and SVIPs are treated equal. We were only able to get “extras” tickets to the Vanderpump night (for another $100 a pop) but again, well worth it. I mean, look at those photos.

Picking Panels

If your primary interest is content, pick your panel accordingly. But if you’re after the most intimate and up-close experiences, go to the obvious lesser panel on the popularity scale.

For instance, if I recall correctly, Andy Cohen was doing a Q&A with his sweet assistant, Daryn Carp in the main ballroom at the same time Brandon Maxwell was hosting a panel on Housewife fashion choices with Dorit Kemsley, Kyle Richards, Cynthia Bailey, and Tamra Judge.

We knew the Andy Q&A was going to be PACKED, so we opted for the smaller panel gathering with Brandon and the ladies. It was the right choice. We got photos with the girls, were super up close, and even got to chat and get Tamra to send a video to my hubs who sweats her.

In the smaller panels you’ll get a better chance to ask questions, and see panelists’ guests in the crowd alongside you. At one, I turned to my left for a moment and realized I was sitting feet away from Joe Gorga!

How to Get the Most Unstructured BravoLeb Contact

We made our way to the Bravo Bazaar in between panels and honestly, had we known what awaited us here, we might have spent the day there. Upon walking in we bumped into Austen Kroll coming out (who has since become my buddy and been to my house several times – heeeeyyy Aus!), got a high five from Andy, and bumped into Jennifer Aydin all within a few mintues. And this was totally unstructured – the Bravolebs were just walking around as if we all just happened to be at the same store.

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While at the Bazaar, we got to see, chat with, and snap pics with: Countess Luann, Dorinda Medley, Jill Zarin, Captain Sandy, Kyle Cooke, Craig Conover (he even FaceTimed my friends, but more importantly, told me I won for outfit of the day), Braunwyn Windham-Burke (her husband and one of her kids), and passed by Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz on their way to the Vanderpump Rules intro video simulator.

How to Get Close in Structured Environments

As you can see from the Vanderpump Rules club night, we were so close you would think we had Heather McDonald-ed our way into the cast friend group.

If you go into a room and you see an area roped off, go plant yourself there and don’t move. If you have any claustrophobia, I would suggest taking a hard pass and seeing from afar, but if you can take it, it will pay off. In addition to rubbing elbows with Lisa Vanderpump, Jax Taylor, Scheana, and the Toms, I had actual individual conversations with Katie Maloney (poor thing didn’t have much of a line), Ariana Madix (who is legit so cool and down to earth), Beau Clark (who made a begrudging Stassi come chat with us), LaLa Kent and Randall Emmett, and Summer House’s Amanda Batula and Paige Desorbo (both so incredibly sweet). And of course DJ James Kennedy was on the mic. Carl Radke was there too but refused to interact with any fans and just stood there sweating regretting his outfit choice in what had to be a painfully warm turtleneck and velvet sport coat. Given what we now know he was going through around this time, he forever gets a pass from me.

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Where to Find the BravoLebs Outside of the Event

From our investigative social media stalking, we already knew that Watch What Happens Live guests are always booked at the Royalton Hotel. And when we took a trip over there during BravoCon weekend, we were not disappointed. I’d be surprised if Bravo didn’t book the whole hotel for the Lebs.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey ladies were the exception. They seemed to have made some sort of partnership deal with the Affina Hotel on Lexington Ave because they were all there, and posting about it.

My past event production skills at work again, I forced my best friend to hang at back of the Manhattan Center on Friday afternoon. Saddled up near dumpsters and the service entrance, I was certain it would be the arrival and entry point for the “talent.” Soon enough, Tinsley Mortimer and her mom, Dale, proved me right and started the flood gates of Bravoleb black SUV dropoffs… Find the dumpsters, make nice with the transportation coordinators and that is your spot!   

Fuel Up for the Long Game

The food options at the events were very forgettable, in that I can’t remember them. We were fueled on adrenalin and didn’t even notice that we barely ate throughout the day, but try and make a pit stop at some point or you’ll peter out. The rosé, Casamigos tequila, and Loverboy teas were flowing and some folks there could barely stand by 3pm. While the whole event was a zero judgment zone, you’ll end up missing out on a lot.

As BravoCon 2022 tickets and more schedule details are revealed, I’ll edit this post to reflect any changes or opportunities that appear.

What else do you want to know?? Hit me in the comments. I can talk BravoCon all day!