So What Are The Real Wedding Statistics?

By Sarah Schupbach 2 Comments

Piggy_Banks When it comes to taking a good look at real nationwide wedding statistics The Knot is considered one the best places to get the information. They just finished a survey on weddings and Chris Jaeger posted the results on The Knot.

What many wedding businesses will probably find as the biggest shock is the fact that the average cost of weddings hasn’t dropped off due to the economy. Weddings on average cost about the same as ever, and brides who want to cut costs tend to do so through cutting the guest list, not cutting the luxury out of their big day. That said the statistics also show that some regions were hit worse than others, and the cost of the average wedding will depend completely on where in the country the wedding is held.

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Making the Most of Your Location In Photography

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You have probably heard the saying “location, location, location” in connection to realty, but when it comes to photography it is even more important. Know your location inside and out. Figure out what parts of that location fit with your style, and find ways to highlight the area in ways that others may have never seen before.

For wedding photography you don’t have a choice in the location and so you have to make the best you can out of whatever area and architecture you are given. But finding the right areas, angles, and lighting is just the first step. No matter what your personal photography style is, make sure you understand what people in the area are looking for, and even more importantly what the couples you are shooting are expecting.

Rule of thumb, don’t just show up on the day of the wedding and start shooting. On the day of the shoot show up early to walk around and check things out. Find good backgrounds, check angles, find things that will make each wedding stand out as different from the rest. Make sure to check out Dean’s article on PhotoPreneur for more ideas!

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Filed Under: Wedding Business, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: angles, location, new ideas, PhotoPreneur, wedding business, wedding photography

When Should A Wedding Professional Step In?

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Fighting

So you’re helping a bride plan her wedding, or are one of the vendors for wedding and she starts talking about how crazy her fiancé is. Where is the line in figuring out when the bride is just having wedding jitters, or when the situation is bordering on abusive and you need to care more about what she is going through than the sale? Save the Date by Glamoure gives an example of a situation where stepping in is the best option.

While no wedding vendor wants to lose a client there is definitely a time to advise a bride to call off the wedding if she asks for your advice. After all it’s better to lose a booked wedding than to live with a guilty conscious knowing that the marriage may have ended in disaster. Not only that, but you just may end up with some brides that come to you for referrals because they hear about how much you care about your clients.

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Filed Under: Wedding Business, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: abuse, business, fighting, stepping in, Wedding

How to get Attention Through Personalization

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If you’ve been in the wedding business very long you have seen a recent change in weddings from being rather cookie cutter in how they are done, to nearly everything being personalized. This extends down to instant cameras with pictures of the bride and groom on them, and couples creating their own fonts for the inscription on the napkins.

Couples want that personal touch which makes their wedding stand out, and makes it a reflection of them rather than a reflection of what their friends and cousins have done. One place where that change has finally reached is in save the date cards. Take it Personally by Christine talks about how Save The Date cards are becoming the norm for every bride, and how they can personalize them with their own pictures for the sake of keeping the wedding invitation more formal.

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Filed Under: Wedding Business, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: personalized wedding, Save the date cards, stand out wedding, Wedding, wedding business

How To Stay In Sync With Changing Trends

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pink-bridal-show

Wedding trends are changing as fast as you blink. The last thing any wedding business wants is to wake up one morning to find that all their advertising looks like it is ten years old. Keeping up with trends is crucial, and the determining factor of most wedding colors and styles is based on the fashion industry.

An article by Glamour Weddings takes a look at high fashion dresses. Colors are deepening, and over the top details are becoming the norm. For instance, bridal party formalwear is beginning to take on a feeling of the 1930’s and 1940’s, while adding details and trim to an extreme that hasn’t been seen since the Victorian era.

So how do you keep up with the changes? Keep an eye on magazines, both printed and online, noticing what the top designers are doing, colors, details, and textures. Take a look at the arrangements done by top florists, and check out sites that show real weddings from your area and keep track of what is being done locally. If there is a big gap between your web site, and what is actually being done, change your pictures and fonts to appeal to the modern bride.

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Filed Under: Wedding Business, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: business, style, trends, Wedding, wedding business, wedding style, wedding trends

Money, Marriage and Three Legged Racing

By Sarah Schupbach Leave a Comment

girl-with-cash

Money seems to be one of the main causes of strife amongst couples, and often it is simply due to the fact that they run their finances the same way that they run a three legged race. They assume they know what they are doing, they don’t talk about it, and they assume that it will all turn out beautifully.

As a wedding professional in today’s economy you are going to be dealing with couples that are trying to deal with this issue. They trust you as a professional and therefore will respond to your advice. As a result it is advantageous if you know how to talk them through some of the basics of finances.

The most helpful thing that a couple can do with their finances is work on it together. If a couple talks about it, and works on it together, they will find that the money, instead of fighting them, will make their life easier. The more a couple can talk about it, and work on their budget together the better things will flow. For more details on finances for couples read the article by Jesse Mecham from You Need a Budget.

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Filed Under: Wedding Budgets, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: couples, finances, money, Wedding

How Many Bridesmaids Is TOO Many?

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Bridesmaids

Kim Fusaro askes the question of whether there is such a thing as too many bridesmaids. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on the subject. However the deciding factor seems to be how large the actual wedding is. Brides will often turn to wedding professionals that are helping with their wedding for help on this subject as they don’t want anyone to be hurt by not asking them to stand up with them. They also have a gut level feeling that there must be a line for where the cut off is before they have too many bridesmaids.

If the bride is expecting 300 guests she can probably get by with having up to seven or so bridesmaids. On the other hand, a wedding that has 75 guests should keep the wedding party down to two bridesmaids for the sake of the sanity of the guests. No matter how close the bride is with her friends, there is no need to have the entire guest list up there standing with the couple.

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Filed Under: Wedding Business, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: bride, bridesmaids, planning, professional, Wedding

Why You Want a Facebook Presence

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A lot of businesses are still wondering why on earth they would want to have a profile or fan page on Facebook. In fact a huge number DON’T have any type of Facebook presence at all. So why would a wedding business want to have a fan page on Facebook? What is the draw that makes it worth your time?

Well, let’s look at some statistics from a research video put together by Alex Trimpe. 1 in 13 people on the planet are on Facebook, and 71.2% of them are based in the United States. That means that at least 1/10 of your bride leads are on Facebook, and probably quite a few more. Also 48% of 18-34 year olds check Facebook right when they wake up. That means brides who are on Facebook probably are checking their news feed first thing in the morning.

How does this impact you? Well basically it means that if you have a Facebook fan page and update your status at least once a day you are getting a ton of free advertising to brides who are looking for vendors and services.

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Filed Under: Wedding Industry Trends, Wedding Websites Tagged With: brides, facebook, fan page, Wedding, wedding business

Engagement Rings: How Big Is TOO Big?

By Sarah Schupbach Leave a Comment

Wedding_Ring

Large rings seem to be the rage in Hollywood, and everyone loves to hear how many carats an engagement or wedding ring is. However most couples who have opted for the huge rings often regret it. I mean honestly how many people really want to deal with the ramifications of wearing a ring that costs as much as a car, or even a good sound system?

Kim Fusaro explains how on top of that large rings can be dangerous for people around them, as well as create havoc in whatever the bride-to-be is attempting to do. In general couples are going to opt for smaller rings and will find themselves much happier with the ring long term rather than returning it after a few days or selling it off in frustration.

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Filed Under: Wedding Budgets, Wedding Industry Trends Tagged With: budget, engagement ring, Wedding, wedding ring