I’ve been talking a lot about engagement season lately, huh? I may have mentioned it before, but one of the reasons why I tend to be so celebratory of the holidays and engagement season is because I myself was engaged during the Holidays.

As I’m planning content and marketing for all of the newly engaged couples, I tend to look back on my own engagement for guidance. I wanted to share my experience with you all today, because even though it was 10 years ago, it’s very likely that the process is still the same for a newly engaged couple. Yes, there are definitely more resources available to couples now, but the steps are going to be the same. So I want to review this wedding process to help you figure out where you belong within it.

We were the typical young couple who had been together for quite some time… and you know, getting sick of people asking when we were going to get married. I knew that my now-husband already had the ring (spoiler alert: I kinda picked it out and he is the worst at surprises), it was just a matter of when it was going to happen! He finally asked on December 23rd, just before we left to go to our hometown for Holiday celebrations.

Having the holidays right around our engagement definitely helped us bask in that “newly engaged” glow for a few days. Mostly because we were with family, always having things to do, places to go, and people to see.

I do, however, distinctly remember sitting down at my parents’ kitchen table to start talking about wedding planning. It was a few days after Christmas, and I had opened up a few websites, and was searching for wedding dresses (yes, before any budgets were set or anything was figured out).

The very first thing that we decided on was our wedding date. In our case, we had a few dates that we had to work around, so it helped us in choosing a date. If I recall correctly, we had two options, and decided on May 23rd of the following year because our dating anniversary was the 23rd, as was the date he proposed. What can I say- I like to find sentimental value in things!

Once we established dates, we started touring venues. Being that we were getting married in our small town, we didn’t have many options available to us. I knew where I did NOT want to get married, so that helped narrow things down even more. I believe we toured 3 venues, and if I recall correctly (come on now, it was 10 years ago), it was all the same weekend.

Our incorrect piece of this planning puzzle was that we didn’t really set our budget until after getting estimates from our venue. We had a good idea of number of guests (aka, way too many), and so that at least helped. So once we knew what the venue (food and beverage as well) was going to run, we were then able to set a budget. A little backwards now that I know, but hey, I had NO CLUE- and remember, most couples do not know any better either!

Once we had the date and venue, I started looking for photographers and inquiring, and that was a bit further down the road- February/March if I recall correctly. This process was a little more spread out over a few weeks, during which I went and met with a few photographers (I was also traveling from where I lived to my hometown, so it was a little more difficult to set meetings). This was also a time where having more information and knowledge regarding what photographers truly do and the importance of their experience would have helped me a ton in making a (better) decision.

It was also around this time that I started to realize just how much time all this wedding stuff took, and I started looking into what wedding planners cost, and if I could have one. Spoiler alert: I got one, but she wasn’t the greatest. Alas, she did help, so at least there’s that.

So let’s review what the steps of the start of my planning process looked like:

1. Wedding dresses

2. Wedding date

3. Wedding venue

4. Wedding budget

5. Photographer

6. Planner

On my end, as a publisher, I’m looking at my own planning process and creating my editorial calendar. As I’m doing so, I’m also keeping in mind the timing of when each “task” was happening, as well as the time required for each. (I.e., choosing a wedding date and setting a budget can all happen in a few hours)

On your end as a wedding professional, I want to encourage you to think about how and where YOU fit into that “planning process”. And not only this, but what should you be doing now to set yourself up to get exposure and get in front of couples as they are doing research and starting in the journey of planning their wedding.

We’re talking all about it in our FB group- come join us! And if you don’t have my Engagement Season Prep Checklist yet, make sure you have it!!

“Is the wedding industry dying?”

The past few months, maybe even year, I’ve asked myself this question and have had this underlying feeling of dread towards the changes happening in the wedding industry. I don’t know if you’ve felt it too, but it’s been weighing on my heart nearly every single day. I’m not quite sure how to put it all into words, but I just wanted to get my thoughts down, because I feel that there needs to be a conversation started regarding these changes.

I think it’s a combination of several things really.

They say that as competition increases, prices go down, and this is for sure happening. There are more and more people starting wedding businesses, which means that these newcomers are priced lower than those who are more experienced and have been in business for a longer amount of time. And we all remember what it was like to be new- you likely have a job and are doing your new business as a “side hustle”, meaning that you can easily justify your lower prices since you have other means of income. On top of that, it is very easy to market yourself and be found thanks to Instagram, and nice websites are WAY easy to make for less money.

Now don’t get me wrong, I totally support entrepreneurship, and I definitely believe that newcomers shouldn’t price themselves too high when they start out. However, I think because there are SO many newcomers, that it’s easy for couples to find a decent wedding vendor for a lesser cost. This unfortunately is leaving the experienced, higher priced vendors with less and less bookings. On the flip side, the newcomers that aren’t yet full time are either going to have to raise their prices eventually to create a full time income, or they’re going to always be doing photography as a “side hustle” because they need a full time income supplied by a “real job”.

The issue is this: it’s bringing the wedding industry as a whole down. I hate saying that. But it’s true. I’ve been hearing about more and more wedding professionals who have been in business for 10+ years having to shut down, simply because couples won’t pay them what they’re worth, and what they need to sustain.

And then there’s the issue of today’s couples altogether.

I don’t quite know what it is yet- I have a few surveys that I want to conduct to find out cold hard facts. BUT, I am hypothesizing that couples aren’t valuing services are much as they value THINGS, and therefore they don’t want to spend as much on the services associated with their wedding. I have no idea why this is a thing, or even if it’s true- especially since Millennials are supposedly quite in tune with experiences. Is it the immediacy that apps and Amazon Prime and delivery services have created as the norm? Is it that couples have become “blind” to things at weddings potentially going wrong because of an inexperienced vendor, because those stories are fewer and far between now thanks to couples hiring professionals in past years?

I do know these facts, thanks to the Splendid Insights 2017 Global Wedding Study, gathering data from couples married in 2016:

• More couples are paying for their weddings themselves or in partnership with parents
• 77% of couples have budgets of $30,000 or less, and 19% have budgets of $31,000 to $95,000, and 4% (was 7% in 2016)  have budgets of $96,000 or higher
• 52% of couples reported that “speediness of email replies” was Very Important to them when hiring a wedding professional
• 72% of couples use Pinterest for wedding-related activities, 51% use Facebook, and 24% use Instagram

But you know what else is baffling? That in 2016, according to The Knot, the average cost of a wedding reached an all time high of $35,329. I’m doing some data analysis of my own regarding wedding pro pricing (fill out the survey HERE if you haven’t already!), and I’m also currently analyzing The Knot’s numbers for past years to see what kind of changes have been happening.

Now, what can we make of those facts?

First of all, I’m almost positive the Instagram use of couples is higher for 2017. Secondly, not as many couples are spending as much on their weddings as past years. Couples are also putting a high value on customer service. As far as the average cost goes, what I’m seeing thus far is that there has been a significant increase in the amounts spent on wedding venue and engagement ring. The wedding venue increase could very well be that venues know they are going to get whatever they want to charge because they’re usually the first thing booked- I’ve heard of several situations where a couple blows their entire budget on the wedding venue because they simply don’t know any better. And then for engagement ring… it’s a PRODUCT, which reinforces my notion about products being more valuable to couples than services.

But all in all, WHO EVEN KNOWS?

So basically… wedding vendors are expected to be active on social media, super fast in their response times, all while charging less. And the thing about these items, knowing many of my friends who have well-established wedding businesses, is that it’s hard to do ALL THE THINGS when you’re busy! So, I can totally understand why less-experienced (and less-busy) vendors ARE able to do “all the things” and get those bookings. Because they have more time, they’re able to be active on social media, they’re able to be responsive to their inquiries, and they’re charging less.

And then, I would be remiss if I didn’t include wedding publications in this “circle of life”. Because the truth of the matter is this- if couples are spending less with wedding vendors, then wedding vendors are spending less on marketing and working with wedding publications. Running a wedding publication is a lot of work, and believe it or not, there is definitely overhead. Not to mention, the demand on wedding publications for speedy replies, fast publication, and updated technology/websites is pretty high- all of which are typically more than one person can handle, and therefore require money to be spent in order to have assistance in achieving these things. So if publications are making less money, some may need to shut down, or alternatively have less output in order to cut costs, and therefore, will be providing less exposure opportunities for wedding pros, and as a result, less ways for couples to find vendors. (Note: This is not foreshadowing. 😉 ELD is NOT going anywhere, don’t you worry.)

Now, I have NO IDEA what the answer to all of this is, and I definitely have more thoughts, as this is literally running through my brain ALL. THE. TIME. When it comes to ELD, I’m trying to do my part to educate couples about wedding costs, what to expect, and the importance of hiring professionals. (Sidenote: If you haven’t filled out the 2017 Wedding Pro Pricing Survey yet, you can do so here!) But above all else, I think that a conversation needs to be started in the wedding industry.

So let’s chat and start this conversation.

Is the wedding industry dying? What has your experience been? Leave a comment here, or head over to my ELD For Pros Instagram account and comment on this post. Let’s figure out how we can all support one another in this industry!

I’ve heard it countless times over the years, and I’ve been hearing it a lot lately, so it’s time to have a little chat…

“Well, I’m booked solid, so I don’t need to market my business anymore.”

I think we all know that here at ELD we’re passionate about marketing and helping wedding pros market their business to brides and grooms. But before I get into anything, I need to mention what the term “marketing” entails:

Marketing (n): the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

In the world of being a wedding pro, “marketing” would include advertising, social media, personal connections, styled shoots, getting published, and your own blog posts.

Marketing should be an ongoing process. It’s not something that you do when business is slow, and it’s not something you stop when business is good.

You may have heard of the concept of “marketing touches”. This concept says that it takes several “touches” for a person to make a purchasing decision. These touches include the items that I just mentioned above, and they can take place over days, weeks, months, even years. The truth of the matter is that you never know who could be on the receiving end of a marketing touch. This is why you must never stop marketing your business and sharing about what you can offer people.

I’ve fallen into the trap before. I’ve gotten busy, and not shared a peep about what I offer. And you know what? I don’t get inquiries or make any sales. But when I do share every so often and on a regular basis, the inquiries and sales stay consistent. I want to hit myself over the head each and every time I fall into this trap- because believe me, it’s so easy to fall into!

And I’ve seen this happen to wedding pros as well- it’s a cycle really. You do some advertising, participate in some styled styled shoots, and stay on top of their social media and submission game. Then you get lots of bookings, get really busy, and stop everything. And then about a year later, after you get through that busy season, you hit a lull, and wonder what happened. And it breaks my heart, because I know exactly what happened, and that it could have been prevented. Because the thing that you aren’t realizing is that all of those things you were doing, they all played an integral part in getting you to that “booked and busy” point, and when you stop them, the results they yielded are also going to stop.

When it comes to weddings, things happen in the long term, and they happen continuously. Couples get engaged all the time. Sure, there is a popular “season” for engagements, but it’s not a hard and fast rule. I’m sure many of you book couples all throughout the year. It’s proof that you never know who is going to be looking for you and when.

You must stay continuous with your marketing efforts, regardless of how booked you are at a particular moment in time.

And I get it. I know it’s hard to continue doing all of the “marketing things” when you’re busy. But it is an imperative aspect of running your business, and there are also routes you can take that will make things a little easier for you…

• Choose a marketing/advertising service that will do some of that marketing for you. (Shameless plug: we do that with our V List Members!)
• Add submission prep into your workflow for each wedding.
• Carve a few times out in your year to do styled shoots and put them on your calendar.
• Make sure to attend a few networking events throughout the year.
• Consider contracting with a service to handle your submissions. (I highly recommend The Tailored Submission!)
• Use a program that makes it easy to create a “schedule” or “library” for your social media content. (I would recommend looking into CoSchedule for Facebook posts, and Later.com for Instagram!)

So friends, I implore you- please don’t fall into the “booked and busy” trap! Make sure you’re taking the steps to keep your marketing continuous so you can ensure you’re continuously reaching potential couples!