The New Industry Standard Couples planning post-pandemic weddings have a completely new list of priorities to consider. They want to be certain that they are in good hands, but as a business owner, how do you demonstrate that you run a professional and reputable company? Now is the time to ensure you are getting the right message over
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he Wedding Safe Industry Standard was originally developed during Covid to reassure Local Authorities and the Government, alongside the Tourist Board’s ‘Good to Go’ standard. It is now being widely accepted as a kitemark for businesses to reassure future couples. Director of online wedding planning website Guides for Brides, Alison Hargreaves, first came up with the solution after speaking to other industries and insurers about the way the wedding sector was perceived during Covid. During and after Covid “It’s the large numbers of diverse, creative and micro businesses that make the wedding industry today so unique; but to many, the sector appears disseminated and unregulated, with a very low barrier to entry,” explains Alison.
“Our sector needed to address that – not just during Covid, but afterwards, too. For the sector to recover fast, couples need confidence to book, insurers need a way to accurately calculate risk, and to be frank, we all need a way for reputable companies to stand out from potential ‘cowboys’. “Various industry associations were already doing a great job, so we worked with them to ensure that we established a Standard, which is meaningful to consumers, yet is achievable by any professionally-run wedding business.” Insurance companies are discussing ways to incentivise couples to use Wedding Safe accredited businesses when they reintroduce insurance for weddings. There’s no cost for businesses to receive or maintain their Wedding Safe accreditation; the service is currently funded by Guides for Brides.
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Is your business Wedding Safe? The Wedding Safe Industry Standard is designed to measure the reputation of a business, and help couples to find professionals who will be good, trustworthy choices for their wedding. To attain the Standard, business owners complete a self-certification form. Those who reach the minimum standard are entitled to display the Wedding Safe logo and are listed online. There are five sections that require completion/confirmation: Regulations You confirm that your business has read and understood all relevant government Covid-safe guidance. Risk Assessments To show that your business carries out appropriate risk assessments, including Covid risk mitigation. Insurance Your business has appropriate public liability insurance. Contracts That clear contracts are provided for all new wedding bookings, an example contract being uploaded. Trust Your business is established as part of the UK wedding industry. Your application scored The scoring for the five sections is based on answers to various questions. Businesses can improve their score by uploading evidence or by improving their processes. Statements made, such as membership of associations, or number of years trading, are visible to others, enabling the sector to selfregulate. “Genuinely reputable wedding businesses will not have any issue meeting the minimum standard, regardless of the length of time they have been trading” says Alison. “All of the requirements in the selfcertification are common practice and any good wedding business, whether new or established, will welcome the chance to demonstrate these to their customers”. Wedding Safe is a free service but there is premium content available to those that need additional resources
