The Business of Weddings

HOW TO PLAN FOR YOUR # WEDBIZ IN 2020

Engaging Couples

"Our UAE readers are consuming video content more then ever before, they are wanting more of a personalized, vetted service from our website, and they are planning more intimate, personalized weddings. We have noticed an increase in inbound destination brides into Dubai too, planning anything from a renewal, through to a large 3 day Indian buyout wedding.

Much the same as now, social media is a great source of inspiration for brides/couples planning their weddings, and also serves as a broad portfolio of service providers t hat couples can easily access and review"

Rhiannon Downie, Founder, Club Media FZE

"We want to know more. Be able to see more. And have more access and this is coming through with readers in the last 12 months. The amount of positively spun social media accounts has broken the know like and trust with people they are looking to buy from. So to build that back up they are watching stories, feeds, behind the scenes to make sure that a wedding brand is who they portray on social media."

Laura Payne-St anley, Founder, French Wedding Style

"Consumers want to see everything going on with the planning of their wedding. And, they want technology that will help guide them. I'm seeing more and more wedding pros using project management tools such as Aisle Planner, Basecamp, Asana, Tave, and so on. The easier it is for clients to access their wedding plans online, the better!"

Michelle Loretta, Owner, Sage Wedding Pros

"They're on their phones more than ever, so it's essential to have a mobile- friendly website."

Brittny Drye, Editor-in-Chief, Love Inc. Magazine

"To me, it feels like attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, and grabbing someone's attention is getting more and more difficult. Creating engaging content is the name of the game, and really connecting with the audience."

Jessica Bishop, Founder, The Budget Savvy Bride

"I think trends will move and change quickly. While a trend may once have been around for months and months, the constant quest for personalisation and something unique and new means that we're moving onto something new much faster."

Dorothy Polka, Editor, Polka Dot Bride

The Business of Weddings with Brittny Drye

EDITOR- IN- CHIEF, LOVE INC. MAGAZINE

How will social media impact weddings in 2020?

Having a quality Instagram presence is just going to become more necessary in 2020. Couples are ?nding and following vendors from their favorite publishers' when we tag vendors in our social media content, so it's key to make a good ?rst impression.

How is the rise in popularity of video streaming impact your relationship with readers in 2020?

People love to watch love stories, and wedding video content showcases a level of emotion that's difficult to capture in photography, so it's certainly rising in popularity as more couples opt for videography services.

But that being said, still photography will always play a leading role when it comes to wedding inspiration -- it's really difficult to organize and share specific wedding ideas and inspiration from real weddings and styled shoots with video. But when it comes to travel- and DIY-focused content, video is king.

How has ongoing education impacted your success?

Always being open to learning allows me to evolve my business as times change. This industry isn't what it was five years ago -- or even two years ago! -- so in order to survive and thrive, a business leader must be proactive in education.

What the Editors say...

We're seeing couples embrace tradition. For instancethey're walking down the aisle, but they're doing it together, or they're walking halfway with their mum and halfway with their dad. They're writing their ceremony together but hiding their vows for one another. They're having a sit-down wedding but serving up their favourite meals they cook every Saturday. They're wearing a veil but they're making it dramatic and show-stopping.

Further, some key trends we're seeing:

- Long stem bouquets

- Weddings officiated by friends, with a celebrant for just the legals

- Lunchtime and brunch weddings

Dorothy Polka, Editor, Polka Dot Bride

"Social media continues to be important to every day lives, so it makes sense that it will continue to flow into the biggest day in someone's life. Couples already have hashtags on Instagram and custom filters on Snapchat, they can further social involvement during the wedding with live streaming. Post wedding, they want their images quick to be able to share with all their friends and family."

Megan Acosta, Owner & Editor, Glamour & Grace

I definitely think that social media will continue to play a large role in how couples gather inspiration and ideas for their big day. I'm personally hoping we see more unplugged weddings in 2020, but I'm already seeing couples making some fun Tik Tok content on their wedding day, which can be quite ent ert aining.

Jessica Bishop, Founder, The Budget Savvy Bride

If we think about it, humanity has never read as much as they do now, where we have information available in our palms at any given moment. Nowadays we tend to do almost everything from the phones and I believe the same goes for our readers. Obviously, this means that by now the websites and everything else must be mobile and user friendly. Readers tend to search for the issues or topics through their search engines on- the-go and will usually land on the first or second search result offered. This means that our SEO and the style of writing has to be appealing to the user as much as the search engine algorithms. When everyone wants to grab our attention, we tend to zone things out and so do our readers. We need to get their attention with the first look, with the good compelling title and impressive imagery.

Sanya Percic, Founder and Edit or in Chief, Ellwed

The Business of Weddings with Dorothy Polka

EDITOR OF POLKA DOT BRIDE

How are readers evolving in the last year?

We know we keep harping on about it, but personalisation, personalisation, personalisation! And we're talking everything- from menu items, to the colour of the shoes, to the signage. It is truly not finding inspiration elsewhere, it is stepping inside their lives and turning their everyday loves and details into wedding moment s.

How will social media impact 2020 weddings?

Social media is now a search engine in itself, there is less reliance on what someone else did and more creative thinking about those details. So it's becoming more about the individual item search.

Alongside that, there is the factor of coming along for the ride with influencers and even with guests, by following wedding hashtags and really making shareable, instagrammable moments from every stage of the wedding planning. Cake tasting in imagery on Instagram, dress shopping on Youtube videos. Every moment has become aesthetically important and a celebration in itself.

How is video streaming impacting with readers in 2020?

I think we'll see even more ways of integrating this into your big day, We're already high on the hashtag bandwagon, but this coverage of the day will be collected as more coverage, more ways of sharing the moment s.

For us, video provides an extra layer of connection with readers. it allows us to offer more information and inspiration in unique and different ways from a still image. We can share a video venue tour for instance, or a day in a life and really build that connection beyond pretty, professionally shot images that might be more about the perfection.

What the Wedding Planners say...

"In many parts of the United States, booking windows are getting shorter. Why is this? The immediacy and availability of online product - ala Amazon - has 'trained' consumers to get goods when they want them. Gone are the days of waiting months for something hard-earned and long-desired. This is having an impact on how people buy everything, including wedding services. And, with each generation, we're going to see shorter timeframes between the engagement and the wedding day. This means that as service providers we are needing to shrink the time we plan an event. It's changing our selling seasons too. Where we used to see the stream of clients booking 12-18 months before an event, we're seeing more clients booking 6 months out instead."

Michelle Loretta, Owner, Sage Wedding Pros

"Specifically to my clientele, couples are busier than ever. They are leaning on referrals from friends and family and they really are seeking assistance from wedding planners to help them plan their special day.

When it comes to wedding planner tools my must have is Project Management systems. The more projects you manage the more the need to stay extremely organized and focus on time management. As a mentor for up and coming wedding pro's I see many people still doing things manually and I think its time to upgrade to a project management system that suits you and the way you conduct your business. HoneyBook, BaseCamp, and Trello are just a few of the project management tools t hat I see wedding pro's using."

Brit Bertino, Event Producer, Brit Bertino, event excellence

"As a new appreciation for the time involved, and the complexity of planning and executing a wedding develops, so does the demand for wedding planning services. The benefits of hiring professional help are becoming more apparent, and at an earlier stage in the wedding planning process, to brides, grooms, and their families. Delivering a high quality event is of paramount importance to our clients, and whether they have support with the full planning, the design, styling or on the day management, they are consulting with us more than ever before, to ensure a stress free day.

And the conversations continue with regard to sustainability, and the impact a carbon neutral or carbon negative wedding can make on the world. Millennials continue to challenge the notion of the 'have it all regardless of the impact' mentality. Plastic free floristry, paperless invites, and using local vendors all contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of a wedding, and encourage subtle but important changes in the way we operate."

Pamella Dunn, Creative Director & CEO, Pamella Dunn Events

On consumers...

I have noticed that they are wanting what they want, they review the options, and make a decision quickly and it if it worth it to them, they will go over what they had budgeted.

On must have wedding pro tools...

A program that makes the onboarding process easy for them and their clients.

Jennifer Taylor, Owner, Taylor'd Events Group

What to know in The Business of Weddings

WITH LOUISE BEUKES, FOUNDER, B.LOVED / B.LOVED HIVE

Millennial couples are becoming far more savvy when it comes to planning their wedding and choosing their suppliers, meaning that wedding business owners will need to work harder to build relationships and engagement with their clients.

How will social media impact weddings in 2020?

Real-time social media such as stories and live videos are going to be an essential part of your marketing strategy for 2020 as couples look to build genuine relationships with the people behind the brands they will be working with on their wedding. Going live, showing your face and showcasing behind the scenes of your business, daily, will help you stand out from the competition!

How has ongoing education impact ed your success?

This year I have joined a community for female entrepreneurs and working with a creative business consultant to develop and grow my business. Even after a near-decade in the industry there are still things I'm learning every day and investing in self-development is a key part of my strategy every year.

Video Marketing

"Potential clients want to see you as you are and video is a way to connect on a level that traditional and even some social media outlets couldn't in the past. It helps the planner to show off work while they are in the process of doing a wedding and leading up to the big day."

Jennifer Taylor, Owner, Taylor'd Events Group

"I think trends will move and change quickly. While a trend may once have been around for months and months, the constant quest for personalisation and something unique and new means that we're moving onto something new much faster."

Dorothy Polka, Editor, Polka Dot Bride

"For the last several years, we've seen Gen Y shift our marketing towards the use of more video. This explains the rise in social media that embraces this tool (eg: Instagram Stories). As Gen Z joins the ranks for marrying age, video is going to become even MORE important. Remember: this generation has been raised on youtube. They'll be accessing video more and more for information and education. Wedding Professionals need to incorporate this into their marketing strategy now to prepare for t he next decade of consumers."

Michelle Loretta, Owner, Sage Wedding Pros

"We are looking past video streaming and at FWS we are excited about the world of virtual reality as it becomes adopted into wedding marketing. Imagine going through a walk around your dream French Wedding Chateau from the comfort of your home!"

Laura Payne-Stanley, Founder, French Wedding Style

"Video marketing makes an impact. It's also more suitable for busy lives, and the way to quickly capture the attention of your ideal client. Scrolling by on social media is not quite so easy when the wonderful company you've been following suddenly appears in person. Putting a face, and matching the personality to a brand or business instantly builds trust.

An online strategy developed with your brand USP in mind, that works to your strengths on camera will deliver the results. If you are better live make the most of the stories, and host live events where you can engage with your audience in real time. If a pre recorded marketing video that's well rehearsed is more you, work on a short series, and promote them across all your channels wit h confidence."

Pamella Dunn, Creative Director & CEO, Pamella Dunn Events

The Business of Weddings with Alejandra Baca

FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BELLE THE MAGAZINE

How are readers evolving in the last year?

We start noticing how our readers are consuming information in different ways, roundups and advice articles are performing better on our blog than the last few years. Although bridal fashion content is still really big for us.

Moody photography style has become more popular amongst our readers and I noticed any image with a brown/earthy tone background or accent performs better in social media, in general.

How is video streaming impacting your relationship with readers in 2020?

From having live-streams from Bridal Fashion Week, bridal conferences and streaming life events, as part of the holistic social media strategy approach, we are sharing more organic and behind the scenes moments on our Instagram stories while we curate our feed to behave an editorial look.

We had also developed strategic partnerships with like-minded wedding pros to live-stream their weddings on our Instagram Stories. It is a great way to bring fresh content to our followers!

How has education impacted your success?

I love learning, so education has always been an integral part of my business. I am constantly reading & listening about topics that would take my business even further.

Why struggle to try to figure out how to solve a problem when you can follow the steps of someone who already when through the same challenges you are going through. In this day in age, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. There are so many great educators and innovators in the industry who are wheeling to share their knowledge and experience to help others.

I also always try to learn from people in other industries to see what strategies they are using that can be implemented in my wedding media company.

Social Media for#WedBizPros

"With the upcoming changes on the hiding-likes on Instagram and Facebook, people would start looking for other ways to validate their decision making. Therefore press features (in print and online) will become more important for wedding vendors as a way to replace the validat ion social media likes used to deliver.

The hiding-likes change will also force wedding vendors to develop a more holistic social media strategy based on more than vanity metrics and pretty photos. This has always been the best way to use social but, for a long time, people were able to skate by on pretty photos and build up a following wit hout diving deeper.

More and more wedding professionals are also realizing that Pinterest is the number one place nearly- engaged couples turn to for wedding inspiration. And although Instagram is not going anywhere, I can see more and more wedding pros moving their efforts into Pinterest. This will also impact efforts put into their websites to capture couples' attention since Pinterest allows to link all images to a website source.

As far as engaged couples, the unplugged wedding trend will continue. But after the big day, couples will try more and more to become insta-famous by getting their weddings published in some of the major wedding- related Instagram accounts."

Alejandra Baca, Founder and Editor- in- Chief, Belle The Magazine

"Readers are all about quick consumption. They want small bites that they can easily view, fall in love, and interact with. Which is why social media, particularly Instagram, is where all the action is."

Megan Acosta, Owner & Editor, Glamour & Grace

"It's allowing a different kind of connection with vendors, couples can give instant feedback to vendors, they can decide whether they want to hire a vendor or not from the personality and traits they share on social media. The behaviour of vendors online is impacting booking decisions in huge ways. There are plenty of vendors who work word of mouth, and there are some who are struggling because they do not have that base and have not paid any attention to their social media, or are not willing to keep up with the platforms I think with that, couples demand a lot more from how vendors conduct themselves, right down to how inclusive the images they share are."

Dorothy Polka, Editor, Polka Dot Bride

"Privacy. People want control back of their privacy, when and how they feature on social media and I think this will lead to an increase in people looking to remove content from Google and other social media platforms as they clean and start to control their digital fingerprint. A form of this has been seen with Finstagram accounts and is relevant to wedding guests."

Laura Payne-Stanley, Founder, French Wedding Style

"From our own social media we see that organic growth is becoming more and more important. The mere number of followers isn?t so important any more than the engagement ratio. Real engaging audience is the one that will share, comment and tag their friends. But what really helps to grow organically are the useful tips and amazing images or videos that attract the viewers to stop and take a deeper dive into your brand. From what we see, couples search for inspiration mainly on Instagram and Pinterest. They can quickly judge if certain brands or wedding suppliers fit with couple?s vision, simply by the looks of their accounts. They follow accounts that have valuable tips or inspirational images to offer and make boards on Pinterest of their favourite ideas and items for their big day. That is why posting the right image is ever so important, as it will attract your ideal audience"

Sanya Percic, Founder and Editor in Chief, Ellwed

Staying Educated

"Building your tribe can be challenging, but once you do, it?s very rewarding! The community of our peers and like-minded people is very important when it comes to support, positive energy, information sharing and also inspiration! I believe that as creatives, we feed off each other's creativity and this is also what keeps us motivated to invent new fascinating projects. We need to adapt to new trends and evolve with the flow. I believe that without education and community we cannot reach our full potential."

Sanya Percic, Founder and Editor in Chief, Ellwed

"Keeping up to date with trends and education gets you ahead of your competitors and fresh in front of your clients. It's important to stay connected too and network with your peers, they constantly keep me on my feet wanting to learn more and become a stronger innovator in my indust ry."

Brit Bertino, Event Producer, Brit Bertino, event excellence

"Myself and my team are always looking to elevate our knowledge, learn and grow. We often attend seminars, workshops and events relevant to our business and growth. This includes online learning too."

Rhiannon Downie, Founder, Club Media FZE

"Ongoing education continues to be important for us as a team and a brand. We're always continuing to learn, and adjust what we're doing. For instance, we're focusing a lot on inclusion and diversity right now and we want to throw at lot at getting this right, But this requires education from people, or at least time expended to make sure we're doing it right and not just using words without action."

Dorothy Polka, Editor, Polka Dot Bride

"Continuous learning is instrumental in growing a business. I think that staying on top of social media trends, marketing strategies, and tech tools has been crucial in navigating the ever-changing landscape of online publishing!"

Jessica Bishop, Founder, The Budget Savvy Bride

"Whether becoming a certified coach, coming a credited CRM consultant or to learning by signing up for my first triathlon which are just some of the highlights of the last 10 years, an investment in you is an asset that never depreciates. We have never been in a time where the pace of innovation outstrips the pace of implementation and I perceive this is only going to increase in the next decades. Those who don?t educate, learn and adapt are not going to meet reader needs."

Laura Payne-Stanley, Founder, French Wedding Style