Budget blues for the bridal business?
By Flickr user Wonderlane
Something old … something new … something frugal.
Getting hitched on the cheap – or cheaper, anyway – is one of the bridal trends for 2010, according to a variety of industry blogs and articles.
And with bridal exposition season just getting into full swing, now is a great time to check with a variety of local businesses that depend on nuptials for their sales numbers.
The U.S. wedding industry is a $40 billion to $70 billion a year business, depending on whose statistics you’re using. And much of the spending goes to small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs, making it great fodder for a regional trend story.
Bridal experts tell me that they’re seeing wedding budgets for 2010 and beyond slashed by 25 percent to 50 percent as happy couples opt to tie the knot on a shoestring. Brides are opting to rent dresses for $250 rather than purchase $2,000 keepsake gowns. They’re printing their own invitations, stoking iPods with dinner-dance playlists instead of hiring DJs and buying CDs of raw images from their photographers instead of paying for the cropping and retouching of polished wedding albums.
This wedding planner blog, for example, says the hallmark of 2010 weddings will include a back-to-basics approach and more home or backyard events.
All of these cost-cutting measures have a ripple effect on small business proprietors in your community. Attending a wedding or bridal expo is an efficient and informative means of gathering fodder. OneWed.com offers a state-by-state directory of bridal trade shows; act fast because many take place later this month or in February.
Check with jewelers, banquet and catering facilities, florists, entertainment agencies, party-supply shops, printers, country clubs, menswear rentals, and other ancillary businesses. Trade groups may connect you with wedding planners in your area, including:
Association of Bridal Consultants
Association of Certified Wedding Consultants
Keep non-traditional weddings in mind too – from those that take place at local stately homes and art museums to destination ceremonies at beach resorts. Are the local facilities doing more mid-week weddings –at half the cost of a weekend rental? And are more couples opting for a week on the beach in Barbados over a big local event? What do those choices signify to your local economy?
