Unpredictability of the wedding industry

The unpredictability of owning a wedding business seen through the eyes of someone who has been in this industry since 2002

If there is one thing I recognised pretty early on it is that the wedding industry is unpredictable. And if you fail to have a strategy to counter this your business will struggle to have longevity.

Firstly what do I mean by unpredictability ⁉

One season filled with weddings from ideal clients. The design is perfect, the clients are a dream to work with, your profit margins are through the roof. You feel on top of the world and proud of all you have achieved in your business. Clients are booking your top service and no haggling or bridezillas in sight.

Yet the following season it is crickets. Enquiries are slow to come in, clients are haggling on price and the weddings themselves are not wowing you. If anything you feel micro managed by your clients who question your decisions at every step. You wonder why? You haven’t changed anything so why is your business not on the same path? Sometimes what happens when a business experiences a busy season is they let their marketing slip, meaning next years couples don’t know about you. So even if busy its imperative your marketing remains consistent. Even if it means hire someone to help.

A year filled with fame as the latest hot wedding planner or supplier to work with. Collaborations left, right and centre. Everyone wants to be like you! It’s akin to being a Kardashian albeit in the wedding industry. You walk into a soiree with peers flocking to speak with you. You can charge a premium for your service and are seriously considering expanding your business and building a team.

But suddenly you notice your emails are not pinging as much. A competitor seems to be the person of interest and not you. The truth is every few years the latest hot commodity will change, this doesn’t mean your business will no longer be successful, it just means you may not have the fame associated with your brand. So before just blindly increasing your fee with no real strategy know that inflated fees with nothing to back it up won’t survive. If this sounds like you right now, take advantage of every opportunity. Say yes to speaking engagements, give interviews in the press. But, ensure you are working behind the scenes on scaling your business, building and reinforcing strong foundations in your business.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼?

🔸Play the long game, never take a successful season for granted. Always look at ways to improve your growth as a CEO and view knowledge as your new addiction. Leave your ego at the door, there is no place for arrogance in the wedding industry. Have a strategy in place for your growth. Be consistent with your marketing and visibility.

🔸Audit your business once a year: finances, marketing, customer + client research. Cannot stress this enough, stay on top of your business.

🔸Research the industry trends especially those centred around marketing BUT ensure the research is specific to the wedding industry. I review stats from the Global Wedding Survey every year, analysing what data will support my clients. I also review how this changes year on year especially relating to how couples source suppliers and which media they use. Looking at B2B marketing stats is useless for a wedding business whose clients are consumers (aka couples). Set aside time to do your research. I cannot emphasise enough how important this is. Step away from your business and strategise for the coming year or quarter.

🔸Review and reflect on your business once a quarter and check you are on track. If you spend all your time only working on your client work, neglecting your role as a CEO of your business you will inevitably see the impact of this the following year. It’s great you want to provide your clients with the best service but please, not the the detriment of your business.

🔸Get support with your growth. Join a membership, mastermind or retreat, hire a coach or mentor. This helps with increasing ones knowledge (as they truly know the industry unlike Aunty Edith) but also provides that emotional support we need. Don’t do business alone! Find your community or cheerleader.

Have you been in business for a while? What are your views about thriving year after year?

Further Reading
Mastermind Day 2024

Shifting your mindset into CEO mode

90 day planning for success

Collaboration in the wedding industry

Getting ready for engagement season