Fall in for Wedding Season

With fall in the air in many parts of the country and a promise of cooler weather for the rest right around the corner, it is the time of year when many brides have planned their ceremony to take place. Whether at a traditional religious venue in which 64% of brides still have their ceremony or perhaps a less formal venue such as an outdoor setting or even rustic barns, wedding season is in full bloom!
The wedding industry is now a 9.8 BILLION dollar industry in the United States. It has now out grossed the NFL in dollars which is pretty amazing! The average wedding cost is $25,478.00 which is up slightly from 2011. The average number of guests according to the Wedding Report is 138 which are down from previous years. This information is guiding us to know that today’s brides are more concerned with quality than quantity. The direction that many brides are taking is they would rather spend their saved dollars with a fewer number of close friends and family and spend them wisely. This is good information to know when consulting with a bride. The more information you can gather, the better informed you will be and the greater chance you will book the wedding. The person most prepared usually gets their goals met.
Before you start, it is important to ask yourself several questions to determine if you are the right fit. First, ask yourself if you really want to be the one to give up nights and weekends to service this clientele. If the answer is no, then stop right there and do not proceed to be the wedding florist or event person in your area. If the attitude is not positive, it will show in every aspect of the service. If the answer is yes, then the next question to ask is what size event fits your operation best. Are you better equipped to create smaller budget weddings and service them well, or do medium sized events suit your operation better? Very few florists are set up to tackle the large and grand events because to the high level of service and rentals needed to execute this type of event. While we all may dream of that $50,000.00 event, in reality, most would end up losing money because of expenses incurred that were not expected. Best advice is to start slowly and to crawl before you walk, before you run. The worst case scenario is to not provide the high level of service that the bride is expecting. Your reputation is based on your last wedding or event and you definitely want it to be the best one ever!
Once you decide on what is the right fit for you, several other questions are now up for consideration. How many weddings and events do you want to do? How many can your current staff handle before you have to add additional staffing? Remember, if all are overlapping on a few weekends, it makes sense to hire temporary help for those events and keep your staffing at a minimum the rest of the time. These temporary staff persons may also be available for your holiday staffing needs too. Another consideration is to figure out how much profit you want to make on your wedding work and then develop the pricing formulas to achieve that goal. There is no benefit to being busy but not making any money. Keep in mind that there are often different mark ups and different labor charges depending on what you are doing. For instance, a bouquet with a lot of wiring and taping should have a higher labor charge than ceremony or reception decorations. Make sure everyone involved in executing the work is clear on pricing and labor charges. Adding just a few extra blossoms or not assessing the correct labor charges can be financially devastating over time.
Being known for your creative and beautiful wedding and event work is something most retailers desire. It does not come easy nor quickly. Best advice is to establish who, what and where you want to play the wedding game. Set your goal then work to successfully accomplish that goal. When you feel you have mastered that level or performance, then reevaluate the next level and move in steps toward it.

Watch for next week’s article for tips on how to increase your wedding and event business.