REVEALED: how millennial couples planned their weddings in 2017

Take note of how millennial couples planned their weddings in 2017 and let these insights influence where you focus your marketing efforts next year.

Wedding suppliers; arm yourselves with these behavioural insights on wedding planning couples in 2017 and use them to inform your marketing decisions in 2018.

Take a breath. This isn’t another ‘younger generations love the internet’ post. Well, they do, of course…but you don’t need us to tell you that.

This article is our way of helping you predict the trends of tomorrow so that you can ensure your wedding business is poised and prepared to be exactly what millennial couples want you to be.

Because after all, that is what it’s all about isn’t it? Capturing the hearts and minds of newly engaged couples; to have them say “we want you to help us plan the most special day of our lives”.

But to attract the attention of couples you need to be following their every move to decipher where you need to be and how you should be presenting your business online.

Or you could let us do the hard work for you…

What wedding planning couples looked for in 2017

Bridebook surveyed 4,000 recently married couples in a bid to understand more about their ‘wedding planning’ mindsets, including how they found their suppliers, what they spent on their wedding and what they found most important throughout the planning process.

Here are the top three things you need to know about as you begin preparing your wedding venue or business for 2018 bookings…

1. Money talks

Did you know that one of the most searched for wedding queries on Google in 2017 was “how much does a wedding cost”?

Now, this may not come as a big surprise however there’s a very real discrepancy between what millennial couples want and what UK wedding suppliers are actually providing.

Many UK wedding suppliers still shy away from including pricing details on their website or Bridebook profile despite the fact that Millennial couples are more price savvy and ‘keen to know your cost’ than ever before.

With an average increase of £487 in UK supplier cost year on year, it’s more important than ever for wedding suppliers like you to highlight your ‘value for money’ and show off the range of price points you offer; remembering to mention what you often include for free, e.g. the bridal suite for one night or a free engagement shoot.

We’re not recommending that you list out every service you provide and attribute a cost to each; we’re suggesting that you include pricing parameters so that couples can see that you cater to weddings between X and Y price. They’ll then know whether you’re at the top end of their budget or bang on the money when it comes to ticking the wedding cost box.

If you’re still not sure about putting everything out there for people to see, here are a few reasons why being transparent with your pricing as a wedding supplier is more important now than ever before.

2. How other couples rate you really matters

After price, the most important thing that couples look for when planning a wedding in 2017 is feedback, with couples ranking recommendations from friends and family (72%) followed by reviews (58%) as the most important resources when finding wedding suppliers.

We can’t say it enough…reviews, reviews, reviews! It’s what wedding bookings in 2017 and beyond are so heavily dependent on.

They’re calendar-filling gold dust for wedding suppliers so please make sure you dedicate time to asking for them after every wedding you work on.

3. Finding local vendors is a challenge

Another of the most ‘Googled’ wedding queries in 2017 was “how do I find vendors near me” and it was also mentioned as one of the top challenges for Millennial couples planning a wedding this year (after budget).

The fact is, a nice website isn’t enough any more. To win bookings, wedding venues and suppliers need to be omnipresent.

Here are 3 ideas to help you secure a presence online and increase the likelihood of being discovered by wedding planning couples:

• Feature on wedding planning platforms like Bridebook and gain exposure to around 40,000 wedding planning couples. Not only are you tapping into a new audience but you’re also benefiting from free marketing and brand presence at the top of google results.
• Place SEO and Content at the forefront of all your online marketing efforts – paying particular attention to local SEO.
• Up your social media activity – post regularly and share details of everything you believe would matter to newly engaged couples

Wedding booking success depends on how willing you are to adapt

Not keen on the idea of putting your prices online? You may find that if you choose not to be transparent with your pricing online in 2018 it could affect how many bookings you secure.

Think reviews and recommendations don’t really work for you? Think again, because trends over time across all industries suggest that endorsements from others will only become increasingly important when it comes to influencing purchasing decisions – particularly within the wedding industry where decisions are personal and have a huge impact on a very important day.

Believe your website is all you need in terms of an online presence? This is a dangerous mindset to have in an increasingly competitive online world. Be careful not to put all your eggs in one basket as you could find your wedding business trailing behind the competition.

Login to your Bridebook Account now and update your pricing information to take note of how millennial couples have planned their weddings in 2017