BridalTweet Wedding Forum & Vendor Directory

3 Things Brides Consider When Choosing Vendors & It's Not Price

Wedding Professionals:

During tough economic times, we are quick to assume that price is the main factor for brides as they plan their wedding. Yes, price is important but I believe this past year has brought forth other factors that are just as influential.

I came to this conclusion after reading Lee Eisenberg’s ‘Why Shopping is Good Again.’ Eisenberg articulates today’s top consumer values. I believe these three values can also help all of us to understand what brides are thinking as they are making their purchasing decisions.

1. Brides value experiences that transform them. Even some of the shyest women embrace the spotlight on their big day. As a bride plans her wedding, she is more commonly thinking about her own personal ‘red carpet’ moment. That is the moment when everyone at her wedding will look at her in astonishment. Various vendors have picked up on this common value or mindset. For example, Astrid Mueller designs romantic illustrations. When she is designing, Astrid asks lots of questions - what the bride dreams she’ll wear as she floats down the aisle, what is her and her sweetie’s love story, what their dream wedding will be like. Through personalized art, Astrid’s sophisticated illustrations make all of those special details come alive. What additional services can you add to your current offering in order to make brides feel special and transformed?

Here's an example of a bride making a grand entrance with a designer gown and with stationery. Illustration: Astrid Mueller. Artisan printing: LetterpressLight.com.

2. Brides value shared experiences. During tough economic times, people tend to place more value on family, friendships and relationships in general. We’ve been forced to focus on the things that are really important in life – and that’s not a bad thing. This is also entirely true for weddings. In some cases, guest lists have had to shrink and brides have had to focus on the elements that matter most to their loved ones. But behind all of that, weddings have become more intimate. What can you do to add to that intimate, meaningful experience to a bride’s big day?

3. Brides value experiences that are an extension of themselves. It’s no wonder that many brides are now into DIY (Do-It-Yourself) elements. They are creating their own menus, programs, favors – you name it. We tend to think this is only to save money. However, they are also doing this to put their stamp on their big day - to make it personal. Thinking beyond price and thinking deeper about the personal nature of a DIY wedding, how can you make your products and services more personalized?

Position your wedding offerings, so that they are in line with the values of today’s bride. Ultimately, this will help ensure that brides say ‘yes’ to you. Do you have other insights about what values influence a bride’s planning decision? If so, please comment below.

About This Blog: Christine Dyer is the Creator and Founder of BridalTweet. Christine has an MBA in marketing and shares over ten years of marketing expertise with the wedding community. In this weekly blog called Supercharge Your Wedding Business, you'll find advice on an array of wedding business topics such as how to market to brides, social networking, wedding PR, wedding sales, vendor networking, branding, pricing and much more. Please pass this news along to your own professional wedding network. To receive this advice in your email inbox each week, Sign Up for a Free BridalTweet Membership.

Comment by Pamela DuVal on May 27, 2010 at 8:22am: I call it "the warm fuzzys." When a bride can connect with you on a personal level & feel comfortable with you, they will hire you. They need to feel a trust, that you will take care of them, & be there for them. You can't fake this. I really enjoy what I do, & love helping my brides. People say it shows.

Comment by Elaine Borges-Ibanez on May 31, 2010 at 2:55pm: Glad someone at last has realised how important EMOTIONS are on a wedding day. I am fed up with major photographic organisations who only seem to value "Glamour" style posed pictures as ones that are just captured seem - to them - to lack a display of technical control . Our ethos has always been to put feelings first - and money last. However much - or however little - a bride is able/prepared to pay for her wedding, has no influence at all on the number of hours we stay or the effort we put in to make the couple - and their family's experience the best ever.

Some bride's have never had so much attention focussed on them, and as many are already mothers with lines of tiredness round their eyes, so to have someone make them feel and look beautiful, to focus on making them special on their wedding day is as important as the final results themselves.

Sometimes we are about to leave after the first dance as all appears to have been taken, but then suddenly we can launch into an outdoor night-time series in the depths of Winter, as the couple are enjoying it so much!
So I agree with you - its all about understanding each individual bride's hopes and dreams, and doing your utmost to help her fulfil them.

Comment by Custom Chocolate Events on July 6, 2010 at 11:29pm: Awesome! I own a personalized products business and I can't begin to tell you how important it is to a bride to have our products set exactly the way they want. We strive to give them that personal experience they want and they love it!

Comment by Crystal Unrau on July 7, 2010 at 12:18pm: Fantastic advice - I especially like point #3. SO many wedding professionals miss out on this one because they think DIY is just about brides saving money and they try to "fight it" by showing brides that DIY is actually usually more expensive. Brides aren't stupid - they know their DIY project is going to cost money and time. Often it's not about price - it's about personalization.

Comment by Liz Mccright on July 16, 2010 at 7:56am: great article. This has given me some thought on how to plan my next marketing adventure.

Comment by Wrinkle in Time Photography on August 3, 2010 at 12:14pm: I love this article and thanks for reposting it for us new members. My wife and I have always taken this approach when it came to our clients. We always, always get to know the bride and groom and they many things that inspire them and brought them together. Not only does this way of thinking make the process easier for all involved, it also strengthen the chemistry between photographer and guests! We love it!

Comment by BG Productions on August 3, 2010 at 12:50pm: thank you for sharing. We love to hear all the details of their BIG day and really work to make them feel special. We had a client appreciation party this year as a way to thank all of our clients (so many of our new bookings come from past clients) we had sooo many couples there and they got to share all their stories. It was really great for those who hadn't had their wedding yet too. We made a DVD that looped that had photos and video clips from all their weddings- we never thought they would all sit there and watch it straight through- but they did and LOVED reliving their wedding!

Comment by Astrid Mueller on August 8, 2010 at 12:31pm: Thank you so much for your mention, Christine, it's an honor! Your posts are always a pleasure to read, and very inspiring. Keep them up!

Comment by Fresh from the Kitchen LLC on August 17, 2010 at 5:20pm: Enjoyed!! I saw a quote from another wedding professional today on Facebook, and it is perfectly worded. "Hiring wedding professionals for your special day is not expensive. It is priceless." Well worded and very true!

Comment by marcy/hullabaloo studios on August 30, 2010 at 11:54am: All of the wedding stationery I design is customized to reflect the couples theme, color and budget...no two wedding invitation packages are the same...and the best part is when they send me a note a few weeks later indicating how many wonderful comments they have received on their wedding invitations...from unique, beautiful, creative or fun-it makes the job that much more rewarding! www.hullabaloostudios.biz