Over the past three months, The Wedding Report has compiled information from its state of the industry survey from over 500 wedding vendors. The resulting Wedding Industry Index gives the Certified Wedding Planner a snapshot of how well our industry is holding up through the current recession.

Current Sales – From August through October 2008, 37% of vendors rated their current sales as either good or excellent. Fair or neutral ratings were reported by 48% of respondents and just 15% considered their sales to be poor.

With many in the financial industry expecting poor results from wedding businesses, actual results from the third quarter have been surprisingly good for wedding industry stalwarts such as The Knot. Similar dismal prognostications are being floated for diamond and fine jewelry seller Blue Nile and for businesses affected by recent electoral challenges.

Average Amount Spent – Vendor responses for the past three months indicate the average wedding client increased spending 13% of the time and that 29% decreased their spending. Overall, a majority of 58% of vendors report their customers’ spending remained the same as in previous months.

Although the current economic crisis is squeezing consumer spending across the board, brides and grooms have been experiencing increased wedding costs for several years. For 2008, spending for the average wedding is expected to reach $28,704 and increase by almost $1000 more for next year. The Certified Wedding Planner can expect a modest increase on the average $1,483 spent this year on wedding planning services.

A new service by The Wedding Report, Cost of Wedding, allows wedding vendors and clients to view the average costs of different wedding goods and services as well as estimate the cost of a wedding in any area throughout the United States.

Couples Getting Married – The number of couples getting married during the past three months is mostly holding steady for 72% of vendors. Those experiencing an increase and decrease were 12% and 16% respectively.

With the winter months approaching, while the number of couples getting married will increase over the same time period last year, the inevitable drop in weddings during November and December cannot be avoided. Almost a quarter million couples wed during each of the past four months, but less than 200,000 will have weddings during the next two months, prompting many industry businesses to cut costs to survive.

Sales Expectations Next Three Months – For the fourth quarter 2008, wedding vendors are mostly optimistic with 39% anticipating good or excellent sales, 50% expecting sales growth to be neutral or fair, and only 11% of replies fearing poor future sales.

While the overall feeling from this survey is that our industry is holding strong, there is a reduction of respondents reporting excellent prospects for each category of 25% to 30%. For many wedding vendors, including Certified Wedding Planners, business success will depend on providing superior customer service, working closely with industry partners, and even considering a merger to supplement your appeal to an anxious client base.

Tags: Certified Wedding Planner, Wedding Industry Trends, Wedding Statistics

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