What Happens in New York…
Jan 7, 2009 Wedding Planning InstituteAs a Certified Wedding Planner, it is important to keep an eye on wedding industry trends that affect you and your clients. For instance, you may have noticed that budget weddings are all the rage and decided to consult your preferred vendors to discover how brides and grooms can get the most value for their wedding dollars.
Or perhaps you found a wedding gimmick that will have the betrothed clamoring for your services. Planners in Clearwater, Florida can enter couples in a contest to be the first to hold their wedding on Valentine’s Day above a dolphin tank. In Houston, Texas, a New Year’s Eve wedding featuring an indoor snowfall and an Elton John impersonator was highlighted by a humble arsonist and the local fire department.
And for decades, nowhere has produced more gimmicky, low-budget weddings than Las Vegas. From ubiquitous Elvis officiants to the traditional drive thru wedding chapels, for decades the “Entertainment Capital of the World” has stood atop the wedding world in both kitsch and volume. But even the City of Lights is losing some of its luster in these troubling times.
First, a few weeks ago, snow snarled the city built in a desert. Next, the Associated Press diagnosed Las Vegas as suffering from identity crisis. Then, simply because she is zero-for-two, Carmen Electra declared the town no place for anyone’s wedding, let alone her next one.
But the biggest challenge to face the city in years has been issued from the other side of the country. In an announcement aimed at shifting the balance of power in the wedding industry, the Big Apple has taken aim at Sin City’s claim as the number one wedding destination in the world.
Downtown Manhattan Marriage Bureau
After opening Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 24,000 square foot reinvention of the Downtown Manhattan wedding bureau, Deputy Mayor Patti Harris served notice on the current record holder that New York City is poised to become the most popular place to tie the knot. The $12.3 million facility is backing up its audacious goal by offering marriage licenses for $35, ceremonies for $25, and sparkling fake diamond rings for $9.
No word if The King is planning a Manhattan encore.
Tags: Certified Wedding Planner, Wedding Industry Trends, Wedding News
Posted in Wedding Trends
January 8th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Great Info! I think NY has a shot at the record. Getting married in the “Big Apple” would be fun and has so much potential!
January 9th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
With New Year’s Eve in Times Square being one of the top places to get engaged, why wouldn’t a couple come back to those memories and have a wedding in NYC? Carriage rides, Rockefeller Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art… New York can be the next wedding mecca on the east coast!