Have you ever sat down to think about what makes a business successful? Ebay was able to take online auctions - a new idea at its beginning - and allow people all over the world to take part for little upfront money. Etsy prides itself on promoting crafters and handmade items. Amazon, simply put, is huge, and it brings all types of vendors from all over the world right to its users’ fingertips. Wedding planning doesn’t have to be any different. If every certified wedding and event coordinator sat down to figure out his or her strong points, then marketed them, they’d be likely to find huge success, too.

In other words you need to find your niche and make it work for you. This will set you apart from your competition, and it will let certain brides know that if they’re looking for a specific kind of wedding it’s your company that they must immediately turn to. What do we mean? Consider these specialties, or niches:

* Second-time (or more) brides.
* Ethnic, multi-ethnic or international events.
* Bisexual, lesbian, gay or transgender weddings and ceremonies.
* Extra-large weddings. (Those with 500 guests or more.)
* Non-traditional services. (Those without a religious aspect and not held in a church)
* Beach weddings.
* Quirky weddings and events. (Think scuba enthusiasts, for example!)
* Bed and breakfast-type events. (Where you own the venue and do the planning.)

Finding your niche and sticking with it doesn’t mean that you turn away brides who are looking for your expertise. If you’ve done a good job in the past you’ve probably built up good word-of-mouth advertising, and new couples will search you out to make their event special, too. Finding your niche does mean that you’ll be known for a certain type of event and that you’re the expert at planning them.

Have any of you found your niche? Are you trying to incorporate your niche into your business?

According to research and statistics from WE tv Networks Wedding Report, the average cost of a wedding increased 21.9 percent in the first half of 2010, from $19,581 (in late 2009) to $23,867. That’s a good-size increase for the industry, and it should put a smile on the face of wedding planners everywhere. Despite the slow-to-churn economy, the wedding industry is growing, which means there are opportunities for success at every turn - if you know where to look. While not every service sector saw growth, most of them did. Let’s break down the increase (with more thanks to WE for these numbers):

* Planner/consultant a la carte services were up 84.2% at an average of $1,171.
* Gifts for the bride were up 53.1% at an average of $253.
* Hiring a consultant for initial planning was up 50.4% at an average of $920 - the sector with the biggest gain in spending.
* Other jewelry was down 61.7% at an average of $304.
* Reception accessories was down 55.3% at an average of $200.
* Ceremony accessories was down 49.7% at an average of $207 - the sector with the biggest decline in spending.

Demand went up in the first half of 2010 for products and services. Those with the biggest increases were travel and transportation and musicians, while demand went down the most for facials, manicures and pedicures and teeth whitening.

We don’t think there is a lot of surprise hidden in these numbers. It makes sense that brides are putting their money where it matters most and not with the frivolities often associated with weddings. Hiring a wedding planner to put together a budget at the very beginning makes perfect sense to us, and we’re not surprised to see an increase in that sector of the industry. What does this mean to LWPI’s certified wedding and event consultants? It shows you exactly how to market yourself in this down economy. Showing brides how to get the most bang for their buck is exactly what they’re looking for, and these numbers prove it. It’s easy to get down about business right now if you don’t look for the smaller opportunities. Offering smaller planning packages is a great way to get your foot in the door, and from there you can easily prove to a bride that she can’t live without you.

Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute is excited to welcome Nadia Lewis of N’Chantment Events to the blog today. According to Nadia, “N’Chantment Events is a Wedding and Event Planning business owned and operated by Nadia Lewis, a Certified Wedding and Event Planner. It is located in the Bronx and provides service throughout NYC. It was established in 2010. N’Chantment Events provides quality service that exudes elegance and charm through creating an atmosphere that clients, as well as their guests, will not only enjoy but will cherish as an experience of their lifetime while meeting every client’s budget.” Today Nadia will discuss a few ways to make every groom feel special. Afterall, it’s their special day, too! Here are a few of her tips:

1. Have a sports-themed shower for the groom and a few of his best friends and male family members, packed with beer, chips, pizza, sandwiches and Buffalo wings. The gifts should be exclusively for the groom.

2. Make the groom’s cake a must at the wedding, and incorporate the groom’s favorite hobby into the design.

3. Let the groom walk down the aisle to a song of his choice.

4. Incorporate the groom’s favorite color into the reception. Assuming that the groom likes navy blue, for example, a bride could incorporate it into the table linens or use it as the font color on menu cards.

5. Make plans for a surprise performance for the groom by either the bride or a paid entertainer, such as singing the groom’s favorite love song.

6. Honor the groom’s mother by allowing her to walk with the bride and her mother down the aisle.

7. Let the groom be completely in charge of an aspect of the wedding, such as the music or photography.

8. Send the groom and his groomsmen to get pampered, for example by planning haircuts, massages etc.

9. Give the groom a wedding-day gift of something he loves to do or watch. Sports tickets or personalized sporting equipment are great suggestions.

10. Get the groom’s opinion on male-geared favors for the reception.

Thanks, Nadia, for these fabulous ideas. It’s a great suggestion to make sure that the groom enjoys the wedding day, too, and also feels special. Please be sure to also visit Nadia’s blog and follow her on Twitter. If you are also a graduate of LWPI and would like to submit a guest blog, please contact Abby Langston, Lovegevity’s managing editor, at abby (at) lovegevity dot com.

As a certified wedding and event planner you are trained to be prepared for everything. This means unexpected pops and rips in gowns; unexpected tardy caterers and florists; and even unexpected requests from wedding guests. The point of a wedding is for couples to begin their new life together but to also begin it with their friends and family. They want their wedding to be beautiful and touching, but they also want it to serve as a gift to the people they plan to call on as they grow as a couple. This means that no matter what a guest needs their request should be taken care of. When you first meet with a couple and begin to plan their special day it’s a good idea to ask if anyone in either their wedding party or anyone on their guest list has special needs.

1) Do they have someone attending the wedding who is hearing prepared? Will they need an interpreter or special equipment made available to help these guests take part in the ceremony? This is an easy request to plan for, and it makes it easier on you - and the guest - if you know about what they need in advance.

2) Will there be guests who are unable to walk, or walk up steps? Make sure that the venue you choose has entrances made specifically for those with disabilities. It would also be a good idea to choose, perhaps, a specific usher or groomsman to help these guests to their seats. Grandparents are often a special part of the ceremony, and sometimes they need more help. Having a plan in place, including accessible parking, restrooms and reserved seating will make things go a lot smoother when guests begin to arrive at the wedding.

In addition make sure that their seats at the reception are accessible - not too high. This may mean a special, reserved table is required. When it comes to helping them at the reception try not to attract too much attention. Find out if they have a caregiver or relative who plans to help, and discreetly explain what has been set up for their convenience. Buffet tables could be an issue, too, so let the person know in advance what they’re dealing with.

3) Dietary concerns are an issue at every wedding no matter who is on the guest list. There are guests who vegetarians, guests with dairy and gluten intolerances, and guests with allergies. A well-planned meal with a few options that can please everyone is often in order. The bridal couple should know who and what type of preferences they are planning for, but remember to ask! They have a lot on their minds, and since planning a reception for possibly hundreds of people is stressful enough, remembering all the special requests they have is even more stressful.

4) And lastly, as always, plan for the unexpected. We know this seems counter-intuitive, but while your bridal couple knows about the people they’re inviting they don’t necessarily know about their guests’ dates. Thanks to most state and federal laws most buildings are handicap accessible in regards to walk-up ramps and restrooms. If your couple is planning to say their vows on the beach, however, you want to have a plan in place in case someone arrives who needs help. Organization and preparation are the keys to every successful wedding and event planner, and that means you! You know what they say: Expect the unexpected!

Do you have any tips for planning for the unexpected? Have you learned from experience what a wedding and event planner should be prepared for?

As the Internet has matured over the past decade, more and more consumers, including your prospective bridal clients, are utilizing social networking, ecommerce, and application websites to research, compare, and share information on all manner of goods and services. What was unthinkable just a few years ago is now commonplace: brides and grooms are making wedding planning decisions and hiring wedding vendors based solely on information they received from cyberspace.

Highlighting this trend was the news last week that The Knot, the top-rated wedding-related website for 2008, has purchased WedSnap, a site aiming to be the future of weddings by engaging web-savvy brides. In addition to a web-based wedding budget planning application and a wedding website search feature, the acquisition also includes the most popular Facebook wedding application, Weddingbook.

Social Networking Sites

An example of a regional social network geared toward the wedding market is Seattle-based Avant Bride. Featuring a directory of over 1,000 local wedding businesses, this website encourages brides to read and write vendor reviews, share their experiences through blogging and forums, and attend events to meet vendors and each other.

The Wedding Report, a research company that tracks and forecasts wedding industry trends, estimates the 2008 online wedding market was worth over $16 billion and accounted for approximately 13% of the total ecommerce retail market. Future projections indicate that online wedding sales will experience growth rates between 7% and 10%, reaching almost $23 billion over the next four years.

For the Certified Wedding Planner, it is vital to understand that eight out of ten engaged couples use the Internet for some or all of their wedding planning needs. The following table details the top ten reasons brides and grooms go online:

With the majority of newlyweds under the age of 27, it is natural that the percentage of the wedding market business conducted online will continue to increase. Each subsequent generation of brides- and grooms-to-be are more comfortable and more adept at finding solutions on the net. To continue to succeed in this evolving marketplace, or to successfully learn how to become a wedding planner, today’s CWP must not only be aware of the trends, but incorporate the technology of those trends.

According to recent surveys conducted by The Wedding Report, one out of three couples today use a social network site to communicate wedding information to their friends and family. That percentage will rise to more than half participating over the next few years. It is predicted that within ten years, nearly three out of four engaged couples will use social networks to replace traditional methods of sharing wedding details.

Today’s Internet is called Web 2.0: the trend toward technology and design aimed to enhance creativity, communications, secure information sharing, collaboration, and functionality of the web that includes social networking, video sharing, wikis, and blogs.

Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media and creator of the Web 2.0 term and concept, defines it as “the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.”

Even as we seek to understand and incorporate the advances and opportunities of the integrated and interactive web, technology continues to march forward. Internet experts are currently debating the definition and structure of Web 3.0, sometimes called the Semantic Web. Most agree that the next generation of the web will center on a pervasive, dynamic usage of Web 2.0 designs across newly invented technologies.

If you are asking what this means for your business, Shane McMurray of The Wedding Report has an answer:

· If you are not sure what social networking is, learn it. Read articles, books, or take a class, it should be a vital part of your business model going forward.

· Figure out how you can use or integrate social networking into your business model.

· Look at ways to integrate technology with your business processes. Think about the communication gadgets the younger generation is using. How will they communicate with you? How will they buy your products or services?

· Get connected. Set up profiles on social networks, connect with others, and promote your business.

How will you incorporate Internet interactivity and engagement into your wedding planning business?

Types of Internet Engagement