At last year’s Business of Weddings a discussion began.
It became shockingly apparent that we are not keeping up with information on our own wedding statistics. This is information that we need for our businesses!

There are basic CSO stats but they are simply the numbers and of weddings, where they took place and ages of the couples. Plus the CSO seem to be a bit behind because they do not even have those statistics ready for 2008, 2009 and 2010. Believe me I have asked.

We had no idea what brides were spending and where.

How they were shopping and why.

What their priorities were for their wedding purchases what they were most likely to DIY.

Where they are getting married and what the trends are.

AND how they were affected by the recession.

So I got a crazy idea { a regular occurrence by me. Just ask my husband}. I would do it myself.  Create a survey of real Irish brides and ask them the questions we wanted to know.

I contacted Mrs2be because I knew they had access to the brides I would need and as they attended The Business of Weddings 2010 I had a good idea they would be up for it. So off we went and surveyed over 1200 newlywed and engaged couples.

At The Business of Weddings on 9th & 10th November in Mallow, Co Cork, we will go through and discuss all of what we found out and most importantly, our speakers also have all of the statistics so they can tell you what this information means to you!

We have published some of the results but if you attend the Mallow event you will get the full details on the survey results. In the meantime, here is a little snippet:

For newlyweds in 2010 and 2011, the average cost of their wedding, including honeymoon, was just under €29,000.

A detailed breakdown of  what brides are spending:

Ceremony Venue (including donations)                            €461
Reception Venue                                                              €9,751
Reception Band                                                                 €1,762
Reception DJ                                                                     €384
Photographer                                                                                         €1,632
Videographer                                                                                          €1,071
Wedding Planner / Coordinator                                                  €1,150
Wedding Dress                                                                                       €1,329
Bridal Party Attire                                                                               €970
Wedding Jewellery                                                                               €618
Beauty / Hair and Makeup                                               €428
Florist / Décor                                                                                       €613
Invitations / Other Stationery                                         €351
Wedding Cake                                                                                        €329
Ceremony Musicians / Singers                                                     €419
Wedding Day Transportation                                                       €427
Wedding Favours                                                                               €210
Wedding Accessories / Candles                                                   €204
Miscellaneous Costs                                                                           €1,320
The Honeymoon                                                                                 €5,506

So where do you fit in? Where do you want to fit in? Here is more:

December is by far the most popular month to get engaged. Just under 1 in 4 of all engagements happen in this single month. February is the second most popular month, but it is closely followed by October. So another while to wait ladies, if you’re still waiting to be asked!

September is the most popular month for getting married, followed by July, June and August. January is the least popular month for tying the knot.

Average age of the bride is 30 and average age of the groom is 32.

We’re seeing long periods of engagement with 2 or more years being the most common

Average guest numbers to the full sit down meal range from 100 to 150 guests but a surprisingly high number of engaged respondents (more than 1 in 5) indicated that they would be inviting more than 200 guests to the full day.
And you can find more teasers on Mrs2be.ie here but remember if you want to know what these numbers mean to you, you have to attend The Business of Weddings Ireland.
See you there!

Annie

I don't normally do a posts directly to wedding professionals but The Business of Weddings Ireland is something I am passionate about and know that in order to be understood and really tell you what it is about that I should write about it. Tell you the whys and what fors instead of just giving you the basic information and sending you to the website.

Firstly and mainly, we are not going to sell you anything. We are going to talk. Talk about becoming better. Talk about marketing. Not advertising. Marketing. And today, one of the best marketing platforms is networking. In person and with social media. Networking is creating a dialogue. Talking weddings. That is what we are going to do. Talk. Marketing. Networking. Educating. Weddings. Growing business. Together. Better.

The conference came about because I want to attend a conference like The Business of Weddings Ireland and couldn’t find one - A conference for wedding professionals given by wedding professionals. I know another seminar is held regularly now and is billed as a wedding marketing seminar. The speakers were business experts and great businessmen but  not specifically for weddings. In fact last year {for the first time} they had one wedding marketing professional and it was my speaker from last years Business of Weddings. You see in actuality, they are marketing to you. You were their market. If you are in the wedding industry {and I don't think you would be reading this if you weren't} you know that marketing and selling to brides is more delicate. You are selling them an emotion. A feeling. A dream.

So I couldn’t find a conference or national wedding networking event that I wanted to attend here in Ireland so I decided I’d do it myself.

But it’s not about me. I am not a speaker and I am certainly not a wedding marketing expert. I do not proclaim to be. I am learning and growing and adapting, just like all of you. I have done my research and learned a lot but I need more. More knowledge and more contacts. I need and want to grow my business and grow within the wedding community and meet more people in the industry. I also love networking events and think it is vital for us to meet each other where ever we are in the country. We are in this together!

Last year, the first year of the event, I met some amazing people and made great connections with others in the wedding community who are like-minded and passionate and supportive. It is so exciting! Imagine what we can do when 40 of us {or more!} get together.

Also something that needs to be pointed out is that I tried really hard to make this affordable. I have no sponsors, and no backing, just your support. This is not a money making venture. This is a sincere desire to see people with  passion in what they do to come together. If I could do it for free I would.

So the bottom line is the mission statement: “ The mission of the conference is to inspire and assist small wedding businesses to maintain excellence through education and collaboration.”

I really really hope to meet you there!

Annie

Live, Love, Laugh and Dream!