Wedding Stars – The Company You Wanna Keep

Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman

We walked the blue carpet last night with the celebrities of the wedding industry at Something Blue: Engage09, the luxury symposium for wedding professionals. With an unprecedented roster of wedding industry VIP’s attending this event, it was like the Oscars of the bridal business. The sheer number of wedding guru’s here is astounding and only Rebecca Grinnals and Kathyrn Arce of Engaging Concepts, are connected enough to pull this off. Wedding stars I personally met and talked with include Darcy Miller (Martha Stewart Weddings), Millie Bratten, (Brides.com), Susan Moynihan (Destination Weddings & Honeymoons), Toni van der Meer (Modern Bride/Elegant Bride), Sean Low (Preston Bailey Designs), Randy Fenoli (Say Yes to The Dress), Stacie Francombe (Get Married), Harmony Walton (Bridal Bar) and of course, my former boss and the maven of The Knot, Carley Roney – we hung on the beach earlier in the day! And I still haven’t met Sylvia Weinstock (Cake Diva) yet!! The absolutely stunning beach party at Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, began by checking our peds at the “shoe valet”. Our little toes ready to be tickled by sand, we walked the blue carpet and were filmed by the TV crew, producing a cable show about this 3-day event. It was a gathering of the top 175 wedding professionals in the U.S. on 7 mile beach that culminated in fireworks choreographed to opera music. Hot tip for the serious wedding professionals out there, you could have been here. What does it take? An investment of your marketing dollars. If you are not reinvesting part of your revenues into marketing then you are not in the game. Get off the bench, network and don’t miss an opportunity to upgrade the company you keep.

1 Million Brides Shop For Wedding Flowers Online

Every Weekend 750+ brides have Wedding Flowers that were purchased at FiftyFlowers.com

Nearly ten years ago, FiftyFlowers.com envisioned that brides could order wedding flowers online, reduce their carbon footprint and save 75% on the cost of wedding day blooms. Today one million brides shop for wedding flowers at FiftyFlowers.com each year. With 500 to 1000 brides and event planners ordering for each weekend, the focus on budget-friendly and quality assured flowers is paying off and FiftyFlowers.com is emerging as a formidable force in wedding flowers.

Only FiftyFlowers.com specializes in weddings and ships flowers direct to the customer’s doorstep. The alternative flower journey includes shipping from the grower to a U.S. port, then to a wholesaler, then to a local florist, then to the wedding.

“Wedding flowers online is eco-chic, economical and the bride gets exactly what she wants,” comments Liza Roeser Atwood, Founder and CEO of FiftyFlowers.com. “The bride shops by color and variety to select her flowers. She orders based on how much design and processing she wants to do. Bulk flowers are ideal for the DIY bride. For non-crafty brides, we offer Wedding Flowers in a Box which arrives ready to go and includes finished corsages, bouquets, centerpieces and boutonnieres.”

FiftyFlowers.com offers more than 2000 varieties and three options for ordering:
1) Bulk – for the DIY bride (single variety or combo boxes available)
2) Pre-made centerpieces – just drop in a vase (hundreds of colors)
3) Wedding flowers in a box – ready to go (nine collections with 30 color options)

FiftyFlowers.com is the leading provider of farm direct flowers devoted exclusively to weddings and events. The website, www.FiftyFlowers.com, garners one million unique visitors per year, offers more than 2000 flower varieties, and includes hundreds of inspiring photos of real weddings and bride testimonials. FiftyFlowers.com caters to brides with exceptional customer service and seamless ordering of wedding flowers online. Established in 1999, FiftyFlowers.com is privately held and the leading consumer direct flowers website exclusively serving brides.

Get Married Announces a New National Wedding Magazine

Launching a National Magazine

Are bridal magazines still the fastest growing category on newsstands today? Get Married obviously thinks so and announced today that their magazine “offers a fresh perspective to wedding planning in a free, glossy publication”. Get Married will be the only multi-channeled wedding planning resource with platforms in print, online and on television every weekday.  The Get Married team describes the step as “making it the most comprehensive and integrated wedding resource” available today. Get Married magazine is scheduled to publish its first issue October 2009. The format is described as a ”new shopping & trend guide for the savvy bride” and the first several issues will be distributed to approximately 300,000 brides.  This third platform brings a tactile and fresh experience to a new generation of brides who aspire to discover new inspirations on TV, online and in print. “Get Married magazine rounds out our truly integrated approach to wedding planning, and will continue to capture the excitement of brides who watch, surf and read their way through designing every moment of their wedding celebration,” said Stacie Francombe, founder and president of Get Married and GetMarried.com.

Editorial submissions will be accepted until August 16, 2009 and ideas should be submitted to Executive Editor, Stephanie.Davis@GetMarried.com .

Limited advertising opportunities are initially available in the 8″ x 10.5″ publication. Advertising deadline is September 1, 2009. For more information about advertising, contact MagSales@GetMarried.com or call 877.848.0331.

Destination Weddings are Fastest Growing Niche

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine unveiled the results of their latest bride survey this week. Contrary to the wedding budget cuts covered by the press in recent weeks, the good news is that brides planning a destination wedding are actually increasing spending!! Check out a few highlights from the survey.

Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Spending is Up! While the traditional wedding budget has decreased in recent months, destination wedding spending has increased 4% from $19,800 in 2006 to $20,600 in 2009.

Destination Couples Utilize Travel Resources! Travel websites garner 71% of brides planning a destination nuptials while 63% use www.destinationweddingmag.com website to find the spot.

Location, Weather and Cost are Top Choices! As most destination weddings are outdoor affairs, weather is the most important factor, prioritized by 91% of couples, followed by cost (88%) and availability of packages (80%).

Older, Educated and Finanically Secure! The destination bride is an average age of 33 while the U.S average is 28. And she’s smart – 70% have graduated college and average household income is $110,000.

Couple who choose destination weddings love to travel and want the freedom to have their wedding, their way. The increased spending is an indication that destination weddings are surpassing traditional celebrations. By 2009, the destination wedding market will be valued at $16 Billion – an increase of nearly 50% in the last 3 years!

A big thanks to the Editors at Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine for sharing this exciting news!

 

For more statistics, email lisa@theweddington.com

The Knot hits the silver screen

The upcoming wedding movie, Bride Wars coming to the big screen on January 9th will put the number one wedding brand, The Knot, in front of even more brides-to-be.  In the movie Bride Wars, things turn ugly between best friends (played by Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway) when their wedding plans conflict. As wedding professionals who service brides don’t miss the opportunity to view the film and reconnect with your target audience.

How does a wedding expert get married?

www.chrisgillyardphoto.com

It was just over two months ago that I added being a bride (in a world oversaturated by bridal media and during the threat of uncertain economic times) to my wedding industry experience. And even with my years of working with brides and wedding professionals, I couldn’t help but become and start behaving like a bride myself. My recent experience was a precursor to what we can all expect from brides in 2009: I felt compelled to trim costs and often wondered if we should really be spending so much money for just one day. I wanted to spend responsibly and be sure that I was getting the best service for the best price. I desperately wanted an expert that I could trust get everything right. Thank goodness, I had an incredible wedding planner, Heather Snively of Weddings Unique, who listened and provided expert guidance every step of the way. The key to doing business with brides in 2009 will be earning their TRUST. We know that brides have always been overwhelmed but now we will find them under an entirely new level of pressure as she navigates more services providers, plummeting prices and feels a greater responsibility to evaluate spending decisions more closely. The sales process will be unlike previous years in that she will want to shop around and may take more time to commit. The good news is that quality wedding professionals will survive this market if they are encouraged and view it as an opportunity to sharpen communications, re-evaluate key messages, update sales materials, showcase their levels of service and ultimately find a way to earn her trust.