Hello Event Consultants!

It’s that time of year again- everyone’s engaged. So, over the next few posts, we’re going to share some statistics we’ve collected from brides that we hope will be useful to you. This week, we asked brides who aren’t using an event wedding consultant to rate the top reasons they didn’t consider hiring a planner for their big day.

Of our respondents, 74.7% of brides listed being “too expensive” as their top reason for not hiring an event planner. Undoubtedly, there is a common misconception that do-it-yourself brides will automatically save money. In some cases they may, but if these brides were doing their research, they’d realize that, as a wedding planner, you have access to all the best vendors–with all the best discounts! You also know how to help your brides set up a realistic wedding budget, and stick to it! In the end, hiring a consultant could wind up saving the couple money. When marketing your business, you definitely want to promote your ability to create a fairy tale wedding, but also be conscious of the thrifty bride. Emphasize how you can get them the best bang for their buck.

44% of brides also included being a “do-it-yourself type of person” as an influence on their decision against enlisting the help of a consultant. It’s true; there are many crafty brides out there that, if they had the time, would come up with some truly amazing stuff. But, we ask you, in this day and age, who has the time? As a consultant, you know the fastest, most effective, and least expensive ways to conceptualize and actualize their wedding goals. Planning a wedding is a full time job; luckily, that’s why there are people like you to help.

Surprisingly, 33.1% of brides said that they don’t anticipate needing much help with their wedding day preparations. Brides often underestimate the complexity of blending their numerous ideas to form one complete theme. As a planner, you can see the big picture and can assist brides in creating a theme that flows throughout the entire wedding, not just the reception. Undoubtedly, some of those brides will change their minds and hire a planner, and you, as a wedding consultant are much more than a helper. A consultant serves as support, knowledge, and an inside connection to the industry. The fact of the matter is, you can guarantee a certain level of professionalism from vendors–and that’s something that any bride should be willing to pay for!

Finally, 25.2% of brides said they would feel uncomfortable handing over planning responsibilities to a consultant. It’s the biggest day of her life, and finding someone she really trusts to handle all the details can be difficult. But if you work to form a personal connection with your brides and gain their trust, word of mouth will spread quickly. As you know, becoming a bride’s confidant will make the whole planning process run more smoothly, so a great way to gain her trust is to position yourself as her compassionate ally.

Now that you know the assumptions that you’re up against, you can more easily counter objections and misinterpretations and market yourself accordingly. Keep checking back for more interesting tidbits on what’s going on inside the heads of brides-to-be!