Wedding Industry - IBISWorld

couple reached about $2,500 in 2008, up from less than
$1,000 in 1999. More wedding photos are now being taken
and purchased, while improved post-production services
are a way to add value to increase revenue. This trend
bodes well for lenders, but high photography skills, wordof-mouth
recommendations, and project management ability
are all required for a wedding photographer to succeed.
Furthermore, photography is one of the highest discretionary
areas within the wedding market. During tough times,
many couples will turn to friends and family to produce
the memories of their special day.
Wedding Planners
Planning a wedding can be very daunting for some couples
and their families. For those who choose to hire a wedding
planner, this expenditure can be one of the highest costs.
Not all couples hire wedding planners, which increases the
risk for this sector because it accounts for greater discretionary
spending than many of the other wedding sectors. While
only 2% of total wedding market revenue is derived from
wedding planners, it can often be above 20% for individual
weddings because a couple may hire a wedding planner to
organize everything from A to Z.
Wedding planners experience risks similar to those faced
by other wedding sectors. After all, in arranging a wedding,
the planner deals with every one of those industries. One of
the biggest constraints for wedding planners is incorporating
their markups on top of prices quoted by third parties.
Successful wedding planners maintain strong relationships
with a wide range of service providers, have a good reputation,
and are able to provide unique solutions to meet
individual client demands. Lenders must recognize these
success factors and understand the financial responsibilities
and liabilities involved when wedding planners are managing
multiple service providers.
The “Other” Category
“Other” captures all the remaining items that a typical wedding
includes. Some are more traditional purchases (invitations,
reply cards, and rehearsal dinners), while others are
more discretionary in nature (transportation and music).
For nearly all of these services, there can be a high risk of
product or service substitution, and an operator without
significant recognition will experience low customer attainment
and sales.
Conclusion
Ranging from accommodation and food services to retail,
transportation, and professional services, the industries
involved in organizing and carrying out a single wedding
event are significant. For industries with a high revenue
concentration associated with weddings (such as wedding
planners and photographers), the success of their business
is linked directly to the economic and social trends affecting
wedding spending. For the many other service providers,
wedding-related revenues are a key variable in business
performance and profitability.
For lenders to these businesses, the high level of competition
and the ease of substitution among service providers
pose additional business risks. Since getting repeat business
from satisfied customers has its limits, the most successful
operators benefit from consistently high word-of-mouth
recommendations and referrals. Given the length of time
from engagement announcement to wedding day, operators
with a strong track record and well-established businesses
will have a distinct advantage in generating and managing
an order book consistent with their business capacity. v
••
Toon van Beeck and George Van Horn are senior analysts with IBISWorld. They can
be reached at toonv@ibisworld.com and georgev@ibisworld.com.
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The RMA Journal December 2010–January 2011 27