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Here Comes the Bride
What does she want? |
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Written by Amanda Ryder
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Wedding trends come, go, and come back again – what’s old is new and what’s new can become old with the flipping of the calendar. As wedding service providers, it’s your job to keep up on what’s in vogue. We talked with several experts to find out how larger industry trends such as wedding planners and online forums are affecting the wedding market and what brides for 2010 and 2011 are looking for.
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Statistics source: Weddingbells Reader Survey, 2009
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Weddingbells magazine is a go-to source for many brides throughout the planning process and Roseanne Dela Rosa, associate editor of the magazine, says one of the trends they’re seeing is a shift away from “cookie cutter” celebrations as couples gravitate to more personalized celebrations that focus specifically on the couple and their interests.
The magazine conducts a reader survey every year and the 2009 report (visit our website for a link to this) found that brides didn’t scale back on costs radically, as the average expected cost of the wedding still hovered around $19,000 to $20,000. “We think that brides are becoming smarter in their spending. As opposed to scaling back the wedding as a whole, they are prioritizing what’s really important to them,” says Dela Rosa. “If anything, one area that we have seen them scale back on is probably trimming their guest list.”
Dela Rosa says they’ve witnessed a rise in intimate ceremonies in which the nuptials will be followed with a more informal, post-celebration bash with the family. Ceremony locations have also changed as the bride and groom look beyond the conventional church and chapel. “We’ve seen a rise in different venue choices, so it’s not your typical wedding banquet hall. Couples are opting for art galleries, museums, gardens – definitely off the beaten path venues.”
Sharon McGukin, aifd, aaf, pfci, design director for Smithers Oasis, confirms this point and calls these types of weddings “local destinations.” Destination weddings in locations like the Caribbean are still popular but for couples who are looking to cut costs or have family members who can’t travel to exotic locales, a wedding held close to home lakeside or at a family member’s house is ideal. McGukin has also seen weddings move from formal occasions to more relaxed gatherings. “They’re becoming casual because families are more dispersed. They come together for weddings and they haven’t seen one another for a while. They want to spend more time together than at a formal function, so we’re seeing a lot more backyard barbeques as receptions or as rehearsal dinners.”
In previous years, the trend towards eco-friendly weddings has been on the rise, but McGukin believes it’s now taken a more realistic turn. “We found that being totally green is really difficult,” she says. “So a new trend is being greenish, which means that you are trying to be conscious, reuse, recycle and reposition, but you don’t have to have everything organic. You just make an effort to be as sensible about it as you can be.”
Wedding planners continue to be a constant in the bridal industry for busy couples who need a little extra help getting ready for the big day. Margarite Raposo, owner of Nice Stems, a Toronto florist that’s been serving the wedding and event market for five years, says wedding planners are great – when they focus on planning. “There are a lot of ‘planners’ who are inexperienced and who start to tinker in other areas of the wedding industry. I tell my clients to go with professional vendors who specialize in a specific field to get the best service.” Even when a wedding planner is involved, Raposo works to establish a relationship with the client. “I love dealing with my clients on a personal level as we are providing them with a product and service that they will associate with their wedding day for many years to come.” Wedding planners can also be great people to include in your network, so florists should make the effort to reach out to these people and create solid contacts.
With social networking and online forums continuing to grow, the Internet has become the place to be for future brides to exchange decoration ideas and swap vendor experiences. McGukin says this is even more of an incentive to do a fabulous job on every wedding. “It’s important you fulfil your obligations well, so that, if they are going to talk about you, it will be positive.” The upside is that these forums educate your client about your product and force you the florist to be on top of your game. “It’s really a perfect arrangement because when you have a consumer who knows what they want and knows the value of it, they’re easier to work with than when you have one that really doesn’t have a clue,” says McGukin.
Online forums can also serve as a place for brides to exchange penny-pinching tips or do-it-yourself instructions, but McGukin has a simple response to sway those clients. “One thing that florists need to emphasize to brides is that you might be a fabulous gourmet cook but, on the day of your wedding, you don’t want to be in the kitchen preparing a meal for your guests. And the same goes with flowers . . . . On your wedding, you want to be dressing beautifully and enjoying your family and friends and not hauling buckets of flower water and flowers.”
Raposo also believes that forums can be great exposure for a florist but knows that information travels fast via the Internet. “I do stay clear of brides who want quotes via e-mail like they are ordering from a fast food restaurant,” she says. Instead, she opts to meet with her clients first to discuss with them their floral options and give them a clear expectation of the type of flowers they’ll be getting from her shop.
These larger trends in the bridal industry no doubt are impacting how brides are finding your shop, the type of relationship you’ll have with the bride and what type of ceremony and reception couples are planning for on the big day.
Experts Weigh in on the Flowers
Here’s what our three experts say brides are looking for in terms of flowers styles:
Roseanne Dela Rosa, associate editor of Weddingbells magazine
“In terms of types of flowers, we’ve seen a lot of popular options for peonies and not just in a bouquet but on wedding cakes and cupcakes and invitation designs. Peonies are huge. Cabbage roses and ranunculous are other favourites that have increased in popularity in the past year. Also, we’ve seen a return of, what you could call underrated flowers like carnations and baby’s breath. A lot more brides are open to using flowers that they would probably wouldn’t have thought about using before.”
Sharon McGukin, aifd, aaf, pfci, design director for Smithers Oasis
“We are seeing a lot of ornamentation added to flowers, whether it’s the materials like the wire or accessories from companys like Smithers Oasis to create details in the bouquets like we are seeing in the dresses. . . We are finding texture is very important because texture is the richness of the design. It adds the luxurious look to the bouquets because a lot of the bouquets are somewhat smaller this year, budget being a factor. If you’re going to have a smaller bouquet then you really have to incorporate more detail into it to make it eye-catching,” says McGukin. “Encourage brides to use flea market finds – handkerchiefs, jewelry, things of that nature that they can bring in and have you pin them to the bouquet holders of the bridesmaid so it’s a special gift for them. Perhaps the bride uses that pin that was their grandmothers on their bouquet to go down the aisle because she’s no longer there. Looking for ways to do those adds on will help to overcome those budget constraints that we are dealing with at the moment.”
Margarite Raposo, owner of Nice Stems in Toronto
“Hand-tied bouquets are still the most popular choice. Bridal bouquets are full of lush flowers, with few or no greens. There’s an increase in loose bouquets with more movement by using different textures of flowers. We are also seeing a trend towards bold, vibrant coloured bouquets – brides are going for a more modern chic. With centrepieces, more brides are opting for a high/low approach. The head tables have tall arrangements and the others have low arrangements.”
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