Once considered simple affairs, the ambiance of weddings has transformed considerably in the past couple of decades. While many people still prefer a low-key setting with friends and family, an increasing number of people are willing to spend $10,000 or more on their special day.
This level of extravagance has produced an entire industry of vendors, planners, and businesses that cater to every need you could expect at a wedding. Many wonder why and how such an array of wedding services suddenly has appeared. A variety of small business owners have now taken advantage of these trends – let’s talk about them and how they came to be.
The “Keeping Up with the Jones” Attitude
One major element in why weddings have become such big and lavish affairs relates to simple human psychology. On major occasions, people like to show off; 2017’s average US wedding price was around $35,000. As such, it should come as no surprise that more and more couples are aiming to do things bigger and better on their wedding days.
In addition to this, an increased amount of peer pressure has arisen – people who want to have large weddings feel as if they must pull out all the stops in order to please their guests. This has led to a dramatic increase in the cost of an average wedding and is likewise fueling the growth of small businesses that cater to weddings.
Desire for Custom Wedding Favors
Every married couple-to-be wants to have a beautiful, memorable wedding. This often translates into a variety of custom and unique wedding favors, decorations, venue selections and ideas to make the big day a fantastic one. Such dreams and desires have led to many unique small businesses serving couples.
From conflict-free wedding rings to private dancing lessons before the big day, plenty of small businesses have found ways to cash in on weddings. If you’re looking for a bit of inspiration for how to create custom wedding favors, check out DIY Experience for some great ideas.
Price Gauging Businesses
The overall costs of a wedding have increased dramatically in recent years. This has led to an almost inflationary-like effect on weddings where not only are businesses charging more but people are willing to pay more. With the competition of wanting to have the best wedding and the exorbitant fees, many businesses charge, more and more small businesses have found a foothold in the wedding industry by charging more.
This price gauging has led to a greater prevalence of new and smaller businesses in the wedding industry that can provide any number of services imaginable. What would have once seemed like an unsustainable business model can now be a recurring source of great revenue for those entrepreneurs who know how to pitch a particular service or product to couples.
With these three converging factors – peer pressure, an insistence for customization and ever-increasing prices – it should be no surprise that substantial growth in the wedding industry is occurring. As more and more couples are willing to pay more and more for services and goods, this provides opportunities for those who can supply them.
