Wedding Marketing Blog

Marketing your wedding business is crucial. Getting your name out there and being seen. However, big changes are happening in wedding advertising and marketing. It used to be the only option was print advertising, then online advertising where wedding suppliers and wedding service providers are able to cover a larger, worldwide market. Now enter social media marketing. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to name a few, is viral and you are actually having conversations with your target market and your peers.

How do you put it all together? What does your bride expect in this economy? How do you close the sale and still keep your profits?

It seems Annie Byrne, of Aislinn Events, a Wedding Planner based in Kerry, asked herself these questions and decided maybe others were asking them too.  To answer them, she is putting on The Business of Weddings Ireland conference. I had a chat with her recently and this is a bit of our conversation.

What is The Business of Weddings Ireland conference about?

It is about a lot really. Getting the Irish wedding community together and supporting each other. Educating ourselves as to what is going on in the industry as a whole in Ireland and in America.  How to utilize Social Media marketing to find brides in our target market and once we have found them, getting to grips with what brides are doing and expect  in this climate. How we can really sell our services to them at the price we are worth.

So will engaged couples be attending that we can meet and tell about our services?

No. This is strictly wedding business to wedding business. We need to be able to speak freely and frankly with each other.

Then why are you doing it?

I had been looking for something like this to attend for years. The only similar conferences or seminars I found that were strictly for wedding businesses were in America. Also I have been networking locally and attending smaller educational seminars for businesses but none of them seemed to fill the niche I needed for my wedding business. A creative, service based industry. Selling to a bride is totally different than selling a more tangible retail object to the general public. It is much more sensitive. Long story short, I decided to have one myself.

Surely there are others out there?

None that I have found. None that are by the wedding industry for the wedding industry and not trying to sell you something. I have allowed space for businesses to stand up and talk about their businesses but as a way of introducing themselves to the group. I genuinely believe that together we are our best marketing resource and by collaborating as an industry together in Ireland we become stronger businesses and a stronger league of professionals.  By the way, if anyone knows of another one in Ireland I’ll be there! so let me know!

Are you one of the speakers?

Oh my gosh, no. I am wedding planner, not a marketing expert. And I’m terrified of public speaking! I have learned a lot and have had to learn and adapt quickly to keep business my business forward just like other wedding businesses . I am leaving that up to our speaker and professional, Meghan Ely. Meghan’s business is OFD Consulting in America, a niche marketing and public relations group that offers specific and comprehensive services to small businesses in the wedding industry. I had followed Meghan’s wedding business blog for months so when I needed an expert I knew who to call.

Where and when will it be?

At the Muckross Park Hotel in Killarney on the 2nd and 3rd of November. That’s a Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s a beautiful hotel and I wanted this to be a bit of a retreat for everyone as well. Someplace we all could really relax. No one place was going to suit everyone but Killarney is easily accessible to even Dublin based suppliers with flights to Kerry airport and good train links from everywhere. Also I wanted to get this in before ‘engagement season’ of December and January when the enquiries will be coming in!

Where can wedding business owners find out more about the conference?

There has been a website set up specifically. http://www.thebusinessofweddings-ireland.com/index.html and anyone interested can register on the website or contact me directly on annie@aislinnevents.com or phone 087 6761900 to make other arrangements or ask further questions.

Anything else we should know?

I suppose to say that I have tried to make it really affordable for everyone from new to established wedding businesses and that is suitable for anyone involved in the wedding industry. Anyone selling to brides today. I have had a good and very positive response so am really looking forward to meeting everyone that I know from Facebook and Twitter along with new colleagues in person! Thanks Keith!