How to get into the wedding market ?

[shpangle]

Hi all,

I make jewellery and specialise in preserving items into resin jewellery. I have recently completed some custom orders for ladies who wanted their wedding flowers preserved into pendants.

I would really like to get into the wedding market and offer this service but have no idea how best to approach this. Does anyone know which door or doors I should be looking to open to enter the wedding market ?

 

[robertw]

Hi
My wife works on ad sales for weddingpath.co.uk one of the largest wedding websites in the uk. feel free to call her on 07932 601381 she will be able to advise you on the market and how best to promote yourselves.
Good luck

 

[Ashley_Price]

Don't think we've spoken before, so welcome to UKBF.

Okay, why not get in contact with other wedding suppliers - I have a client who provide handmade stationery, wedding and christenings are big things for her.

I also know of another "unusual" jewellery service who silver- and gold-plates seashells, horseshoes and the like.

If you would like I can contact them and see what they say about linking up with you.

 

[shpangle]

Many thanks Robertw I will look into that ! There seems to be so many wedding suppliers and advertisers out there I am not sure where to start.

Many thanks Ashley Price. I need all the help I can get with this one. I think that I am offering a service that is fairly unique and the orders that I have completed have gone down very well. Any help would be very much appreciated !

 

[Ashley_Price]

Doing it now for you!!

 

[Alicatt]

Hi,

I would start by putting something about wedding memories onto your website home page so that when brides express an interest, they can see something. The internet is key for wedding businesses today as so many brides plan and chat on-line.

Then go to all the on-line wedding planning websites and sign up for as many free directories as you can (most aren't worth paying for).

There are more ideas in this article:

No cost wedding marketing

Once you have established there is sufficient demand from brides, you can look into paid-for marketing such as wedding fairs, magazine adverts.

I had a Flowers Forever franchise some years back and did find it quite a difficult sell - brides get so caught up with planning for the day they forget about preserving their flowers etc. My busiest day was Monday/Tuesday whan a harrassed mother of the bride would call - the bride would dump the bouquet with instructions to get it preserved then swan off on honeymoon. All her poor mum wanted to do was put her feet up and recover!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.


Alison

 

[shpangle]

Many thanks for that Alison. You are completely right in that my online identity has absolutely nothing wedding related within it. Its something that has just evolved following what I do and now I can see a possible future market for it.

Thats probably step 1 for me, to make my website more attractive to the wedding market. I also agree with your other comment. The only orders I have had so far are from people who have had flowers stuck in the loft for years and then came across me !!

Many thanks for your very useful comments !

 

[ORDERED WEB]

Hi all,

I make jewellery and specialise in preserving items into resin jewellery. I have recently completed some custom orders for ladies who wanted their wedding flowers preserved into pendants.

I would really like to get into the wedding market and offer this service but have no idea how best to approach this. Does anyone know which door or doors I should be looking to open to enter the wedding market ?

1. there are many more websites than wedding path - hitched, confetti and wedding ideas magazine are easily the most busy
2. Wedding flowers are much bigger than a pendant
3. Wedding websites are pretty concentrated on "pre-wedding" planning you may need to focus on "post wedding preservation" the sort of lady who preservs her wedding dress, has it cleaned, and specially boxed, will be the sort of lady wanting to preserve her flowers
4. think beyond the bride. your idea may make a perfect "thank you present" for bridesmaids, mother in law, mum etc..
5. We are wedding planners, wedding photograaphers and website designers, We may be able to help a lot
6. most wedding ideas relate to the day, not to "memories" of the day. That is your main angle
7. you may do best if you expand your product range to "on the day" bridal jewelry. In that way, you can then sell a package of products, including your resin products

 

[shpangle]

Hi and many thanks for your useful reply.

1. I agree there are lots and lots of wedding sites out there...some good and some bad, some charge lots and some are free which is one of the reasons why I started this thread.
2. Not all flowers are bigger than a pendant. I have been embedding flowers such as Statice (a common wedding flower) into pendants. I have not just been doing flowers for people..I have also been preserving other wedding related items such as confetti, table confetti, wine glass charms into pendants, the list goes on...
3. I agree, post wedding preservation is what I do.
4. Nice idea. Keepsakes for wedding guests or bridesmaids etc would be good.
5. Wedding planners, photographers and website designers...blimey you do a lot !!
6. I agree. Memories of the wedding day is what I do.
7. Nice idea, however at the moment I would like to concentrate on what I do best and that is preserving items into pieces of jewellery.

Thankyou again for some very useful ideas and taking the time in giving me some help !!!

Mick

 

[travellady]

I always find that small local wedding fairs have been a good for my business and usually find the same suppliers there every year. Ususally low in cost compared to the larger national wedding fairs.

Try contacting all local hotels and finding out when they have there's. Also you could infact ask them if you could be their recommended supplier and have your leaflets sent out with their Wedding info packs!!

 

[Promotional-Videos]

Have you considered visiting the nationalweddingshow co.uk in Earls Court in October for market research purposes? Promotional Videos are working with a number of the exhibitors there.

Matt

 

[david poole]

you might want to chat to my mum

http://www.wedding-cakes-flowers.com/

cheers david

 

[bestforbride]

Weddings are always grand celebrations. That's why the business on wedding planning has grown each year.

 

[dadii]

Get in touch with local wedding venues and see if they can help/advise.

Also be prepared to do a few freebies - especially if you can get some brides/bridesmaids wearing your stuff and agreeing to have some nice photos taken.

Generally in the wedding market, it pays to build a network. Weddings are very bespoke things and most of the sales work is done on referals - so build up a network of venues, photographers, florists, makeup artists, clothing boutiques etc etc

Good luck

 

[Hayles]

I agree that wedding exhibitions would be excellent for you as you're offering something different. Take plenty of examples and literature. You don't have to pay a fortune to attend the exhibition - smaller ones can work just as well if you've got the right product and there's not too much competition. How about offering a prize to the organisers for a reduced cost of the stand (or a bigger stand for a small stand price)? This could bring you in some good exposure. From experience, organisers (especially of smaller events) want to entice as many visitors as poss and like to use free gifts/draws, etc. to help.

Also, try visiting as many wedding dress shops as you can and show them what you do. It's normal in this area for a wedding shop to give out a little 'goody bag' of information (you may have to pay to put your leaflet in it). They usually have displays of jewellery or small gifts too so they may sell your products for you (small commission payable of course).

And def team up with other suppliers (cakes, invitations, balloons, caterers, car hire, etc.) wherever poss. Most of the businesses will be small businesses like you so don't be scared to contact them - they're in the same boat as you remember

Best of luck

H

 

[eventdomain]

I'm telling you the nationalweddingshow is the top wedding exhibition alive, and stand space alone will cost you £££££. They dont appear to have any stand space pricing, but I can assure you the RSVP show was asking for £1000 a day for their stand space, so just expect the same sort of fees.

A small display stand for your exhibition will set you back maybe £170 - £380, depending on what you need. A good website to check out is
http://www.pod-exhibition-systems.c...+Counters&sci=151&c=Portable+Furniture&ci=116

(which are one of my clients) and it has one of the best ranges of stands and accessories about.

I'm a former venue manager, and owner of the world's largest event promotion engines, and I can help you regarding promoting event-related businesses online.

I can get you in front of the event buying public faster than anyone else!

Private mail me if you want to know more.

regards

Eventdomain

 

[dagaul101]

You could simply find out the top wedding organisation sites, and give them a call!

 

[zgj512]

You can consider to open a online shop on eBay. As i know there are many costomers on eBay.