What do you think wedding clients and engaged couples planning a wedding will want and value most in the coming year? Is it a larger guest list? Is it a band over a DJ? Is it a foodie, restaurant-like catering menu? Is it a remote destination? Is it none of the above?

It’s always such a heady question to try to predict what wedding clients will need and want, especially engaged couples who have never planned a wedding before…they are even harder to nail down in such an unsettling time of their lives! But after being in the wedding and event business and serving thousands of engaged clients for over 15 years, I have thoughts on the subject of what couples will want and what they need. I also have some tips on simple and free things you can do right now to make their wedding planning experience smoother and, dare I say, more enjoyable.

I was recently quoted in the Wedding IQ blog about what modern engaged couples want this year. Please head over there to read the full article with more tips about what you can do and little shifts your business can make to better serve your clients.

wedding business marking advice from Julianne Smith

Photo From: “The 5 C’s: What Modern Couples Value Most in 2023” on Wedding IQ

In the meantime, I’m here to give you some wedding business marketing and advice on how you can attract more of your ideal clients this year. When you know what your ideal clients truly want, not what they say they want or what the think they want, rather what the need, you’ll be in a much better place to offer your services and exceed their expectations.

If you spend some time really putting yourself in their shoes, thinking about what’s going through their minds and their biggest stressors when it comes to not only planning their wedding but also living their life at the same time, that’s when you can really dial in how to best serve them.

Here’s my advice on what today’s engaged clients want - and expect - from their wedding professionals. And, I wouldn’t be me without offering you a little bit of advice on how to give the people want they want. I promise you, it’s easier than you think!

It’s All About Personality

Regarding their customer experience, here is what I think wedding clients will value most this year in working with their wedding vendors. I don’t care if you’re a wedding photographer, caterer, florist, or any of the many, many professionals who serve engaged couples, engaged couples are more and more interested in a personal connection with each and every one of the vendors that they work with and sign a contract with for their wedding.

It’s all about that personality fit between the customer and the business owner. Do they get along with this person? Could they see themselves hanging out with this person, not in a business setting?

Personality has always mattered, but not nearly as much as it does now. In the past, I’d argue that price played an even better role than actually getting along with wedding vendors.

Engaged couples and clients this year value - even more than in the past - clicking on a personal level with their wedding vendors. Above price, they want to hire vendors who they like and would spend time with outside of planning their wedding.

Core Values Matter

Yes, personality matters when it comes to who engaged couples hire. But, taking that a step further, I also think that value alignment matters to wedding clients. Engaged couples care a great deal about the core values of the business AND the core values of the person that they hire for their wedding.

Wedding clients are looking to work with vendors that they get along with, as well as vendors who align with their personal values and beliefs. What matters to them has to matter to the professionals that they work with for their wedding. Period.

Engaged couples don’t see their wedding vendor relationship as a black and white, hiring situation, they see it as more of a connection on a deeper level. As one of their wedding vendors, you are working “with” them not “for” them. You are invited to join their team and be a part of their family. Your personal and professional values matter a whole lot to engaged couples planning a wedding.

Potential clients want to know where their wedding vendors stand on certain issues, not related to the wedding work. They want to work with and support wedding vendors that care about the same issue that they care about.

Photo From: “The 5 C’s: What Modern Couples Value Most in 2023” on Wedding IQ

The Pre-Interview

With access to people’s personal life and behind-the-scenes moments on event day or how the business side works, clients have more and more opportunities to “pre-interview” their wedding vendors even before they reach out for pricing information. As engaged couples are placing enormous value on personality and values over pricing, they are spending more and more time pre-interviewing their vendors without their vendors even knowing.

Many wedding professionals think that they can just wait to get on the phone and then seal the deal with a potential client. They will win them over on the phone. But, that’s not the case anymore.

What your social media first, and your website second says about you and your business matters more than your phone skills. It will determine if you even get the chance to even get on the phone with a potential client, let alone send over pricing information.

Give Them Front Row SEATS

With more and more clients placing value on getting along with their vendors on a personal level and wanting to know where their vendors stand on issues, social media is going to be key to helping wedding professionals not only share their work but also share their behind-the-scenes.

With the multitude of social media sites like Instagram and TikTok, as well as search engines like Google, Pinterest, and YouTube, vendors can show more of their personalities and give potential clients the full experience of what it’s like to work with them. Instead of waiting for that consultation phone call where you explain how your process works and what they can expect on your wedding day, you can use social media and your website to show your personality, show your process and allow yourself and your business to be pre-interviewed easily.

Wedding clients today are craving this front-row access to what it’s like to work with their vendors and third-party platforms like social media allow vendors to give them what they want. Give it to them. Give them what they want.

You have your phone with you at all times so use it to take photos and videos. It doesn’t have to be perfect, (In fact, many would argue the less perfect, the better.) or be posted in real-time at the moment when you’re actually working at a wedding. You can take the content and post it later, after the fact. But, make a plan for sharing your behind-the-scenes moments as a way of booking your next set of clients.

Manage Their Expectations

Engaged couples want to see your personality and your values, but, more importantly, they expect to see it. They won’t want to have to work hard to find out, ask about your business’s core values or know where you stand. This information should be front and center on your website and your social media.

Engaged couples expect that they will get to see behind-the-scenes moments as well as learn about you on your social media and your website. Yes, they want to see your galleries and examples of your work in those beautiful, curated images, but they also expect to see the nitty-gritty of running a business. They want to know that you’re a human being too, just like them.

Quote From: “The 5 C’s: What Modern Couples Value Most in 2023” on Wedding IQ

So, what do you think? Do you agree that couples be sure to head over to the Wedding IQ blog and read the full article on what modern engaged couples value most this year.

If you’re a creative small business serving the wedding and event industry - such as a wedding planner, photographer, rental company, florist, invitation designer and more - and you need help with your online marketing, content creation (aka blogging), or your Pinterest account, please send me an email at info@juliannesmith.com or check out my done-for-you and training services for wedding pros. I’d love to work with you to maximize your creativity and the overwhelm and work with the clients that you want to work with!

For more tips and advice on the wedding industry, be sure to check out past blog posts and sign up for my weekly emails where I’ll send you all kinds of wedding business education nuggets in 100 words or less!