10 words & Phrases wedding businesses should stop using & What to say Instead

This is the post that you don’t want to hear, but you need to hear. It’s everything that wedding and event businesses are probably saying, but need to stop saying right away. It’s my coveted list of the top phrases and words that wedding, event and creative businesses owners should not say (but do!) in their marketing and their communication with clients and couples planning a wedding or special event.

And because I’m nice, I’m explaining why you need to stop using these words and what to say instead. Your wedding or event business can thank me later for all of the website traffic from search engine results, and clear communication that will result!

From photographers to wedding planners to florists and every creative business in between, marketing for your wedding or event business comes down to the words that you’re using. If you’re using the wrong words or phrases your content won’t be found in a search engine, and, more importantly your words won’t resonate with your ideal clients.

When you use the words and phrases that your client use (and search for) when you’re writing or talking, it matters. Talk how your clients talk and not only will they be able to understand you, but they will be able to find you in a crowded and competitive market.

Here is my not-so-complete list of words and phrases that wedding and event businesses should not say….and more importantly what to say instead.

1: DesTination

Destination is not a word that couples planning a wedding use. Why? Because destination refers to a location or a place or an area. It’s a very general and generic term that could mean anywhere. For some the destination is a beach, but for some it’s the mountains or their home town or a big city or Europe or abroad. When you refer to your business as a “destination wedding planner” or a “photographer specializing in destinations,” what does that mean? Do you work on the beach? In the mountains? It’s entirely too broad to be an effective word for you and your business is missing out by not being specific enough in your language.

A couple planning a wedding is more likely to search for a specific area or location versus just the word destination in general. Instead of saying destination, replace it with the specific area like Nashville or Mexico, or the specific type of events, like beach or mountain or adventure, or even specific venue or location names.

2: Luxury

Luxury is one of those words that only people who aren’t luxury use. People who spend a lot of money on their wedding might want a luxurious experience or their wedding to feel luxurious for their guests, but they would never refer to themselves or any vendor that they hire as a luxury vendor. Furthermore, luxury is very subjective. What is luxury to some, might not be to others. Luxury doesn’t always refer to money spent. Luxury can be a feeling or a mood, which all have different meanings to everyone.

A couple planning a wedding is more likely to search for a specific type of wedding like an outdoor wedding on a cliff, or a private estate wedding, or a wedding at a specific 5-star resort venue instead of searching for luxury wedding inspiration. Instead of calling your services or your style luxury, consider describing the types of events you plan or the areas where you work.

3: Shot

Did you get the shot? You’re standing in my shot. I’ve shot that venue before. Do you have the shot list?

These are all uses of the one of the worst words that vendors and professionals in the wedding industry love to toss around as if those outside the industry have any clue what they are talking about. No couple planning a wedding uses the word shot, unless it’s referring to a drink and they definitely don’t type it into the search engine looking for your services.

A couple planning a wedding would never search for someone who shot at their particular wedding venue, but they would search for a photographer or someone who has taken photos in their area. Instead of using the word shot, consider using words like photo, photographs or pictures.

Speaking of commonly misused words in the wedding and event space…

4: Styled shoot & shooter

Where do I even begin with the phrase styled shoot?! I’ve been ranting about the misuse of the word “shoot” in the wedding industry for years…and I mean years. Just like shot, a styled shoot is not a phrase that couples use or anyone outside of the wedding industry uses. A styled shoot is really just a slang way of describing an editorial photo session or ideas and inspiration with a particular theme. In general, it’s fine to refer to something as a styled shoot when you’re talking back and forth with an industry colleague. But when someone outside of the wedding space talks about a shooter or a shoot, it doesn’t refer to a wedding that’s for sure.

A couple planning a wedding would never search for a styled shoot or a shooter, but they would look for wedding ideas, inspiration and someone to take pictures. Instead of styled shoot simply call it what it is, wedding ideas and inspiration. And, instead of referring to yourself as a shooter, call yourself what you are, a photographer.

5: rental

Rentals are not a thing outside of wedding industry jargon. If it is a chair or a table, call it such. Rentals is such a generic term that people in the wedding industry throw around willy-nilly and just assume that everyone knows what they are talking about. The problem with rental is that just like destination, it’s too vague. It could literally mean anything that a couple rents for their wedding from tents to bathrooms to flatware. And you and I both know that you can literally rent every single piece of your wedding, which means that the word rental is just entirely too broad of a word to use and for it to have any kind of impact.

A couple planning a wedding would never search for a rental, but they would search for chairs or place settings, sofas, or marquee letters and so, so, so, so much more. Instead of calling it a rental, call it what it is. If it’s a chair, call it a chair. If you want to make it clear that it was a rented chair, it’s OK to call it a chair to rent or a chair for rent or a rented chair from a wedding reception.

6: Linen

The problem with the word linen in the wedding industry is that everyone in the industry knows that we’re talking about tablecloths and napkins. Except that everyone outside of the wedding industry hears the word linen and thinks of clothing, like linen pants or a linen dress.

An engaged couple planning a wedding would never search for the word linen, unless they wanted to wear a linen suit or a linen wedding dress. Instead of calling it a linen, consider adding just one more word in front of it that makes all the difference: table linen.

7: couple

If you read this post and you see the word couple, you’ll always (almost, no one is perfect, not even me!) see it with the word engaged before it or planning a wedding afterwards or if I’m feeling extra wordy, both! When couple, the word, is on its own, in general refers to more than one or two of just about anything, not necessarily people planning a wedding.

Adding those extra words around the word couple helps for search engines to properly categorize your content because you’re being specific and giving it more words to go off of. Instead of just using the word couple, consider adding engaged or planning a wedding to it. It’s a small change that makes a huge difference.

8: Client’s names

Using a client’s names and/or initials in titles, captions, links and blog posts is great because it humanizes your content and it shows the realness of your work. My problem isn’t with using the names, it’s with the placement of the names. Most search engines rank what first is in the title and the link as most important. When you put the couple’s name first and you make their names the link, you’re telling the search engine to rank your website or blog post for the name of a couple.

A couple planning a wedding would never type their own names or any names into a search engine hoping to find ideas, so your business should stop trying to rank for the names of your past clients. Instead of putting the couple’s name first, consider putting it at the end. It doesn’t change the intent of the title for the reader, but it makes a huge difference for the search engine.

9: Tent

The problem with the word tent is not that people don’t use them in weddings. It is that tents outside of weddings refer to camping. And while I do love a glamping wedding moment, your ideal clients aren’t searching for tents, but they are searching for outdoor wedding tent ideas and wedding tent lighting ideas. Just like the mis-use of the word couple, adding those little extra words at the beginning or the end, makes such a huge world of difference in the eyes of the search engine.

A couple planning a wedding would never search for the word tent or tent ideas and inspiration because, as we just discussed, it would show them a whole bunch of irrelevant things about camping. Instead of simply calling it a tent, consider adding more to it like a wedding tent or a tent for a wedding.

10: Day Of

Day of. This phrase is one that gets me every time. Day of what?

A couple planning a wedding has no idea what ‘day of’ refers to and a search engine can’t even categorize this phrase at all. Do yourself and your business a huge favor and add wedding to ‘day o’f and you’ll be much better off in the long ring. Instead of saying ‘day of,’ always refer to it as day of the wedding or wedding day.

*****

Oh wow, I had a hard time narrowing this list down. I could have listed a 100 more offensive and misused phrases that wedding industry and event professionals use all the time and they don’t even realize how it is hurting them with their clients and the search engines. But not you, you know what to say and what not to say when talking to your engaged couples and future event clients!

If you’re a creative small business serving the wedding and event industry - such as a wedding planner, photographer, entertainer, DJ, rental company, florist, invitation designer and more - and you need help with your online marketing, content creation, 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!