How Technology Is Evolving The Wedding Industry

How Technology is Evolving THE WEDDING INDUSTRY BUY Research & Planning Honeymoon. location wedding dress Wedding rings Wedding venues Every last detail of a wedding is researched online wedding transpore wedaling accessories Wedding flowers wedding trends INSPIRATION An increasing amount of people are now turning to various social platforms such as http://www.onewed.com/ & http://pinterest.com/ for inspiration. wedding tips 82% are using Pinterest or similar 'mood board' devices People also browse wedding blogs for tips. advice and inspiration. 80% of engaged couples can spend up to 10 hours per week on wedding-related websites and blogs. (according to splendidinsights.com) (according to UKAWPcom) VIRTUAL PLANNERS An increasing amount of people are replacing wedding planners with virtual planners. Brides WEDDING GENIUS wedding 00 the knot Meggiuson Wedding 911 by The Knot iWedding Deluxe BRIDES Wedding Budget Wedding Genius 2.0 41% are using specific wedding planning apps on their phones (according to UKAWP.com) For those using wedding planners, 49% are creating their own spreadsheets of venues and suppliers and sharing with their planners (according to UKAWP.com) Shopping The internet opens up a whole new world of shops which feature products you can't buy at your local high street. It also saves time, energy and money. Total: $8.6 MILLION ADD TO CART ADD TO CART CHECK OUT 18% of brides buy a Offline, 26% are using 61% of couples use the web as a Online spending for the wedding industry has reached $8.6 billion (and is rising) wedding dress online video calls to show booking source for their honeymoon venues/dresses/ accessories other prior to purchasing. Spreading the word With the rise of social media, a wider reach of facebook people can be kept up-to-date with the latest news with both the wedding and your relationship. This allows distant friends and family to feel apart of the wedding, even though they didn't attend. We're officially Married :) O You and 75 other people like this Congratulations! Sorry that we can't make it :( 49% of brides would update their Facebook relationship status to "married" between the ceremony and the reception. Invitattons 1 IN 5 couples are now turning to a paperless solution when it comes to wedding invitations. Social media allows Eco friendly too. you to invite various friends and family who you may not have their address for. QR codes can be used on physical invitations to link guests to the wedding's social profile. Allows for an instant reply. Digital DJ More and more people are turning to services such as Spotify rather than employing a DJ for the big day. Spotify This not only saves money but it also allows the attendees to pick their own tracks, making the day more personal. Wedding Gifta Gone are the days where there's a table stacked full of gifts, resulting in a boot full to the windows when the bride and groom return for their first night together. With the likes of Amazon, couples can now create virtual wishlists which friends and family can buy various items for the couple directly to be delivered to their door. There's also an increase in couples setting up dedicated PayPal accounts to receive gifts. 17% use online gift registries exclusively online Documenting the day With services such as Ustream, distant friends and family can view the whole service from afar (both live and at an any convenient time). 24 MILLION tuned in to watch Prince William marry Kate. Guests can send in their own pictures via various streams (such as social & email) to gather a complete collection of moments throughout the day from various different point of views. 65% of couples create a website/social page for their wedding Instagrammers @kimathomas and @colerise photographed a wedding at San Francisco City Hall with just iPhones and Instagram @colerise Over 550 photos of the event were taken @kimathomas Discussing the day 62% The rise of dedicated HASHTAGS are using various devices and programs to share photos How will technology progress in the next 10 years? DEBBIE CARLISLE B O U Q UETS DEBBIE CARLISLE Online technology and social media have played a huge part in the development of my business. I joined Twitter just days after launching my first website and within 24 hours a Twitter conversation resulted in my first ever blog feature - a feature which I still get hits from today and which was the first step on the road to getting my website seen by my clients. Since then Twitter has helped me make responsible for securing business and the opportunity to work on some great collaborative shoots which have again led to great business opportunities. Initially Twitter was mainly a resource used by the wedding industry but over the last 12 months or so l have seen a marked increase in the number of brides-to-be who follow me and who have found out about my work through Twitter. Over the same 12 months I have seen Pinterest grow to become one of my best referral sources (second only to Google) for hits to my website and have also seen an increase in brides using this resource to show me their vision for their wedding to help me when I come with bespoke accessory designs. any industry friends and contacts and been PEGGY PORSCHEN PEGGY PORSCHEN Social media has completely changed the way that our brides plan their wedding and in turn the way that our business works. In the past a bride may have brought swatches of lace and pictures torn out of Bridal magazines to help inspire me to create their dream bespoke wedding cake, whereas today more often than not a bride will come to us with their iPad and take us through their Pinterest boards. They use it as a way of mood boarding, taking images from wedding and fashion blogs and collecting those ideas to decipher their own personal style. Our brides and customers follow our Facebook and twitter pages to keep in touch with my latest designs and the day to day goings on at the Peggy Porschen Parlour, we have 60,000 loyal supporters on our Facebook page alone. The feedback that they can provide on new products and services is invaluable to us. Our online presence has also sparked a worldwide trend for couples to use the Peggy Porschen Parlour as a location for their engagement photo-shoots, we have had couples come from as far and wide as China and Japan, Australia and Malaysia and the images from the shoot are shared and shared again by our followers creating a viral effect. I have also found that on line video clips and YouTube is an incredibly powerful tool, my clients often mention watching a clip some years back and deciding there and then that they would one day have a Peggy Porschen wedding cake. @ Propose PR PO NICOLA Whether your company operates on a B2B level or B2C level never under estimate the power of technology especially social media. Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook are the most popular on-line social PROPOSE PR LONDON media platforms couples are actively using to research wedding suppliers, purchase wedding items and plan their special day. Make sure your company has a strong presence on these platforms and be sure to consistently update your profile with images of new products, special offers, helpful tips and advice. Use the power of technology to be seen by couples all around the world. KELLY HOOD @ Boho Weddings The use of technology in weddings is something that can only be a good thing. From online table plan packages, to using spotify and iTunes playlist to put together music for the reception, to using wedding websites to invite the guests keep and tabs on RSVPS. Technology is moving so fast these days that it was only a matter of time before it spilled into the world of weddings. If it helps brides and groom become more organised and save them time then it can only be seen as a good thing! ooh weddings vintage style SOURCES UKAWPcom | splendidinsights.com BRIDES WITH STYLE webtise.