As the economy is experiencing inflation, high gas and food prices and, as of today, a bear market, we’re hearing rumblings of the “r” word: recession. 

And, as we all know, even rumblings of a slowing economy will affect the searching and spending habits of wedding couples. 

So I was thrilled to get this very salient information from our Director of Online Strategy for Here Comes The Guide, Jennifer Ahearn, who jumped in with some very usable data. 

Here’s what Jenn reports:

There’s no question that couples became especially price conscious as we headed into May. This is a change from what we’ve seen in the last year.

From my research into the search terms and emails generated on the Here Comes The Guide website, words that I am seeing at higher frequency in May 2022 vs May 2021:

• pricing
• packages
• small
• elopement

You read that right: Small and Elopement. Couples are still asking about these. These are actually coming up more frequently. 

That might be a surprise as we thought we’d seen the end of the small wedding trend. With changes in the economy, we haven’t.

The main takeaway is no surprise: couples are asking about pricing and packages more than ever. They mention those words more than small, elopement, or micro. And they are asking more frequently than a year ago.

TO DO FOR YOU:

• Realize we may be heading into another tough economic time. Get prepared.
• Make sure you are offering a wide range of available price points.
• If you can offer packages that are cost-effective, do that! And shout those from the rooftops on your website, social media, and as a Special Offer on the Here Comes The Guide website.