Wedding Venue Trends: Couples Are Taking Longer to Decide on Their Venue

I’ve been talking to so many venue owners recently and here’s what I’m hearing:

1. Things are feeling a bit slower this summer all around the country.
If you’re feeling that way, you are not alone. Things are a bit slower. The election has a lot to do with this (election-year summers are always slower), as well as the collective holding of breath as we wait for interest rates to come down.

The good news: we don’t have to wait much longer to be on the other side of the election. AND, the half-point reduction in the Fed’s borrowing rate is already having a positive effect on the housing market. This helps couples with that “marriage or mortgage” choice.

With another quarter-point reduction rumored by the end of the year, I think we’re going to see an uptick in couples ready to book in the 2025 Engagement Season starting in late December of this year.

2. Couples are taking longer to decide on their venue.
You’re not crazy. Couples are taking their time in making their venue decision.

In fact, in the recent report from Signet Jewelers (a good source to follow for trends in our industry), they say that “customers are approaching engagement in a more cautious way in this macro environment, slowing the recovery.”

You may be pining for the days when couples would sign a contract right after a site tour.

Now, they are waiting 2–6 weeks to make that decision. One beleaguered venue manager said “It’s taking 40 days and 40 nights.” Ha. I feel her.

Be sure you have a plan for 2–3 follow-ups post-site tour. Make those personal and pull from the info you gleaned as you got to know them during the tour. (You got to know them AND made notes, right? Tell me you did.)

3. Couples are visiting your website more times than they did in the past before booking a site tour.
Your website is more important than ever as couples do their research more carefully before deciding which site tours to book.

If your website is doing its job, this plays to your advantage. If it’s not, you’re on the losing side of this trend.

If you’ve been hesitating to invest in your website, NOW is the time to get off the dime and do that.

TO DO FOR YOU:

Need help figuring out what to do with your website? Here’s a super useful Website Audit Checklist we’ve put together than can help as you consider what needs to be done.

You can also listen to me talk about this topic with two incredibly knowledgeable experts here.