Wondering Why Things Are Still Slow? Read This.

Whew! We are so glad y’all loved our new modules for Venue Business Boot Camp. It was wonderful hearing from so many of you about how that information has helped you navigate the waters in 2023.

And, you’re not imagining things. Those waters are choppy for the wedding industry this year. Things are slower than we’re used to.

I was reading a very interesting article about why that is based on information from America’s top engagement ring purveyor.

Here’s the key take home:

They’re saying Covid is still having a delayed effect. The couple-to-wedding assembly line is 3 years long (on average)…and three years ago Covid bollixed up the first step–in addition to how notoriously it interfered with the last step. Covid slowed the engaged-couples pipeline at the start.

“COVID had a meaningful impact on dating, delaying the formation of new relationships because of the lack of in-person activities for the majority of 2020. So as we begin to lap that three-year period since COVID began, we expect engagements and engagement ring sales to start recovering toward the end of fiscal ’24 and continue rebounding in fiscal ’25 and ’26.

So yeah, things are quieter than normal. You are not crazy. And it’s affecting the entire country.

What to do:

1) Don’t panic. We’ve seen downturns before; we’ll get through this one.
2) Don’t stop marketing. Yes, I am aware of how self-serving that sounds, but also, it’s true. Taking your venue out of the marketing conversation is only going to decrease your leads and bookings.
3) Concentrate on selling to your superpowers. That is the one thing you can do that will always help you stay afloat.

You can continue to watch this space for advice and tips on how to weather both upturns and downturns. We’ve been through it all and we’re here to help!