42.5% Of Vendors Reveal Their Earnings Have Gone Up From 2019: Wedding Wire Report

EE News Desk Aug 26, 2022

WeddingWire India, the Indian subsidiary of The Knot Worldwide, conducted a wedding vendor survey with over 220+ vendors. The pan-India survey was undertaken to study the changing dynamics of the wedding industry from a vendor POV. It studied changing consumer behavior in terms of trends, wedding arrangements, and payments amongst other crucial factors.

Talking about the survey, Anam Zubair, Head of Marketing- WeddingWire India, a part of The Knot Worldwide, said “It is true that the pandemic has drastically changed the wedding ecosystem. Hence, to understand our stakeholders- vendor partners & couples and their changing mindsets better we conducted this latest survey. The results are intriguing. WedTech platforms gaining popularity and becoming the key source of leads for wedding vendors is a true testament to fact that WedTech has disrupted the wedding industry. Interestingly, these platforms are becoming indispensable, both from a supply and demand POV in this ever-changing ecosystem. These statistics further strengthen our belief that WedTech is the future of the wedding industry.”

Mediums that get Wedding Vendors their clientele

The survey revealed while word of mouth/verbal reviews is the biggest source of leads for wedding vendors (38.9%), WedTech platforms are increasingly gaining prominence. 21.3% of vendors get their leads from Wedding websites and apps followed by Social Media (20.8%).

Wedding Bookings and Reservations

Even though every couple probably starts planning for their wedding in their heads soon after fixing the date but it isn't around 3 months before they start booking wedding services. The survey revealed that 44% of couples start making reservations 1 to 3 months before the big

day and in fact, almost 15% of couples are now booking their wedding venues only 1 month prior to the wedding. This showcases how the pandemic has altered consumer behavior.

Key-Decision Maker for Weddings and Budget

In the new normal, it is not just the bride who is the primary decision maker in regards to the wedding arrangements but the couple together(49.3%). The age-old tradition of the budget being handled by the parents of the couples is diminishing as couples are taking the lead in handling payments for their special day (39.8%). The data clearly indicates how millennial couples have started taking charge of their weddings, unlike previous generations where the involvement of parents was higher.

The most popular mode of payment for wedding vendors according to the survey comprised of a combination of multiple payment methods. Online Payments (29.9%) followed by Cash (19.9%) were among the top preferred modes of payments. The survey also revealed that a majority of couples (75.6%) opt for partial advance payment before the big day.

Mode of Communication

When asked about what most couples opted for when it came to meetings to decide on the plans and bookings for the wedding, most clients preferred face-to-face meetings (34.8%) and phone calls (33.9%) closely followed by Whatsapp(25.3%).

Charging Cost as Compared to 2021

Post-pandemic weddings have returned with a bang. With the wedding boom after the next-to-none in 2021 survey reveals that 41.2% of wedding vendors are still charging the same amount for services as compared to the last quarter of 2021 but there are around 31% of vendors who have increased their charges. The most common reasons behind hiking up the prices as stated by the vendors are- higher costs of the products as well as labor.

The survey reported that the per month earnings of 42.5% of wedding vendors have gone up in 2022 as compared to 2019.

Couple preferences

According to vendors, most couples are focussing on quality over quantity and also cutting down on people on the guest list. Themed and personalized weddings are also emerging as the latest trends in the wedding market. Couples are also more gravitated toward sustainable options for their big day.