Marketing weddings for the seasons

We all have a favourite season. When you think about it, the fact that the seasons change at all is an awesome wonder!?

Often, we instinctively welcome and celebrate changes such as weather. We reflect these changes in our own life and mood with lighting, tone, colour, flowers and even clothes and food. However when it comes to venues marketing their weddings I often see a one size fits all, blanket approach to imagery and storytelling.?

In this article I will outline the wedding seasons, and demonstrate where the opportunities and challenges may lie.? I will give some practical tips and suggest seasonal ideas to get your creativity flowing.? These will help you to maximise your selling window.??

Wedding Season?

It doesn’t take a wedding expert to know that summer weddings continue to remain the most popular with couples in the UK. Put simply, couples are hoping for that quintessential summer's day.?

However, over the last few years we’ve witnessed a dramatic growth in popularity in shoulder months. Currently with only January and February being decidedly quiet, the result is a ten month wedding season and a seven month peak period, from April to October.

Source UK Wedding Industry Report 2022, available to download here.

The importance of changing with the seasons?

Often venues overlook the opportunity that seasonal changes bring, by using the same imagery for years on end, heavily weighted towards a summer wedding - think sunny blue skies, summery dresses and bright flowers. If this is true for your venue, you may be missing out on appealing to those winter-loving couples.

Think of your marketing imagery like your shop window.

• Highlight what you want to sell.?Summer is likely the first to sell out. Showcase other seasons to get a wider spread over the year.?
• Offer choice - show your diversity.?Show, don’t tell.? If your couple are set on a winter wedding and they don’t see it in your imagery they may well move on. Don’t make it harder for them, leaving them to imagine.?
• Reflect current trends.?Position yourself as an expert by reflecting current trends - exactly what your couples need you to be.?

How do I make the change??

80% of the buying journey is done before a couple even speaks to you, so your shopfront needs to be working really well for you.?

Are you demonstrating that you’re a year-round venue offering choice and expert advice? Someone on your team needs to take ownership, lead the project and set time aside. Carry out a review of all collateral - your social channels, website, brochure and listings.?

Here are a few practical ways to build up that seasonal diversity for your marketing.??

Staged professional photo shoots?

Paying for a professional means you are more likely to get exactly what you want. You are best placed to know where the gaps are in your current imagery; best placed to? highlight your unique selling points. By working with your recommended suppliers you can showcase your venue at its best through staging, lighting, colour schemes and themes.?

Seasonal photo shoot staging is best done in the season you want to promote, because of natural light.? A sunny summer day looks very different to a sunny winter day.? This may cause impacts on availability and costs for four days of photography. Keep costs down by doing what you can in house however, you may then lose the slick expertise of your supplier team: I would only advise this route if you already have a strong marketing team.

Use real weddings?

Get permission from your couples and their photographers to use their photos.? There is nothing better than a real wedding to show emotion, and allow couples to see real examples of your space being used.? The photographer can benefit too, it‘s additional marketing for them. Just make sure it’s truly showcasing your venue and space. Close ups of couples or the cake look lovely but are not so relevant to a couple wanting to understand why they should choose your venue.?

Blogs / articles

Write your own piece (which you can include on your WeddingDates listing) or share other interesting content about seasonal weddings through your marketing channels that you think would appeal to your couples.?

Seasonal galleries?

Set up Instagram highlights, Facebook albums and Pinterest mood boards to show your venue at various times of the year.?

Promotions?

Look at your seasonal gaps and your demand. Are price-led discounts needed or value-added promotions?? Value-add promotion is something that you can offer to entice the couple to confirm with you; something that your competitors either can’t or don’t offer e.g. an engagement photoshoot, honeymoon suite (1 or 2 nights), dressing room, post / pre wedding event deals for spa or activity facilities, exclusivity, etc??

Open events for each season

Work with your suppliers, ask what trends are popular and/or tell them what style you would like to showcase.???

Seasonal challenges and opportunities?

Outdoors?

A change in law means we can now host legally binding ceremonies anywhere within our boundaries if we hold a licence. This is a great opportunity for venues with outdoor space to promote themselves. It gives more choice and in many cases enables larger capacity.?

However, with outdoor weddings comes the fact we cannot control the weather and although couples are probably expecting (hoping for) a certain weather type depending on their date there is no guarantee. Do you have any backups? Make sure it is properly communicated when exactly they need to make a call on whether the event goes ahead as an indoor or outdoor ceremony. Do you charge a supplement for reserving indoor space? Factor that into discussions with couples so there are no unexpected surprises down the line.?

Summer - high demand?

If you are a wedding-focused hotel, you know Fridays and Saturdays in summer sell quickly! You should only be selling this space at a premium and promoting your VIP, all bells and whistles packages here. If they want something cheaper, couples will need to be flexible and look at the shoulder days. Did you know that Thursday weddings have been more popular than Sunday weddings for the past 2 years??

If your venue hosts more of a mix of segments, then summer corporate business typically tends to die down due to school holidays. Weddings might be a great way to fill that gap. There will be an overspill of couples, out priced by the high demand of a traditional wedding venue, that you could capitalise on.?

Winter - low demand?

December is, for most venues, focussed on Christmas and dates are at a premium. Block out your Christmas dates early and really examine your base costs.? You may find a wedding is a better return for you.?

The months of January and February don’t appeal to too many couples as usually everyone is being a little more thrifty after the festive season and more health conscious. Think New Year's resolutions and dry January all pointing to a party dampener. These months will appeal to more price-led couples so bear that in mind.

Even though this season is the quietest for hosting weddings, it’s the busiest for wedding enquiries. Proposal season runs from Christmas Eve through to Valentine’s Day. Immediately following proposals comes the flurry of enquiries to venues. Ensure your couples buying journey is simple -?

• Can they find you??
• Do you make it easy to buy from you?
• Are you looking your best?

If you need help keeping up with enquiries consider WedPro for an immediate and personalised reply to couples with comprehensive follow up communication built in, driving your conversion.?

Spring & Autumn - Medium demand?

As these are both steady periods it’s a great time to host your wedding fairs and open days.? Spring is a great time to capture recent winter engagements. After a steady flow of enquiries post proposal season, you can market these events to newly engaged couples and enquiring couples. Don’t forget however that face to face events are wonderful for building relationships with couples already booked.?

Spring and Autumn fall under that ten month wedding season and as shoulder dates in the calendar year, this is where I would focus my promotion. It’s all about maximising demand exactly where the best opportunities are to fill. Look at value-add promotion here and save the price slashing for January and February or as a last resort.?

When to market the seasons?

People pick their favourite season or a date that has special meaning so there’s no mathematical formula for the best time to market for seasons.? Bear in mind that wedding lead times are between 10-20 months out so that should be considered when you are covering all the seasons.

I would recommend demonstrating your venue diversity and building those inspiring seasonal galleries. Look at what gaps you need to fill. Follow the seasons, and allow people to be surrounded by the romance of that season right here, right now. . Also following the seasons works with the growth in popularity of authentic marketing i.e. the behind the scenes or look what's happening now.?

Seasonal staging ideas?

Spring?

• Pastels: pinks, purples, whites, baby blues
• Florals: ?Bouquet, lapels, floral arches, floral dresses, dried flowers, edible flowers
• Seasonal flowers: tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, garden roses, and lily of the valley?
• Warmer weather: jumpsuits, lighter clothing?
• Nature, new life, outdoors, outdoor games, garden furniture?
• Seasonal fruit and berries??

Summer?

• Florals?
• Cocktails, al fresco bar, frose bar, prosecco popsicles, spritzes??
• Outdoors, festival theme, bunting, parasols, games ?
• Show some skin, braided hair, lighter coloured suits, sheer fabrics,
• Paddling pools, sunglasses, flipflops ,
• BBQ, Picnic, ice-creams, sweets table, afternoon tea, fresh fruit ?????
• Colour palette tropical tones. Nothing is too bright or out of place, pastels still popular??

Autumn?

• Natural colours of autumn: reds, golds, oranges, plums. Flash colour to compliment?
• A bit darker and crisper nights: Fireworks / sparklers, Fire pits, fairy lights, candles, hog roasts????
• Themes: Halloween, harvest, botanical???
• ?Seasonal flowers: anemones, tulips, viburnum, manuka, carnations, spray roses, Japanese maple leaves, dahlias, and red berries.
• Rustic, natural centerpieces and wood, feathers, trees and leaves, hessian, pines, barrels?
• Fruit: apples, pear,?
• Mulled cider station?
• Warmer clothing - leather, fur, tweed, velvet??
• Rich jewel tones for bridesmaids ruby, sapphire, emerald, gold
• Wellies, boots, umbrellas, shrugs, blankets???
• Comfort foods: pie, game, roast dinners, squash, jacket potatoes, sticky toffee pudding, wood fire?

Winter

• Fireworks, sparklers?
• Christmas - trees, red, green, white, Christmas dinner???
• Evergreen, ivy, holly?
• Snow, frost?
• Dark colours, monochrome?
• Fire - firepits, candles, fireplaces?
• Fur shrugs, blankets
• Dried fruit for warmer colours, pinecones, rustic??
• Play with lighting e.g. candles, fairylights?
• Warmer clothes - velvet, fur, tweed, layers
• Bridal suits, long sleeves?
• Gothic tones dark reds, plums, black?
• Glitter, shimmer, sequins, crystals, metallic tones??
• Hot chocolates, mulled wine?

Photo Credits

Joel Overbeck on Unsplash

Ben Rosett on Unsplash

Carlo Buttinoni on Unsplash

Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

Photos by Lanty on Unsplash

Ellie Cooper on Unsplash

Ibrahim Boran on Unsplash

Carson Vara on Unsplash

Angelina Yan on Unsplash

Artem Shuba on Unsplash

Briana Autran on Unsplash