Why Brides Think the Way They Do

As I continue to transfer the archived content to the new site I keep running across these gems. This is an article that originally appeared on Think in August 2007 and will give you some insight into both why the major bridal magazines are failing and why the face of weddings today are changing.

Why Brides Think the Way They Do

August 2007

Have you read any of the editorial content in the bridal magazines lately? Probably not. Anytime I am in a group of wedding professionals and a new issue gets passed around all anyone ever looks at are the pictures for ideas or the placement of their ad. Your market is reading this stuff and getting some pretty skewed information.

Pull out any of the recent magazines that you have lying around and look at the prices they list on things. Now it is understandable that any magazine is going to want to have only the prettiest, shiniest choices to show their readers. The down side of that is that they are almost always the most expensive. From reading some of the editorials, today’s bride is led to believe that there is no middle ground. There are either the absolute bargain basement goods or service or the very high end choice. This has the effect of driving a great many brides to look at alternatives outside the mainstream before they even look at a true professional.

Where I see this most flagrantly displayed is in the fashion end of the industry. Lately the entry of Target into bridal fashion has gotten a lot of press and you are also seeing a lot of the designs from J. Crew showing up in print. That is a start but also part of the problem. Here they are showing gowns for $200 and under but most everything else they show is in the $2000 and up range. The reality is that the majority of the gowns sold in the US fall between $900 and $1500.  Why aren’t these gowns getting any ink?

This conversation came to a bit of a head last month in Philadelphia at a gathering of bridal salons that handle the 2Be Bride range.  Bruce Campbell, Fashion Advertising Manager for Conde Nast Bridal Media was presenting the most recent American Wedding Study.  When he got to the page titled “Key Wedding Expenses” is when the conversation began to get a little heated.  It was right there in the Powerpoint, the average price of a wedding dress in the US is $1056.  Steve Lang, CEO of Mon Cheri Bridal just couldn’t contain himself any longer and neither could I. Lang began questioning Campbell about their lack of mid-price gowns in their editorial even though their OWN SURVEY showed that was what the brides wanted. In his defense, Campbell is from the advertising side of the aisle and really has no control or even really any input on the editorial side (unlike in the local magazines). Lang had a very valid point.

The effect that this is having is that a lot of today’s brides aren’t even looking at the local salons. They are heading right to either the internet or that big box store that runs the $99 sale. The editorial has convinced them that they can’t afford to look anywhere else. I know some heavy spending advertisers that are beginning to lose patience. I can’t say I blame them.

I am sure that if you look at the editorial for your segment of the industry you will find the same thing. I know it was evident in cakes, especially in InStyle Weddings. They would show two cakes by Ron Ben-Israel, one being the ‘budget’ option but still well over $1000 for 60 servings or less. Not much of a budget option if you ask me. So they come to your bakery and book a cake for about ¼ of their guests and head to Costco for sheet cakes. If the magazine would tell the brides that Ben-Israel in one of the most expensive in the country maybe they would have more realistic expectations.

I am not sure what you or I or even the big advertisers can do. I will suggest that there is strength in numbers. If you see something in the editorial that sets you off, write a letter. I am fairly certain that it won’t be the only one.  Now of course this does mean that you will have to actually pay attention to the editorial.

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