Recently I had the chance to attend a beautiful wedding. Every detail was thought of; Every "T" was crossed; Every "I" dotted. There must have been a minimum of 500 people there. Not only did they have a fully stocked candy bar (complete with piles and piles of homemade cookies), they had at least 4 sheet cakes to provide cake to everyone. Bottles of champagne were flowing freely, and the music never stopped.
After attending this glorious affair, I started to think about my own upcoming wedding. And then to my budget. Then I thought, "Why are weddings so flipping expensive?" Everything I've looked at so far is marked up to an ungodly amount. If you say "wedding" anywhere in a conversation with someone, that will automatically make the price triple. To me, this is flat out crazy. I know companies want to make money, but tripling the prices of your regular services is just baffling to me. Only, and ONLY if you are going above and beyond your regular services by THREE TIMES, does it make sense to the consumer. We don't want to pay your unreasonable prices. I want to pay what it's worth.
So while in my spiraling world of bills, reservations and trying to stay on budget, I saw a trailer for "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" by Morgan Spurlock. What a fascinating idea! Here's the summary (thanks IMDB.com): "A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement." As a marketer, this idea seemed genius. In the world of film, movies cost a boatload. So why not get enough sponsorship and product placement to cover the costs, allowing you to not cut off your right hand. Then, put this idea into the arena of a wedding. There are save the dates, wedding invitations, tuxes, wedding gowns, flower arrangements, cakes, food, and so much more. What if you were able to talk to your service providers and use their services if you put their logo on things. My first thought is flowers - if you have every arrangement have a card tied to it with the name of the company, that wouldn't take up much room and wouldn't be so much in peoples faces. Next could be the cake - let the cake company do any design they want and even throw their logo on there somewhere - maybe the back side and the front side be your names. Most people only see the cake for a few minutes in pictures, and then it's eaten and gone. Another thing you could do would be to brand the invites. Most cards come with logos on them anyway (Hallmark, 123greetings.com) so it wouldn't really be anything new.
I'm sure there are many more ideas - like convincing a local news station to stop by your main event and have the service providers names prominently displayed like Morgan Spurlock does with renting out his suit jacket space to advertisers. And of course, this would take a very special bride and groom. I would be okay with a few small things, but I'm not sure I'd rent out ad space on my dress.
Maybe this is why the wedding companies can charge so much for their services. Most people are willing to pay the money for their "perfect" one special day. While it is a special day, and you should make it special and unique - if it comes at the cost of spending all of your money, taking out loans, or even selling some of your possessions to pay for it, I say, step back, take a moment and remember - the wedding is only one day, the marriage is for a lifetime.
But it's still an idea that I'd like to see someone try :) I'll keep you posted on whether or not I was able to accomplish any myself.
Love and slices of cake,
Me
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