How Smaller Weddings Are Reshaping the Event Marketing Funnel MARKETING & MEDIA
By Christie Osborne T he wedding market grew 4% this year, but couples are inviting fewer guests—and spending more on each one. According to The Wedding Report, guest counts are trending down while per-guest spending is rising on attire, photography, and premium experiences. This isn’t about budget cuts. It’s a shift in values. Smaller weddings reflect a focus on quality, personalization, and meaning. And that shift is changing more than just the celebration—it’s changing how couples shop for vendors, make decisions, and move toward booking. Smart event pros are rethinking how they attract interest, follow up, and guide couples toward “yes,” because the path from “just looking” to “ready to book” isn’t what it used to be. Getting found is easy— getting chosen is harder After years of uncertainty, attracting attention is getting easier. Ads are driving traffic. Social posts are getting engagement. Your website is showing up in search. In short, couples are finding you. But being found isn’t enough.
Today’s couples are slower to reach out—and even slower to commit to a consultation. They want control, time to research, and space to decide at their own pace. That makes the step between inquiry and booking the most fragile part of your process. From working with vendors across the industry, I’ve found these three numbers reveal the true health of your booking journey: • Awareness to Inquiry Rate: If people are seeing you but not reaching out, then your message may not be clear, compelling, or relevant enough to inspire action. • Inquiry to Consult Rate: If they’re inquiring but not committing to a conversation, then your follow- up may need to build more trust, clarity, or urgency. • Sales Rate: If the sale isn’t happening, no amount of marketing can fix it. Each step builds on the one before it. Visibility only matters if it leads to action. Inquiries are just the beginning—you still need to turn interest into conversations, and conversations into bookings. When you know where things are working—or stalling—you can make smarter, more focused improvements that actually move the needle.
Smaller weddings aren’t a
setback— they’re an opportunity.
10
SPECIAL EVENTS SPRING 2025
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