No ordinary client
- Marguerite McKinnon
- 24 September 2008
When it comes to a wedding, you have to be a little crazy in love. Why else would you part with $30,000 for a one-day event?
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the $30,000 cost of the average Australian wedding hasn’t changed for the past 20 years. But many other things have.
In the late 1980s, the average age for brides was 22–23, and about 25–26 for grooms. Now, girls are going for younger men and the average age for both is around 29.
ith older brides comes a shift away from “I want to be a princess in a big dress” to a focus on good food and a great venue. And there’s no shortage of couples lining up for matrimony – as our economy slows, the bridal business booms.
“Right now when many businesses would argue it’s even harder to make money, we’re seeing the biggest influx of companies to the industry in the past 20 years,” says Glenn Findlay, managing director of Australian Bridal Service, an industry association for the as-yet unregulated bridal industry. “There is a massive influx of small businesses entering, which is making it harder for long-term businesses to make a good living. But, in saying that, the long-term players doing it properly are the ones surviving.”
After 25 years in the bridal industry, Findlay knows there are sharks out there. “In most cases, people will prey on the bride. It’s all new to her and she becomes very vulnerable to people who ridiculously inflate prices for services which are nowhere near the standards they’re promoting.”
Because most brides don’t marry again, any experience they’ve gained leading up to the wedding will be lost or at best passed on to a few close friends and family.
My recently married sister told me, “Never tell them you’re getting married or say it’s for a wedding, otherwise they’ll charge you extra. Just say it’s for a function.” My girlfriend Anna said, “Just go in for a dress, but don’t say it’s a bridal dress. One white dress and the other look practically identical, yet as soon as you say ‘wedding dress’, it magically jumps in price.”
Make no mistake, it’s mostly very expensive, but there are shortcuts.
“If you want to save money, most venues will cater to this and help you cut prices,” says Findlay. “But really keep your eyes open, and your expectations realistic.”
Findlay advises brides and grooms-to-be to look for the Australian Bridal Service accreditation.
“We average 20–30 complaints a week, unfortunately,” he says. “The majority [are about companies that] aren’t accredited members, which shows the system works. Most of the complaints centre around smaller operators who have not provided levels of service on the day.
And for small businesses looking to join the wedding industry?
“A bride is no ordinary client,” says Findlay. “She’s at her most emotional and stressful point. Her wedding day is one of the biggest events of her life and it’s something that can’t be recreated.
“If you build a home and the doors aren’t right, you can replace them, but you can’t replace a wedding day. If people enter the industry understanding that and making sure they can improve that day rather than hinder it, that will go a long way to getting their business established.”
