With more and more nuptials canceled due to the novel Coronavirus pandemic, couples are finding it increasingly difficult to rebook weekend dates without pushing their event out a year (or more!). Here’s how smart marketing can help you book more weekday weddings.
No, it’s not just about offering deep discounts to fill your booking calendar. With couples looking to stand out from the crowd, weddings on non-peak days were becoming fashionable even before the virus hit. So how can your venue “flatten the curve” by capturing more weddings per week without running out of room on your calendar? We’ve rounded up five tips to position your venue to capture the attention of prospective couples.
Reposition a Weekday Wedding as a Bold, Deliberate Alternative
Couples want their wedding to be memorable, distinctive, and unique – so challenge that “bargain wedding” trope and reframe the concept. Rebrand a weekday wedding as an opportunity to host a sophisticated evening cocktail party without the traditional bells and whistles. A weeknight wedding also gives the couple the chance to spend a few days relaxing with family before departing for their honeymoon on the weekend.
A brunch wedding is a fantastic choice for those who may not want an evening affair. Though many wedding guests love to cut loose at a Friday- or Saturday-night wedding, if your couple wants to have a more reserved (read: sober) wedding, morning or midday is a great fit. After all, who doesn’t love a good Sunday brunch? Mimosas, Bloody Marys, Eggs Benedict, and a classy jazz band would set the tone for a distinctive, personalized event.
Produce Weekday Wedding Marketing Content
Even though non-peak weddings are becoming increasingly frequent and fashionable, some couples will wrestle with stepping outside the box. Coax them to take the leap by tailoring content toward answering questions and calming anxieties. For example, a guide on how to explain to family members why a weekday wedding date was chosen. If a couple is considering a weekday wedding, chances are they’re researching how to do it well. Help and inspire them with content that conveys why your venue and destination are the perfect setting. For example, a venue in Greenwich, Connecticut, could make a compelling case for a chic, cosmopolitan weeknight cocktail party wedding just an hour outside of NYC. A list of all the activities that make your destination perfect for a weekday celebration will help your couple take advantage of off-peak perks, like reduced traffic and crowds.
Whether your content lives on your blog, on a landing page on your website, or in your print marketing materials, strategic content marketing will help you forge a connection with prospective brides and grooms. Be sure that tailored content gets included the package you hand out or even a standalone brochure for couples who express an interest in a weekday wedding.
Promote Weekday Weddings through Authentic Vignettes from Real Couples
Just because the day of the week changes, the fact remains that your best source of marketing is the couples you already have. Gather their stories and photos to paint a picture of how perfect your prospective couple’s weekday wedding could be at your venue. Obviously, the key here is to focus on some of the ways that the choice of day truly made their event special, so that it doesn’t blend in with other real weddings or testimonials you have from weekend brides. Think: vendor availability, potential discounted rates, and an overall more laid-back vibe.
Market Weekday Weddings to Avoid Big Weekend Events
Scheduling a wedding on a long holiday weekend or an idyllic summer beach day can spell trouble for guests traveling from afar. A weekday wedding is less likely to coincide with a festival, fair, or other large-draw event, alleviating the hassle of traffic jams, securing hotel reservations, and vying for rental cars. But with the right marketing footwork, the opportunities are endless to help a couple transform their weekday wedding into something intentional and memorable. Weekday weddings can also work well for hometown weddings in which most of the attendees don’t have to travel – and the converse is true, as well. Guests traveling internationally will most likely be in the country for at least a week, making the choice of day irrelevant.
Create Weekday Wedding-Themed Pinterest Boards
You already know that Pinterest is the best friend of any wedding planner or venue. Make the platform work for you by creating boards around weekday wedding ideas. Then, anytime a couple uses those search terms, your boards pop up. For example, “Weekday Wedding: Cocktail Chic,” “Elegant Weeknight Weddings,” or “A Stunning Brunch Wedding.” Create a variety of scenarios, then Pin your heart out.