If you’re anything like me, you got into the wedding industry because you love love. Engagement season is exciting as it is—after all, nothing brings me more joy than seeing my friends and family share engagement announcements. 

As a wedding professional, engagement season is even better. Now, you get to help newly engaged couples on their journey to happily ever after.

However, it’s important that your wedding business is prepared. Engagement season is long, spanning from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day, and you need to ensure that your pricing strategies are up to date and that your revenue margin is healthy.

Here’s my step-by-step guide on how to adjust your rates for engagement season:

1. Reflect on Your Last Wedding Engagement Season

Before you dive into engagement season preparations, it’s important to take a step back and reflect. The most successful business owners learn from the past, leveraging their data to define their strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself these questions:

• What are my most popular services or packages?

• Which of my services gained attention, but didn’t convert to purchases?

• Were there any difficulties relating to my pricing strategies or structures?

• How did my marketing campaigns perform? Did some strategies work better than others?

• What were the prevailing trends in the wedding industry during the previous engagement season?

• Did I meet my revenue goals? Did I fall short in any specific areas?

Answering these questions will give you a better idea of what pricing strategies you’ll need to execute this engagement season. If this is your first year in the wedding industry, consider asking a fellow wedding professional to observe their process and data from last year.

2. Understand Your Revenue Margin

Maintaining a healthy profit margin is imperative to ensuring that your business is both successful and sustainable, no matter if it’s service or product-based. To calculate your revenue margin, use this formula:

Revenue Margin (%) = [Total Revenue – Total Expenses) / Total Revenue] x 100

Though it’s easy to think that more means better, the ideal profit margin can vary depending on factors such as location, market demand, and your specific business model. Here are some general guidelines for different types of businesses in the wedding industry:

Wedding Planners

A good profit margin for a wedding planning service could range from 15% to 25%. As a service-based business, this margin accounts for the time, expertise, and resources required to plan and coordinate weddings effectively.

Florists

Fresh flowers can be exorbitantly costly, and it requires intense labor and expertise to create elaborate wedding arrangements. Effective sourcing and efficient production are key to maintaining a healthy profit margin, which should range between 40% to 60% for florists.

Bakers

Wedding cake designers may aim for a profit margin in the range of 30% to 50%. Custom cakes featuring intricate designs can command higher prices, but ingredients and labor costs are significant factors.

Venues

The profit margin for wedding venues can vary depending on the location and venue itself, but a target range might be around 20% to 40%. This should take into account the overhead costs of maintaining the venue and providing event services.

Photographers

Wedding photographers often target a margin of 30% to 50%. This should account for equipment, expertise, labor, editing, and post-production work.

Hair and Makeup Artists

Makeup and hair artists may aim for a margin of 40% to 60%. These services require specialized skills, time-intensive services, and a wide array of expensive products to cater to every individual.

Wedding Rentals

Rental companies may target a profit margin of 50% or more. These businesses provide physical products for events—such as furniture, tableware, and decor—and the maintenance and quality of items should be key considerations in pricing.

3. Understanding Revenue Margin and Sinking Fund Savings

As a wedding professional, it’s important to look beyond right now. Consider setting aside funds for things you may need in the future, which is referred to as “sinking funds savings.”

Sinking funds savings are specialized, reserved funds for planned future expenses. In the wedding industry, this could be saving for equipment upgrades, marketing campaigns, or professional developments.

Starting a sinking fund savings is simple. Just as you assess your pricing strategies and marketing efforts, plan ahead for future expenses that may arise during your journey as a wedding professional. Then, calculate the amount you will need for each sinking fund. From there, I recommend starting a business savings account—or multiple accounts, depending on how many sinking funds you may need—and deliberately depositing money to the specific account when available. 

This way, you’ll be prepared for the future and ready to evolve your business when the time comes.

4. Should You Adjust Your Prices for Engagement Season?

After reflecting on last year’s engagement season, identifying your ideal revenue margin, and planning future expenses with sinking funds savings, it’s time to assess your pricing strategy. Three major factors should influence your decisions:

• Competitor Pricing

Carefully research what your competitors are currently charging for similar services. This is to ensure that your prices are competitive and attract customers, but still reflect the unique value and hard work your business offers. If your current rates are far higher or lower than your closest competitors, it may be time for an adjustment.

• Cost Changes

As time goes on, many wedding professionals find that the costs required to operate their businesses have increased. Whether it’s due to inflation, higher supplier fees, or demand, you may consider adjusting your pricing strategies to ensure that you can maintain a healthy revenue margin.

• Profitability, Affordability, and Long-Term Planning

Maintaining a balance between these three is paramount to your company’s success. By including your ideal revenue margin and sinking funds savings into your pricing strategy, you will be ensuring not only the financial health of your business, but your ability to continuously enhance your services.

5. How to Successfully Adjust Your Rates for Engagement Season

At this point, you’ve decided to shift your pricing strategy for the upcoming engagement season. It’s a deceptively simple process, but for it to work efficiently, it requires more than just posting your updated prices on your company website. 

Here’s how to adjust your rates for engagement season, seamlessly and successfully:

• Communicate Changes Clearly

Any changes to your rates should be communicated clearly to your existing and potential clients. Be transparent with them, explaining the reasons behind the adjustments and emphasizing the continued quality and value of your services. Though some clients may be priced out, others will be happy to work with you, as they will appreciate your honesty.

• Offer Different Packages and Options

Increasing your rates may stress some customers, but creating different packages or service options allows you to cater to a wide variety of budgets. You may also consider partnering with other wedding professionals, offering joint services as part of a package. This flexibility attracts clients from all walks of life and is a great way to build business relationships in the wedding industry.

• Implement Changes Strategically

Timing is everything. Be sure to announce any changes in pricing well in advance of engagement season, giving clients time to make important decisions. If you’re worried about giving clients too much time, consider offering incentives for couples that book your services early.

Need a Bit of Guidance?

If you find yourself hesitant or unsure about adjusting your prices, worry not! Each business journey is a unique adventure, and what proves effective for one may not necessarily apply to another.

There exist alternative strategies worth exploring—such as optimizing efficiency, fine-tuning your marketing approaches, or augmenting the value you provide—to enhance the performance and profitability of your business without necessarily tweaking your pricing strategy.

Keep in mind that it’s not solely about the numbers; the value you bring and the experience you curate for engaged couples play pivotal roles. Your unwavering commitment to your craft and the genuine warmth you infuse into the wedding industry are distinctive qualities that can truly set you apart from competitors.

Eager to delve deeper into the secrets of success in the wedding industry? By joining my email list, you’ll gain access to a complimentary downloadable worksheet designed to help you assess the strengths and weaknesses of your business. Don’t miss out—sign up today!