Rutgers says "Yes, the business is dying"

[keith_van_hulle1]

Just for the sake of discussion (not wanting this to be an alarmist

post - I stopped shooting weddings 20 years ago) but it's relevant to

the thread the other day. See "The State of our Unions 2005" report

from Rutgers on marital habits. Yahoo has a short story <a

href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/weddingbellsarentringingbutneit

herarephonesofdivorcelawyers;_ylt=AlV5nGDPZQgXl7Hc.UqlbpWs0NUE;_ylu=X3

oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-">here</a>.

<p><p>

To me, the attention grabber was <i>"The marriage rate is also on a

steady decline: a 50% drop since 1970 from 76.5 per 1,000 unmarried

women to 39.9, says the report, whose calculations are based on an

internationally used measurement."</i><p>

[todd frederick]

I think that even if they do choose to have a wedding, most will be down-sized and informal, budget oriented, home/chapel weddings.

 

My youngest son's wedding was at a church where he works (no cost), and the congregation worked together on the reception including food and decorations. The reception was in the church reception hall, and dad (me, with his friends) did the photography.

 

My older son has been in a living-together situation for a few years, and I doubt they will have a formal ceremony unless her mom insists.

 

I think that we need to look for other services we can offer instead of or as an option to the high-end cover-everything photography big album plan. I like the idea of offering partial coverage, or selected coverage, with a small, but elegant album, or similar variations.

 

Any ideas?

[mendonphoto]

Here's an idea - move to Utah. The wedding tradition is alive and well. :)

[kevin cook - stratford upo]

Interesting. In the UK the number of marriages has actually grown and is up 4% on the last year calculated 2003/4.

68% now take place at non religeous sites and that is leading to more and more 'managed' events with photography included. Which suggests over here it certainly isn't dying.

 

Large companies are building business by smart marketing and advertising reducing overheads by scale and employing freelance photographers.

 

As for the single one man band (like me) then it may not be so rosy if we can't compete.

Ultimately it's like the corner store trying to compete with Wallmark.

 

But marriages are growing in the UK and that's encouraging.

There's also the single sex 'marriage' now to be legal in the UK.

New 'gay friendly' photographer companies are being set up to appeal to this market.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 'Civil Partnerships' become legal in December and many venues are gearing up for 16-20,000 annually.

 

That's a new and growing market also.

Incidentally they have a higher disposable income than straight couples :-)

 

No I don't think it's dying, changing yes.

 

There's also the 'ermmm' other end of the relationship. Perhaps the only time relatives get together after a marriage. Sensitive but some companies are now offering a discrete photography session after the service of close family.

 

Come on where's your imagination?

[mark_jacoby___raleigh__nc]

In my immediate coverage area there were 6,243 divorces in 2003.

 

I wonder how many of these 12,486 newly single people will be needing a wedding photographer in the next year?

 

Maybe I should offer a "Second Time Around Special".

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

The rate is down, but the population is up. So at least there is some offset.

 

Robert

[mdickerson]

<p><i>Here's an idea - move to Utah. The wedding tradition is alive and well. :)</i></p>

 

<p>Except that Mormon wedding ceremonies are only attended by a small number of close relatives and are not photographed under any circumstances. Although there are still receptions and a few minutes for formals outside the temple (really few..the next couple will be coming out in 20 minutes at the most).</p>

[mendonphoto]

A "small number" is usually 50 people or more. A few minutes for formals outside the temple usually lasts about an hour and involves 50-200 people. And, there's still the bridal shots, engagement shots, luncheon, and reception. Mormons manage to spend plenty on wedding photography. :)

[ky2]

Save the industry: promote same sex marriage.

[mdickerson]

Aaron - Ok, I believe you. There must be rich Mormons somewhere, I just don't seem to be related to any.

[Jerry_]

"Although there are still receptions and a few minutes for formals outside the temple (really few..the next couple will be coming out in 20 minutes at the most)."

 

 

 

Slow? I had a wedding a couple of years back. The last wedding, daughter #10, for a Morman dad...the vows lasted 90 seconds at best. [This was not a formal Morman service; photos were allowed at the out-door ceremony.]

[chris m., central florida]

If weddings dropped by 50%, a lot if us would go out of business. The one question I would ask is, "Whats your marketing plan?" If they can find you, they'll hire you! So the news of fewer weddings doesn't worry me in the least. My marketing investment is paying off little by little. It can be expensive, but it works.

[anner]

Surveys are pretty useless unless you know exactly how they measured their statistics.

Where did their sample come from? Was it a regional survey? Where are they getting their

marriage stats from- legal documents or wedding chapels? Can any of it be

attributed to the fact that women are living longer without a spouse? Or that the

population of children under marrying age is still pretty high? Or how about

homosexual lifestyles being more acceptable but still not recognized as marriage?? Could

women have interpreted "unmarried" as divorced?

 

Perhaps you can find solace in the idea that more people are having more than one

wedding in their lifetime. Or maybe we can all rally for our states and countries to grant

same-sex couples marriage rights? ;-)

[________1]

Get Asian friendly, the weddings are huge and numerous.