Looking for wedding demographic data

[ryan_kieft]

Does anyone have any good ideas on how to obtain wedding demographic data?

[lornesunley]

<p>If you are in the U.S.A. you can try here INVSS marriage and divorce data http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/mardiv.htm</p>

<p>In Canada you can get the data from the individual province's vital statistics agency - Alberta's is here http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/1164.cfm</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>You'll probably get information more along the lines you're looking for if you ask a more specific question. Are you talking about <em>marriage</em> statistics (who, how often, from what geographic regions in which income groups, etc) or are you looking for statistics about <em>weddings</em> - meaning, the events themselves, how much people spend on the occasion, prep, services, etc.? <br /><br />A marriage and a wedding are totally different things when you go hunting for statistics. Better yet, what is it you actually want to know? There are lots of experienced and very generous people here who might be able to help you better frame the question you're really asking, so that you don't go on a wild goose chase after numbers that don't really shed light on what you think needs illuminating.</p>

[rob_caswell1]

<p>From my google research the B+G spend between $19,000 and $32,000 ( $25,000 average) on the entire wedding.</p>

<p>In my area there are at least 66 wedding/portrait photographers listed on a local survey, and few others I know that were not listed. Pretty shocking considering a year round population of 300,000 (though we get several million tourist annually).</p>

<p>I recall several articles at the knot.com that shares more detailed information along the lines you are searching.</p>

[ryan_kieft]

To clarify my question:

 

I'm looking for information like:

 

1) # of weddings per year in Connecticut? (Sorted by county?, Sorted by

 

months?)

 

2) how much are people spending per wedding in Connecticut? (Sorted

 

by county or town?)

 

3) how much does the average wedding budget for photography in

 

Connecticut?

 

4) what are the more popular ways that a bride & groom find a wedding

 

photographer in Connecticut? (SEO?, Word of mouth?, wedding

 

knot.com?, direct mail?)

 

Also, any information about who is hiring wedding photographers

 

(income groups, age groups, locations in Connecticut)

 

 

 

I really would appreciate it if anyone can point me in the right direction

 

on where I can locate this information.

[starshooter]

<p>Have you taken a look at Rangefinder magazine?</p>

[rob_caswell1]

<p>Being that you are half way between Boston and NYC... it would be hard for the majority of us in the hinterlands to answer those questions. It's simply hard to quantify even if the information was available. </p>

<p>If you drew a circle around everything within a 3 hour drive of your location... A wedding in NYC might be 5X what it is in New Haven.</p>

<p>Down South, my local cities and communities publish bridal magazines specific to those locales. It would be a good idea to find past copies at a library or the publisher and see what articles or information they could provide.</p>

<p>Make a list of every wedding/portrait phrographer within that 3 hour radius and know what they charge for a bridal/engagement session and their respective wedding packages.</p>

<p>This is another reason to seek a second shooting position. Though you might not get the exact details, it's not hard to figure out what what the bride is paying. It's sort of a right of passage, but the experience gained is not just in shooting, exposure, lighting, posing, dealing with problem brides, mother inlaws...</p>

<p>As in the other post, I would encourage to seek out as many shooting opportunities as possible. I once photographed a Xmas party for the Chamber of Commerce and three months later was doing a wedding reception in the same place. Lot's of ways to get pressure free experience. Something as simple as a home made light box made out of white poster/foam board to shoot jewelry or items to sell on ebay is a learning experience. It's a good way to practice the ring shots which are sometimes a afterthought and not easy to do well. Shooting your kitchen table, food, etc is no different than shooting the details of a wedding cake, tables, etccc... that a very important few images of the hundreds you will shoot, and bride expects to be well exposed.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p> </p>

[shawn_mertz]

<p>Rob if there are only 66 photographers for 300,000 you are lucky. </p>