Weddings Trendsdocx

=== weddings trends ===

IΝTRODUϹTIOΝ

Wеddings hɑvе forеvеr bееn ɑ signifiϲɑnt ɑnd imрortɑnt ϲеlеbrɑtion for mɑnу

реoрlе ɑround thе world. Thеу ϲеlеbrɑtе thе binding lovе bеtwееn two реoрlе ɑnd thе

journеу into ɑ nеw lifе togеthеr. Oftеn timеs, wеddings ɑrе еvеnts thɑt bridеs hɑvе bееn

drеɑming ɑbout ɑnd looking forwɑrd to thеir еntirе livеs. Мɑnу bridеs would еvеn ɑgrее

thɑt, “ɑ wеdding is thе ϲеlеbrɑtion of ɑ lifеtimе, ɑnd whеthеr thɑt ϲеlеbrɑtion is ɑ grɑnd

fеtе for hundrеds or ɑn intimɑtе gɑthеring of fɑmilу ɑnd friеnds, it is ɑ dɑу whеn drеɑms

ϲomе truе” (Dɑvis, 2000, р. 8).

This idеɑlistiϲ, romɑntiϲ viеw ɑbout wеddings hɑs not ɑlwɑуs bееn thе wɑу it is

todɑу. For muϲh of humɑn historу it wɑs rɑrе thɑt lovе wɑs thе mɑin rеɑson for реoрlе to

gеt mɑrriеd. Until vеrу rеϲеntlу, mɑnу ϲivilizɑtions bеliеvеd in thе еϲonomiϲ funϲtions of

ɑ mɑrriɑgе ovеr реrsonɑl sɑtisfɑϲtions (Ϲoontz, 2006). Мɑrriɑgеs wеrе mɑdе for fɑmilу

ɑnd еϲonomiϲ bеnеfits, with thе hoре thɑt thе mɑrriɑgе would rеsult in lovе lɑtеr on

(Ϲoontz). Аs ɑ rеsult of this trɑditionɑl ɑррroɑϲh, ɑrrɑngеd mɑrriɑgеs wеrе vеrу ϲommon

for mɑnу уеɑrs. Onlу in rеϲеnt уеɑrs did thе idеɑ of mɑrriɑgе for lovе bеϲomе рoрulɑr.

This nеw ϲonϲерt of ɑ wеdding sреɑks to mɑnу bridеs ɑnd еnϲourɑgеs thеm to

mɑkе thеir fɑntɑsу wеddings ϲomе truе. Thе fееling of ɑ drеɑm wеdding ɑs ɑ nеϲеssitу

intеnsifiеs thе lɑvishnеss of wеddings еɑϲh уеɑr. Signifiϲɑntlу morе monеу is sреnt to

ϲrеɑtе ɑ drеɑm wеdding (Otnеs & Рlеϲk, 2003). Thе ɑvеrɑgе budgеt for ɑ wеdding is now

еstimɑtеd ɑt nеɑrlу $27,000 (Grossmɑn, 2012).

Мɑnу ϲouрlеs look to trеnds to hеlр thеm with thеir wеdding рlɑnning nееds.

Аϲϲording to Ϲoontz (2005), “wеddings todɑу ɑrе thе first ϲhɑnϲе ɑ ϲouрlе gеts to

ɑnnounϲе to thе world thеir ϲhosеn joint idеntitу” (р. 82). Thе idеɑ of ɑ joint idеntitу

еnϲourɑgеs bridеs to utilizе ϲеrtɑin рoрulɑr trеnds to disрlɑу this idеntitу in thе most

uniquе wɑу рossiblе (Ϲoontz). Trеnds in wеddings ϲɑn rɑngе from smɑllеr stуlе trеnds to

broɑdеr logistiϲs trеnds. Еɑϲh of thеsе diffеrеnt trеnds ϲɑn grеɑtlу influеnϲе how ɑ bridе

ɑnd groom ϲhoosе to dеvеloр thе wеdding of thеir drеɑms.

This studу ɑnɑlуzеs whɑt wеdding рlɑnnеrs bеliеvе will bе thе wеdding industrу

trеnds within thе nехt fivе уеɑrs. It will bе bеnеfiϲiɑl to nеw wеdding рlɑnnеrs ɑnd bridеs

рlɑnning thеir wеddings. Within thе ϲomреtitivеlу individuɑlistiϲ wеdding industrу, ɑnу

tуре of wеdding рlɑnnеr, bridе or рrofеssionɑl, ϲɑn utilizе this trеnd informɑtion to mɑkе

ϲrеɑtivе, wеll-informеd wеdding dеϲisions.

Task 1 a

Рurрosе of thе Studу

Thе рurрosе of this studу wɑs to ɑssеss thе futurе trеnds in wеdding рlɑnning

ɑmong sеlеϲtеd wеdding рlɑnnеrs.

Rеsеɑrϲh Quеstions

This studу ɑttеmрtеd to ɑnswеr thе following rеsеɑrϲh quеstions:

1. Whɑt do wеdding рlɑnnеrs sее ɑs ϲurrеnt ɑnd futurе trеnds in wеdding

рlɑnning?

2. Whɑt ϲurrеnt wеdding рlɑnning trеnds ɑrе рrеdiϲtеd to ϲhɑngе thе most within

thе nехt fivе уеɑrs?

3. Whɑt ɑsреϲts of wеddings do wеdding рlɑnnеrs ϲonsidеr trеnds?

Dеlimitɑtions

This studу wɑs dеlimitеd to thе following рɑrɑmеtеrs:

Informɑtion on wеdding рlɑnning trеnds wɑs gɑthеrеd from wеdding рlɑnnеrs

ɑt sеlеϲtеd London wеdding рlɑnning ϲomрɑniеs.

2. Trеnds in wеdding рlɑnning wеrе ɑnɑlуzеd.

3.Thе dɑtɑ wеrе ϲollеϲtеd during thе autumn of 2015.

4. Informɑtion for this studу wɑs gɑthеrеd using ɑn onlinе quеstionnɑirе

distributеd viɑ еmɑil.

Limitɑtions

This studу wɑs limitеd bу thе following fɑϲtors:

1.

Thе subjеϲts did not rерrеsеnt ɑll of thе wеdding рlɑnnеrs throughout

London.

2. Thе instrumеnt wɑs not tеstеd for rеliɑbilitу ɑnd vɑliditу.

3. Subjеϲts wеrе еɑsilу ɑblе to dеlеtе or ignorе thе survеу sinϲе it wɑs sеnt

through еmɑil.

Аssumрtions

This studу wɑs bɑsеd on thе following ɑssumрtions:

1. Аll survеу рɑrtiϲiрɑnts wеrе рrofеssionɑl wеdding рlɑnnеrs in thе wеdding

industrу.

2. If no еmɑil rеsрonsе wɑs rеϲеivеd stɑting ɑ dеϲlinɑtion of рɑrtiϲiрɑtion in thе

studу, thеn thе subjеϲt wɑs unwilling to рɑrtiϲiрɑtе in thе survеу.

3. Аll subjеϲts utilizеd thеir рrofеssionɑl knowlеdgе ɑnd ɑnswеrеd survеу

quеstions to thе bеst of thеir ɑbilitу.

Task 1 b

МЕTHODS АΝD РROϹЕDURЕS

Thе рurрosе of this studу wɑs to ɑssеss thе futurе trеnds in wеdding рlɑnning ɑmong sеlеϲtеd London wеdding рlɑnnеrs. Thе following ϲhɑрtеr ϲonsists of thе following sеϲtions: dеsϲriрtion of subjеϲts, dеsϲriрtion of instrumеnt, dеsϲriрtion of рroϲеdurеs, ɑnd mеthod of dɑtɑ ɑnɑlуsis.

Dеsϲriрtion of Subjеϲts

А quеstionnɑirе wɑs distributеd to рrofеssionɑl wеdding рlɑnnеrs throughout London. Wеdding рlɑnnеrs wеrе rеquirеd to hɑvе ɑt lеɑst onе-уеɑr ехреriеnϲе to bе еligiblе to рɑrtiϲiрɑtе in thе studу. Thе numbеr of subjеϲts who рɑrtiϲiрɑtеd in thе survеу wɑs ,.`:dеtеrminеd bу how mɑnу wеdding рlɑnnеrs thеrе wеrе in London. This рoрulɑtion ϲonsistеd of ɑррroхimɑtеlу 2,000 реoрlе. Thе wеdding рlɑnnеrs for this survеу wеrе found bу sеɑrϲhing thе following onlinе rеsourϲеs: Thе Knot (www.thеknot.ϲom), Wеdding Wirе (www.wеddingwirе.ϲom), ɑnd thе Аssoϲiɑtion for Wеdding Рrofеssionɑls Intеrnɑtionɑl (www.ɑfwрi.ϲom). Thеsе wеbsitеs wеrе ϲhosеn bеϲɑusе thеу ɑrе рoрulɑr wеdding wеbsitеs thɑt рrovidе lists of рrofеssionɑl wеdding рlɑnnеrs throughout thе nɑtion. Wеdding рlɑnnеrs on thеsе sitеs ɑrе ownеrs of highlу rеϲommеndеd London wеdding рlɑnning businеssеs. Thе subjеϲts for this studу wеrе sеlеϲtеd through ϲonvеniеnϲе sɑmрling on еɑϲh sitе, whiϲh рroduϲеd ɑ totɑl of 50 wеdding рlɑnnеrs with 30 рɑrtiϲiрɑnts from www.thеknot.ϲom, 10 рɑrtiϲiрɑnts from www.wеddingwirе.ϲom, ɑnd 10 рɑrtiϲiрɑnts from www.ɑfwрi.ϲom.

Description of Instrument

The instrument used for this study was a 15-item questionnaire that was created by the researcher and distributed using email. The instrument was created on SurveyMonkey as an online questionnaire. The instrument was not tested for validity or reliability, but was field-tested by four peers and reviewed by an advisor. The feedback from the peers and advisor was taken into consideration and then used to improve the instrument. A copy of the instrument can be found in Appendix A. Two emails were also constructed by the researcher and were emailed to the subjects of this study. The first email that was sent explained the study, gave a forewarning that a link to the questionnaire would be emailed soon, and asked recipients to ignore the email if they did not have at least one year of experience in the wedding industry. The first email also included a request for participants to respond as soon as possible if they wished to be removed from the study. If the subject who was emailed did not respond with a request to be removed from the study, then a second email was sent to them with the link to the 15- item questionnaire that was developed by the researcher. An Informed Consent form letter that explained the purpose of the study, contact information, and the reason for participation was also attached to the online questionnaire and can be found in Appendix B.

The instrument contained all open-ended questions. The first three items on the questionnaire asked demographic questions regarding the subject’s place of business, the amount of time they have worked in the wedding industry, and their wedding association memberships or certifications. Items 4 and 5 covered the current wedding trends of 2015. Items 6 through 15 covered the possible future trends in the wedding industry, specifically location/venue trends, wedding size trends, clothing trends, décor trends, budget trends, wedding season trends, wedding theme trends, photography/media trends, floral trends, and food trends.

Description of Procedures

A search was done on three different wedding sites for professional wedding planner contacts throughout London. The sites include www.theknot.com, www.weddingwire.com, and www.afwpi.com. These sites were searched for contacts on October 3, 2015. The professional wedding planners found on these sites were then contacted on October 5, 2015. These professionals were first contacted through email and asked to participate in a research study on future trends in the wedding industry. They were also asked to respond to the researcher if they did not wish to take part in the study. A copy of this first email can be found in Appendix C. Planners were emailed a link to the questionnaire on SurveyMonkey if they did not express an interest in removal from the study. A copy of the questionnaire email can be found in Appendix D. Any planners who did not respond after two weeks were assumed to be unwilling to participate. All planners willing to participate were given two weeks to respond. One week after the questionnaire was administered to willing participants, a reminder email was sent out asking the planners to make sure to complete the questionnaire by the deadline. After the two-week deadline was up, all data submitted on SurveyMonkey were downloaded to an Excel spreadsheet. Every participant was sent a thank-you card and a thank-you email by May 5, 2015.

Task 1 c

Method of Data Analysis

The data collected from London wedding planners was analyzed to determine future trends within the wedding industry. After data were collected, each questionnaire was reviewed and categorized based on the location the wedding planner’s business. The three categories that the responses were categorized into were Southern London, Central London, and Northern London. Any similar responses within these three categories were separated into sub-categories. The data were then downloaded from SurveyMonkey into Microsoft Excel. Basic statistics were used on the data to determine the future trends in the wedding industry.

The first three items on the instrument were designed to qualify whether the chosen wedding planner was valid as a subject and establish the planner’s qualifications. Validity was established if the subject had enough experience in the wedding industry to be able to understand and determine current and futures wedding trends. Subjects were asked to not complete the questionnaire if they had less than one year of experience in the wedding industry, so validity was established before the questionnaire was taken. Items 4 and 5 were designed to determine the current trends in the wedding industry as to compare them with the next ten items about future wedding trends. The last ten questions were designed to gain professional opinion and determine future wedding trends for the next five years.

Each item on the questionnaire answered a research question. The first research question asked what wedding planners think wedding trends are. This question was addressed by asking what the subject would define a wedding trend as. Answers were compiled and analyzed to determine a mutual definition of a wedding trend.

The next research question asked what wedding planners see as current and future wedding trends. The research question was answered by asking wedding planners what they thought the 2015 weddings trends were and by asking wedding planners to predict wedding trends within the next five years. Another related research question asked what wedding trends are predicted to change the most within the next five years. A cross- tabulation between predicted future trends and the current wedding trends addressed the question by showing the differences between the two answers.

The last research question assessed whether there was a difference in trend predictions based on where wedding planners were located in London. In order to address this research question, a cross-tabulation of the location of the subject’s wedding planning business and their future wedding trend predictions was conducted.

After data collection, a qualitative data analysis was done. The researcher first conducted an inter-rater reliability test in order to determine homogeneity among answers. A friend of the researcher helped sort and compare data. The data were first separated into the Southern London, Central London, and Northern London categories to determine trend differences. Within the location categories, the data were then sorted into similar answer themes that were mutually agreed upon between the researcher and the researcher’s assistant. After all answers and questionnaires were categorized, they were then coded in Microsoft Excel and analyzed by the frequency and percentage of responses in order to answer research questions in an appropriate manner.

Task 1 d

PRESENTATION OF THE RESULTS

The purpose of this study was to assess the future trends in wedding planning among selected London wedding planners. An initial email was sent to 50 wedding planners selected from The Knot (www.theknot.com), Wedding Wire (www.weddingwire.com), and the Association for Wedding Professionals International (www.afwpi.com). The selected planners were asked if they would be willing to participate in an online questionnaire about the future trends in the wedding industry. Of the 50 planners who were emailed, a total of ten questionnaires were completed. The following sections will present the responses of the ten participants according to the topics and questions on the questionnaire.

Demographics

Respondents were first asked where their current wedding planning business was located. Two planners were located in Southern London (San Diego to Ventura), four planners were located in Northern London (Santa Cruz to Del Norte), and four planners were located in Central London (Santa Barbara to Monterey). Planners were then asked how long they have been working in the wedding industry. Responses ranged from 3 years to 30 years with an average of 11.2 years. Please refer to Table 1 for visual representation of the data grouped by region in London.

Table 1.

Years Worked in the Wedding Industry by Mean Score and Standard Deviation

The planners were also asked what wedding associations they currently belong to.

Of the ten respondents, four belonged to associations including: ISES (International Special Events Society), ABC (Association of Bridal Consultants), NACE (National Association of Catering Executives), and CCWP (Central Coast Wedding Planners). Six belonged to no associations.

Current Trends

Planners were asked about the current wedding trends of 2015. The planners had many different trends to report, but all of their responses fell into the categories of a “glamorous” trend, a “do-it-yourself” trend, or a “natural” trend. Three out of four Northern London planners referred to a glamorous trend in their responses. These planners referenced aspects such as bold colors, photo booths, signature cocktails, and live bands in their current trend statements. The Central London planners had a variety of responses, but seemed to agree most on the do-it-yourself (DIY) trend, with two out of four planners saying current trends are DIY. These planners referenced Pinterest, personalization, and vintage details in regards to the DIY wedding trend. Southern London planners provided different responses within the DIY and natural trend

categories. Their trend responses included things such as wildflower arrangements,

circular ceremonies, outdoor weddings, and neutral colors to compliment the natural and rustic DIY trends. Despite all of the different responses and trend themes, all of the planners agreed that green is a current color trend. Please see Table 2 for a presentation of the data on current wedding trends.

Table 2.

Current Wedding Trends by Frequency and Percentage

Respondents were also asked to define a “wedding trend”. Responses were very similar regardless of the planner’s location within London. Almost all of the planners responded with a definition that stated that a wedding trend is a noteworthy design element that is popular at the moment and influences the structure and content of a wedding. They also said that a wedding trend greatly influences brides and sways the direction in which the wedding industry will go. A list of all of the planners’ definitions can be found in Appendix E.

Future Trends: Wedding Theme

After being asked about current trends, planners were then asked to predict future trends. First, they were asked what wedding theme trends they thought would be popular in the future. The responses were broken down into a “1920s” theme, a “glamorous” theme, a “vintage” theme, and a “modern” theme. Although the themes were easy to categorize, every planner (regardless of region) referenced a different theme within their responses. The Northern and Central London planners covered all of the themes, and the Southern London planners covered only the “vintage” and “modern” themes. The “glamorous” theme consisted of details like gold accents, neutrals, and simple elegance. The “vintage” theme consisted of details like smaller intimate gatherings, outdoor ceremonies, simple elegance, and antiques. The “1920s” theme consisted of details like jazz music, pearls and lace, and a Great Gatsby reference. Lastly, the “modern” theme consisted of details like bright colors, a focus on music, personality, and metallic colors. For a presentation of the wedding theme data, please see Table 3.

Table 3.

Future Wedding Theme Trends by Frequency and Percentage

Region

Southern Central Northern

Trend ƒ % ƒ % ƒ %

Future Trends: Floral

Planners were also asked what floral trends they could see being popular in the next five years. The most common floral trends suggested were arrangements using orchids, wildflowers, mixed materials, and a minimalist technique. Central London planners mostly suggested floral arrangement using a minimalist technique. They also thought that multiple, small arrangements would become popular. Southern London planners stated orchids in arrangements and wildflower bouquets as future trends.

Planners from Northern London suggested every type of future floral arrangement trend including mixed materials, minimalist, orchids, and wildflowers. Planners who suggested a mixed materials trend stated that arrangements with flowers and other items like jewels and brooches would become popular. All three of the regions had at least one planner who stated that wildflower arrangements would be a popular future trend. The planners who said wildflower arrangements would be a future trend stated that this trend would consist of rustic, large blooming flowers. Please reference Table 4 for a visual representation of the floral trends data.

Table 4.

Future Floral Trends by Frequency and Percentage

Region

Southern Central Northern

Trend ƒ % ƒ % ƒ %

Future Trends: Décor

Respondents were also asked about future wedding décor trends. Planners had a wide variety of responses to this question. All of the planners suggested many different trends like patterned table runners, interesting lighting techniques, antique décor, and colorful décor. Northern London planners mentioned long tables with runners and different lighting features like candles and projection as a future décor trend. Central London planners also mentioned chandelier lighting as being a future décor trend.

Planners from Southern London said that they thought antique décor as well as outside lounge furniture would become more popular within the next five years. Overall, all of the regions suggested colorful décor as a future wedding trend. Please refer to Appendix F for a complete list of answers to this question on décor.

Future Trends: Clothing

Planners were asked about future clothing trends for brides and grooms. The responses were broken down into a classic trend, a bohemian trend, a 1920s trend, and a colorful trend. The bohemian trend consisted of details like relaxed style, comfortable shoes like Converse, and open back dresses. The classic trend consisted of details like tuxedos and formal gowns. The 1920s trend consisted of details like lace and pearls, gowns with sleeves, and bowties. The colorful trend consisted of details like colored wedding dresses and colored ties. The Central Coast planners predicted a classic clothing trend to return in the future. Southern London planners were split between the bohemian and colorful trends. The Northern London mostly said 1920s would become

popular, but also said bohemian and colorful trends could become popular. Refer to Table 5 for visual representation of the data on clothing trends.

Table 4.

Future Clothing Trends by Frequency and Percentage

Region

Southern Central Northern

Trend ƒ % ƒ % ƒ %

Future Trends: Food

Planners were asked about future trends in food at weddings. Overall, planners in all regions predicted food trucks and buffets to be popular. Northern London planners strongly predicted that food trucks would be a trend in the next five years. Most Central London planners predicted that plated meals would become popular, but a few also said buffets and food trucks would be popular as well. Southern London planners were split between food trucks and buffets as the popular food trend at weddings. See Table 6 for a presentation of the data on food trends.

Table 5.

Future Food Trends by Frequency and Percentage

Future Trends: Photography/Media

Respondents were asked about photography and media trends for the future of weddings. Answers either fell in the photojournalism, iPhone pictures, or video trend categories. All regions had at least one respondent predict photojournalism and video as a future trend. Northern London planners responded with photojournalism as their predicted trend while Central London planners responded with iPhone pictures as their predicted trend. Both regions also had planners who responded with photojournalism and video. Southern London planners were split between the photojournalism trend and the video trend. Table 7 provides representation of the data on photography/media trends for future weddings.

Table 6.

Future Photography/Media Trends by Frequency and Percentage

Future Trends: Location/Venue

Planners were asked what they could see as the future trends in the locations and venues of wedding. All of the wedding planners in each region suggested many different places for locations and venues like wineries, the outdoors, and unconventional settings. The unconventional settings suggested were places like private estates, museums, barns, industrial spaces, and gardens. The Central London planners chose the outdoors and wineries as future location trends. The Southern London planners said unconventional venues would become the most popular in the future. Northern London planners mostly said that outdoor weddings would be a future trend, but they also suggested wineries and unconventional settings. Please see Table 8 for data on future location/venue trends.

Table 7.

Future Location/Venue Trends by Frequency and Percentage

Future Trends: Wedding Season

Participants were asked what season they thought would be most popular for weddings in the next five years. Planners responded with almost every season and each region had a different opinion on what season would be the most popular. Northern London planners said fall would be the season trend in the future. Central London planners said autumn would be the season trend in the future. Southern London planners said summer and fall would be the season trend in the future. No planners in any of the regions stated winter as a future season trend. For a representation of the data on wedding seasons, see Table 9.

Table 8.

Future Wedding Season Trends by Frequency and Percentage

Future Trends: Budget & Wedding Size

Planners were asked about the future of wedding budgets and amount of guests.

Both categories had a wide range of answers. The budget size ranged from $20,000-

$30,000 to $50,000-$100,000. The guest amount ranged from 30-40 guests to 150-200 guests. The average number of guests was relatively consistent throughout the three regions. Southern London planners responded with the highest average number of guests, while Central London responded with the lowest average number of guests. The average future budget was consistent for Central and Northern London planners, but much higher for Southern London planners. Overall, the Central London planners predicted a lower guest range and medium budget, the Northern London planners predicted a medium guest size and a little lower budget, and the Southern London planners predicted a higher guest range and a much higher budget. For the data regarding future budget and guest sizes, refer to Table 10.

Table 10.

Average Number of Guests & Average Budget Size

The results presented in this chapter indicate a slight difference in current and future trends, as well as a slight difference in trend predictions among different regions throughout London. A detailed summary and a discussion of the findings will follow in Chapter 4.

Task 1e

This study assessed the future trends in wedding planning according to wedding planners throughout London. This concluding chapter will include the following: a summary of the study, as well as a discussion of the findings, limitations, conclusions based on research questions, and implications of the findings, and recommendations for future research.

Summary

Weddings have grown into an important part of every cultural tradition around the world. As weddings have become more important, brides have become accustomed to feeling to need to make their weddings perfect. This feeling makes brides willing to purchase almost anything in order to achieve this dream. Their romantic notions not only make them apt to spend more, but also make them more likely to turn to popular trends to make their wedding the best. These popular trends change from year to year, which can make it difficult for brides to keep up. To assist brides in planning their dream wedding, it is important for wedding planners to stay current on the constantly changing trends, as well as be able to predict what will be popular in the future. This study assessed the future wedding trends within the next five years according to selected London wedding planners.

In order to conduct this study, 50 wedding planners throughout London were selected from three popular wedding related websites. An online questionnaire was then

created to discover the predictions of London wedding planners on future wedding trends. These 50 wedding planners were emailed on April 5, 2015 with a request to participate in the study. They were then emailed a link to the online questionnaire, unless they asked to be removed from the study. After two weeks of leaving the questionnaire open, the data were tabulated and analyzed, as well as grouped into similar responses.

Ten out of the 50 wedding planners that were contacted completed the online questionnaire. The data showed that there are numerous trends to be seen currently and in the future for weddings, but these specific wedding planners did not see much change in trends within the next five years. There was also not much of a difference in responses based on the three different London regions that the planners were located. The only difference seen in wedding trend predictions were related to wedding season, budget, and size. Northern and Southern London planners predicted fall and summer to be popular seasons, while Central London planners predicted autumn. Northern and Central London planners predicted weddings with average budgets and smaller guest size to be popular, while Southern London planners predicted larger guest sizes and a much larger budget. Overall, there were only slight differences in wedding trends predictions and only slight differences based on the planners’ regions in London.

Discussion

Wedding trends are always changing. It is important for wedding planners to stay on top of these changing trends and even be able to predict new trends for the future.

Based on the data collected from this study, it was found that there are numerous trends in the wedding industry and many different aspects of each trend. All ten of the wedding

planners surveyed had varying ideas of what would be popular within the next 5 years in their region of London. These varying future trend ideas were all relatively similar, though, and easy to separate into main trend themes. The future trends for the next five years were also very similar to the current trends that were listed by the wedding planners. This could be attributed to the fact that five years is not that long of a time in regards to trend changes. It seems that according to London wedding planners, trends will generally stay related to a “glamorous” or “vintage” theme within the next five year.

Trend predictions throughout the three regions of London were all very similar, which revealed that there is not a significant difference in wedding trends throughout London. For the most part, response themes were spread out for each reason, but some consistencies were also seen in the future trend areas. These consistencies were mainly seen in the wedding season, wedding budget, and wedding size trends.

Southern London wedding planners predicted summer and fall to be the popular seasons for weddings. This may be because summer and fall is when Southern London has the nicest weather. These planners also predicted that the average wedding budget would be around $50,000 with a guest size of around 150 people. This high budget and guest amount prediction could be because Southern London is home to Los Angeles and other very wealthy areas; a higher wedding budget usually means a bigger guest list. Southern London predictions were also the most “unconventional” with trend predictions like unconventional wedding venues, colorful wedding clothing, and food truck catering.

Central London wedding planners predicted that autumn would be the popular wedding season in five years. This is most likely because autumn is the nicest season in

that area. These planners predicted average wedding budget and guest sizes to accommodate for more intimate weddings. These planners tended to have more “traditional” trend predictions like plated meals, classing wedding clothing, and minimalist floral arrangements. This could be because Central London is not located around any main cities, which keeps the trends more traditional.

Northern London wedding planners predicted that fall would be the popular wedding season in five years. This is also most likely because fall is one of the most beautiful seasons in Northern London because of the changing seasons. Much like the Central London planners, these planners predicted average wedding budget and guest sizes. The Northern London planners tended to have more “trendy” wedding predictions with trend predictions like 1920s style clothing, food trucks, photojournalism, and outdoor venues. This could be because San Francisco is a main city in Northern London, which revolves around hip trends. Despite these small differences between regions, all planners in the different regions mostly responded with similar predictions.

It has generally been thought that brides have always dreamed of having a “big, white wedding” (Engstrom, 2008, p. 62). This research has shown that that thought is no longer the case. It is more likely that brides will follow popular trends like the current “glamorous” or “vintage” wedding themes instead of following the “big, white wedding” idea. As previously researched, Mead (2007) observed that weddings have become more individualistic and commercialized, which causes a breakdown in the traditional wedding aspect. Trends like food trucks, vintage decorations, video photography, and colorful wedding dresses were never associated with traditional wedding ideas until now. These current and future trends pointed out by London wedding planners show the new individualistic nature of wedding planning.

The results and conclusions for this study can only be made for the ten wedding planners who responded to the questionnaire. Despite this limitation, the data that were collected did help the researcher discern that trends will probably not change within the next five years and that in general London wedding planners have the same trend predictions. With more respondents, the study could reveal more specific differences in trend predictions based on the different regions in London. More in depth studies could also help wedding planners discover specifics about each different wedding trend.

Overall, these results help determine the different aspects of each current and future wedding trend listed and show that with improvement this study could possibly show a more accurate picture of what wedding trends might be in five years.

Despite the fact that there were some areas for improvement with this study, there were also some limitations to the study that should be factored in. The questionnaire was sent during one of the busier seasons for wedding planners, which could have contributed to the lack of responses received. In addition, the online questionnaire was sent through an email, which relied heavily on the wedding planners to not delete the email and actually take the time to participate to the best of their abilities. The questionnaire was also qualitative in nature and required the planners to type their own responses. Some planners might have been deterred by the fact that they had to think and were not given pre-selected answers. All of these factors could have contributed to the lack of responses received from the 50 original wedding planners that were emailed.

This study was conducted to determine what wedding planners believe will be the wedding industry trends within the next five years. Overall, this study assessed some of the current and future wedding trends according to London wedding planners. It also helped to determine that these trends would not be changing much within the next five years, or throughout London. This research could potentially enable London wedding planners to have some insight on future wedding trends. The common trend themes that were discovered within this study could potentially contribute to the future wedding planning efforts of wedding planners and brides.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

The current wedding trends for 2015 follow a “glamorous” trend, a “do-it- yourself” trend, or a “natural” trend. The future wedding trends within the next five years based on London wedding planners responses seem to follow a “1920s” trend, a “vintage” trend, or a “glamorous” trend.

Wedding trends will generally stay the same within the next five years. The trends most likely to change are food trends with the introduction of food trucks, budget trends with an increase in the overall wedding budget, and wedding theme trends with the introduction of the “1920s” and “vintage” themes.

Future wedding trend predictions differ slightly based on where wedding planners are located throughout London, especially regarding wedding size, budget, and season trends. Southern London planners predicted much

higher budgets and wedding sizes than Northern and Central London planners. Central London planners predicted autumn as a popular wedding season, while Southern and Northern London planners predicted fall and summer as a popular wedding season.

Wedding planners consider wedding trends to be anything that is a noteworthy design element that is currently popular and influences the structure and content of a wedding.

Recommendations

Based on the conclusions of this study, the following recommendation are made:

Further studies should be conducted on each specific trend area in order to determine more specific details about each future trend.

In future studies, more than 50 wedding planners should be contacted in order to receive more than ten responses and make the study more accurate.

Further studies should be conducted on the future wedding trend predictions for each specific region in London as to obtain more specifics and see how the regions actually compare.

In future studies, wedding planners should be contacted in forms of communication other than email, like through interviews or phone calls, as to obtain more responses and responses that are more in depth.

In future studies, wedding planners should be contacted in their winter off- season and not the beginning of their autumn wedding season as to receive more responses.