Branding your wedding business is so much more than a great logo and website. In fact, that’s barely scratching the surface.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about branding recently, and it’s time to get some of my thoughts down. As someone who worked in the event industry and also directed the branding of multiple startups, I figured I’d touch on some ideas and tips here. Let’s dive in.
Why Does Branding Matter For Your Wedding Business?
At a superficial level, branding helps differentiate your business from your competitors. But that’s probably the least important reason to think about branding.
When you brand your wedding business in a meaningful way, a way that reflects your values, and those of your clients, you’ll build a far more meaningful relationship with those clients. A deliberate brand attracts the customers you want to work with, but also the right employees too.
It also helps with marketing and design work, making these initiatives more manageable and compelling. But there’s one more reason to work on your brand.
You.
When your wedding business has a clear, thoughtful, reflective brand, you’ll feel proud to show up every day and proud of your work. You’ll feel like your business is authentic to you. And that’s priceless.
Your Clients Will Connect With Your Wedding Business Brand
One thing most people get wrong about branding is in thinking it’s about themselves. It’s not. Branding your wedding business is actually about your clients. It’s through branding that your clients can connect with your wedding business on a personal level.
“Every brand we choose helps express our own personal individuality.”
Joe Duffy, founder of Duffy in Brand Thinking by Debbie Millman
So when it comes to your branding and design style, ask yourself what your branding says about your clients. Are your ideal clients looking for traditional weddings? Or fusion weddings with a modern flair?
Let’s hear it from a bride-turned-planner, Ashley. “When I was doing the research, the planners I found in this area just didn’t speak to my aesthetic. It felt more like lilies and lace. And while I think that lilies and lace are beautiful and have a place, that’s not the sort of thing that drives me,” Ashley recalls.
Photo by Jessica Uhler
Your Brand Should Attract Your Ideal Client
Ashley founded Grit City Weddings in July of 2019 and chose the name because she thinks the town’s working-class roots is something to celebrate. On her website, she proudly declares, “We are blue-collar and strong and unique and ridiculously beautiful.”
Ashley’s commitment to her authentic brand means that Grit City Weddings attracts couples that she can relate to. And her couples feel like Ashley and her partner Michelle understand them.
The same goes for any event business. Kate Harris and Keith Tharp of Kate & Keith Photography prefer to work with clients they connect with. Kate added, “But when we get to know a couple, it’s natural for us to create an artistic photo, one that is telling the story, the authenticity of the people and the moment. And that’s something that we wouldn’t be able to do if we didn’t know them.”
Your Story Matters
As much as I say that branding your wedding business is about who your clients are, it is ultimately about you. Branding is how you share your story with those clients.
When it comes to the stress of weddings, your origin story is super important. It’s a way for couples to feel confident that you understand their nervous butterflies. They want to know your story to know that you’re the right person to help execute the most important day of their lives.
How To Tell Your Brand Story
Your brand story, like most tales, begins with a conflict. For many wedding professionals, it’s their own wedding, but that’s not always so. But I’ve sat down with event pros and recorded nearly 200 hours of interviews, and I can state this with unflinching confidence. Every event pro has an interesting and important story to tell – a story that drove them to launch their business.
Neil Patel frames brand stories as:
- Problem
- Solution
- Success
Hubspot prefers a frame of:
- Status Quo
- Conflict
- Resolution
Whatever framework you use to tell your brand story, what matters is that you’re communicating what motivates you and why.
Define Your Branding Because Branding Happens Constantly And Consistently
You know your wedding business, you know what motivates you, and you certainly know your story. You probably already have a logo and a website too. So why should you take the time to define your branding?
You showcase your brand every single tie you connect with a client. The first opportunity actually occurs before they’re even a client. Clients experience your brand when they see your profile on The Knot. And when they fill out your contact form on your site. They experience your brand on Instagram post descriptions and in your auto-response emails. And when you send a proposal or respond to an email.
The branding for your wedding business needs to be defined precisely because it needs to be consistent. And whether you have a virtual assistant, an intern, employees, and partners, they need to understand the brand too.
So take the time to craft your brand story, your brand assets, and the language your brand speaks. Then make sure it’s consistent across all mediums and in every touchpoint.
So What Actually Is Branding?
Well, branding is your logo. It’s also your website design. Branding is the clothes you wear to a meeting and how you say hello in a Zoom call. Branding your wedding business is the event planning software you use with your clients and your proposals’ layout.
Branding is who you are to your clients and who your clients are when they’re with you. According to Phil Duncan, Global Design Officer of P&G, branding is “a reflection of one’s personal compass.”
It’s you.