Survey Results 2014 - State of the Wedding Planning Industry

By Beth Erickson, Wedding Planner Magazine, La Crosse, Wis.Who is the typical wedding planner? 
What type of events do today’s planners orchestrate? Do they have employees? Did they realize business growth in 2013? Do they anticipate continued growth? What are the industry’s greatest challenges?These are just some of the questions to which Wedding Planner Magazine wanted answers. In November 2013, we asked readers to complete a “State of the Industry” survey. In just one week, we had a 12 percent response rate, with 321 responses. Survey results were uniquely tied to email addresses, with only one response allowed per address. What were the results? Take a look.Who Is Today’s Wedding Planner?If you were ever curious about what’s “typical” for the average wedding planner, we have the answer. Wedding Planner Magazine tracked the top answers among all of the questions in the State of the Industry survey and created the following profile of today’s planner.Personal94%     Female69%     Married68%     Have no children under 17 or under31%     30-39 years old93%     Live in the United StatesCareer53%     Consider themselves a wedding planner vs. planner and designer or designer43%     Have been a planner for 1-5 years69%     Employed full-time75%    Self-employed as a business owner61%     Do not have a second job39%     Were previously in hospitality management94%     Belong to professional organizations like the Association of Bridal  Consultants30%     Belong to local business and networking groupsOffice & Employees65%    Work from a home office68%    Have employees, independent contractors or interns56%    Most likely to employ independent contractors28%    Employ 2-3 interns28%    Employ 2-3 independent contractors70%     Provide professional liability insurance40%    Provide general business insuranceServices & Budget89%    Offer full consultations36%    Charge $2,501-5,00064%    Offer hourly consultations43%    Charge $51-75 per hour82%    Offer day-of wedding planning services43%    Charge $1,001-2,000 for day-of-wedding planning services39%    Clients' average budget is $10,001-25,00062%    Offer rentals49%    Offer stationery99%    Mostly plans weddings but dabbles in:56%    Anniversaries55%     Birthday parties51%    Corporate events49%    Destination weddingsRevenue59%    Experienced increased revenue in 201338%    Experienced increases of 11-20% (2013)88%    Expect increased revenue in 201452%    Expect increased revenue of 11-20% (2014)RELATED: Wedding Planning Industry’s Biggest Challenges Loom Large