Jkaylen's List: Bridal Research

• A recent survey of 53,000 travellers by Ipsos for TripAdvisor has revealed   that holidays strengthen the bond between UK lovers, who are twice as likely   as the average global traveller to get married or engaged afterwards.

• Marriage in Britain is stronger than it has been for a generation
• The trend towards more stable marriages is being driven by younger people,   with the divorce rates falling in all age groups up to 50 for men and 45 for   women.
• It follows a similar decrease in the number of divorces in 2011, meaning that   the trend in recent years is flat.
• The ONS said the year-on-year rise could be a reflection of the improving   economic situation
• But the figures show that 22 per cent of couples who married in 2002 were   divorced 10 years later – the lowest rate for any group since those who   married in 1984
• “What we’re seeing in fact is the strengthening of marriage over time.”
• “In the past people would have been asking ‘when are you going to do the   decent thing?’ “Now, since cohabitation has become so much more normalised   fewer people are asking that question so that people who are married are   buying in much more.
• “Behind the scenes the real story here is that marriages are getting better   and better, maybe not stronger than ever but stronger than they have been   for decades.”
• “Behind the scenes the real story here is that marriages are getting better   and better, maybe not stronger than ever but stronger than they have been   for decades.”

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• ither they are gallivanting off to spend their savings as they know they'll never afford a mortgage, OR settling down with partners,
• We are consoling ourselves with the mantra 'twenties are for living, thirties are for saving'
• Our brains are filled with triviality and fear of the future

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• The average annual salary in the UK is 26.5k and the average cost of a wedding in the UK is 22k
• But this is precisely why I think marriage is stronger, and purer, than ever before. We're no longer doing it because we 'ought to'; we're not adhering to an expectation from society
• The voluntary nature of modern day marriage
• Social pressures have cooled off, and so all that's left is a genuine desire to, as they say, put a ring on it!

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• The majority of the respondents, or 66%, said that they planned to get married at some point in the future. Another 22% said that marriage might be in their future. Only 12% said they were not planning on tying the knot at all.
• millennials like to think of marriage as an option rather than a requirement
• Most respondents cited money as the reason that they weren't able to marry in the near future
• People want long, committed relationships but are hesitant about marriage after seeing many of our [families] ruined by it.
• For my generation, with high unemployment and large college debts, providing for a partner takes on a whole new meaning
• There's so much pressure for younger generations to get a good-paying job, buy a house, get married, have kids, etc. This is the way of my parents generation. For my generation it is harder to get a good-paying job with a bad economy, expensive rent, and increasing housing prices
• The financial burden of a wedding was daunting
• But you get married for the marriage, not just for the wedding, so money should not be a deterrent if you are committed to each other
• My desire to be married springs from my own choice
• I think the cost is definitely a big thing that puts people off.
• I do worry that how you choose to get married is such a socially charged choice, and that it comes with such a price tag.
• But it seems a bit mad that people feel they can't make a declaration of commitment to their partner because, at the same time, they would also be expected to pay for a three-course meal for 100 people.
• It's too expensive to have a wedding, and anyone I know planning a wedding has had decisions over-ridden by wedding zealous family members. I'd rather spend the money on a deposit for a house, or setting up a business, or an investment for our future.
• Our wedding was nothing fancy due to the financial situation. Just a small and nice party for the family. To say thanks for our parents and celebrate our relationship
• Bringing a child up in a secure an environment as possible is important; while you never know what the future may hold, I intend to at least try and start off with a good footing. 

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• In 2012, the provisional number of marriages in England and Wales increased by 5.3% to 262,240
• The greatest number of marriages was for men and women aged 25 to 29.

• After seven years and more than 300 weddings, I realised that most brides are out of control and overspend by 100 per cent,”

• “The average wedding costs more than $54,000 but it doesn’t need to cost that much. The problem is people are trapped by the bridal industry.

  “More and more people are now paying for their own weddings too, but even if they wanted to have smaller wedding, they’re in trouble. Small, classy venues are few and far between.”

• "precious moment of utter luxury

• the ‘Temperley Bridal’ collection is a romanticized version of Temperley London, celebrating the ethereal, sensual nature of the brand.  
• resulting in a collection of dresses memories are made in

• A playful, populist approach to branding will continue to connect with younger luxury consumers in 2015.

• Meet the modern woman. Educated. Affluent. Confident. Optimistic. She will rise to the top of her company, or start her own. She embraces community – online and offline. With her busy lifestyle, she’s looking for services that boost her fitness and wellbeing. She wants property and luxury goods. She won’t be patronised. She is The Athena.
• Offer her foods with a narrative, drinks with a pedigree (and aspirational associations); present products that appeal to her savviness, intelligence and her need to multi-task – in a way that’s about her life, not just the life of her family.
• Re-Enlightenment products, which draw on space-age technology and aesthetics, are in.
• So think sweat, think positive; re-think your hero and heroine images for the modern woman at rest or play, who is conquering her personal and public space.
• hink enterprising, entrepreneurial, collaborative and challenging.
• She’s a child of the internet, a queen of research and a mistress of social media

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• The blurring that is typical of The Convergence Economy takes many forms – from physical products to conceptual collaborative spaces
• hanges in technology and our relationship with it.
• n the Convergence Economy, brands do not limit themselves to specific products or verticals. Rather, they craft sharply defined personalities, values and relationships that translate across sectors.

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• The Polarity Paradox is a coping mechanism for recession-beaten consumers who are over-sensitised, confused and disillusioned.
• We are struggling with rising complexity and wishing for comprehensible or simple reasons in order to still understand the world around us.
• marriage-eligible millennials are about to cause a spike in the number of marriages in the US

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• "The retail landscape has changed," Chief Marketing Officer Brian Beitler said. "Every consumer, at almost every price tier, wants to be able to get something that's affordable and to be able to go as high as they can from a fashion perspective."
• Demand for wedding gowns has increased in the last four years, according to Beitler. And David's Bridal said it makes more of the dresses than anyone else in the business, most of them in Asia.
  

• The bridalwear segment grew by 20.8% between 2003 and 2008, faster than the 16.3% increase in the total womenswear market. This is despite a decrease in the number of weddings.
• Mintel forecasts continued but slower growth for the total weddingwear market, 19% at current prices from 2008-13, resulting in an estimated worth of £262 million.
• outfits for other wedding party members will remain the fastest-growing segment, with growth of 25% expected for 2008-13.

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• Weddingwear, as defined in this report, accounts for around a tenth of the cost of a typical wedding. The reception costs around a fifth, with the honeymoon coming in at an eighth to a fifth.
• The growing trend for school and college proms has led to an increased choice in formalwear at a variety of price points. Some is especially positioned as suitable for bridalwear. Debenhams, for example, includes some dresses from its Debut ball gown collection within its bridalwear range.

• In July 2007, the Church of England voted overwhelmingly in favour of relaxing its wedding rules in an attempt to recover its shrinking share of the marriage market. The General Synod, meeting in York, supported proposals that would enable couples with only tenuous links to picturesque parish churches to apply to marry there, rather than being required either to get married in a parish in which one of them lives, or to apply for a special licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
• Mintel’s consumer research shows that ABC1 adults are much more likely than C2DEs to be spending more than £1,500 on weddingwear, thus boosting overall market value
• The structure of the population is ageing with the fastest growth amongst the over-60s. The 15-29s, an important age group for weddings (29 is the average age to get married), is growing in number, to peak around 2011.
• Working women tend to marry later as they establish careers, and they are also more financially independent and have greater say in purchasing decisions – including wedding costs. Two people contributing to the wedding costs means that the ceremony can be a grander affair.
• working women will have less time to dedicate to wedding planning. This is likely to drive demand for time-saving services, for example one-stop weddingwear purchasing at a single well-stocked specialist

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• The number of marriages peaked in 2004 at some 309,000. Since then, the number of weddings has been declining – with an estimated drop of 1.8% in 2008, to around 263,000.
• Despite this volume decrease, spending on weddingwear has been rising – up by 22% over 2003-08. The estimated market value for 2008 is £220 million.
• The strong economic growth and rapidly rising house prices, evident until Autumn 2007, considerably boosted many people’s perception of their own personal wealth. This led to a greater willingness to trade up to the premium end in many consumer markets, and weddingwear was no exception
• The challenge for weddingwear retailers is to adapt their trading strategies to cope with the ‘double whammy’ of falling numbers of weddings and a likely drop in average amount spent.
• Because of the nature of wedding dress purchasing, service is extremely important, and this is the unique selling point of the specialist bridalwear shop
• Bridesmaid dresses are generally purchased at the same time as the wedding gown, in order to ensure style co-ordination. They are usually purchased in the same store as the wedding dress.
• Specialist weddingwear retailers dominate the market
• While 25-34 are the most popular ages to get married, there is an increase in over-45s getting hitched, and a decline among 35-44s. Suppliers and retailers, therefore, ought to ensure they cater for the weddingwear needs of a more diverse clientele.

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