Trends are an inherent part of our modern culture and oftentimes, can be difficult to navigate as a wedding business owner. In this article, I want to discuss trends as they pertain to the industry, why they exist, and whether or not you should follow them. As always, this is an opinion article, so please, take it with a grain of salt. I also encourage discussion on the subject in the comments regarding your thoughts on trends. With that being said, let’s get started.
What is a trend?
Before we can discuss whether you should be following trends, let’s first define what a trend is. In our case, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a trend is a current style or preference. What is a trend you can think of off the top of your head? For me, I immediately think of fashion. Throughout contemporary history, the fashion industry has gone through innumerable iterations and trends, the recent of which, being the renaissance of brands such as Champion and Reebok. Trends, however, typically aren’t sustainable, gain massive traction very quickly, and are gone in a relatively short period of time. There’s no doubt trends are ingrained in every industry including music, fashion, and even in your own niche within the wedding industry.
Trends in the wedding industry
We’ve all seen a trend in our particular niche no matter where we are positioned in the wedding. Can you think of one? As a videographer/photographer I certainly can. For example, if you are a photographer perhaps you are aware of the trend for heavy contrast in photos or certain color grades. Another heavy trend is the revival of the “film look” (visual arts people know what Im talking about). In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with trends. They are a personal preference and can actually be extremely valuable in the marketplace if the trend is highly desirable. However, I also know many people in the industry that gravitate towards the “timeless” mentality and there’s nothing wrong with that either. At the end of the day, I really think it comes down to the style that you ultimately identify with the most. I have found it important to keep two things in mind when navigating through trends:
- “Is this trend/style something I truly enjoy and feel confident marketing or am I using it to capitalize monetarily in the short term.”
- On a long enough timeline, everything is a trend.
These two ideas have really helped me navigate trends and helped me find a style and trends that I am ultimately proud of and comfortable marketing.
Some final thoughts on trends
Every significant period of history has trends. The roaring 20s, the 60s, the 80s, you name it. We are a people of trends and there’s nothing wrong with that. The most important thing to recognize if you do identify with a trend is that, ultimately, they do end. Therefore, it is important you are thinking about perhaps what comes after the trend. The unfortunate thing about trends is they are sensational for a bit, but then they come to their ultimate demise and most people become sick of them.
Hopefully, this article was insightful to the trend of talking about being trendy (wait…). In all seriousness, in parting thought, be true to yourself and honest with yourself about each trend or style. Do you identify with it? Are you really excited about offering it? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. Do you follow trends? Why or why not? What trends have you found yourself identifying with? Can’t wait to see your thoughts, thanks for reading. 🙂
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