Scouting the Bridal Shows

Looking for the best place to find prospective wedding  and honeymoon clients?

The Wedding Report indicates that 36.9 percent of engaged couples will use bridal shows as a source to find vendors for their wedding. This means we could see as many as 792,000 couples attend a bridal show in 2010. While the year is only half over, a look at 4,097 survey samples show 2010 bridal show attendance should be up 14 percent over 2009.

Where Do Honeymooners Go?

From Hawaii to the Caribbean, 11 out of the 13 most frequently chosen honeymoon destinations were tropical locations.

Top Wedding Locations

*    Las Vegas (120,000 weddings/year)
*    Hawaii (20,000 weddings/year)
*    U.S. Virgin Islands (5,100 weddings/year)
*    Jamaica (5,100 weddings/year)
*    The Bahamas (4,000 weddings/year)

Source: About.com, compiled from various sources

Destination Weddings

As the number of destination weddings continues to rise, some trends and hard numbers are beginning to emerge:

*    16 percent of marriages are destination weddings.
*    The destination wedding market accounts for $16 billion in annual spending.
*    Average budget for a destination wedding is $20,600.
*    60 percent of destination couples pay for the wedding themselves.
*    The average age of a destination bride today is 33, compared to the U.S. average of 28.
*    70 percent have graduated college and the average household income is $110,000.
*    Average number of guests at a destination wedding is 48.
*    Guests at a destination wedding spend an average of $400 to attend.
*    Nine out of 10 couples say weather is a key factor in selecting a destination.

Source: About.com, compiled from various sources