BridaLuxe :: Affiliate Marketing for Wedding Pros

Through Twitter I have recently learned about BridaLuxe, a new niche affiliate marketing network for the wedding industry.  This blog is not a b2c entity so it would not make sense for us to sign on but for many of you out there in wedding-world it just might be an interesting option to monetize your site or blog {only if appropriate and relevant to your content and growth strategy of course!}.

Would love to hear any feedback from those of you who sign up or have been working with them.  In this economy, creating divergent streams of  'passive' income is a smart business strategy as long as it aligns with your brand.  BridaLuxe appears to be headed in the right direction - time will tell!

From WSJ: "The Grim Forecast for 2009 Wedding Spending"

This just in from The Wall Street Journal::

"Bridal shopping season is just around the corner, following the bump in engagements that happens on Valentine’s Day. But this year, designers of wedding gowns and accessories are expected to take a hit. Sales of wedding gowns in the U.S. are expected to decrease 2.8% this year, compared with 2008, to reach $973 million, according to a new projection by Los Angeles-based market-research firm IBISWorld, which compiles its estimates based on reports from retailers’ and manufacturers’ industry groups. While the sales drop isn’t as large as the 4.2% decrease the wedding dress category saw in 2008, it represents a continuing decline in an area that had seen steady growth since at least 2001, says Toon van Beeck, a senior industry anylyst for IBISWorld.

He notes that the average amount spent on a wedding is expected to drop 8% in 2009 to reach $20,000—just two years ago, in 2007, the average amount that a couple spent on a wedding was $30,000.

“This year, the economy will play a big role” in wedding planning, Mr. van Beeck says, predicting that wedding spending will also likely be affected by couples who postpone their plans “so the ceremony can be done when the financial time is right.”

Other areas of the industry that are expected to take a hit include engagement rings and the hiring of wedding planners. Couples getting married in 2009 are expected to spend $785 million on hiring wedding planners, representing a decrease of 4.2% from the 2008 figure, Mr. van Beeck says. In 2008, the drop in spending on wedding planners was only 1.7%, he says. “Many of the 2008 weddings were already booked and paid for,” he says. But “for 2009, people were able to mitigate this cost, hence the steeper decline.”

There is, however, one small bright spot in the wedding industry business: Rentals. For several years, spending on wedding gown rentals had held steady at about $40 million each year. This year, however, spending on rented gowns is expected to rise 7.5% to reach $43 million."

Sean's Blog

Finally!!  The brilliant Sean Low, President of Preston Bailey Designs has started a blog!  It is entitled "The Business of Being Creative" and with it he shares his insights on anything and everything related to the business-side of our creative industry.

I have had the great pleasure of working with Sean on many projects over the past 4 years and I always am inspired and energized by his smart and level-headed approach to the business of our business.  He captivated the attendees at www.engage08:the encore and by popular demand, will lead a panel at www.engage09.com .

Be sure to add Sean's Blog to your RSS feed and visit also.  He is also a must follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/seanlow .

Welcome to the blogging world Sean and thank you for helping us all to look at this business from a practical and critical point-of-view!

engage!09 :: something blue registration opens!

Beginning tomorrow {Monday 2.2.09} at 9am official registration will begin for engage!09 :: something blue.  Specific details on registration are available on the blog.

Space is limited to the first 125 registrants and both engage!08 and engage!08:the encore sold out, so if you are interested in joining us we recommend you sign up as soon as possible!

In the meantime, we were thrilled to have announced the engage!09 scholarship winner - all the details over on the engage!09 blog.  Congratulations to deserving * rising star * Monica Gill of The White Box of Wedding Design - we look forward to meeting {and learning from} Monica in June in Grand Cayman.

So much has been happening in the past month - we promise other updates soon!