As the weather begins to turn and the chilly mornings creep in across the UK, we have a sense of upcoming excitement at Wedinspire, as we know a fresh engagement season is upon us.

With December wedding proposals just around the corner, that can only mean one thing – an influx in exciting brand new wedding enquiries and they all want one thing – a venue, a dream venue to create their personable wedding vision. So are you ready?!

How to prepare for brand new Wedding Venue Enquiries

We’ve collated our thoughts and ideas for wedding venues going into 2023 to provide valuable tips and talking points to get the most out of your wedding space, followed by a handy end-of-year checklist with maximum conversions in mind.

1. Define Wedding Stays not Wedding Days

The best way to step forward into 2023 wedding sales is to ensure as a venue you are not only offering weddings but portraying the dream of a wedding stay. Irrelevant as to whether you offer accommodation or not, couples want to trust you can offer the right base for their entire wedding experience.

Many couples are opting for welcome meals or events prior to their wedding day and celebrating across numerous evenings, with long weekend weddings becoming the norm. Farewell brunches and welcome parties should become an integral part of your sales talk and packages moving into 2023, if not already done so.

2. Provide Wedding Experiences

Gen Z couples want weddings with a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ and there’s no better way to appeal than by offering wedding experiences worth shouting about.

Wine tasting, hot air balloon rides, pony treks, gourmet food tasting, spa treatments – just a few options of extras set to impress wedding guests.

Authenticity is key when it comes to wedding experiences, give couples a taste of your local culture and cuisine. If you can not offer them yourself as a venue, your sales team needs to research quality, local experiences and the best suppliers to recommend. Couples planning to wed overseas will find this knowledge extremely valuable.

You may consider partnering or co-operating with local businesses to create impressive wedding packages, negotiating wedding party discounts.

Here’s a few wedding experiences set to trend over the coming years;

  • Relaxed cocktail-styled wedding welcome parties
  • Wine tasting
  • Watersports
  • Seafood BBQ’s
  • Yacht charters
  • Vineyard visits
  • Local cuisine cooking classes
  • Group massages or afternoon pamper sessions

3. Offer solutions to potential venue negatives

What are considered to be your wedding venue weak points and what are you not offering couples?

Limited accommodation, no exclusivity, no outdoor ceremony space? Know it, own it and find a solution!

Building an onsite hotel for 100 guests is just a little unrealistic I appreciate, however you can consider co-operating with local air bnb’s, boutique hotels or rental accommodation which not only suits your venue’s style but compliments your experience for wedding guests. Have an accommodation list you can send to couples to make their life easier, it you have a partnership with these hotels then even better.

It is very rare a wedding party will require no accommodation at all, if your sales team can confidently offer the correct support, your conversion from enquiries to bookings will increase.

If your wedding venue does not or can not offer complete exclusivity ensure you present partial exclusivity. Restricted wedding areas and ceremony privacy is very much in demand (nobody wants to say ‘I Do’ with random strangers watching on!).

4. Do your numbers

Thanks to the current economical situation and the rising cost of inflation, it’s inevitable wedding prices have and will continue to rise. Ensure you have looked and reviewed your prices before the start of the new year, to be confident you can quote accordingly, couple are planning a year in advance, so consider this for 2024 and 2025.

5. Complete your end of year wedding venue preparation

As 2022 wraps up, now is the perfect time to ensure you have everything in place for the influx of new wedding enquiries come January.

From brochures to reviews and marketing, here’s our comprehensive checklist to make sure your wedding venue is prepared for 2023 enquiries;

  • 2022 wedding reviews published
  • PDF format Wedding brochure including pricing up to 2024
  • Action any Website updates including uploading the latest marketing photography
  • Publish Real Weddings
  • Social media reviews
  • Discuss/arrange a 2023 styled wedding shoot
  • Review/renew your venues presence on marketing platforms

Stand out to convert

The upshot is couples have choice, a lot of choice when it comes to choosing the location and venue to exchange their vows and in 2023 more than ever your sales team need to be on their A-game!

Gaining interest and contact from couples is excellent, meaning your marketing channels are working perfectly but you need to offer the correct support and guidance to achieve guaranteed wedding bookings.

By confidently collating all of the above checklist, offering solutions to your business weak points and linking with local suppliers your wedding offerings will not only achieve but exceed couples expectations.

If you would like to discuss ways in which to increase your wedding venue exposure, contact the international wedding platform Wedinspire, dedicated to showcasing the most exciting wedding spaces in the world!