At long last my online questionnaire is ready to be completed! If you’re married or engaged, or know anyone who is then please fill it out yourself or get them to fill the questionnaire out! The more responses I get the better my research will be!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7NJS7R6

Thank you in advance!

4. The Importance of Wedding Planners Understanding the Consumption Process

Key Points:

• There is a growing demand for professionals in the wedding industry with an increasing number of individuals starting careers as wedding planners (Daniels and Loveless, 2014).
• The UK wedding industry is now worth £10 billion a year as engaged couples purchase goods for the wedding day, honeymoon and guest expenses (Hitched W.I.F.E., 2011).
• The wedding industry includes: wedding fairs and shows, bridal gown stores, media productions such as television adverts and magazines, reality TV shows, wedding books and films, and wedding consultants and other professionals (Ingraham, 2008).
• Bridal roles are generated as a result of various pressures including parents, other family members, friends and society. The “superbride” is a consumer identity that portrays two sides to the bride’s personality: “the rational project manager existing alongside the emotional childish fantasizer” (Boden, 2003, 46).
• Consumer ambivalence is usually experienced by the bride as she experiences mixed emotions including happiness, sadness, anxiety and stress during the wedding planning process (Otnes et al, 1997).
• Sociological ambivalence is the internal conflict between an individual and society’s norms/expectations (Ruth, 1995).
• Psychological ambivalence is also experienced by most brides as they battle with their own feelings whilst trying to please themselves and those around them during the wedding planning process (Ruth, 1995; Otnes et al, 1997).
• The wedding planner has become a commodity due to the increase in demand for luxury services in the wedding planning industry as intimate life becomes commercialised (Blakely, 2008).
• Hiring a wedding planner relieves the engaged couple of stress and consumer ambivalence as responsibility of the wedding planning process is passed over to a professional, therefore making the engaged couple feel relieved about their wedding day (The Journal, 2014a).

References:

Blakely, K. (2008) Busy Brides and the Business of Family Life: The Wedding-Planning Industry and the Commodity Frontier. Journal of Family Issues, 29 (5) 639-662.

Boden, S. (2003) Consumerism, Romance and the Wedding Experience. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Daniels, M. and Loveless, C. (2014) Wedding Planning and Management: Consultancy for Diverse Clients. 2^nd edition. Oxon: Routledge.

Hitched W.I.F.E. (2011) Hitched W.I.F.E.: Wedding Industry Facts and Economies. Each Year UK Weddings are worth £10 Billion. [online]. Available from http://hitched-wife.org/wedding-facts-economics/summary-stats/each-year-uk-weddings-are-worth-10-billion-pounds/ [Accessed 02 November 2014].

Ingraham, C. (2008) White Weddings: Romancing Heterosexuality in Popular Culture. 2^nd edition. New York: Routledge.

The Journal (2014a) Be Prepared and Your Big Day Won’t be Ruined by Stress. The Journal, 13 (October/November) 28-31.

Otnes, C., Lowrey, T. M. and Shrum, L. J. (1997) Toward an Understanding of Consumer Ambivalence. Journal of Consumer Research, 24 (1) 80-93.

Ruth, J. A. (1995) Sad, Glad, and Mad: The Revealing Role of Emotion in Consumer Ritual. Advances in Consumer Research, 22 (1) 692-692.

3. The Wedding Industry

Key Author: Ingraham (2008)

The third part of my literature review explains the growth of the UK wedding industry. Chris Ingraham (2008) succeeds in explaining the changes and details that have occurred in the 20th Century throughout all areas of the wedding industry. Ingraham (2008) explains:

• after the 1990 bridal gown recession occurred, the prices for objects that are consumed for the wedding day doubled in price due to the increase of production costs. This led to consumers spending more on their wedding day, suggesting that the industry has expanded as a result of couples spending more money on individual aspects of the wedding day.
• the wedding industry targets upper-class individuals to consume its goods as the wedding has become an expensive and compulsory ritual in western societies.

Other key points include:

• The UK wedding industry’s trends are following those that are currently found in America (Daniels and Loveless, 2014).
• Children in western societies are socialised to believe that a white wedding is inevitable in later life, and that marriage is a required ritual that is experienced by everyone. Manufactured toys such as “bride Barbie”, imaginative games involving weddings, and story books with the “fairy tale happy ending” all encourage children to believe in marriage whilst building an association between marriage and the white wedding (Otnes and Pleck, 2003).
• The rise of the wedding industry has been a result of a rising number in wedding fairs and shows across the country. Whereas each county used to host a small number of wedding fairs, these figures have multiplied significantly alongside a growing number of wedding shows (UKAWP, 2011).
• Despite changing statistical patterns of the preferred wedding ceremony, traditions are still highly valued by the engaged couple, regardless of whether a religious ceremony is carried out or not (Boden, 2003).
• However, although couples remain traditional in some elements of the wedding planning process, there is a divide between which areas remain traditional and which do not. This varies for each couple as it is down to their discretion. As couple’s strive to showcase their personalities, various aspects of the wedding become unique (Daniels et al, 2012).
• One in five weddings now take place abroad, illustrating a change in traditional trends (Mintel, 2011).
• The rise of social media has provided engaged couples with more variety and guidance when planning a wedding. Websites such as Pinterest and wedding blogs are available to help those struggling to pinpoint the fine details of planning a wedding. It is debatable as to whether an increased amount of choice is beneficial to the couple or not (Boden, 2003).

References:

Boden, S. (2003) Consumerism, Romance and the Wedding Experience. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Daniels, M., Lee, S. and Cohen, T. (2012) The Attributes Influencing Wedding Reception Venue Selection. Event Management, 16 (3) 245-258

Daniels, M. and Loveless, C. (2014) Wedding Planning and Management: Consultancy for Diverse Clients. 2^nd edition. Oxon: Routledge.

Ingraham, C. (2008) White Weddings: Romancing Heterosexuality in Popular Culture. 2^nd edition. New York: Routledge.

Mintel (2011) Mintel: The Great Escape – One in Five Weddings Now Take Place Abroad. [online]. Available from http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/travel/the-great-escape-one-in-five-weddings-now-take-place-abroad [Accessed 13 November 2014].

Otnes, C. and Pleck, E. (2003) Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding. Berkeley: University of California Press.

UKAWP (2011) UK Alliance of Wedding Planners: The Ever Changing Wedding Industry. [online]. Available from http://www.ukawp.com/blog/for-wedding-planners/life-as-a-planner/the-ever-changing-wedding-industry/ [Accessed 13 November 2014].

2. Consumption 

Key Author: Boden (2003)

The second section of my literature review describes what consumption is as a physical and mental process. The work of Sharon Boden (2003) applies the concept of consumption to the wedding planning process in order to gather an in depth understanding of wedding consumption. Boden (2003) discovered:

• in some cases, the powers of society, marketing and the media influence consumers through purchasing patterns in order to control society.
• wedding planning involves two variations of consumption: the commercial consumption of physical goods, and the concept of consuming and conceptualising the wedding itself as a commodity.
• consumers look to experience a form of self-illusory hedonism as they aim to self-define and self-express themselves, all the while striving to be extraordinary in an ordinary society.

Other key points include:

• People believe that what they consume and purchase defines who they are and the social groups they have been placed in. Post-modern consumption involves underlying practices as people consume goods directly and indirectly (Adomaviciute, 2013).
• Consumption is more than purchasing a physical good – it includes anticipating the act of consumption, experiencing the action, and recollecting the event for years to come (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982).
• “Hedonic consumption designates those facets of consumer behaviour that relate to the multi-sensory, fantasy and emotive aspects of one’s experience with products” (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982, 92), therefore introducing the concept of consuming a product for enjoyment and pleasure rather than as a necessity.
• Engaged couples find consuming different aspects of the wedding significantly important with some goods being sacred and others being profound. Brides and grooms also displayed differences between what was most important about the wedding day (Lowrey and Otnes, 1994).
• Weddings are now much larger events than in the past with sights such as limousines and champagne fountains now being common. This is down to the rise of the romantic consumer culture – a culture based upon women carrying out their fairy tales (Otnes and Pleck, 2003).
• Weddings are commonly viewed as a luxury purchase, sometimes deemed unnecessary. The wedding market is connected with wedding rituals that increase the time, money and energy that consumers put into their wedding, leading to the lavish wedding now being standard across many cultures (Knuts, cited in Andrews and Leopold, 2013). Why do people deem so many aspects of the wedding necessary?
• Two people used to marry in order to unite two families together. The wealth of a family is still seen as important today, and the wedding can act as an event to publicise the wealth behind a family. Some individuals now spend money simply to display the wealth and taste that they possess – a process known as conspicuous consumption (Veblen, 2005).

References:

Adomaviciute, K. (2013) Relationship between Utilitarian and Hedonic Consumer Behaviour and Socially Responsible Consumption. Economics and Management, 18 (4) 754-760.

Andrews, H. and Leopold, T. (2013) Events and the Social Sciences. Oxon: Routledge.

Boden, S. (2003) Consumerism, Romance and the Wedding Experience. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hirschman, E. C. and Holbrook, M. B. (1982) Hedonic Consumption: Emerging Concepts, Methods and Propositions. Journal of Marketing, 46 (3) 92-101.

Holbrook, M. B. and Hirschman, E. C. (1982) The Experiential Aspects of Consumption: Consumer Fantasies, Feelings, and Fun. Journal of Consumer Research, 9 (2) 132-140.

Lowrey, T. M. and Otnes, C. (1994) Construction of a Meaningful Wedding: Differences in the Priorities of Brides and Grooms. In: Janeen Arnold Costa (ed). Gender Issues and Consumer Behaviour. California: Sage Publications Ltd, 164-183.

Otnes, C. and Pleck, E. (2003) Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Veblen, T. (2005) Conspicuous Consumption. London: Penguin.

My literature review for this dissertation was handed in before Christmas. Slightly over the word count, my work consisted of 5,500 words, and these were split into five main sections, each with it’s main author. Part 1 is explained below.

1. The Sociology of the Nature of Weddings as Events

Key Author: Andrews and Leopold (2013)

The first section of my literature review discusses the link between event management, sociology and, to some extent, anthropology. Weddings are a special event that are purposefully organised to offer a display of ritual and mark a special occasion. Andrews and Leopold (2013) state the following:

• events are linked to cultural importance, and have changed over time as a result of changing politics.
• the wedding signifies “the passage of people from one status to another” (p36).
• the wedding is a rite of passage that marks a passage of time and celebrates a change in social status.
• individuals and social groups come to understand their identities when experiencing a rite of passage such as a wedding.

Other key points include:

• The 1994 Marriage Act contributed to the decline in religious wedding ceremonies (Marriage Act 1994).
• Many English couples now cohabit before getting married. Couples stated that they felt more secure and stable once they were married (Baker and Elizabeth, 2013).
• Weddings create a conjugal unit, establish a new relationship between relatives, and act as a rite of passage which sees adolescents become adults. Wedding planning is likely to be the first large project organised by the engaged couple together, therefore placing a significant importance on getting the planning process correct. However it is usually brides that plan the wedding whilst choosing which tasks can be delegated to the groom (Sniezek, 2005).
• Reasons why women plan a wedding rather than men: the historical importance placed upon a woman to move up the social class hierarchy, and therefore raised to believe in marriage; it may not be viewed as socially acceptable for men to arrange a wedding as the work is seen as domestic and emotional labour (typically carried out by women); the groom’s aim is commonly to keep the bride happy, therefore giving her control of the big day (Lowrey and Otnes, 1994).
• People now seek to be an individual amongst society which has led to a decline in the religious domain. The engaged couple look to portray their personality throughout their wedding day, therefore leading to a decline in some traditional aspects of the wedding (Robinson et al, 2007).

References:

Andrews, H. and Leopold, T. (2013) Events and the Social Sciences. Oxon: Routledge.

Baker, M. and Elizabeth, V. (2013) Tying the Knot: The Impact of Formalization After Long-Term Cohabitation. Journal of Family Studies, 19 (3) 254-266.

Lowrey, T. M. and Otnes, C. (1994) Construction of a Meaningful Wedding: Differences in Bride and Grooms. In: Janeen Arnold Costa (ed). Gender Issues and Consumer Behaviour. California: Sage Punlications Ltd, 164-183.

Marriage Act 1994 (c.34). London: HMSO.

Robinson, R., Hermans, C., Scheepers, P. and Schilderman, H. (2007) Affected by Ritual. Predictors of Agreement with Church Marriage Rites in the Netherlands. Journal of Empirical Technology, 20 (2) 200-231.

Sniezek, T. (2005) Is It Our Day or the Bride’s Day? The Division of Wedding Labor and Its Meaning for Couples. Qualitative Sociology, 28 (3) 215-234.

I remember sitting in a first year ‘Business of Event Management’ lecture wondering what a dissertation was. Everyone else around me seemed to know what one was, and I was absolutely clueless. This lecture was titled ‘Sociology of Events’, and it was a lecture that I enjoyed very much. Having studied Sociology at A Level, I felt relaxed learning about something I had a background of knowledge in, and was excited to learn how sociology (one of my favourite subjects) linked to Event Management. At the mention of being able to do our dissertation on anything we liked – providing it linked to events – I stopped panicking, and instead my brain began wondering about linking sociology into my dissertation (whatever one was…).

Two years later, I’m very aware of what a dissertation is, and the idea to link sociology into my work never left my mind. I have always been interested to learn about social behaviour, trends and patterns in society, and I am a great believer that in order to succeed at something, it really helps if you enjoy it! The biggest problem I faced when it came to deciding what to write my dissertation on was how to narrow down this curiosity and decide upon a specific element of weddings, events and sociology. I enjoy working with people, and I spend a lot of my free time with friends and family. Naturally, the curiosity about the study of people and society has always been of particular interest to me.

My dissertation tutor, Marie, and I pinpointed the problem of having a broad range of research questions that I wanted to answer approx. 4 weeks into the semester. I had so many ideas flying around in my head, probably enough to write about 20 dissertations! By looking at the list of ideas I had, it is easier to understand how I came to decide to work on wedding consumption, sociology and events, and why my research is relatively broad yet specific.

• Do people get married for a marriage or a wedding?
• Why do people spend £20,000 on a one-day event?
• How have changes in culture affected the concept of marriage and the details of a wedding?
• Have the expectations of what a wedding should entail changed?
• Are wedding planners necessary in the wedding planning process?
• Do wedding planners help couples remain in their budget?
• Do couples spend more money on their wedding or honeymoon, and which is most important to the couple?
• Do ready-made wedding packages ruin the couple’s individuality and creativity in the wedding planning process?
• Has the recession effected the wedding planning industry, and if so, how?
• Why is a wedding so important?
• Does the “white wedding” still exist?
• The pressures of being a bride: why is a bride expected to look perfect and how is this achieved?

Many of these topics were thought to be sensitive issues, such as a person’s identity, or their reasons for getting married. I was advised by several people not to persue these topics as my dissertation is incredibly important, and the risk of not collecting enough data was too high a risk. I still worry that I won’t collect enough data for the dissertation I have chosen to carry out, but that is the risk you get when wanting to research into an engaged couple’s finance! Fingers crossed there are some kind couples out there who will be willing to help me out!

So, somehow, after experimenting with lots of different titles (that list isn’t all of them!) I chose: The Consumption of Weddings: An Exploratory Analysis of the Wedding Planning and Purchasing Process, and the rest will be history!

Subject: Event Management

Dissertation Title: The Consumption of Weddings: An Exploratory Analysis of the Wedding Planning and Purchasing Process

Why Event Management?

It’s quite simple really. I can tick off every characteristic on this list that is needed to succeed in the events industry.

• Organised (pretty OCD actually)
• Time management (often early)
• Friendly
• Team Management
• Leadership Skills
• Committed (once I start something, I have to finish it)
• Reliable

I’m sure there are plenty of other traits that are needed in the events industry, but let’s face it, the list isn’t exhaustive. And above all, I enjoy it!

And why have I chosen this title? 

First and foremost, I want to be a wedding planner. I’ve loved weddings since I was approx. 7 years old. My mum often tells me the story of the day she watched me watching Father of the Bride. Apparently my face was a picture, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen for the full 105 minutes, and to this day it is still my favourite film (followed by Father of the Bride Part II!) So, everybody says try and do something that you love for your career, and I love weddings. Initially I wanted to photograph weddings, but I soon discovered that wasn’t the right path for me. I still do photography as a hobby, but I’ve also learned that there are some passions in life that have to be left as a hobby so that you still experience true joy when carrying them out.

I have chosen to research into the necessity of wedding planners as this is my dream career. In order to discover how necessary wedding planners are, significant amounts of academic research needs to be carried out. I will not be able to answer the question by the end of my research, but I will be able to give an opinion on the subject with regards to my research question. My research also aims to discover the financial planning that occurs when planning a wedding, and how engaged couples are drawn into the consumption process whilst planning their wedding. The average cost of a wedding is now £20,000 – this is more than many people spend on a car, yet a wedding lasts one day and a car lasts significantly longer. Many people also don’t spent this much money on a holiday – something that also lasts significantly longer!

So what is it about weddings that draws in the consumer and influences them to spend so much money? What are people’s motives for spending so much money? Does a wedding portray who the engaged couple are as a couple, as an individual, or both? And which element of consumption is most significant in the wedding planning process?