Wedding industry on the rise in Valdosta

Published 10:00 am Sunday, May 1, 2011

Spring has sprung and that usually means one thing — the wedding season is in full swing.

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According to the Association of Wedding Professionals International, the No. 1 month for weddings in the United States is July. Of course, that is not necessarily the case in the South.

“Yes, the spring is definitely one of the busiest seasons for weddings,” Julie Gandy with Gandy Photographers said. “We typically start in March and shoot almost every weekend throughout the spring. The summer brings in a few weddings and then fall is a very close second to spring. These trends definitely reflect the milder weather that we have in the spring and fall here in the South.”

Paula Martinez, a wedding planner with Pink Bee Events, has seen the same when it comes to the most popular time for weddings.

“Actually, we’ve seen a trend where people are getting married earlier, like April, May and then September, October and November,” Martinez said. “It seems like July and August, the really hot months, people avoid it and I think it’s because brides are also getting away from the church and they want to do the location type weddings. You never know what the weather will be in July and August.”  

For Lezlie’s Bridal, Pageants & Prom, a “wedding season” isn’t necessarily true.

“Wedding stuff never really ends,” Lezlie Brogdon, owner of Lezlie’s Bridal, Pageants & Prom, said. “There are bigger months. Everybody thinks June is a big month but not really because everybody’s already purchased their dress for June.”

According to TheWeddingReport.com, there were 2.08 million weddings in 2009 in the United States, the lowest amount since 1965 when there were only 2.07 weddings.

But now that the economy is looking up, weddings are on the rise, even in Valdosta.

“With the initial onset of the recession in 2008-2009, there were a lot of brides that seemed to be booking further out into the next year,” Gandy said. “Perhaps this was to give themselves more time to save up for their wedding. We were fortunate to remain steady with bookings throughout the peak of the recession and things seem to have returned to normal at this point. In fact, we are busier than ever this year and 2012 is looking to be a very promising year for weddings as well.”

“Definitely over the last year we saw an increase and this year we’ve seen an increase,” Martinez said.

Brogdon has also seen an increase in business over the last few years and even seen another change in the business due to the economy.

According to Brogdon, not as many brides-to-be care about designer labels, such as Vera Wang, when picking out dresses.

“You used to but not anymore,” Brogdon said. “You do have some that have to have the name brand, but after the economy, you would hear those name drops all the time, but I haven’t heard that in a long time.”

The wedding industry is a big business. With television shows like “Say Yes to the Dress” on TLC, local wedding vendors are taking notice.

Recently Lezlie’s Bridal, Pageants & Prom moved from its Northside Drive location to Valdosta Mall, adding a new addition to the shop

“When we did this store, we made a room, just like the room you see on TV (on “Say Yes to the Dress”) that (the bride-to-be) can walk in and stand on the pedestal,” Brogdon said. “I watch that and watch how they do things. We’ll always say, Do you say yes to the dress? They like doing that. It’s specifically designed for the parents to sit in there and the family.”

Gandy and her husband, Jeff, have also started a website to help couples in Valdosta who are planning their big day.

ValdostaWeddings.com is a project that the Gandys created after constantly getting requests from brides for more information about other wedding vendors who work in the Valdosta area.

“This gave us the idea to create a website where a bride can find any vendor that she may need to create her perfect wedding,” Gandy said. “The site includes listings of all the wedding professionals in our area, helpful wedding day tips, fun and informative videos, as well as a feature of local weddings.”

According to Gandy, they have had a great response from brides and grooms coming from out of town to get married.

“We had one bride from the Virgin Islands who said she booked every vendor from ValdostaWeddings.com and was so pleased with how helpful the site was in helping her plan every detail of her day,” Gandy said.

Facts from TheWeddingReport.com

— In 2010, brides and grooms spent $9.64 billion on engagement rings and wedding bands.

— There were 2.08 million weddings in 2009 in the United States, the lowest amount since 1965 when there were only 2.07 weddings.

— In 2010, the average cost of a wedding was $24,070, the highest since 2007 when the average was $28,730.