This Valentine’s Day, let’s spice up your wedding business’s marketing.

Please note: I was recently informed that Gary Chapman, the author of The 5 Love Languages, is homophobic. I in no way endorse his views and affirm all types of love. I share the below information not to support or endorse him, but because I believe that the concept of love languages can be empowering to everyone and can also be used to help you fall back in love with marketing your wedding business. At Emily Foster Creative, we welcome and celebrate all love and all gender identities.

If you’d like to learn more about this and The 5 Love Languages without giving money to Gary, you can read more here.

While I live and breathe marketing, I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. 

I know that you didn’t become a wedding venue owner, florist, or photographer to sit around all day thinking about your brand strategy. I’m not going to preach to you about marketing your wedding business in a specific way, or following a certain trend.

While I love love love Instagram, I know that it makes many creative business owners cringe and want to crawl in a whole. And the thing is: that’s normal. You didn’t start your business to spend all day on Instagram. You started your business to spend all day taking photos, altering dresses, creating arrangements, planning weddings, baking cakes, you get the gist. 

Marketing your wedding business is a lot like love.

I’ve been with my husband for over 10 years now and several years ago someone recommended The 5 Love Languages to us. We read through the book and took the quiz at the end. (If you’d like to learn more about the love languages, I personally recommend reading this article and the linked articles vs spending money on the book).

There are 5 love languages: Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Gift Giving, Quality Time, and Acts of Service. These languages can be used to show you care in any type of relationship – romantic, friendship, and family relationships.

My primary love language is gift giving – I love even the smallest gestures like getting a single rose or a friend sending me a coffee gift card. My husband’s primary love language is physical touch – he’ll literally stop me mid-chores to ask for a hug. Essentially, everyone has a primary love language that they feel best supported and loved within.

I think it was a positive that we learned these concepts earlier in our relationship, because it has allowed us to love each other in ways that don’t necessarily come naturally to ourselves. I’m not a very touchy feely person, and my husband doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on receiving or giving gifts, but since we’re aware of each other’s preferences, we’re able to help our relationship to thrive. 

Alas, this is a marketing post, not a love post, but I realized something recently:

Marketing is a lot like love. It’s a way to connect with the people who matter most to you, and not everyone appreciates the same type. For example, I love Instagram (as we know, others don’t). But, I really don’t love email marketing. I do have an email list and I work to bring my readers the best value possible, but you’ll likely never see me sending more than 2-3 emails per month, tops. I also just really don’t love receiving emails. I’ll read a blog post or stalk someone’s Instagram content before I open a newsletter consistently (sorry!). 

Marketing your wedding business doesn’t have to be boring, and it doesn’t have to drain you. You can find a way to make it work for your budget, your timeline, and your love language. 

If you’re ready to breathe some life and fun into marketing your wedding business, check out these 5 Love Languages. 

1. If your love language is words of affirmation… share testimonials everywhere!

Here are some ways to gather and share testimonials from your clients:

• Set up your Google Profile
• Update your website with testimonials. Pepper those bad boys throughout your homepage, about page, and services page in strategic ways where they make sense. If you want feedback on how to do this, 
• Make it a new goal to share at least one client testimonial to social media each week. You can grab old testimonials from your profile on The Knot and Wedding Wire!
• Bonus if you have video testimonials! Our client Pétillante Weddings did this well on her Testimonials page. 

2. If your love language is physical touch… get out in your community!

Okay, so this isn’t literally physically touching someone. We’re obviously not going to hug potential clients, and not everyone is comfortable with hand-shaking these days, but you can still make a physical impression on potential clients and vendor partners by going to networking events. 

Here are some pro tips for getting the word out about your wedding business in your local community:

• Design business cards to bring to your next networking event. We can actually do this for you! Here’s our V-Day gift to you: download our business card template from Canva. All that’s left to do after you plug in your business info is to download them as a print-friendly PDF, or JPG files, and upload them to an online printer. We love to use Moo for printing professional business cards. If you’re looking for an even more custom design, reach out to start a branding project with us. 
• Make it a goal to go to one in-person networking event per month. Here are some ideas for networking events to check out:
  • Your local WIPA chapter events
  • A Rising Tide event
  • A creative conference 
  • A wedding industry specific conference (Altared is beginning to host more in-person opportunities for vendors in Portland, Oregon to connect!)

3. If your love language is acts of service… do a favor for your potential clients. 

  Here are some ways to provide free or low value to your potential clients:

1. Host a floral arrangements workshop that’s low-cost for people in your area. You can theme this around a holiday and promote this as a fun way to have a date night or relax during the wedding planning process. 
2. Plan a styled shoot and invite potential clients to get free couples photos done.
   This can work whether you’re a planner, venue, florist, photographer, rental company, or really any type of wedding business. 
3. Host a trunk show at your bridal boutique or jewelry store. Invite brides or grooms in your community to try on garments and accessories related to their wedding day. You can elevate this event by offering free beverages and snacks. 
4. If you’re a photographer, plan a mini shoot day where potential clients can get engagement photos within a quick 15-30 minute session. You can deliver a small amount of photos for a low cost. When couples can see your talent from a quick interaction, they might want to invest even more in their wedding photographer… wink, wink, you! 
5. Host a low-cost or free sampling event at your venue or catering business. Invite potential clients to come tour your venue or sample your catering. Make it cocktail style for a more affordable event, or plan an elegant dinner for a more premium experience. 
6. Offer free trials to makeup and hair clients, or record tutorials for DIY couples. It’s up to you on what you feel you can offer at a low or no cost as a makeup artist, but this can be a great way to get more people into your circle who could book you for their next wedding or event. 

4. If your love language is gift giving… put together a bomb freebie for your potential clients.

Deliver free value to your clients with a freebie that can help make their wedding planning experience easier or more fun! Here are some ideas for freebies:

• Free budget spreadsheet or calculator so potential clients can get a realistic look at how much they should plan to spend. 
• Quiz  to help them figure out what wedding theme to go with. 
• Checklist for what to pack for the wedding morning/day/night. 
• List of unconventional honeymoon destinations. 
• Day-of timeline template. 
• Save the Date email template (for people who want to send digital Save the Dates). 
• Template for writing unique and interesting wedding vows. 
• Guide for how to choose a wedding dress to best suit your personality, wedding season, and body type. 

5. If your love language is quality time… nurture your vendor relationships. 

Make it your goal to grab coffee with a vendor friend at least 1-2 times per month. You can even make this a coworking session where you get some marketing or admin work done together! 

When you work a wedding with a new vendor or potential partner, make it a priority to connect on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn afterward, and follow up with a nice handwritten or email note. When you’re ready to elevate the relationship, consider reaching out to ask if you can feature your vendor friend as a preferred vendor on your website. Most vendors will be happy to return the favor. 

Being a small business owner can be isolating, but it doesn’t have to be in the wedding industry! There are so many kind and fun vendors who are excited to connect with you and looking for a new friend. 

I hope you have a fun Valentine’s Day treating yourself and your business to something fun. Remember, marketing doesn’t have to feel so draining or boring – just pick the right love language for you! And don’t forget to download our business card template here. 

Questions about how to bring these ideas to life? Shoot us an email!