Everyone has bills to pay and none of them say “Industry Dues.”
Event design by Stefanie Miles. Photography by Cameron Clark.
You may have been the only game in town for a long time:
the only wedding planner specializing in destination weddings on a particular island
the only bridal stylist focused on celebrities
the only documentary-style photographer with an “in” at Vogue
the only high-trafficked wedding blog in your niche
the only workshop that sold out within a week every year
Those days are numbered, if they still exist at all. Complaining about the wedding industry being saturated is like complaining about being stuck in traffic. If you are in traffic, you are part of the reason there is traffic. If you are in the industry, you are part of the reason it is saturated.
"Only" is nuanced and the increasing level of competition presents you with a choice between being bitter or better.
Everyone has bills to pay and none of them say “Industry Dues” at the top. They say “payroll,” “mortgage,” “student loans,” or “car note.” Complaining that more people are channeling their creativity into a paycheck only brands you as the out-of-touch wedding pro who can’t keep up with the times.
You may still be the only one in the world who does exactly what you do exactly the way you do it, but to the untrained eye or new potential client who has never needed to hire your type of service before, that distinction may not be clear.
If you're finding that you now have others claiming to do what you do, throw yourself a pity party for 20 minutes and then get busy raising the bar . . . again.
Originally published September 2012
