A wedding pro recently asked me:

Do you know anywhere I can advertise that doesn’t cater to DIY brides?  I’m an invitation designer and feel that I’m losing market share to the DIY projects out there.

This is a great question and I’ll answer it here for everyone.

Flickr credit: love Maegan (Creative Commons)

DIY is here to stay

Whether it’s in your favor or not, DIY is here to stay.  Engaged couples are choosing to have more control over the details of their wedding.  And, some times, this has very little to do with budget.

They want to be involved in the planning process and they want a very personal experience for their guests.  Hence, the Do-It-Yourself phenomena.  Couples will select a few (if not all, god forbid) of the wedding day details to do on their own. This may stem from any of the following:

  1. a hobby
  2. a desire to control
  3. a personal touch they desire
  4. budget constraints

DIY is here to stay.  So, how do we work with it instead of against it?  It’s a challenge of many segments in the wedding industry.  The invite segment has been one that has been hit the hardest with the DIY trend.

DIY in the media

As a result of this trend, most magazines and blogs will have articles on DIY projects or DIY details at a real wedding.  Media has to give the readership what it desires.  And, because DIY is a part of a significant number of weddings these days, media would be foolish to not give readers what they want.

NOW – there is definitely a market of high-end luxury weddings that does not have any DIY.  (However, keep in mind what I said earlier about DIY not being a budget consideration for some.  Just because the wedding is high-end doesn’t mean that they will not have some DIY elements.)  This is a specific niche and one that could be a good match for your business.  You’ll have to examine whether your products and services cater to this luxury clientele in design, quality, styling, and pricing.  And, then seek out the luxury publications.

Picking & choosing DIY projects

I think the thing to keep in mind is that even tho a site or magazine may feature (from time to time) something about DIY, not everyone is making their own invites.  Style Me Pretty, for example, will feature a DIY wedding – but not all readers are making their own wedding invites.  The couple may choose to make the table runners – but not the invites.  (Others may opt to make the invites, but not the runners.  It’s a mix.)  A site like Oh So Beautiful Paper features beautiful wedding invites.  Its readers are a mix of people looking to make their own invites (and want inspiration) and other readers who want to buy invites.  Most magazines and blogs are featuring a mix of DIY and non-DIY.  (Obviously you wouldn’t want to advertise or be featured on a DIY-only site or magazine if you are an invite designer.)

My best recommendation is for you to find the magazines and sites that are suitable to your market and design style and focus on those – regardless of whether they feature a DIY project from time to time.  Not everyone is looking to make their invites.

Educating potential clients

The most important thing you have to keep in mind is the educating of potential clients.  In my experience, this has made a huge different in my invitation business.  Sure – many of my clients could make their own invites.  (This is particularly true because I specialize in hand-made invitations.)  I share with my clients about my process, how I will service them and add value to their wedding.  And, how they will be spared the headaches (and adhesive fumes) and carpal tunnel.  Their guests will be wowed by their wedding stationery and the wedding won’t detract from a DIY project gone awry.  Not every potential client is going to ‘get it’ but that’s OK.  That’s not my customer.  Find strength in the value that you offer and build from that strength.