Attention wedding photographers: it may not be as doom and gloom as we were led to believe.
The wedding photography industry has taken a huge blow in the last couple of years, yes. Recent reports say that only 30.5% of couples tried to make their 2020 wedding plans work. Unfortunately, the remainder of the population has either postponed or cancelled altogether.
YouTuber John Branch even shared how his comfortable income from his wedding photography business has dropped by as much as 75%, thanks to the general lack of people wanting to hold their weddings during the height of the pandemic.
However, you might be surprised at what the latest figures and forecasts are telling us about what the state wedding photography industry will look like in the very near future.
We recently looked at statistics for the photography industry as a whole, today we’ll be looking at stats and trends specific to the wedding industry.
COVID-19 Cut Weddings in 2020 by More Than 50%
This might be a depressing figure to start what’s supposed to be an article telling us how the industry’s starting to look up. But we should definitely first take a good hard look at what’s the pandemic’s done to reshape the landscape of wedding photography as a whole.
According to Wedding Report, the wedding industry has suffered a sharp 59% drop in 2020 with only 1.27 million weddings, 860,000 weddings less than 2019’s 2.13 million. However, with the tighter health restrictions, travel bans, and lockdowns at the time, it makes sense how only a fraction of pre-COVID weddings had pushed through for 2020.
Weddings are Making a Huge Comeback in 2022
If we get anywhere close Wedding Report’s forecast, 2022 could very well be the busiest year for this generation of wedding photographers. Wedding Report predicts that we’re going to see as much as 2.47 million weddings next year — the highest volume of weddings since the 1980s.
This massive reversal could be attributed to a number of factors. But experts are saying the sudden increase in weddings could be a sort of “payback” for all the lost time and frustration the past year has brought on for thousands of couples and families.
Wedding Report’s 2021 Covid-19 Wedding Market Update
People are Once Again Willing to Spend More on Weddings
Average spending, just like the total number of weddings in the last couple of years, has gone down. However, in 2021, the approximate budget for wedding receptions has risen back to almost pre-COVID standards at around $22,500 versus 2020’s $19,000.
While there are no concrete figures specifically related to wedding photographers in terms of spending, The Knot CEO Timothy Chi says 66% of couples are now willing to spend more on their overall wedding budget to make the day even “more special,” and this could mean hiring a second photographer and generally splurging more on wedding suppliers.
Guest Counts are Getting Smaller
Perhaps one of the most obvious marks COVID has left the wedding industry, beyond cutting the total volume of weddings in half, is the greatly reduced average guest counts. Data from Wedding Reports say 15% of couples are still opting to thin out their guest list by as much as 27%, despite the relatively reigned-in health restrictions compared to last year’s.
In 2020, where the wedding industry was at its weakest, The Knot reports that almost 50% of couples have had to limit their guest counts at a minuscule 66 on average, compared to 2019’s 131. These recent changes in how we view weddings have brought on a few new wedding formats that wedding photographers should keep a close eye on.
“Minimonies” On the Rise
According to The Knot’s 2020 report, 42% of the couples who didn’t cancel their weddings and opted to downsize their guest list in the wake of a global pandemic held what you’d call a “minimony.” It’s a pretty brand new term, popping up in our collective vocabulary just last year.
A mini ceremony, or “minimony,” lets couples officialize their union on their original wedding date. It’s an “act of commitment” that is celebrated by the couple and a guest list typically made up of up to 10 people. These mini ceremonies are often followed up by sequel weddings.
Overall, the photography industry (including weddings) has seen declines across all niches as more and more people are happy with their smartphone (see smartphone vs camera sales), however, trends are positive for elopement type weddings:
Expect to Shoot More Sequel Weddings
Wedding photographers are going to see a lot more sequel weddings. The Knot’s Data indicates that more than a third of couples who got married in 2020 plan to hold a sequel wedding at some point.
Traditionally, sequel weddings are held to cater to each half of the couple’s cultural or religious backgrounds. And while that’s still true, the COVID-19 pandemic has added a new layer to this wedding format.
Sequel weddings are now held at some time after a minimony, letting the couple realize their original vision for the wedding before the pandemic threw a wrench on their big day. If minimonies let people officialize their union on the original wedding date, a sequel wedding would allow couples to experience the biggest day of their lives just the way they dreamt it.
Get Ready to Shoot Elopements on a Weekday
Elopements used to be your spur of the moment ceremonies for couples who want to keep their special day a very private affair — there won’t be much reception and celebrating to be had after the fact. This holds a very special, romantic and mysterious vibe for people wanting to get eloped in some faraway land, but the pandemic has once again added a few minor updates to this wedding format.
These types of ceremonies are now getting more elaborate. Elopements can happen during a weekend of mountain biking up in Whistler or a romantic lighthouse at nightl; couples are making elopements a more personalized experience than before. Interestingly 33% of couples opt to get eloped on a weekday for a lot of practical reasons like lesser traffic and opportunities for snagging midweek discounts on lodging. So if you’re planning to add elopement photography to your services, you might want to start leaving a few weekdays open in your calendar!
Micro-Weddings are Here to Stay
Micro-weddings are a pretty straightforward affair. They are your traditional weddings, only at a much smaller scale, as you may have already gathered. Guest lists can go as high as 50, and unlike minimonies, couples intend to have their micro weddings as their one and only wedding celebration.
The micro-wedding trend has been steadily growing even as early as 2019, but the pandemic has given it the boost it needed to make it into the mainstream. Micro-weddings are quickly becoming the go-to wedding format as wedding planning experts and planning websites report their strongest months earlier this year since the pandemic hit.
2021 Wasn’t So Bad for Wedding Photographers
While figures for this year aren’t at pre-COVID levels just yet, it’s still a far cry from 2020’s insane decline in weddings. Wedding Report’s data says we’ve had around 1.93 million weddings in 2021. Still quite a ways from 2019’s 2.13 million, but 2021 has still seen a major uptick in overall volume nonetheless.
The Wedding Industry Should Normalize by 2023
Turns out, 20% of the weddings that didn’t happen in 2021 were rescheduled to 2022, which should partly explain the very optimistic forecast for a surge of weddings coming next year. Spending on wedding ceremonies is also clawing back to pre-COVID figures.
And while the rebound would be appreciated by everyone in the wedding photography business, we shouldn’t be expecting this magnitude of weddings to stick around for longer. The latest wedding market update from Wedding Report suggests that everything in the wedding industry will normalize by 2023, with an estimated 2.24 million weddings and back to the average spending of $24,900.
94% of Couples Still Think Hiring a Photographer is a Priority
On a more positive note, wedding photographers will be glad to know the pandemic has not changed how couples value the presence of a pro on their big day.
Wedding Wire says couples are indeed hiring fewer wedding vendors, but 94% of to-be-weds still have hiring a wedding photographer on top of their to-do list. Thanks to the pandemic, we’re starting to look at weddings a little differently. But with a little patience and hustle, wedding photographers are looking to be on their way to coming back strong as early as next year.