Business Resource Center For Wedding & Special Event Pros
Resources To Help Your Wedding Business Grow
Welcome to NJWedding.com's Business Resource Center, devoted to helping you, the wedding professional, build your business and knowledge about the wedding and event industry (in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and throughout the United States as well). Topics include books about the wedding industry, bridal trends, wedding statistics, marriage trends, marriage education resources, blogs and wedding podcasts, charitable giving in the wedding industry, eco-friendly and "green weddings," marketing and sales, web site development and search engine optimization, wedding and event industry associations, professional development, helpful articles and much more!
View calendar of NJ wedding & special event industry events
Books About The Wedding Industry
Bridal / Wedding Statistics, Trends, Research & Resources
- A Guide To The Hottest Wedding Trends - by Nina Callaway, About.com Weddings Guide
- A Guide To The Wedding Industry - wedding industry research from the Library of Congress
- American Wedding Survey - (.pdf file) a study of wedding trends by the Fairchild Bridal Group (Conde Nast), publishers of Bride, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride magazines. Special focus emphasizes role of the "echo boomers" (children of the baby boomer generation) and the projected increase in first marriages over the next 15 years as this generation reaches their marrying years.
- State of the New Jersey Wedding Industry - special report on NJ wedding statistics, wedding trends and survey results on a variety of questions to wedding professionals throughout the NJ Tri-State area. (.pdf file)
- The Wedding Report - wedding statistics, market research, trends and news for the wedding professional from wedding industry entrepreneur Shane McMurray
- Cost of Wedding - an additional resource showing the costs of weddings throughout different parts of the country
- Wedding information from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, includes various types of weddings, wedding expenses, customs, clothing, ethnic weddings, wedding traditions and many other references.
- Wedding-Related TV Programs - learn what brides-to-be are watching on television to give them ideas about their wedding plans
Bridal Industry MagazinesMarriage Statistics & License Information, Same-Sex Marriage
Marriage Research & News
- National Marriage Project - Research, education, training and advocacy to strengthen the institution of marriage, by Dr. David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead at Rutgers University.
- Healthy Marriage Initiative by the Administration for Children & Families, U.S Department of Health & Human Services
- National Center for Marriage Research - located at Bowling Green State University, the center will conduct workshops, seminars, conferences and small-grant competitions; build a marriage-related data and measurement infrastructure, and disseminate research findings by various means.
- Center for Marriage and Families at the Institute for American Values - issues research briefs, fact sheets, and other material related to marriage, families, and children
- Institute for Marriage and Public Policy - "strengthening marriage for a new generation" - a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to high quality research and public education on ways that law and public policy can strengthen marriage as a social institution.
- Fatherhood and Marriage Leadership Institute - strengthening marriage through political action
- Building Strong Families - an initiative to develop and evaluate programs designed to help interested unwed parents achieve their aspirations for healthy marriage and a stable family life.
- Report of Marriage on Health: A Synthesis of Recent Research Evidence (.pdf file) - Prepared for the Department of Health and Human Services (June 19, 2007)
- State Policies to Promote Marriage - Report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2002) - download .pdf file
- A Snapshot of Marriage in the United States (.pdf file) - provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
- Marriage, Welfare & Poverty - an understanding of how marriage is an important social institution, and how government policy can promote and encourage healthy marriage, provided by the Heritage Foundation.
- "Marriage and the Welfare of America" - a speech delivered on June 13, 2006 by The Honorable Mike Leavitt, U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services about the importance of promoting healthy marriages in the United States.
- Marriage information from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, includes marriage rights and obligations, history of marriage, arranged marriage, weddings, marriage and religion, marriage and economics, same-sex marriage and many other references.
- Marriage Equality USA, Inc.
- Marriage News in the Media
Marriage Education Resources
- Smart Marriages - The Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, with information on workshops, seminars and additional information.
- Marriage Alive International, Inc. - transforming marriage and family relations
- Marriage Savers - preparing, strengthening and restoring marriages
- National Extension Relationship & Marriage Education Network - a nationwide outreach that supports individuals and couples preparing for, developing and enriching healthy relationships and healthy marriages
- The National Healthy Marriage Institute, LLC - believes that "the keystone of society is healthy marriages" and creates products and services to help couples form and sustain healthy marriages.
- American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy - the professional association for the field of marriage and family therapy.
- The National Registry of Marriage Friendly Therapists - a "pro-commitment" counseling web site, designed to help support couples in need of pre- or post-marriage counseling.
- The First Dance - advice on working through the people stresses of wedding planning as a couple, with your families, and how to strengthen your upcoming marriage through this enormous first task of married life (from 2007 Modern Bride Top 25 Trendsetters Bill Doherty, a nationally recognized marriage and family therapist, and daughter Elizabeth Doherty Thomas, a recent bride).
- FREE Relationship Advice through NJWedding.com from Miles Wagman, director of The Relationship Center in Red Bank, New Jersey
Blogs, Bridal Marketing & Social Networking
- Marketing Strategy and Tactics for Wedding Professionals - I found this interesting BLOG of articles, tips and ideas on weddingyellow.com and thought it may be a helpful additional resource for information on marketing your wedding business
- From "I Will" to "I Do" - filled with wedding planning tips, vendor recommendations and bridal related products, helping brides and grooms plan their dream weddings, written by wedding expert Anne Chertoff
- Weddex - Engaging trips, trends, ideas and inspiration related to the business of all things wedding and honeymoon from one of the leading experts in the industry, Rebecca Grinnals.
- Marketing To Brides Online with Chris Jaeger
- The Wedding Marketing Blog - info related to bridal marketing and selling to the 21st Century bride.
- Wedding Professional Success! - a blog of advice, discussion and resources to help Wedding Professionals increase their income, from wedding marketing expert Marc Fuller.
- Vows Magazine News Blog - the latest news of bridal people, companies and events from Vows Magazine - the Bridal & Wedding Business Journal
- Social Networking in the New Jersey wedding industry - NJWedding.com has discovered the power of facebook and other social networking web sites to further develop relationships within the wedding business and reach engaged couples. Here are a few "groups" we have developed:
Charitable Giving In The Wedding Industry
- The I Do Foundation links engaged couples with a host of charitable giving options at their wedding. Couples can choose to support one of their charitable partners or suggest their own.
- Brides Against Breast Cancer is the Making Memories Foundation's number one fundraising event. They have gown sale events nationwide enabling brides-to-be to find the gown of their dreams while making wishes come true for women and men diagnosed with breast cancer. This "nationwide tour of gowns" is made possible by women around the world that donate their treasured wedding gowns. Bridal shops and manufacturers also donate hundreds of beautiful, new designer gowns every month. This is a unique opportunity for brides-to-be to find one-of-a-kind gowns at an incredible savings. Also learn about the organization's Pink Envelope Project supported by couples having a Pink Envelope Bridal Shower or Pink Envelope Wedding Reception.
- Charitable Wedding Ideas from JustGive.org - includes information on registering with charities, donating money on behalf of wedding guests as a wedding favor, donating leftover food, giving away wedding flowers, donating wedding dresses and couples to volunteer on their honeymoon, as well as "green" weddings for eco-friendly couples.
- Companies That Care Network / Special E - rescues food leftover from weddings, parties and events to help people in need.
- American Diabetes Association - couples can give special meaning to their wedding day with a tax-deductible gift, in lieu of traditional wedding favors. They can announce their contribution with complimentary invitation cards and their choice of personalized table tent cards, scrolls or bookmarks.
- The National Arbor Day Foundation suggests giving "gift trees" to guests as a special reminder of the wedding day, which can also include a personalized message from the couple with a customized label
- Changing The Present - "Changing The World...One Gift At A Time" - lets wedding guests honor a couple's marriage with inspiring gifts: anything from providing a child with her first book to funding an hour of cancer research.
- More about Weddings and Charitable Giving from Nina Callaway at About.com
Eco-Friendly & "Green Weddings"
Marketing & Sales
- Bridal Shows in New Jersey - There are lots of bridal show producers that have shows on various weekdays and weekends, and having a booth at these shows is an effective way for New Jersey wedding business owners to be "in front" of the bride and groom (and their family and friends, who sometimes attend with them). Check out the list of New Jersey bridal show producers that we've compiled, and as an advertiser on NJWedding.com, you may receive an introductory discount!
- Sell The Bride - developed by wedding industry expert and New Jersey resident, Brian Lawrence, to help wedding professionals in various areas, including sales and marketing, invitations and increasing business locally through internet advertising
- Sell More Weddings - another site from wedding industry expert Chris Jaeger
- Book More Weddings - a helpful resource for wedding professionals about online marketing, search engine optimization and much more, from wedding industry expert Chris Jaeger.
- Constant Contact - if you're receiving leads of New Jersey couples from NJWedding.com or any other resource (magazine, bridal show company, direct mail resource, etc.), then keeping in touch with these interested brides and grooms to introduce your services and products can become an overwhelming task. Constant Contact is a direct e-mail marketing resource where you can easily set up campaigns to be sent on a regular basis to help promote your services
- The Wedding Marketing Network - wedding marketing analysis, advice, education, creativity, wisdom and oversight provided with honesty, wit, humor and insight by wedding marketer Andy Ebon.
Web Site Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Hosting
- Graphic D-Signs, Inc. - we highly recommend the services of Dan Antonelli and his staff at Graphic D-Signs, who recently helped NJWedding.com with our "face-lift" after being in need of a redesign. Dan is fully experienced as a graphic designer to create a new look for your wedding business with a new logo, business cards, stationery and more, and has created web sites for many wedding businesses, so he knows the industry and what brides and grooms are looking for.
- SEO Web Results - Kenny Baroff has been in the marketing industry for many years, helping small and big businesses with advertising campaigns. He recently launched a company to specifically help businesses with Search Engine Optimization, since web site marketing is such an effective means of advertising. Contact Kenny today for a free web site analysis.
- AVP Multimedia specializes in web design, web hosting, video for the web, video production and graphic design, working closely with DJs, Bands, Photography Studios and many other companies within the wedding industry.
- RytechSites.com - web site developer Laura Gordon will help your business create a dynamic and captivating web site using the latest technology.
- NewJerseyShore.com - is your business located along the Jersey shore? Contact Michael George at (732) 751-8700 with questions on how to develop a web site for your business.
- Read our FREE Special Report - "7 Tips For Online Marketing Success" to learn more about important web site development techniques, META tags, submitting to search engines and more!
- Wedding Marketing Online - Internet marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and web site design/development services for wedding professionals by Julie Albaugh.
- Bride Appeal Web Design & SEO - Helping your wedding biz get found and booked by more brides online with web design and SEO tips that make you irresistible to your ideal bride...and Google, too!
Wedding & Event Industry Associations - (full list)
- The Association of Bridal Consultants-New Jersey Branch (ABC) is the only organization dedicated exclusively to serving wedding professionals worldwide. The ABC New Jersey Branch was started in 1990 and currently has about 150 members. Its' membership includes bridal consultants, bridal shops, invitation specialists, caterers, photographers, videographers, entertainment companies, florists, manufacturers and publishers, just to name a few. Visit the ABC-NJ web site for more information and a membership application and to find out about upcoming meetings and events.
- The International Special Events Society-New Jersey Chapter (ISES) is the only international association which serves as an umbrella organization bringing together the different disciplines involved in the special events industry. The ISES New Jersey Chapter was started in October of 1998 and currently has over 75 members. Its' members are special events producers, caterers, rental companies, special effects experts, transportation companies, party and convention coordinators, hotel sales managers and more. Visit the ISES-NJ web site for more information, to sign up for the newsletter, to request a membership application and to find out about upcoming meetings and events.
The Association of Bridal Consultants (http://www.njwedding.com/abc) and International Special Events Society (http://www.isesnjnorth.org) are excellent groups to belong to as a wedding and event professional. The meetings and programs throughout the year are an excellent opportunity for personal and professional development, networking and building relationships with other colleagues in the wedding business.
Click here for a full list of wedding industry associations...
Professional & Personal Development
- If you're travelling to a wedding or special event, bridal show or wedding industry association meeting, there's no better time than to listen to motivational and professional development cassettes or CDs in your car (known as "Automobile University"). Long rides provide an opportunity to improve your skills in the fields of sales, business knowledge, goal-setting and much more. Nightingale-Conant is a provider of such cassettes and CDs that you can purchase and listen to at your leisure. Some favorite authors/speakers include Anthony Robbins, Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy. Wayne Dyer, Roger Dawson, Peter Lowe, Tom Peters, Michael Gerber, Harvey MacKay and Paul and Sarah Edwards, to name just a few.
Wedding Magazines (National & Local)
More information always being added, so bookmark this page and check back for updates! If you have any additional resources that would benefit other wedding professionals, please email us so we can add it to the list...thanks!