Sunday, May 15, 2005
A Market Opening
I'm now going on my eighth month of wedding planning, with about twelve more in sight. (In fact, this past Friday was our negative first wedding anniversary.) One of the reasons we decided to wait between the engagement and the wedding was to allow us time to enjoy planning what should be a fun and celebratory event. Personally, I've heard way too many stories of couples besieged by overwhelming requirements, and are therefore rendered unable to enjoy the wedding itself. When you're so tightly wound, and you've put so much effort into an event, it's tough to just relax and enjoy it.
Our plan has worked reasonably well so far. Getting married in the DC area is kind of crazy in and of itself. We booked our site approximately a year-and-a-half ahead of time, and the exact date we wanted was STILL unavailable. It wasn't a big deal - we just chose the previous weekend, but just think about that - a year-and-a-half ahead of time. So it's pretty good that we started planning that early. Basically, the area's population is growing, but the number of wedding sites really isn't.
In fact, I can't even imagine what it's like to plan a wedding in something like eight months, which should seem like a reasonable amount of time. But there's just too much to do. It's been nice to take a month or two to work on one project (say, finding a deejay), and then the next month to work on another (photographer). Each project requires finding vendors, meeting with them, and then evaluating them. Most of the time, they're busy on the weekends (doing weddings, obviously), so we either need to meet with them after work, or get squeezed into their weekend schedule. It means that each task gets spaced out over a few weeks.
By the way, we're not really wedding traditionalists. Our main concern is that it's a fun event. That's it. We want our family and friends to be there, and have a good time, and celebrate with us. It doesn't need to be picture-perfect, although I will say that we're both interested in having things be a little original, because we feel that adds to the fun component. But for the most part, I think we have our heads screwed on straight. I'm glad Sam does, because if she was a "Bridezilla", it would drive me up the wall. But then, I'm pretty sure I never would have proposed to anyone Bridezilla-like.
We've gotten the major tasks out of the way. Now we're at the more "decorative" tasks - in particular, cake, flower, and invitations. And we're hitting a slight wall. A little while ago, we picked our colors (blue and yellow) using paint chips from the Home Depot. We decided it would be prudent to do this after realizing we had absolutely no idea what we wanted things to look like, and also after every single person we talked to asked us what our "wedding colors" were. So we figured we should pick some.
The problem with our current tasks is that most vendors are used to very traditional styles. And so what that means is basically you make an appointment with, say, a place that does cakes, and you go in, and they sit you in front of a book of cakes they've done in the past, and you apparently are supposed to select one. If you're lucky, you get to taste the cake, but we've pretty much realized that as long as the cake doesn't make you retch, it's probably ok. Tell me you remember the taste of the wedding cake at a recent wedding cake you attended. Didn't think so.
So we sit there looking at wedding cake books. And they all blur together. They're almost all white, and almost all very floral and elaborate. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not what we're looking for. We tell vendors that, and often they give us a blank stare, or they give us a book of "wacky" cakes that are crooked, or are plaid, or shaped like ducks, or whatever. Not very helpful.
It's the same way with invitations. You got to a store, and they plop you in front of a ton of books. In some ways, invitations are even worse: Many look very similar, with minor tweaks. They're almost all white, and usually quite formal. But there are so many options with invitations! Why be so fuddy-duddy? I think people seem to have a very narrow picture in their minds of what weddings "should" look like. And we're not aiming for anything crazy - just a little more color, and a little more interesting design.
So my idea for a good business opportunity is a place that does custom wedding-related designs. I know they have wedding coordinators, and it's becoming more and more obvious to me why people would hire a person. Originally, it seemed too extravagant, but there are many details that would be nice not to deal with. Of course, then you don't get as much aesthetic control. But what I'm really looking for is a vendor to not just show me a gigantic book of designs, but to sit down with us and listen to what we want. Present suggestions and ask us questions. It really wouldn't be that hard.
You can take this idea even further. I think they should use CAD to design cakes, and PhotoShop for invitations. Let's bring this industry into the 20th century. (I'd say 21st, but they're clearly stuck in the 19th, and you can only move so far at a time.) It sounds silly, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. They have to make 3-D models of cakes now anyways, and so they use styrofoam and other arts and crafts, but even that's time-consuming. Furthermore, they don't do "proofs" of cakes - they just use the 3-D model for the shape, not the color or design. Maybe CAD's a little rough around the edges - so someone (not me) should make simple, cheap cake-designing software that would render a digital cake model. A good baker would work with the couple to design a cake that's just right for them.
Invitations lend themselves to this idea as well, especially because there are so many variables. Frankly, I don't know what's more frustrating - cakes because there are so many boring, overly-floral ones out there, or invitations because there are just way too many options. Paper type, paper color, size, shape, font, inserts, envelopes, art, folding style, it's just insane. We actually managed to find one place that was willing to sit down with us and work through those details, but it wasn't easy. Still, we have no real idea what our invitation will look like - a computer program would make things so much easier. They obviously have software already for designing printed materials, so invitation companies would just have to customize one so that it was specific to their particular offerings.
So, there you go. That's my brilliant business idea. I did the hard part, which was coming up with the idea. Now, you can go and run with it and get rich. My only request is that you get started really soon, and take us on as your first clients.
Our plan has worked reasonably well so far. Getting married in the DC area is kind of crazy in and of itself. We booked our site approximately a year-and-a-half ahead of time, and the exact date we wanted was STILL unavailable. It wasn't a big deal - we just chose the previous weekend, but just think about that - a year-and-a-half ahead of time. So it's pretty good that we started planning that early. Basically, the area's population is growing, but the number of wedding sites really isn't.
In fact, I can't even imagine what it's like to plan a wedding in something like eight months, which should seem like a reasonable amount of time. But there's just too much to do. It's been nice to take a month or two to work on one project (say, finding a deejay), and then the next month to work on another (photographer). Each project requires finding vendors, meeting with them, and then evaluating them. Most of the time, they're busy on the weekends (doing weddings, obviously), so we either need to meet with them after work, or get squeezed into their weekend schedule. It means that each task gets spaced out over a few weeks.
By the way, we're not really wedding traditionalists. Our main concern is that it's a fun event. That's it. We want our family and friends to be there, and have a good time, and celebrate with us. It doesn't need to be picture-perfect, although I will say that we're both interested in having things be a little original, because we feel that adds to the fun component. But for the most part, I think we have our heads screwed on straight. I'm glad Sam does, because if she was a "Bridezilla", it would drive me up the wall. But then, I'm pretty sure I never would have proposed to anyone Bridezilla-like.
We've gotten the major tasks out of the way. Now we're at the more "decorative" tasks - in particular, cake, flower, and invitations. And we're hitting a slight wall. A little while ago, we picked our colors (blue and yellow) using paint chips from the Home Depot. We decided it would be prudent to do this after realizing we had absolutely no idea what we wanted things to look like, and also after every single person we talked to asked us what our "wedding colors" were. So we figured we should pick some.
The problem with our current tasks is that most vendors are used to very traditional styles. And so what that means is basically you make an appointment with, say, a place that does cakes, and you go in, and they sit you in front of a book of cakes they've done in the past, and you apparently are supposed to select one. If you're lucky, you get to taste the cake, but we've pretty much realized that as long as the cake doesn't make you retch, it's probably ok. Tell me you remember the taste of the wedding cake at a recent wedding cake you attended. Didn't think so.
So we sit there looking at wedding cake books. And they all blur together. They're almost all white, and almost all very floral and elaborate. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not what we're looking for. We tell vendors that, and often they give us a blank stare, or they give us a book of "wacky" cakes that are crooked, or are plaid, or shaped like ducks, or whatever. Not very helpful.
It's the same way with invitations. You got to a store, and they plop you in front of a ton of books. In some ways, invitations are even worse: Many look very similar, with minor tweaks. They're almost all white, and usually quite formal. But there are so many options with invitations! Why be so fuddy-duddy? I think people seem to have a very narrow picture in their minds of what weddings "should" look like. And we're not aiming for anything crazy - just a little more color, and a little more interesting design.
So my idea for a good business opportunity is a place that does custom wedding-related designs. I know they have wedding coordinators, and it's becoming more and more obvious to me why people would hire a person. Originally, it seemed too extravagant, but there are many details that would be nice not to deal with. Of course, then you don't get as much aesthetic control. But what I'm really looking for is a vendor to not just show me a gigantic book of designs, but to sit down with us and listen to what we want. Present suggestions and ask us questions. It really wouldn't be that hard.
You can take this idea even further. I think they should use CAD to design cakes, and PhotoShop for invitations. Let's bring this industry into the 20th century. (I'd say 21st, but they're clearly stuck in the 19th, and you can only move so far at a time.) It sounds silly, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. They have to make 3-D models of cakes now anyways, and so they use styrofoam and other arts and crafts, but even that's time-consuming. Furthermore, they don't do "proofs" of cakes - they just use the 3-D model for the shape, not the color or design. Maybe CAD's a little rough around the edges - so someone (not me) should make simple, cheap cake-designing software that would render a digital cake model. A good baker would work with the couple to design a cake that's just right for them.
Invitations lend themselves to this idea as well, especially because there are so many variables. Frankly, I don't know what's more frustrating - cakes because there are so many boring, overly-floral ones out there, or invitations because there are just way too many options. Paper type, paper color, size, shape, font, inserts, envelopes, art, folding style, it's just insane. We actually managed to find one place that was willing to sit down with us and work through those details, but it wasn't easy. Still, we have no real idea what our invitation will look like - a computer program would make things so much easier. They obviously have software already for designing printed materials, so invitation companies would just have to customize one so that it was specific to their particular offerings.
So, there you go. That's my brilliant business idea. I did the hard part, which was coming up with the idea. Now, you can go and run with it and get rich. My only request is that you get started really soon, and take us on as your first clients.
Comments:
I think software that designs cakes, invitations, etc. is definitely the way to go. Maybe it could do flowers too. All in one program. Someone get started on that! I'm hoping to get married eventually.
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