The annual consumer blitz that is Black Friday, has seeped into the wedding landscape, like smoke from Romeo y Julieta cigars, frequently given as groomsmen gifts. (They’re 28 percent off at the Famous Smoke Shop.)
The advertised deep discounts, offered by retailers beginning Friday, Nov. 29, and that often continue through Cyber Monday, Dec. 2, can be found on a wide range of wedding products and services, both common and uncommon.
Among the many bridal clothing retailers cutting prices, David’s Bridal is offering 50 percent off some bridesmaids dresses on Black Friday and an extra 50 percent off all clearance dresses and other items on Cyber Monday.
Bridesmaid for Hire, a New York company that peddles bridesmaid services like toast making, is also having a sale. All services from Black Friday through Cyber Monday are 20 percent off. Maid of honor speech-writing packages that generally go for $400 will cost $320, said Jen Glantz, the founder of the five-year-old company. Bridesmaid services, which include wedding day errand running, wearing the bridesmaids’ dress, toast making, walking down the aisle and general advice-giving, normally about $2,500, will be on sale for $2,000.
According to Ms. Glantz, Black Friday and Cyber Monday fall at the perfect time of year for brides and grooms looking to score serious savings on not just stuff, but services.
“Right now it’s the dead season” of the wedding calendar year, she said. “Wedding season was over in mid-October, and engagement season is just around the corner.” (Christmas, New Year’s and Valentine’s Day) The lull in between seasons, from the perspective of companies like hers, is crucial for drumming up business. “If I want my calendar to be full in 2020, I need to use this time to start getting bookings now,” she said.
Though hiring bridesmaids is probably not front of mind for most couples, Ms. Glantz may be among an upswing of more service oriented businesses coming up with incentives to attract clients before the flurry of holiday proposals.
“A D.J. I work with consistently who is one of the most popular in our area has started doing a Black Friday special,” said Christina Moore, the owner of Bella Giornata Events, a wedding planning service in Charlottesville, Va. “People are always surprised to hear that.”
Even event planning services like Ms. Moore’s are getting in on the action. “For us, Black Friday is about offering add-ons,” said Laurie Hardman, the owner of Laurie D’Anne Events in Nashville. “For anyone filling out a contact form on Friday, they have two months to book with us.” Couples who book on Black Friday will get complimentary vintage car service to pick them up after their wedding and a complimentary one-night stay at the Dream Hotel in Nashville.
Ms. Glantz, whose bridesmaid services include advising brides on all aspects of wedding planning, said couples should also capitalize on online travel deals for out-of-town wedding guests and honeymoon packages. (EF Ultimate Break, a travel company aimed at millennials, has a 20 percent off deal on an 11-day Greek Islands tour).
Couples should also reach out to vendors who may seem indifferent to the weekend-long shopping bonanza. “If you have a favorite vendor who doesn’t advertise a sale — whether it’s a photographer, a florist, a D.J., a band or a wedding planner — you should still reach out to them,” she said. “You can say, ‘I’d really like to work with you. Are you offering any competitive pricing for Black Friday or Cyber Monday?’ Chances are they’ll work with you.”
Buying services on Black Friday may not work for everyone. “You don’t want a hastily bought Black Friday deal to complicate your day,” said Susan Cordogan, the owner and founder of Big City Bride, an event-planning firm in Chicago. “A favorite spa, hair salon or nail salon might not honor discounted services on a Saturday.”
A better idea, Ms. Cordogan said, is sticking to Black Friday’s bedrock: retail stores. “Go to any of the big department stores for discounts on bridesmaids dresses or mother-of-the-bride dresses,” she said. “If you want to give all your bridesmaids a matching clutch they can carry on your wedding day, or if you want them to have matching earrings, those are all great things to buy on Black Friday at a discounted rate. And all the personalization sites, where you can get monogrammed gifts. You can certainly take advantage of that.”
Thinking beyond the wedding weekend can also be helpful. “You’re going to need a dress for your shower or your welcome brunch,” Ms. Cordogan said.
Before then, you’re going to need invitations. Minted offers 25 percent off save-the-date cards on Black Friday, Ms. Moore noted, and deals on thank-you notes and invitations often pop up on the site throughout the weekend. Among the retail deals that excite her most, she said, are 30 percent off cupcake orders from Baked by Melissa. “Not as many people have cupcakes at their wedding as they should, and these are delicious and adorable and delivered fresh to your door,” she said.
Ms. Moore is also excited about discounted dresses by Bhldn, which has free shipping on all orders and 30 percent off all markdowns with a code throughout the weekend.
“Brides should run, not walk, to their computers to order their bridesmaids dresses from Bhldn,” she said. (And if they want to do so while wearing sparkly Kate Spade Keds, a popular choice for wedding reception footwear, they can get 30 percent off on Black Friday at Keds.com).
Brides should think twice before sprinting to the keyboard to buy their own dresses though, Ms. Moore said, noting that oftentimes it’s better to see the dress in person before making a purchase.
Floravere, an online retailer that touts runway-quality wedding dresses, is offering 10 percent off all gown purchases and 20 percent off all accessories, bridesmaids gifts, and “beyond the ceremony” pieces, Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Anomalie, another online wedding dress site that uses visualization software, is giving away free custom veils with the purchase of a dress. Watters, whose brands include Wtoo by Watters Bridesmaids dresses, has a 25 percent off sale for all ready-to-wear styles on Black Friday.
Despite the quality and savings at these sites, Ms. Moore urges caution. “Brides often have a preconceived notion of what they want their dresses to look like, then when they go to a bridal shop they end up in a completely different dress, based on how they feel in it,” she said.
A better bet, then, may be shopping for a wedding dress at one of the many boutiques offering “White Friday” sales.
Jacqueline Ward, an owner of Our Story Bridal, a consignment shop in New York that sells gowns from designers like Carolina Herrera and Elie Saab, said her store will give a free fingertip-length tulle veil with any dress purchase all weekend. The shop is also slashing the prices of most of its already-discounted dresses another 10 percent. Many of the 700 in its inventory originally sold for $10,000. “And we’re already selling them 50 to 60 percent off,” she said.
From Ms. Ward’s vantage point, Black Friday is important because it gives brides an incentive to pull the trigger on one of their most important purchases.
“Sometimes you’re afraid to commit to a dress, and then it gets sold and it haunts you,” she said. “What’s good about a promotion like this is it gives you a deadline. It makes you feel more confident about saying yes.”
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