This June I have 5 weddings. A few of them are smaller weddings, but still 5 is a pretty big number. The crazy thing about it all is that several of these weddings were booked only 2-3 months before the wedding date. Traditionally, people book the photographer 8-16 months out. Recently, though, I’ve been getting all types of weddings in the last minute. I had one that was even the week of! I’m starting to wonder, are couples having shorter engagements or is there something else going on here?
Are Couples Having Shorter Engagements or just Procrastinating?
I’m the type of person that always likes to know why something happens or what really happens. Conspiracy theories and shows like Making a Murderer drive me insane because I just want to know the truth: what really happened? Unfortunately, with these type of things, I don’t know if there is one real answer. I think there are several different things that are probably happening and not just one.
Is this normal?
The first thing to consider is whether or not other wedding vendors are seeing this pattern as well or if it’s just me. If it’s just me, then something else is going on. If it’s everyone, then couples must be doing the same thing. I’ve actually heard from several vendors that couples are waiting longer to book and putting things off. Does this mean the engagements are shorter or they are just procrastinating?
The New Way of Doing Things
Millennials. They tend to get made fun of a lot and kind of a bad rep. I’ve been told that technically I’ve a millennial, so they can’t be all bad, right? Anyway, some are saying this is just the way millennials are. They tend to wait to the last minute to do things, and that’s why people are booking later than normal. That seems like a reasonable explanation.
It’s not you, it’s me
If this isn’t a pattern and it’s just something about me, why are couples choosing to book me at the last minute. I guess it might have something to do with Google. I do show up on a lot of Google searches, so maybe these last minute people go straight to Google and try to hire the first wedding photographer they find.
Who knows what’s going on. I guess it’s one of those mysteries I might never solve (like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop), and that’s perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with shorter engagements or booking at the last minute. Truthfully, it can be kind of nice to have a last minute planning. It’s kind of like a present you weren’t expecting. It can make planning ahead a little rough, but that’s about it. Any thoughts? Are couples having shorter engagements or are millennials just giant procrastinators?
