The wedding season plays a special role in the success of many retail jewelry brands. Of course, this is especially important for those who focus on engagement rings and wedding ring sets for brides and grooms. Also remember that fine jewelry is a frequent gift for the bridal party members, mothers, and other important family members who make a special day even better.
As a jeweler, it makes sense to understand and prepare for the season for weddings based on statistics rather than some fanciful or traditional notions. When you look at the latest information, you’ll see that the idea of June brides is rather out of date. In fact, October was the most popular month for marriage ceremonies last year, and late summer and autumn continue to be the perfect time to push your wedding jewelry products.
Let’s take a look at a few more stats and trends jewelers need to be aware of when selling to brides and grooms this year.
Seasonal trends and the peak wedding season
As with any type of specialty customer, people personally looking forward to the upcoming wedding season have a much higher demand far in advance. These are busy times for brides, grooms, best friends, and family members. For jewelry shopping, engagement rings are often the first notion that a couple will need additional pieces down the road. There are no outstanding popular months for engagements, although they do tend to hover around holidays like Valentine’s Day and New Year’s.
Winter weddings
Winter is still considered the off-season wedding time of year. Fewer couples want to deal with the cold or inclement weather. They may not want to mix up their anniversary with winter holidays either. Some popular wedding venue options may not be available for the same reason. For jewelers, this means that you can focus on popular gifts and holiday promotions rather than pushing wedding sets or even engagement rings.
Spring starts wedding season
Early spring may suffer from some of the same issues as winter, but once May rolls around, couples begin snatching up weekends for their special day. May 18 was the fourth most popular day chosen for marriages in 2024 according to Knot's survey.
Summer of weddings
The popularity of outdoor weddings in recent years may have something to do with the falling popularity of summer as the most appealing time for ceremonies and receptions. While June 22 came in third on the list, the overall percentage of summer weddings has fallen from 41% in 2009 to around 20% total for June, July, and August since 2022.
Autumn – the most popular season
Mid to late September claims the two top spots for common wedding dates and October fills in the rest of the top five list. Cooler weather, less humidity, and the remnants of a green summer or the beauty of fall foliage are some of the big draws when it comes to planning these romantic special events. This time of year also has fewer major holidays to compete with.
Jewelers take a big role in the wedding planning process
Wedding jewelry should last forever and remain an enduring symbol of love and commitment for the couple. As a retail jewelry seller, your responsibilities go far beyond simply selling pretty rings. In truth, you can start to build a relationship from the moment an individual gets the idea to propose or two people come in with the intention of planning their lives together. Selecting engagement rings sparks the creation of a memorable wedding experience.
If you do your job properly and provide the personalized, supportive service that couples expect, you can ensure their continued business for wedding ring sets, bridal party gifts, family tokens, and additional jewelry purchases throughout their entire lives. You play an integral part when it comes to the whole wedding planning process. No, you don’t have anything to do with other vendors or how their big day goes down. The rings do play a huge role in not only the ceremony itself but the long-term bond that the loving couple cherishes always.
Personal service helps couples find the perfect rings
Many brides and grooms enter the jewelry store with clear ideas of what they already want. It is your responsibility to either make those dreams come true or guide them to something that works better for their unique style, preferences, and budget. Above all else, it comes down to serving the people and making sure they are happy with the rings they choose when they first slip onto their fingers during the wedding ceremony and decades down the road when they look back on it with happiness. Personalization options like name and date engraving are great upsell opportunities.
Bridal party jewelry trends help guide purchase decisions for the big day
Jewelry remains one of the most popular gifts for maids of honor and bridesmaids. The bride gives earrings, necklaces, bracelets, or full sets to each sister, cousin, and friend to wear on the big day and on other special occasions in the future. After asking questions about the wedding style, colors, and the outfits the bridal party will wear, a jeweler can guide the bride to beautiful options for these important gifts.
Maximize jewelry sales by tailoring promotions to the wedding season
It’s not just the season you have to consider when creating effective promotions, of course. Personalizing offers and marketing messages to individual consumer types matters even more. Still, individual customer data sets depend on overall wedding season statistics. Diamonds are by far the most popular engagement and wedding ring stones. Yellow gold is experiencing a resurgence in popularity over white gold and platinum in recent years.
Tracking style trends is only part of the equation for jewelry sales success. However, it makes more sense to know your customer individually instead. From the first conversation, collect data about their interests, tastes, and budgets. A powerful platform like Clientbook can help you track and analyze everything from past jewelry purchases to wedding dates, whether they can afford a 2-carat diamond or a smaller moissanite, and how likely they will be to continue using your brand for important jewelry purchases throughout their lives.