Weddings Abroad: an exploration of trends, customer needs and marketing strategies

Sixteen percent of UK couples are currently married abroad. However, academic research that explores the complex nature of a couple’s buying preferences or the development of innovative marketing strategies by businesses operating within this £333 million wedding abroad niche sector, is almost non-existent. This exploratory paper seeks to readdress an apparent imbalance by examining and assessing the role and relevance of marketing within the weddings abroad sector. The complex nature of customer needs in this high emotional and involvement experience, are identified and explored. A case study of Perfect Weddings Abroad Ltd highlights the distinctive features and characteristics of the business and sector. Social networking and the use of homeworkers, with a focus on reassurance and handholding are important tools that can be effectively used by organisations to develop relationships with customers, and help increase the tangibility of a wedding’s abroad travel package. Clusters of complementary services that are synergistic and provide sources of competitive advantages are identified and an agenda for future research is developed.