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It’s because there is no “wedding” industry. There is an events industry with its various subsets.

by thepangolino 8y ago

michaelt 8y ago
Does the fact there’s a shoe industry mean there’s no sneaker industry?
- empath75 8y ago
  It’s more like there’s no ‘driving to the airport’ industry. There’s a taxi industry that also drives to the airport.
  - acdha 8y ago
    The airport shuttle businesses might disagree on that. The fact that there's a larger more-generic group doesn't mean that a specialty isn't real.
    - gumby 8y ago
      But those are small business rather than a “sector” mainly existing due to external economics which vary rom airport to airport (parking costs/structure) and peoples’ willingness To put up with inconvenience.
    - diminoten 8y ago
      It does mean the specialty is a relatively small market that isn't really worth talking about, though.
SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
It's various industries with a "wedding" multiplier. "Wedding" dresses are thousands of dollars, but roughly equivalent normal dresses are hundreds. The minute you say "wedding cake" instead of "chocolate cake" the cost skyrockets.
- JMTQp8lwXL 8y ago
  Why would anybody ever share that their cake purchase is for a wedding, then? Wouldn't everyone just say 'give me a chocolate cake' to save money? Unless there's something about the cake design that obviously gives away the context of your request to the vendor --but beyond that-- it seems disadvantageous to disclose the information.
  - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
    It really depends on if you want a "wedding cake" or not. If you want a wedding cake, you gotta say it, cause it has a particular look and feel.
    - JMTQp8lwXL 8y ago
      I'm picturing a multi-tiered cake, but I don't really see anything unique about it. Maybe the designs/patterns they use to apply the frosting are different for wedding cakes? I'll be honest, I haven't seen many wedding cakes. I've seen far more regular cakes. If I went to a wedding, and someone wanted to trick by serving non-wedding cake, I'd be fooled.
      - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
        Oh yeah, we went full regular chocolate cake for ours. Wasn't a "wedding" cake, but was way more delicious.
        JMTQp8lwXL 8y ago
        I've been to weddings where people do cupcakes in lieu of cake. Everyone gets dessert faster, since you don't have to cut it up and serve it individually. I was a fan of the planned efficiency. The couple did actually have a small cake for the ceremonial cutting of the cake. Beyond that, everyone was OK with cupcakes, if they cared to eat dessert.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
gumby 8y ago
This is pretty insightful. I think I’d refine it slightly as “there’s no wedding industry despite people trying to create one” (cf Condé Nast and their magazine, mentioned in the article). And after expanding the scope, as you do, you mostly get the same recursive problem the article concludes with: most of the expenses go to unconnected third parties like venue, band) who have little opportunity for roll-up.
dboreham 8y ago
"Wedding-Industrial Complex"?

It’s because there is no “wedding” industry. There is an events industry with its various subsets.

michaelt 8y ago

Does the fact there’s a shoe industry mean there’s no sneaker industry?

empath75 8y ago
It’s more like there’s no ‘driving to the airport’ industry. There’s a taxi industry that also drives to the airport.
- acdha 8y ago
  The airport shuttle businesses might disagree on that. The fact that there's a larger more-generic group doesn't mean that a specialty isn't real.
  - gumby 8y ago
    But those are small business rather than a “sector” mainly existing due to external economics which vary rom airport to airport (parking costs/structure) and peoples’ willingness To put up with inconvenience.
  - diminoten 8y ago
    It does mean the specialty is a relatively small market that isn't really worth talking about, though.

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago

It's various industries with a "wedding" multiplier. "Wedding" dresses are thousands of dollars, but roughly equivalent normal dresses are hundreds. The minute you say "wedding cake" instead of "chocolate cake" the cost skyrockets.

JMTQp8lwXL 8y ago
Why would anybody ever share that their cake purchase is for a wedding, then? Wouldn't everyone just say 'give me a chocolate cake' to save money? Unless there's something about the cake design that obviously gives away the context of your request to the vendor --but beyond that-- it seems disadvantageous to disclose the information.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  It really depends on if you want a "wedding cake" or not. If you want a wedding cake, you gotta say it, cause it has a particular look and feel.
  - JMTQp8lwXL 8y ago
    I'm picturing a multi-tiered cake, but I don't really see anything unique about it. Maybe the designs/patterns they use to apply the frosting are different for wedding cakes? I'll be honest, I haven't seen many wedding cakes. I've seen far more regular cakes. If I went to a wedding, and someone wanted to trick by serving non-wedding cake, I'd be fooled.
    - SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
      Oh yeah, we went full regular chocolate cake for ours. Wasn't a "wedding" cake, but was way more delicious.
      - JMTQp8lwXL 8y ago
        I've been to weddings where people do cupcakes in lieu of cake. Everyone gets dessert faster, since you don't have to cut it up and serve it individually. I was a fan of the planned efficiency. The couple did actually have a small cake for the ceremonial cutting of the cake. Beyond that, everyone was OK with cupcakes, if they cared to eat dessert.
dragonwriter 8y ago

gumby 8y ago

This is pretty insightful. I think I’d refine it slightly as “there’s no wedding industry despite people trying to create one” (cf Condé Nast and their magazine, mentioned in the article). And after expanding the scope, as you do, you mostly get the same recursive problem the article concludes with: most of the expenses go to unconnected third parties like venue, band) who have little opportunity for roll-up.

dboreham 8y ago

"Wedding-Industrial Complex"?