Speaker Spotlight: 5 Questions with Bernadette Coveney Smith

Groundbreaking planner Bernadette Coveney Smith of It's About Time Events and author of upcoming book Gay Wedding Confidential: Adventures and Advice from America's #1 Gay Wedding Planner is the focus of today's speaker spotlight. She is a great example of how to capitalize and expand on a niche market. Looking forward to her discussion at Maximize Your Brand. Enjoy!

What inspires you, what challenges you, and what have you learned from your experiences to date?
I am inspired by my clients who tell me stories of discrimination, heterosexism and hate, or share their fears of that with me. I have seen much of it myself and it’s my mission to make the wedding industry fully inclusive, with no assumptions about the gender of the engaged couple – and that is also what challenges me.

I am also inspired by the stories I hear from my clients – stories of what it’s like being gay in their hometown, how their families have responded to their engagement (which is usually different than how families respond to the relationship),and how they are reinterpreting what a wedding looks and feels like.

In the past five years, I have learned a lot: I have seen gay wedding trends evolve into traditions. I have seen the hearts and minds of families change before my teary eyes during a gay wedding ceremony; and I’ve seen how much the wedding and hospitality industry still has to learn about the unique challenges and needs of gay and lesbian couples.

If you had to start your business over today what would you do differently and why?
I would have charged more for my services from the get-go and seen the value in offering more design services.

If there is one tip that you can pass onto other vendors, what would it be?
Change the language in your contract and marketing materials from “Bride and Groom” to wedding couple, engaged couple or something else that is non-gender specific.

What is one change you have successfully implanted within your business that has allowed you to better navigate through the current recession?
Going from accepting PayPal only occasionally to signing up for PayPal virtual terminal and widely promoting my acceptance of credit cards. It closes the sale much more quickly!

How do you see the industry evolving over the next few years?
This may be wishful thinking but I think wedding budgets are going to spike again and an increasing number of couples will see the value of planners – especially with some of the terrific planners across the country who are changing the perception of the industry, people that I look up to and respect.