Wedding Bells: Birmingham Wedding Planning Business Report

This report presents an executive summary and business plan for "Wedding Bells," a wedding and event planning service based in Birmingham, established by three brothers. The report details the business's services, targeting upper, upper-middle, and middle-class clients, and addresses significant industry competition. It outlines the required investment of £1,300,000 and the financial contributions of each partner. The report covers key aspects such as market analysis, including geographical, demographic, and psychographic segmentation, and the size of the UK wedding and event market. It also includes a marketing plan, operational details, and projected financial statements. The company aims to provide unique services, including customized designs and catering, leveraging technology and a skilled team to gain a competitive edge in the market. The report also discusses the licenses required, startup costs, and the competitive landscape, including underserved market segments.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Entrepreneurship refers to all the activities and tasks which are associated with setting up
and starting up own business organisation and effectively managing the same in terms of
sustainability and profitability. This activity involves processes and methods required to
effectively develop new businesses through undertaking extensive market research and
developing a work frame for venture development. Report below is based on “Wedding Bells”,
which provides effective services related to weddings as well as parties. The business is being set
up by a group of three brothers Thomas, Arthur and John. Wedding Bells is situated in The
McLaren Building, Birmingham. Services provided by this business include effective wedding as
well as event planning to its service users. Target customers of this organisation includes, upper,
upper middle and middle class individuals. There is also quite extensive competition in the
industry and various companies like AK Brides, Elle Affairs and Engaged Wedding Libraries
could potentially be competitors for Wedding Bells. The firm would require effective finance to
conduct its business operations effectively. To attain this, company is willing to invest
£1,300,000 into the business. In addition to this, almost finance amounting approximately
£4,33,000 per partner is required in the company for the first term.
2

Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................4
SECTION 1- THE BUSINESS........................................................................................................4
Description of business and aims...........................................................................................4
Products and Services provided..............................................................................................6
Market Analysis......................................................................................................................7
Marketing Plan.....................................................................................................................10
Location................................................................................................................................12
Competition..........................................................................................................................12
Management and Operations................................................................................................13
Personnel..............................................................................................................................13
SECTION 2- FINANCIAL DATA................................................................................................13
Projected Financial Statements.............................................................................................13
Break Even Analysis : United Kingdom..............................................................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17
3

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
 Wedding Bells is being set up to effectively maintain appropriate customer relationship
and establish the company as a potential organisation in the service industry. Owners,
through this business aim at increasing their financial strength and earn more money to
ensure better services to customers in the future (Drucker, 2014).
 This organisation would be a supplement to the main income of the owners of Wedding
Bells.
 The owners of the company, through this business, aim at providing job opportunities to
their family members as well to attain harmony within the organisation and achieve better
outcomes through integrated efforts of the members.
SECTION 1- THE BUSINESS
Description of business and aims
The type of business under which Wedding Bells would operate is hospitality industry,
where the services provided by organisation would be associated with weddings as well as events
and parties of its customers in Birmingham.
There is a range of services provided by Wedding Bells like music, catering, design and
decorations according to the needs of clients. These services vary in nature according to demands
of its customers.
Wedding Bells is a start-up organisation set up to fulfil the needs of upper, upper middle
and middle class individuals who seek services related to wedding as well as event planning to
celebrate their special occasions (Kirzner, 2015).
Wedding Bells would be a partnership organisation. This means that owners would
divide the share in their company as per the partnership deed been formed by them through
mutual consent. According to the deed, all the partners would have equal share in the company in
1:1:1 ratio which makes them equal bearer of risks and profitability.
Licenses
Various licenses are required for Wedding Bells in order to ensure government support
while operating their business and providing effective services to their customers (Dees, 2017).
These licenses are mentioned below:
4

 One of the most prominent licenses is Phonographic Performance Ltd license application
which is associated with playing recorded music in public. It is an essential legal
requirement to be followed by each and every organisation associated with event and
wedding planning . Temporary Event Notice (TEN) or premises license is also required to be obtained by
Wedding Bells which would allow them various benefits as providing entertainment
services like Dancing, Music, etc. and sale and provision of alcohol within the premises
(Temporary Events Notice (England and Wales), 2019).
Cost
The cost of starting up of business would be approximately £1,300,000, wherein all the
partners of Wedding Bells would be contributing equal amount of capital which is approximately
£4, 33,300.
Personal Budget
PARTICULARS I YEAR II YEAR III YEAR
RENT 90000 93000 95000
INVESTMENT 300000 307000 500000
TOTAL 390000 400000 595000
MARKETING
OUTLAY 100000 270000 250000
PROMOTION 60000 30000 25000
DECORATING
MATERIAL 720000 600000 650000
CATERING 30000 34000 35000
TOTAL 1300000 1334000 1555000
The owners of Wedding Bells have always been inclined towards developing their
management and analytical skills. In addition, they possess effective leadership qualities and
creative skills that are essential for making a business successful (Kuratko, 2016).
5

Out of the three owners, while Thomas and Arthur have been employees in the same
field, John does not possess any experience within this field and is his first venture of the sort.
However, he is undertaking training sessions to develop competence required to handle the
business.
There are different aspects within the services provided by Wedding Bells which makes it
unique in the marketplace. For instance, the company offers new and innovative design and
effective catering services to its customers using different methods and processes.
Wedding Bells is being managed by owners who have performed extensive market
research to analyse the preference of customers and hired a team of skilled individuals to develop
concepts into real services. Emphasis of this company is on provision of unique services and
impressive designs which are a treat to the eyes for customers (Burns, 2016).
Products and Services provided
Wedding Bells currently deals in providing marriage and event services to the users.
Organisation provides appropriate catering, design, decoration as well as music services which
makes these events more effective. In future however, the firm might plan to include tour
packages for newly-wed couples and travelling services to guests as well. A complete
customisation makes the offerings different from competitors.
The features of services provided by Wedding Bells include analysis of customer
expectation through personal interactions. The catering, design and decorations are dependant
completely upon preferences of the consumers. Benefits associated with the services includes a
complete power to customer to decide the kind of event and marriage they want. Another benefit
is the range of packages provided by firm which helps them decide the same according to their
monetary capacity.
Wedding Bells is operating at an initial stage, despite of which, this marriage and event
planning organisation is gaining momentum in terms of preference and profitability. This
company anticipates a stronger market position in the future and establishment of a competent
place in the UK (Storey, 2016).
The services provided by Wedding Bells are quite different from that of its competitors in
the market as it effectively takes customers’ preference into account before planning on the
designs and decorations. Moreover, the company, with its effective access to innovative
6

technology and talented staff, tend to experiment with their services for provision of the most
effective type of services to the customers (Zahra and George, 2017).
A complete customisation is promised by Wedding Bells which is rare and almost
impossible to find in current markets with presence of thousands of designs. Furthermore, the
company uses real time planning software like Eventbrite and Whova Event Management
software. These factors assist the firm and its owners to make their services unique from the
market and all the more desiring.
Market Analysis
Market Analysis is an activity to analyse the overall marketplace in terms of its dynamic
nature and different customer segments. It is important for Wedding Bells to effectively analyse
each aspect which would help the company in determining its appropriate target market (Hitt and
Duane Ireland, 2017). Moreover, it is of utmost importance as it would help the firm to gain a
competitive advantage over other companies in the market and build a reputable share in the
business. The various purchasers of its marriage and event planning services are divided within
different segments mentioned below: Geographical: Under this segment, customers are divided among various groups based
on their geographical locations. All the geographical features are being included in this
segment. For Wedding Bells, the owners are targeting customers from the urban areas of
Birmingham. Demographical: There are several characteristics within this customer segment which are
included to further divide the group for effective targeting. Wedding bells would be
appropriately dividing the overall market based on various characteristics like income,
gender, age, religion and several other demographics. It would be including general
public, within age group 18-60, who belong to upper, upper middle and middle class
social groups with income level more than £10,000 per annum.
 Psycho-graphical: Another major segment that could help Wedding Bells in finding its
effective target market is dividing the customer group based on psycho-graphical
segments. It divides market on the basis of various qualitative factors such as beliefs,
attitudes, values as well as lifestyle of customers. Within this category, customers who
tend to celebrate their important events, who believe in making their occasions special
7

and seek to find effective and new-age wedding and event planning services would be
chosen as the target market of Wedding Bells
The firm would effectively be reaching out to its customers through social media which is
one of the most trusted and appropriate modern marketing method to promote services to one’s
target customers. Wedding Bells would adequately be using this method as a strategy to attract
their customers and enhancing their familiarity with its effective offerings.
Size of Market
Size of the wedding and event market of the UK has been seeing progressive growth in
recent times. In addition, people are investing more on making their auspicious occasions even
more special through adopting effective wedding and event services.
Wedding market of the United Kingdom is worth almost £10 billion each year. There are
many customers within the country who acquire a range of services to make their weddings a
memorable affair. People tend to cater their family members, friends and other members of their
social circle through providing them with a range of services in their weddings (Each Year UK
Weddings are Worth £10 billion, 2018). Following is the chart of average wedding cost
throughout a year which is further subdivided into various other aspects:
8

Illustration 1: Each Year UK Weddings are Worth £10 billion
(Source: Each Year UK Weddings are Worth £10 billion)
As for events industry, the industry is worth more than £42 Billion, which makes it one of
the most successful industries of the country. In addition to this, more than one third of the UK
visitor economy is generated through event industry of the country, which is a huge contribution
to the country’s GDP. Furthermore, top 10 event planning organisations within the UK have
more than £3.5 Billion turnover (An Introduction To The UK Event Industry In Numbers, 2018).
Current Share and Overtime Changes
Since the company is new, it plans to gain momentum through its effective marketing
campaigns and other effective strategies, which would be developed for attracting more
customers towards their company. This would be the result after market analysis of how best the
company can market itself. Furthermore, with its target market being customers of high end
social groups, Wedding Bells is likely to capture appropriate market share since its inception.
9

With time, the company will be launching new services solely aiming towards giving
outstanding and flawless services to the customers to gain their loyalties and develop higher
market share.
Segments Underserved by Competition
There is a huge competition that has taken place within the event and marriage industry
in the country that has raised various segments which are underserved as an outcome of this
competition. These customer groups are individuals and couples over the age group of 65 years.
With such an extensive customer range and rise of millennial groups, companies tend to target
younger customers and base their strategies to win their loyalties. However, doing such task
makes older customer groups quite underserved in the market.
For Wedding Bells, there are various opportunities present if the firm associates itself with
the underserved segments of the market. The company must attract these individuals and groups
through traditional marketing methods and must provide them with their services to enhance the
scope of their success.
Marketing Plan
It is crucial for the wedding and event planning organisations to produce their marketing
plan in ways which provides utmost benefits to the firm (Naudé, 2014). Marketing plan of
Wedding Bells must include all the necessary elements about their services which induces
develops a positive perception of the company in eyes of the customers. The company deals with
effective wedding and event organising offerings and provides effective services like decoration,
music and design. The target market of the firm constitutes individuals and groups from upper,
upper middle and middle class people of Birmingham. There are various strategies to be adopted
by Wedding Bells which is described below:
 Product Strategies:
The product strategies of the company include providing its target customers with a range of
different services like effective design, decorations, favourable music and outstanding catering
services (Cooper and Folta, 2017). The strategy adopted by the company would be provision of
diverse offerings according to the needs of each client which would further broader the product
line to include more services in the future. As of new products, the company is planning to
introduce Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality products for the customers to witness progress
of their event management which would help in making more effective.
10

 Pricing Strategies:
Wedding Bells would be working with teams of professional individuals having significant
experience in this area and thus, its services would be quite effective and unique from rest of the
companies in the market. To attain this and ensure a consistent financial gain, the organisation is
planning to adopt Premium Pricing strategy (Frese and Gielnik, 2014). Choice of this strategy
would reflect in the way this company would compete in the market. This strategy would help in
developing perception of acquisition of quality services through the firm. It would enhance the
scope of its market and competitive organisations would be forced to develop new strategy to
overtake the company. Customers would pay the price quoted by Wedding Bells as all its
services would be based on their choices. Moreover, its credit policies include giving set
percentage of payment monthly, which would further enhance its effectiveness.
 Placing Strategies:
The placing strategies of the company include provision of its diverse services within UK for
at least a year. Reason of sticking to a specific location is that it would aid Wedding Bells in
developing loyal customer base and enhance its domestic profitability effectively.
 Promotional Strategies:
Wedding Bells is targeting people belonging to upper, upper middle as well as middle class
social groups for its wedding and event services. The company is planning to use social media as
an effective measure to reach its target market (Kerr, Nanda and Rhodes-Kropf, 2014). By using
social media portals such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, Wedding Bells would
use compelling videos, effective photography and live stream marketing to motivate these
customers to acquire their services and prefer them over other companies in the market. The
message through their marketing would focus on customised services and complete modification
as per customer needs and wants. According to the set budget, the marketing and promotional
activities of the company would cost £1,50,000 - £1,70,000 and would be implemented within 4
months.
Competitor Analysis
Within Birmingham, there are various organisations that are quite popular and respected in
the city. Some of these organisations are AK Brides, Elle Affairs and Engaged Wedding
Libraries. These companies too provide a range of services to customers including decorations,
11

effective wedding planning and catering. However, these organisations adopt cost effective
strategies to develop their customer base.
Location
Wedding Bells would be operating throughout the UK. However, the firm would be
headquartered in McLaren Building, Birmingham, which, according to owners, is one of the
most favourable locations for this company.
The firm has been situated in the building through leasing. It has been provided a lease
for 10 years and the terms include monthly payment of rent and the lessee could use services of
the building. However, non-payment of rent for consecutively three months might result in the
firm to hand over the property back to the owners.
The floor provided to Wedding Bells was effectively furnished; however, there were
renovations and modifications needs to be done to make the property effective and attractive
enough for long-term use. The cost incurred for the same will be around £60,000.
McLaren Building of Birmingham which is the head office of Wedding Bells is 21 storey
building and was built in early 1970s. The surrounding areas of the building include City Centre,
Eastside, Birmingham Snow Hill as well as Birmingham Moor Streets.
This location chosen by the owners is considered to be one of the most effective
commercial areas of the city. Moreover, the company surrounds itself with high-end business
organisations and few of the most prominent areas of footfall which would increase its presence,
preference and familiarity among the people of the UK.
Competition
As mentioned above, there are few companies that might turn up to be potential
competitors of the firm in initiation as well as in the future. These companies include AK
Brides, Elle Affairs and Engaged Wedding Libraries. Through effective market research,
analysing their patterns and forming effective target customer groups, the firm would be
developing its strategies according to its customers which would help the firm in performing
better than its competitors in the market. During market entry, other companies tend to modify
their operations in order to attract more customers and build strong loyalty towards themselves
through effective marketing and promotional activities.
12