Influence of the Event Manager in Marriages - Case Study Example

Influence of the event manager (wedding planner and internet) in marriages  Introduction   Wedding is a ceremony in which two individuals are united for their entire life. The traditions and the customs of wedding vary among different cultures and groups. Most of the weddings have the tradition of exchanging wedding vows or exchanging wedding rings. The exquisitely designed garments are worn on the wedding day and this ritual is known to be wedding reception. Prayers or readings from the Scriptures or the Holy Book are also incorporated in this ritual. In case of arranged marriage, engagements become an integral and formal part of this procedure. Many people prefer to choose their own life partner. After years of knowing each other, the engagement and ritual seem to be a meaningless formality (Verity, 2003, p. 2).    The overall aim of the dissertation: The aim is to find out whether the people are opting for wedding planners and if they are inclined towards internet to get engaged.   There are two research questions: To examine and analyze the decision making process in the utilization of an ‘event planner’ for a wedding. Are more people opting for wedding planners? Do people still have faith in traditional marriages or are they influenced by the internet matrimony sites? Objectives of the study: The main objectives of the study is to analyze the decision making process for selecting a ‘wedding planner’. The other objective is to examine the current literature relating to event planning with special emphasis on weddings and to examine the market for planned weddings in Paris. The objective also includes how with the advent of internet, the wedding planning industry has been affected. The final objective is to make recommendation to wedding planners with regard to consumer choice. In the next section, we will be discussing a review of literatures addressing these issues.  Literature Review: Weddings are considered to be above traditions. It builds up marital unit, sets up new association between the family members and transports the couple from youngsters to the mature category (Sniezek, 2005, p. 216). Cincinnati Wedding (2002) says that one need to gather suggestions about the reception site from friends or the vendors. One can interview the event manager about the reception site prior to make any decisions (Cincinnati Wedding, 2002, p. 110). Sardone (2007) asserts that handling all the details of a wedding is very difficult. Thus, there is a need for wedding planner. Before making any kind of decision regarding the wedding procedure, there are three things which an individual needs to keep in mind. One is the choice of destination, that is whether in London or Paris. The other is selecting up the property that is whether the marriage reception will be going to take place in a resort or in a bungalow. Finally, picking up the site, that is the place where the wedding vows will be exchanged (chapel, church) (Sardone, 2007, p. 75). Sardone (2007) also talks about the wedding plans in Paris. He goes on talking about the seductive cookeries, street corner snack bars, marvelous architecture, theatres, nightclubs and operas are adequate enough to tempt any couple to marry in this dreamland. Verity (2003) talks about a complete wedding planning in his book. Verity has provided a complete guide to make wedding planning relatively easy. In his book, it has been shown how one can carry out one’s wedding plan in his/her own way. One can also afford the wedding plans within his/her budget. At the same time, one can keep his friends and family happy both by staying within the budget and providing the best ceremony (food, service and decoration) with the help of a wedding planner. Bouchard (2003) discussed about the full utilization of the wedding planner. The wedding planner helps to sort out the time frame of a wedding- starting from pre-wedding ceremony, the reception till the honeymoon. One can have a look at the advertisements published in the newspaper or on the internet websites. This helps an individual to choose from a wide range of options. The samples of their products and services can be seen and information can be collected on their services (Bouchard, 2003, p. 3). Bouchard also discussed the points one should keep in mind while working with the wedding professionals. Johnson (2005) assessed that several couples want a spiritual ceremony on their wedding. They do not want to go for a religious ceremony that actually celebrates their distinctive set of viewpoints and principles. However, these couples are unaware of how to carry out the ceremony and from where to begin. Thus, these individuals require the help of the wedding planner. Johnson has provided a comprehensive guide to wedding plans through his book, Every bride is worthy of having a wedding of her dreams. Naylor (2001) in her book “1001 Ways to Save Money . . . and Still Have a Dazzling Wedding” has exhibited 1001 ways to save money as well as to have a grand wedding. She has given tips and provided strategies for making a special and magnificent wedding.  Naylor has taken the booklovers through each and every minute wedding-associated event. She has mentioned everything in this book, starting from the declaration of the engagement to having the plans of honeymoon. Even thank-you notes have also been talked about. The author also discussed how to assist families, how to save money in bridal receptions and where one can get help from. Melendez (2007) offers a complete coverage of every phase of wedding preparation. It incorporates both traditional and internet-based resources. Both the bride and bridegroom will save time and money on everything required during a wedding ceremony. The engaged couples can save up to thousands of dollars and hours of pointless hassles. They can effectually and economically make their wedding day worth remembering.   Methodology: In the final study, we will only be going to carry out qualitative research. Types of data, which will be collected generally, involve the opinions and beliefs of the researcher and the subjects who will be studied, through the application of various instruments. Instruments, which will be used to collect the primary data, will include questionnaires and sometimes telephones and Internet as the mediums of communication. Interview is considered to be very useful and powerful for conducting qualitative researches. During a research, interviews of some selected people are conducted to find out what an individual actually thinks regarding a particular issue. Interviews enable researchers to access the opinion of the people who are being interviewed and in this case it will point out the trend in preferences. Through interviews it is possible to find out certain important things relevant to the studies that cannot be obtained or observed directly. Interviews also help in discovering and exploring the implications of certain things related to people’s behavior, feelings, habits, routines etc. Through interviews researchers get an access to a wide range of experiences, different kinds of circumstances and a range of knowledge that could otherwise not be obtained. During interviews, one may disclose events took place in the past or in some locations, which are inaccessible for the interviewer. We will be checking whether the wedding planner and the internet websites in recent times have led to any kind of improvement in the lives of the common people, especially with respect to time, marital harmony and cost of the individuals. In case of qualitative research, a survey has been conducted in order to come to conclusion regarding what the common people (both old and young) think about marriage ceremony. Do they consider wedding planner to play an important role in the ceremony? How the internet-based matrimonial sites are having impact on the wedding planning industry and the lives of individuals? The questionnaire will comprise of 10 questions. Fifty individuals from Paris are thought to be interviewed for the proposed research. The sample that will be chosen will be through random sampling. Some of the questions will be close-ended and the rest will be open-ended. The basic idea is to find out the proportion of married people who have used wedding planners and the proportion of single individuals who have considering using or are already using wedding planners for their marriage. The interviews will be taken through face-to-face meetings, telephones and e-mail.   Ethical considerations: Ethical considerations are an indispensable part of primary research, mainly in order to gain the confidentiality of the participants who would not like to reveal their personal information, for instance their names. They need to be convinced that their identity will be kept hidden. Most of the young people prefer not to reveal their identities and also shy from disclosing that they visit the online matrimony sites often. In most cases all these information have been better accessed through emails rather than telephones or face-to-face meets. I will therefore provide them the options to choose from regarding the medium through which they would like to answer the questions. Sometimes it has been seen that the wedded couples also are at times shy to reveal that they have come to know each other through the Internet matrimony sites. So, I may have to do a lot of talking where about the general advantages and disadvantages of the application of information technology in our lives and then asked them their views. The idea is to obtain an unbiased answer for each question and whatever talking comes form my side had to be unbiased too, giving a general overview but never trying to orient their minds towards a particular choice. Thus, as ethical implications has been attached to my research, I will provide them with three options- yes, no and unsure. The relevance of the proposed dissertation to program of study: In recent times, we have found out that the wedding channels have increased at fast pace. They have developed their local links to the wedding vendors. New rivals have also come up in the market and are taking away a share of profit from the wedding channels such as, ultimatewedding.com. The competitors include the Knot.com because of its strong brand building. Nearly six million people are viewing the wedding pages per month. Thus, we can see that Internet has severe influence on the wedding planning industry (Stephenson and Lockwood, 2006, p. 27). According to a survey, engagement is a priority. Most of the individuals think that internet provides ample scope to the viewers to get hold of best the wedding planners. One can also choose according to his/her budget. Several people have agreed that they want a wedding, which is free of any trouble and saves time and cost.              Bibliography / Indicative Reading List 1. Allen, J, 2008. Event Planning: The Ultimate Guide To Successful Meetings, Corporate Events, Fundraising Galas, Conferences, Conventions, Incentives & Other Special Events. John Wiley and Sons (New Jersey). 2. Barillo, M, 2000. The Budget Wedding Sourcebook. Sourcebooks Series. McGraw-Hill Professional (New York). 3. Bouchard, C, 2003. Your Perfect Wedding Planner. Sourcebooks, Inc. (Illinois). 4. Cincinnati Wedding, 2002. Emmis Publishing (Indiana). 5. Daniels, M, Loveless, C, 2007. Wedding planning and management: consultancy for diverse clients. Focal Press. Butterworth-Heinemann (Oxford). 6. Donaldson, M.C, Frohnmayer, D, 2007. Negotiating for Dummies--For dummies. For Dummies (New York). 7. Ernst, R.G, 2000. Great wedding tips from the experts: what every bride can learn from the most successful wedding planners. McGraw-Hill Professional (New York). 8. Hagen, S, 2006. The Everything Destination Wedding Book: A Complete Guide to Planning Your Wedding Away from Home. Everything: Weddings. Everything Books (Ohio). 9. Johnson, J, 2005. The Wedding Ceremony Planner: The Essential Guide to the Most Important Part of Your Wedding Day. Sourcebooks, Inc. (Illinois). 10. Leigh, T, 2008. How to Plan Your Own Wedding and Save Thousands: Without Going Crazy. Atlantic Publishing Company (Florida). 11. Melendez, J, 2007. E-Plan Your Wedding: How to Save Time and Money with Todays Best Online Resources E-Plan Your Wedding: How to Save Time & Money with Todays Best. Mediasoft Press (California). 12. Murray, C.E, 2008. Just Engaged: Prepare for Your Marriage Before You Say "I Do". Adams Media (Ohio). 13. Naylor, S, 2001. One thousand and one ways to save money-- and still have a dazzling wedding. McGraw-Hill Professional (New York). 14. Otne, C, Pleck, E.H, 2003. Cinderella dreams: the allure of the lavish wedding. Volume 2 of Life passages. University of California Press (California). 15. Roncevich, T, Primm, S, n.d. Wedding Planning Company. Steven Primm Tim Roncevich (New York). 16. Sardone, S.B, 2007.Destination Weddings for Dummies --For dummies. For Dummies (New York). 17. Sniezek, J, 2005. “Is It Our Day or the Bride’s Day? The Division of Wedding Labor and Its Meaning for Couples”. Qualitative Sociology, Vol. 28, No. 3. Available at: http://arginine.spc.org/vaughan/talks/ns_assignment/Wedding_Labour_Division_Qual_Study.pdf (Accessed on Oct. 13, 2009). 18. Stephenson, H, Lockwood, D, 2006. “Is it time to unleash a social enterprise internet business on the global multibillion dollar wedding industry? A Case Study”. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, Volume 12, Number 6. Available at: http://www.alliedacademies.org/Publications/Papers/JIACS%20Vol%2012%20No%206%202006%20p%2013-28.pdf (Accessed on Oct. 13, 2009). 19. Stephenson, J, Mintzer, R, 2008. Ultimate Homebased Business Handbook. Entrepreneur Press (New York). 20. Verity, J, 2003. Planning your wedding: a step-by-step guide that will take you right through to the big day. How To Books Ltd. (Oxford). 21. Wilkolaski, S, 2007. How to Start a Wedding Planning Business. Lulu.com (North Carolina).                                       Read More

The other is selecting up the property that is whether the marriage reception will be going to take place in a resort or in a bungalow. Finally, picking up the site, that is the place where the wedding vows will be exchanged (chapel, church) (Sardone, 2007, p. 75). Sardone (2007) also talks about the wedding plans in Paris. He goes on talking about the seductive cookeries, street corner snack bars, marvelous architecture, theatres, nightclubs and operas are adequate enough to tempt any couple to marry in this dreamland.

Verity (2003) talks about a complete wedding planning in his book. Verity has provided a complete guide to make wedding planning relatively easy. In his book, it has been shown how one can carry out one’s wedding plan in his/her own way. One can also afford the wedding plans within his/her budget. At the same time, one can keep his friends and family happy both by staying within the budget and providing the best ceremony (food, service and decoration) with the help of a wedding planner. Bouchard (2003) discussed about the full utilization of the wedding planner.

The wedding planner helps to sort out the time frame of a wedding- starting from pre-wedding ceremony, the reception till the honeymoon. One can have a look at the advertisements published in the newspaper or on the internet websites. This helps an individual to choose from a wide range of options. The samples of their products and services can be seen and information can be collected on their services (Bouchard, 2003, p. 3). Bouchard also discussed the points one should keep in mind while working with the wedding professionals.

Johnson (2005) assessed that several couples want a spiritual ceremony on their wedding. They do not want to go for a religious ceremony that actually celebrates their distinctive set of viewpoints and principles. However, these couples are unaware of how to carry out the ceremony and from where to begin. Thus, these individuals require the help of the wedding planner. Johnson has provided a comprehensive guide to wedding plans through his book, Every bride is worthy of having a wedding of her dreams.

Naylor (2001) in her book “1001 Ways to Save Money . . . and Still Have a Dazzling Wedding” has exhibited 1001 ways to save money as well as to have a grand wedding. She has given tips and provided strategies for making a special and magnificent wedding.  Naylor has taken the booklovers through each and every minute wedding-associated event. She has mentioned everything in this book, starting from the declaration of the engagement to having the plans of honeymoon. Even thank-you notes have also been talked about.

The author also discussed how to assist families, how to save money in bridal receptions and where one can get help from. Melendez (2007) offers a complete coverage of every phase of wedding preparation. It incorporates both traditional and internet-based resources. Both the bride and bridegroom will save time and money on everything required during a wedding ceremony. The engaged couples can save up to thousands of dollars and hours of pointless hassles. They can effectually and economically make their wedding day worth remembering.

  Methodology: In the final study, we will only be going to carry out qualitative research. Types of data, which will be collected generally, involve the opinions and beliefs of the researcher and the subjects who will be studied, through the application of various instruments. Instruments, which will be used to collect the primary data, will include questionnaires and sometimes telephones and Internet as the mediums of communication. Interview is considered to be very useful and powerful for conducting qualitative researches.

During a research, interviews of some selected people are conducted to find out what an individual actually thinks regarding a particular issue. Interviews enable researchers to access the opinion of the people who are being interviewed and in this case it will point out the trend in preferences.

Read More