Second And Park — Web Copy That Works by Tiffani Jones

When I started planning my wedding (coming up in August), the idea of getting a wedding coordinator was completely out of the question–paying someone to tell me where to stand made me wanna throw up a little bit.

But as the wedding drew near, I realized I didn’t want to be on the phone with the caterer right before I walked down the aisle. And I’d rather my friends be slamming beers than helping the d.j. find a plug-in. So I looked into getting a coordinator.

What makes a miser spend money?

I used a very simple formula to evaluate planners’ websites: I measured the ratio of wistful/floofy bride pictures to a clear/concrete breakdown of what the the person offered. If it was obvious what I’d be getting and how to get it, I’d keep clicking.

Oddly, it wasn’t the most well-known wedding coordinator businesses that offered the clarity I was after. For instance, Aria Style (which according Google and press mentions seems like one of the more successful wedding planning businesses in Seattle), had a website that was hard to understand:

• There’s no clear breakdown of services: They do wedding design, but they also do planning, but I can’t tell for how much, or who to call, or how their services work.
• The site is muddly: it’s text-heavy, with very few actionable links.
• The site is all flashy, so it takes forever for pictures to load.

Even though Aria is known for doing good work, the copy and design of their site gave me the feeling that I’d be dealing with a 1) really expensive business that would 2) take a long time to email me back. So I didn’t call.

Clutch Events, on the other hand, was a totally different story. Sure there’s a lot that could be improved on their site–they don’t come up anywhere when I google wedding planning; the design needs updating; there are few pictures of the actual weddings, so I can’t get a perfect sense of the quality of their work; the code’s not good. Still, I called them up before anyone else. Why? Because even I, someone who knows nothing about wedding planning, can figure out what they do with zero effort:

• The packages on the front of their site are crystal clear: I can either get a full plan, a month-of plan, a day-of plan, or a la carte.
• The copywriting “Let us bring your event to life,” combined with a picture of a bride and groom, clearly reflects what they do.
• When I click “Yes! this is the service I want,” I am immediately shuttled to my contact person (with bio).

Clutch’s site makes their services seem clear and affordable, and I get the feeling that whoever works there will get in touch with me right away. Which is, in fact, exactly what happened–Megan was the only person to get in touch with me within a few hours.

The business of clear communication.

I’m sure there are plenty of people willing to barf out their bank account at the sight of a three-tiered lemon chiffon cake, but I am not one of them. And I suspect that most consumers, even those involved in the dirty business of bridery, crave clarity and affordability.

Clutch’s site (along with a few others I’ve seen) is a decent example of how very basic efforts at communicating clearly–even in the absence of a sleek, perfect design–can make the difference between businesses you call and those you don’t. Especially when your interests are not skewed in favor of buying said service or product.

I didn’t get a wedding coordinator.

Just wanted to say that. But if YOU need a wedding coordinator, you should call Megan at Clutch. My interactions with her–from website to telephone–were excellent.