The Decline of Marriage Licenses in Cuyahoga County

By Patrick Rice

It seems like every time I attend a photography meeting, I am getting told different numbers regarding weddings.  Some photographers are saying that their wedding volume is up while others are down.  It gives me a headache just trying to make sense of it all.  While I cannot speak for the volume at any area studio besides my own, the total number of weddings is a clearly defined number.  Any couple that chooses to get married in Cuyahoga County must first obtain a marriage license at the County Courthouse.  From contacting Cuyahoga County, their public records show the following information:

Cleveland Wedding Statistics (from Cuyahoga County records)

Cuyahoga County marriage licenses issued:

1987 – Over 19,000 marriage licenses issued
1996 – 12,000 marriage licenses issued
1999 – 10,198 marriage licenses issued
2007 – 7,223 marriage licenses issued

This data cannot be manipulated or ‘spun’.  THESE ARE THE FACTS!  Weddings in Cuyahoga County are down! Weddings last year (2007) were down 30% from the year 1999.  Weddings are down a full 40% from the totals in the year 1996.  Weddings in Cuyahoga County are down over 62% since 1987.  That is amazing!  In just twenty years, the number of weddings in the county is 62% less.

Add to this the fact that there are far more photographers competing for this diminished number of weddings.  At the 2008 Today’s Bride Bridal Show at Cleveland’s I-X Center, there were photographers not only from the Greater Cleveland area, but also from Akron, Canton and even Columbus.  What does that say for those communities if photographers are coming to Cleveland to compete in our overly saturated market?  If that wasn’t bad enough, add Bella Photography and other national chain operations cutting into the Cleveland wedding market.

With the falling prices of digital SLR cameras, more and more consumers have digital cameras that are better than what most professionals were using just a few short years ago.  PMA Marketing Research reports digital SLR camera sales in the United States continue to grow at a steady pace.  Digital SLR sales exceeded expectations in 2006, reaching more than 1.6 million units.  In 2007, sales grew beyond 2 million units, representing a 32 percent increase compared to the previous year.  Digital SLR cameras were once a product mostly available through camera stores who targeted professional photographers willing and able to pay the high price.  This is no longer the case and some of these consumers are now shooting weddings ‘on the side’.

All of this is not just the ranting of an outspoken photographer, but rather a realistic assessment of the wedding market in Cuyahoga County.  It is important for everyone to understand the real facts.  Only after an honest and accurate identification of the challenges facing each of us, can we even begin to consider solutions.