Using the developed wedding planner selection criteria scale, this study examined whether wedding planner selection criteria differ according to consumer characteristics such as demographic characteristics and wedding preparation behaviors. The main survey for this study was conducted via the Internet with 295 consumers aged 20-30 living in the Seoul metropolitan area. The data collected from the survey processed and analyzed using the statistical programs SPSS 21.0 t-test. Analyzing how wedding planner selection criteria differ according to consumers’ demographic characteristics and wedding preparation behaviors, results shown for the wedding planner selection criteria were all four points on average except for individual characteristics and important sub-factors regardless of the consumers’ characteristics, and various results were derived depending on the consumers’ characteristics. This study has various practical implications in that it verified the difference in wedding planner selection criteria according to consumer characteristics and determined how much money consumers were willing to play for wedding planners. It is recommended that future studies take various approaches to investigate how wedding planner users are satisfied with or place importance on wedding planner services and conduct empirical using the selection criteria developed in this study to compare influential variables that affect behavior intention and willingness to pay according to consumer type.

Identifying the selection criteria of wedding planners, who are the main human resource that contribute to the overall satisfaction level of a wedding’s preparation, can produce important data for the wedding industry as it faces a transition period. To develop a scale for wedding planner selection criteria, preliminary items were prepared based on in-depth interviews with an experienced wedding planner group and a comprehensive review of previous studies, such as studies on selection criteria in the wedding industry and service work similar to wedding planners and wedding planner selection criteria. The preliminary items were tested for content validity using a focus group interview, comprising people in the wedding industry, and were refined accordingly. Then, the definitive quantitative questionnaire items were developed after conducting a preliminary survey. The main survey for this study was conducted using the responses of 295 consumers taking an Internet questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, and confirmatory factor analysis were adopted to develop the scale, which was tested for convergent validity and discriminant validity. This study is academically significant in that it developed a selection criteria scale tailored to wedding planners to address an area that has not been covered in previous studies. It is recommended that future studies conduct empirical analyses using the selection criteria developed in this study to compare influential variables that could affect behavior intention.

As the types of wedding ceremonies become diversified, and consumers’ needs become more selective, greater importance is given to wedding planners’ roles in the wedding industry, and consumers require differentiated types of wedding service. As a preliminary qualitative study in this field, an ethnographic study was conducted to identify factors valued by consumers when selecting a wedding planner in the wedding planner market, which has rapidly grown in recent years. An in-depth interview was performed with eight participants in terms of wedding planner utilization type and consumers’ understanding of wedding preparation with a wedding planner. The collected data were analyzed through taxonomy, component analysis and decision table analysis; for validation, professional wedding planners were asked to review the items valued by consumers in selecting a wedding planner. Four factors - expense characteristic, wedding planners, wedding consulting companies, and customer characteristics - were identified, along with eight sub-factors (capability, service attitude, technical communication, personal factors, wedding planner encounter paths, spouse’s satisfaction status, and companies). Out of these, price (within budget), wedding planners’ capability, wedding planners’ service attitude are expected to be meaningful in further research because they were found to be attributes commonly valued by every respondent. This study is significant in that it has made a new approach to understanding wedding planner selection attributes through ethnographic research and identified new wedding planner selection attributes.