AEO for Weddings and Events: How to Get Your Business Found by AI Search

Wedding and event AEO (AI Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your business website, directory profiles, portfolio content, and review ecosystem so that AI search engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Apple Intelligence — recommend your business when couples and event hosts ask for vendor recommendations. When an engaged couple asks an AI "What is the best outdoor wedding venue in the Hudson Valley?" or "Who is a highly recommended wedding planner in Charleston?" wedding AEO is what determines whether your business appears in that answer or is passed over entirely. Unlike traditional wedding SEO, which focuses on ranking in Google search results and directory listings, wedding AEO targets the specific signals — structured data, portfolio depth, review authority, and planning content — that AI models use to evaluate and confidently recommend wedding vendors in conversational responses.

Why Wedding and Event Vendors Need AEO

The wedding planning journey has always been research-intensive — couples spend an average of 13 months planning their wedding and consult dozens of sources before making vendor decisions. What has changed dramatically is where that research begins. Instead of opening a browser and scrolling through The Knot's marketplace or reading a bridal magazine's "best of" list, engaged couples increasingly turn to AI engines first:

• "What are the best wedding venues near Austin for under $10,000?" — AI provides a curated list with venue names, descriptions, capacity, pricing estimates, and what makes each venue distinctive
• "Find me a wedding photographer in the Pacific Northwest who shoots in a documentary style" — AI names specific photographers, describes their shooting style, and notes their review standing and starting prices
• "What should I look for in a wedding caterer?" — AI explains the decision framework and then often names specific caterers in the couple's area that match established criteria
• "Who are the most popular wedding DJs in Nashville?" — AI names specific DJs with details about their style, music repertoire, MC capabilities, and client reviews
• "Best florists for garden-style weddings in California" — AI recommends florists with portfolio descriptions that match the requested aesthetic
• "How do I find a good wedding videographer and what does it cost?" — AI answers the question and frequently cites specific videographers as examples

For wedding vendors, this shift represents both a significant threat and an extraordinary opportunity. The threat: vendors with strong directory presence but weak structured data and thin website content are being passed over in AI recommendations in favor of competitors who have invested in schema markup, real wedding content, and review authority. The opportunity: because most wedding vendor websites have minimal optimization for AI search, early movers who implement the full wedding AEO framework have a meaningful window to capture category authority before competitors catch up.

The stakes are high because wedding bookings are high-value, long-cycle decisions. When an AI engine recommends your venue by name — describing your outdoor ceremony space, your all-inclusive package pricing, your maximum capacity, and your 4.8-star rating across 340 reviews — that couple arrives at your inquiry form pre-qualified and ready to schedule a tour. AI recommendations in the wedding industry carry enormous weight because the recommendation arrives in the context of a couple actively planning one of the most significant events of their lives. The trust is immediate.

The Wedding AEO Framework: 7 Pillars

This framework covers the seven core areas that determine whether AI engines discover, evaluate, and recommend your wedding or event business. Each pillar reinforces the others — schema helps AI find you, venue content tells AI what you offer, portfolio pages establish your style authority, reviews validate your quality, seasonal content captures planning-stage queries, vendor collaboration signals trust networks, and technical foundations ensure AI can access everything reliably.

Pillar 1: Event and LocalBusiness Schema Markup

Schema markup is the structured data foundation of wedding AEO. Most wedding vendor websites have zero schema markup — which means AI engines are forced to guess at your business type, location, services, and pricing from unstructured page content. Implementing the right schema types transforms your website from an opaque HTML document into a machine-readable data source AI engines can confidently parse and cite.

The core schema types for wedding and event vendors:

• EventVenue — The primary schema type for wedding venues, barn venues, hotel ballrooms, estate properties, and event spaces. More specific than LocalBusiness, it signals to AI engines exactly what kind of space you operate and unlocks venue-specific properties like maximumAttendeeCapacity and amenityFeature.
• LocalBusiness — The baseline schema type for all wedding vendors who are not venues — photographers, planners, florists, DJs, caterers, videographers, and hair and makeup artists. Use the most specific subtype available: ProfessionalService for planners and coordinators, FoodEstablishment for caterers.
• Event — Use this schema type for specific events you publish, like open house tours, wedding showcase events, bridal fairs, or styled shoots you host. Event schema captures queries from couples actively looking for in-person venue tours.
• ImageObject — Critical for visually-driven vendors like photographers, florists, and decorators. Marking up portfolio images with name, description, author, and contentUrl gives AI engines structured access to your visual work.
• Service — Use Service schema for individual service offerings with pricing ranges, service types, and service areas. This directly feeds AI engines when couples search for specific services.
• Person — For vendors where the individual matters — lead photographers, named planners, specific DJs — Person schema establishes individual expertise and professional identity.

Essential schema properties that AI engines prioritize for wedding vendors:

• name — Your exact business name, consistent across all schema, your website, and all directory profiles. Inconsistency here degrades trust signals.
• description — A 2-4 sentence description that includes your primary service type, location, specialties, and what makes your business distinctive. This is often the text AI engines use verbatim in recommendations.
• address and geo — Complete PostalAddress with street, city, state, zip, and country. GeoCoordinates for precise location matching. Essential for geographic query matching.
• maximumAttendeeCapacity (venues) — The maximum number of guests your venue can accommodate. One of the most frequently filtered criteria in venue queries.
• amenityFeature (venues) — A list of venue features: outdoor ceremony space, bridal suite, catering kitchen, on-site parking, dance floor, getting-ready rooms, overnight accommodations, vendor flexibility, in-house catering, BYOB policy. These features map directly to how couples filter venue searches.
• priceRange — Your approximate pricing tier. Use the $ convention or specify starting prices. Couples consistently filter by budget in both AI queries and directory searches.
• aggregateRating — Your average rating and total review count. One of the most influential single signals AI engines use to rank vendors within a category.
• areaServed — The geographic area you serve. For photographers and planners who travel, this is especially important to define so AI engines can match you to queries outside your immediate city.
• sameAs — URLs of your profiles on The Knot, WeddingWire, Zola, Instagram, Pinterest, and other authoritative directories. This cross-referencing is how AI engines build confidence in your business identity.

Here is a comprehensive EventVenue schema template for a wedding venue:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "EventVenue",
  "name": "Meadowbrook Estate",
  "description": "Historic 1890s barn venue on 40 acres in the Hudson Valley, New York. Meadowbrook Estate accommodates up to 200 guests for indoor ceremonies and 250 for outdoor garden ceremonies. All-inclusive wedding packages available. Designated BYOB venue with preferred caterer list.",
  "url": "https://www.meadowbrookestate.com",
  "logo": "https://www.meadowbrookestate.com/images/logo.png",
  "image": [
    "https://www.meadowbrookestate.com/images/barn-exterior.jpg",
    "https://www.meadowbrookestate.com/images/ceremony-garden.jpg",
    "https://www.meadowbrookestate.com/images/reception-interior.jpg",
    "https://www.meadowbrookestate.com/images/bridal-suite.jpg"
  ],
  "telephone": "+1-845-555-0194",
  "email": "events@meadowbrookestate.com",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "147 Orchard Hill Road",
    "addressLocality": "Rhinebeck",
    "addressRegion": "NY",
    "postalCode": "12572",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": 41.9284,
    "longitude": -73.9077
  },
  "maximumAttendeeCapacity": 250,
  "amenityFeature": [
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Outdoor Ceremony Space",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Bridal Suite",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Groom's Quarters",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "On-Site Parking",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Dance Floor",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Catering Kitchen",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "BYOB Policy",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "ADA Accessible",
      "value": true
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Overnight Accommodations",
      "value": false
    },
    {
      "@type": "LocationFeatureSpecification",
      "name": "Rehearsal Dinner Space",
      "value": true
    }
  ],
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
      "opens": "09:00",
      "closes": "17:00",
      "description": "Office hours and venue tours by appointment"
    },
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": ["Saturday", "Sunday"],
      "opens": "10:00",
      "closes": "14:00",
      "description": "Open house tours during non-event weekends"
    }
  ],
  "priceRange": "$$$",
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.9",
    "reviewCount": "187",
    "bestRating": "5"
  },
  "areaServed": [
    {
      "@type": "State",
      "name": "New York"
    },
    {
      "@type": "State",
      "name": "Connecticut"
    },
    {
      "@type": "State",
      "name": "New Jersey"
    }
  ],
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/meadowbrook-estate",
    "https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/meadowbrook-estate",
    "https://www.instagram.com/meadowbrookestate",
    "https://www.pinterest.com/meadowbrookestate"
  ]
}

Use our free Schema Generator to build EventVenue or LocalBusiness schema without writing JSON by hand. Enter your venue or business details and copy the generated JSON-LD directly into your website.

Pillar 2: Venue and Service Content

Structured data tells AI engines what type of business you are. Your website content tells AI engines what makes your business worth recommending. The two work together — schema provides the machine-readable layer, content provides the depth and specificity that AI engines cite when making recommendations. Most wedding vendor websites have thin, generic content that gives AI engines nothing substantive to work with. The vendors who win AI recommendations have invested in the specific, detailed content AI engines need to make confident recommendations.

For Wedding Venues

Your venue website needs content that answers the specific questions couples ask AI engines when evaluating venues:

• Capacity and layout details — Your maximum seated capacity for dinner reception, your cocktail hour capacity, your outdoor ceremony maximum, and whether those numbers change in winter. Publish these as explicit numbers, not vague ranges. "Seats up to 175 for a plated dinner, 220 for a cocktail-style reception, and 250 for an outdoor garden ceremony" is far more useful to AI engines than "we accommodate groups of various sizes."
• Pricing and package information — Publish your starting price ranges or package tiers clearly. Couples consistently search with budget parameters. A venue that publishes "venue-only rental from $6,500 for a Saturday in peak season" will be recommended for budget-range queries while a venue that says only "contact for pricing" is invisible to those same queries.
• Vendor policy — Clearly state whether you require in-house catering, have a preferred vendor list, or allow couples to bring their own vendors. Vendor flexibility is one of the most frequently searched venue criteria. "We work exclusively with our preferred caterer list of 8 licensed culinary teams" versus "we are a bring-your-own-vendor venue with no vendor restrictions" are signals that directly match specific couple preferences.
• Space descriptions for each area — Dedicate a paragraph to each distinct space on your property: the ceremony garden, the cocktail hour terrace, the reception barn, the bridal suite, the groom's quarters. Include dimensions, features, and how each space is typically used. This depth is what AI engines use to match your venue to specific queries like "venues with separate getting-ready rooms for both partners."
• Date availability context — Even if you cannot publish a live calendar, publish context about your booking patterns: "Saturday dates in June, September, and October book 12-18 months in advance. Friday and Sunday dates are available with shorter lead times." This helps AI engines answer availability-related queries.

For Service-Based Wedding Vendors

Photographers, planners, florists, DJs, caterers, videographers, and other service vendors need service pages that go beyond generic package names:

• Service scope and deliverables — What exactly is included in each package? For photographers: the number of hours, the number of edited images, turnaround time, album options, engagement session inclusion, and second photographer. AI engines parse these details when couples ask "What does a wedding photographer package typically include?"
• Geographic service area — List the specific cities, counties, regions, and states you serve. Include information about destination wedding travel. "Based in Nashville, available throughout Tennessee, and travel regularly to Georgia, Alabama, and destination weddings in the Caribbean and Europe" captures queries from couples planning destination weddings.
• Starting prices — Publish starting prices for each package tier. Couples use price ranges constantly in AI queries. A DJ who publishes "wedding DJ packages starting at $1,800 for 5 hours" will appear in price-filtered searches while one without pricing is excluded.
• Style and specialization — Describe your aesthetic, approach, and the type of weddings you do best. This is how AI engines match you to style-specific queries. "We specialize in modern minimalist weddings and elopements with 15 guests or fewer" is more matchable than "we love all types of weddings."
• Experience and credentials — Years of experience, notable venues you've worked, certifications (Certified Wedding Planner, certifications from NACE or ABC), and publications or features in bridal magazines. These authority signals matter significantly for AI recommendations.

Pillar 3: Portfolio and Visual Content Optimization

Wedding vendors are in a visual business, and portfolio content is where most AEO opportunities lie. A generic photo gallery with unlabeled images does almost nothing for AI visibility. A structured portfolio with real wedding pages, descriptive image metadata, and searchable style and location information is one of the most powerful signals wedding vendors can build.

Real Wedding Pages

The highest-impact portfolio strategy for wedding AEO is creating individual pages for each featured real wedding — not just a gallery of images, but a dedicated page with:

• Venue name and location — "Ceremony and reception at Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee" captures venue-specific queries and builds venue authority.
• Wedding style and aesthetic — "Romantic garden wedding with wildflower arrangements, candlelit reception tables, and a soft blush and ivory color palette." Style descriptors match how couples query: "romantic garden wedding photographer in Tennessee."
• Season and setting context — September fall wedding, November winter wedding with cozy candlelit reception, June summer garden ceremony. Seasonal context matches timing queries from couples planning in specific seasons.
• Vendor team credits — List every vendor who contributed: planner, florist, caterer, venue, DJ, hair and makeup, bakery, transportation. These vendor mentions create a network of cross-referencing content that strengthens everyone on the team's AI authority.
• Narrative description — A 2-4 paragraph story about the wedding: how the couple met, what they wanted their day to feel like, the key details and moments that made it special. This narrative content is what AI engines cite when describing your work style to potential clients.
• Descriptive image alt text — Every image needs a descriptive alt attribute: "Bride and groom portrait on stone bridge at Blackberry Farm in autumn light" rather than "wedding photo." AI engines parse alt text as content signals for image-based queries.

Gallery and Image Optimization

• Descriptive file names — Rename image files before uploading: "outdoor-ceremony-stone-terrace-asheville- nc.jpg" instead of "IMG_4821.jpg." File names are part of how AI engines interpret image content.
• Alt text on every image — Every portfolio image needs descriptive alt text that includes what is shown, the style, and ideally the location. This is non-negotiable for AI visibility of visual content.
• Caption text — Use visible captions beneath gallery images where appropriate. Captions are HTML text that AI engines read, unlike alt text which is less prominently weighted.
• Style filtering — Organize your portfolio with filterable style categories: Romantic, Modern, Boho, Traditional, Garden, Industrial, Beach, Mountain, Vineyard. This categorical structure maps directly to how couples query by style.
• ImageObject schema — For featured portfolio images, implement ImageObject schema with name, description, author, and contentUrl. This structured markup gives AI engines explicit access to your visual portfolio metadata.

Video Content Optimization

For videographers and vendors who publish wedding highlight films, video content presents growing AEO opportunities:

• Embed videos with Video schema markup including name, description, thumbnailUrl, uploadDate, and duration
• Write detailed video descriptions that include venue, style, season, and emotional tone — these descriptions feed AI recommendations for videography style queries
• Publish video transcripts or companion written content alongside each highlight film — written content is what AI engines primarily index and cite
• Maintain YouTube channel SEO with detailed descriptions, location tags, and style keywords — YouTube is indexed by multiple AI engines

Pillar 4: Review Strategy Across Google, The Knot, WeddingWire, and Zola

Reviews are the most influential signal AI engines use to rank wedding vendors within a category. When an AI engine recommends "the best wedding florists in Chicago," it is synthesizing review data across multiple platforms — Google, The Knot, WeddingWire, and Zola — alongside your website content and schema data. A vendor with strong review presence across all platforms consistently outperforms one with excellent reviews on only one platform.

Platform Priority for Wedding Reviews

• Google Business Profile — The highest-priority review platform for AI search. Google AI Overviews pulls heavily from GBP data when generating local vendor recommendations. Target a minimum of 50 reviews and aim for consistent monthly additions throughout your booking season.
• The Knot — The largest wedding-specific directory in the US. AI engines treat The Knot as an authoritative source for wedding vendor data, and The Knot's Best of Weddings recognition is a significant authority signal that AI engines recognize.
• WeddingWire — The second major wedding directory. WeddingWire's Couples' Choice Awards and verified review system are cited by AI engines as quality indicators. Maintain an active, complete profile.
• Zola — Zola is growing as a wedding planning platform and marketplace. As couples use Zola for registry and planning, Zola vendor reviews are increasingly part of the AI data landscape.
• Yelp — While less wedding-specific, Yelp reviews are indexed by multiple AI engines and contribute to overall business authority for caterers, photographers, and florists who also serve non-wedding clients.

Review Generation Strategy

• Systematic post-wedding follow-up — Send a personalized thank-you message within 3 days of the wedding and a specific review request 10-14 days after, when couples have returned from their honeymoon and are in a positive emotional state reflecting on their day.
• Multi-platform requests — Ask for reviews on Google first (highest AI value), then The Knot, then WeddingWire. Provide direct links to your review profiles in the request message to minimize friction.
• Prompt couples with specific topics — Instead of a generic "leave us a review" request, prompt specific details: "We'd love if you could mention what you loved about our communication process, how the day-of coordination went, and any specific moments that stood out." Detailed reviews that mention specific services and moments are significantly more valuable AI signals than generic "five stars, would recommend."
• Respond to every review — AI engines measure response rate and response quality as professionalism signals. Respond to every review within 72 hours — positive ones with genuine gratitude and a personalized note, negative ones with calm professionalism and an offer to discuss further. Your response to negative reviews is often more important than the review itself.
• Build review content depth — Brief reviews ("Amazing! 5 stars.") provide weaker AI signals than detailed reviews that mention specific vendors, venues, services provided, and emotional experiences. Coaching couples to write detailed reviews is a legitimate strategy.

Pillar 5: Seasonal and Trend Content

Wedding planning is highly seasonal and trend-driven. Couples spend months in the research phase asking AI engines questions about wedding trends, seasonal planning considerations, and vendor selection guidance. Wedding vendors who publish authoritative content on these topics capture AI citations across the entire planning journey — not just at the decision stage.

Seasonal Wedding Guides

Create dedicated content for each wedding season in your market:

• Spring wedding guide — Peak wedding season in most US markets. Cover bloom availability for florists, rain contingency planning for outdoor venues, spring venue availability and pricing, and spring-specific wedding style trends. Target queries like "spring wedding flowers that are actually in season" or "outdoor venues with rain backup options."
• Summer wedding guide — Heat management for outdoor venues, peak season pricing, booking lead times, summer flower choices, and humidity considerations for hair and makeup. Target queries like "outdoor weddings in summer heat what to know" or "summer wedding catering considerations."
• Fall wedding guide — The fastest-growing wedding season in many markets. Foliage-season venues, harvest themes, fall color palettes for florals, shorter daylight for photographers, and Thanksgiving proximity challenges. Target queries like "fall wedding venues with foliage views" or "October wedding photographer tips."
• Winter wedding guide — Intimate, moody winter aesthetics, holiday season date availability, candlelit reception inspiration, winter florals, venue heating requirements, and guest travel considerations in cold climates. Target queries like "winter wedding venues in the Northeast" or "small intimate wedding ideas for December."

Wedding Trend Content

• Annual wedding trend roundups — Publish a yearly guide to wedding trends covering ceremony styles, floral trends, color palettes, music trends, catering trends, and venue types. These posts attract top-of-funnel traffic from couples in early planning stages and position you as a trend-forward authority.
• Micro-niche trend content — Go deeper than generic trend posts. If you are a florist, publish "2026 Wedding Floral Trends: Dried Botanicals, Sustainable Sourcing, and the Return of Garden Roses." If you are a caterer, publish "2026 Wedding Food Trends: Grazing Tables, Late Night Snacks, and Regional American Cuisine." Specificity establishes genuine category authority.
• Planning timeline content — Publish detailed wedding planning timelines (18 months, 12 months, 6 months) that reference vendor booking milestones. These timelines become AI-cited resources because they directly answer the question "when should I book my wedding vendors?"
• Budget guides — Publish wedding budget breakdowns for your service area and market tier. Couples constantly ask AI engines "How much does a wedding cost in [city]?" and "What percentage of my wedding budget should I spend on photography?" Being the cited source for these answers builds enormous trust authority.
• FAQ content targeting planning questions — Build a comprehensive FAQ library covering the questions couples ask during vendor research: "How do I choose between a wedding planner and a day-of coordinator?" "Do I need a separate rehearsal dinner caterer?" "What happens if it rains on my outdoor wedding day?" These questions are directly asked to AI engines, and the vendors whose content answers them become the cited authorities.

Pillar 6: Vendor Collaboration and Cross-Linking

The wedding industry is fundamentally collaborative — every event involves a team of vendors working together. This collaboration structure creates unique AEO opportunities: vendor cross-linking networks, preferred vendor lists, real wedding credits, and styled shoot partnerships all generate the web of connections that AI engines use to evaluate vendor authority and trustworthiness.

Preferred Vendor Lists

Venues that publish preferred vendor lists create enormous AEO value — both for themselves and for the vendors on their lists. When AI engines see a venue repeatedly mentioned alongside the same photographers, caterers, and florists, it builds confidence in the entire vendor network. Best practices:

• Publish preferred vendor lists as HTML pages with each vendor's full name, website URL, and a brief description of why you recommend them — not just a name and phone number
• Ask preferred vendors to link back to your venue from their own websites in their venue lists or geographic service pages
• Update preferred vendor lists annually and note when vendors are newly added, have won awards, or have been featured in publications
• Create dedicated pages for each vendor category (preferred caterers, preferred photographers) rather than one long list page — this improves indexability and allows deeper content per vendor type

Real Wedding Vendor Credits

Every published real wedding on your website should include complete vendor credits with live links to each vendor's website. This creates a network of mutual cross-referencing that strengthens every vendor's authority:

• List every vendor by their exact business name with a link to their website
• Tag each vendor by category: venue, photographer, planner, florist, caterer, DJ or band, videographer, hair and makeup, transportation, officiant, bakery
• Ask vendors you feature to reciprocate with a link back to your real wedding page from their own portfolio
• Share real wedding posts with all credited vendors and encourage them to share the feature on their social media — social engagement signals are secondary AEO indicators

Styled Shoot Partnerships

Styled shoots — collaborative events where a team of vendors creates a curated aesthetic for portfolio purposes — are a powerful AEO content strategy when executed with a digital-first mindset:

• Publish styled shoot features as dedicated pages, not just social posts — persistent HTML content is what AI engines index
• Include comprehensive vendor credits with links and descriptions of each vendor's contribution
• Write editorial-style narrative content about the inspiration and design choices, not just a gallery of images
• Submit styled shoots to wedding publications for editorial features — published editorial features are high-authority backlinks that significantly boost AI trust signals

Publication Features and Press

Editorial features in wedding publications — Style Me Pretty, Green Wedding Shoes, Brides Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot Magazine, regional bridal publications — are among the most powerful authority signals in wedding AEO. When AI engines see your business cited in high-authority wedding publications, it dramatically increases your recommendation probability:

• Create a dedicated "As Seen In" or "Press" page with links to every publication feature
• Use the Press schema type or cite publications in your About page with structured mentions
• Submit real weddings proactively to publications — most editorial teams accept submissions and actively seek fresh content
• Display award badges (The Knot Best of Weddings, WeddingWire Couples' Choice, local bridal show awards) prominently with descriptive text — not just images of badges

Pillar 7: Technical Foundations

Technical performance determines whether AI engines can access, crawl, and trust your website. Beautiful design and great content are wasted if your site is slow, mobile-unfriendly, or difficult for AI crawlers to access. Wedding vendor websites often have heavy image galleries and outdated CMS configurations that create technical barriers to AI discovery.

Mobile Performance

The majority of initial wedding vendor research happens on mobile — engaged couples browse vendor websites on their phones during commutes, lunch breaks, and late-night planning sessions. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning your mobile site is what Google AI Overviews evaluates.

• Target Core Web Vitals scores of 90 or above on mobile — especially Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) which measures how quickly your main content loads
• Serve images in next-gen formats (WebP, AVIF) with lazy loading for gallery-heavy pages — this is the single biggest performance win for most photography and venue websites
• Ensure all contact forms, inquiry buttons, and booking links are easily tappable on mobile with adequate touch target sizes
• Test your mobile experience on actual devices, not just browser developer tools — wedding venue photo galleries frequently break on small screens

Site Speed

• Compress all images before upload — a wedding venue gallery with full-resolution photographer files can easily be 40MB per page. Properly compressed images serve the same visual quality at 10% of the file size.
• Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) for image delivery — this is especially important for venues and photographers whose audiences may be geographically distributed across a region or the entire country for destination wedding vendors
• Minimize unused JavaScript and CSS from drag-and-drop website builders (Squarespace, Wix, ShowIt) — these platforms often load significant JavaScript that slows page performance
• Enable browser caching and GZIP compression at the server level

Local SEO Technical Foundations

• Google Business Profile completeness — Every field in GBP should be filled: business name, category, address, phone, website, hours, service area, services offered, products, attributes, photos, Q&A section with answered questions, and business description. GBP is the primary data source for Google AI Overviews for local vendor queries.
• NAP consistency — Your business Name, Address, and Phone number must be exactly identical across your website, Google Business Profile, The Knot, WeddingWire, Zola, Yelp, Facebook, and every other directory. Even minor variations (St. vs Street, Suite vs Ste.) degrade AI trust signals.
• XML sitemap — Maintain an updated sitemap.xml that includes your real wedding pages, service pages, blog posts, and location pages. Submit it to Google Search Console.
• HTTPS and crawl access — Ensure your site uses HTTPS. Verify that your robots.txt does not accidentally block AI crawlers. Check for crawl errors in Google Search Console regularly.
• Structured data validation — After implementing schema, validate it using Google's Rich Results Test and Schema.org's validator. Invalid schema is worse than no schema because it can generate errors in AI engines' understanding of your data.

Use our free Schema Generator to generate validated schema markup for your wedding business and avoid the most common structured data errors.

Vendor-Specific AEO Tips

While the 7-pillar framework applies to all wedding and event vendors, each vendor category has specific optimization priorities that match how couples query for that service type.

Common AEO Mistakes Wedding Vendors Make

After analyzing hundreds of wedding vendor websites for AI visibility, these are the most common and most damaging mistakes:

Frequently Asked Questions