How Millennials Are Changing the Wedding Industry

There’s a lot of talk about how Millennials are changing world order. Baby Boomers have been commenting on how Millennials are “killing off” different industries when in reality, they really are just moving away from a war-time mindset ingrained into most of the older generation.

But that isn’t to say that these observations aren’t true. Millennials for one, are choosing other life paths other than the typical married life. If they do marry however, they prefer to tie the knot at a much later age. People born from 1981 to 1996 are deciding to focus more on their careers, personal life goals, or the desire to build a solid foundation for familial life. This means that the concept of marriage as we know it is slowly being redefined.

These changes to the concept of marriage are also affecting the wedding industry. Millennials want to make their weddings uniquely theirs. This love for uniqueness extends even to marriage and engagement rings. More and more, young couples are opting for customized ring designs, like Love & Promise engagement rings. Some churched are also allowing marrying couples to write and say their own vows during the ceremony.

The way Millennials tackle wedding registries has also shifted the industry in a different direction. Whereas older generations would opt for having their wedding registry in major retailers like department stores, most Millennial couples are also opting to include online retailers and stores in their registries. This has prompted sites like Amazon to create tailored registry experiences for married couples-to-be.

These changes to how Millennials see marriage and how they want to get married are getting players in the wedding industry to shake up their existing practices and innovate. Aside from having an online presence, wedding registry companies are also expanding selections to include experiences and services aside from physical goods. These can run from a honeymoon to Hawaii or donations to a cause that they care about.

Wedding planners, for example, are also finding that their roles in weddings are changing. Because Millennials get married later in life, they are more able to finance the event; planners find that they deal more with the actual couple than with the parents. Wedding planners are also finding that they take more of the backseat when it comes to the conceptualizing and are being relegated to actualizing the concept that the couples have thought up.

Millennials are also socially responsible, and this reflects with their choice of food items being served. Catering companies are now more inclined to list the allergens that their food has. Some catering companies are also creating food lines tailor-made for those who are vegan or vegetarian. Since Millennials are also conscious about where their food is sourced from, most companies are now choosing to source locally, favoring organic and fair-trade sources for ingredients.

Looking to the future, we may find that these trends in the wedding industry will continue on even with Generation Z. This need for uniqueness and individuality for weddings and a vested interest in social responsibility are expected to continue well into the next few decades.