Estimated to be a $300 billion dollar industry worldwide, weddings are known to be known to be among the most expensive events in a person’s life. But during a pandemic, when the population is trying to avoid extra spending and is discouraged from participating in large social gatherings, the wedding industry, just like many other, has felt the effects. This summer, Saks Fifth Avenue announced it will close its bridal flagship salons in New York and Beverly Hills at the end of the year while Nordstrom has already closed its Wedding Suites and is phasing out that portion of the business. However, amongst all the chaos, some wedding brands and retailers (and their customers) are finding ways to adapt and continue on with the big day.
Just like bringing together coworkers for meetings, video conferences have started to be implemented by wedding retailers to connect to their customers in lieu of in-store appointments. Bridal company Brideside lets customers virtually connect to a stylist with the Try at Home services to make sure they get the best dress samples to try on. Friends and family can also join in on the online session, during which a Brideside stylist will share a mood board and images of brides in real dresses or even try the dresses on for the customer to help with the decision process. Lien, LOHO Bride, Galvan, Danielle Frankel and Oscar de la Renta are also offering at-home bridal appointments through video chat.
As for the wedding itself, although in-person ceremonies and parties with large groups are not completely ruled out, many party planners are incorporating technology through live streaming for those unable to attend. Chandelier Events offers a creative solution known as Don’t Let The Day Go By – a service that offers digital, at-home elements like a photobooth and VR and that can even mail party supplies and swag to all virtual attendees for the day of the event. Wedding photographer Kareem Virgo has implemented FaceTime for remote photography sessions. While on a video call, Kareem instructs the couple on how to position their phone and guides them through poses while he uses FaceTime’s photo feature to snap the images, which he then edits and sends to the newlyweds.
Sources: Economist / The Knot / The Knot / Retail Dive / Harper’s Bazaar / Brides / Digiday
“When people postpone the celebration after already being married in a ‘minimony,’ it’s almost like, ‘Why bother?’ with the big celebration later. The profile of weddings will change.”
FAITH POPCORN
FUTURIST
What People Are Saying
Reddit:
@cheesememes
“…we’ll have to adapt our food service plan since passed apps are obviously out of the question… We’re doing coordinated masks for the bridal party and are providing masks and sanitizer in welcome packages for guests…We will also be providing bracelets to indicate comfort level with contact.”
@WedditNYC
“Only our parents and grandparents would zoom into the ceremony. It feels wrong not getting married surrounded by our families, but that doesn’t seem safe or possible right now.”
@CeeTheSeal
“We got married just us two with the officiant, photographer, and bed and breakfast owner…We chose not to do the Zoom since we did not want to be playing the part of technical assistant right before we got married. I have no regrets!”
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