Wedding guests with invitations in hand and a date on the calendar this wedding season shouldn’t expect a traditional wedding experience from younger couples.
Event planners said Gen Zers are joining millennials in adding their own flair to nuptials.
“My couples in their 20s are definitely more relaxed,” Tani Sockol, owner of TC Events, which caters to couples in the D.C. area, told WTOP. “They seem to be into the idea of, ‘I just want everyone that I love to be there and have a good time.'”
Millennials, who are between 28 and 43 years old this year, have been at the marrying age for at least a decade. But older members of Gen Z are right around 27 years old, and some of them are starting to tie the knot.
One of the biggest wedding traditions, same-sex bridal parties, are out, Sockol said. Many couples are opting to include a groomswoman or a bridesman.
“It’s very nice because it gets rid of that archaic value that it has to be bridesmaids and groomsmen,” she said. “Now, if you have a close guy friend that you want in your wedding party, he doesn’t have to stand on the other side.”
Bridal parties are also smaller, as some brides are passing over small children in their weddings and asking older relatives to take on nontraditional roles.
“It’s quite common to see grandparents walk in as the flower girl or ring bearer, which is so adorable,” Sockol said. “So we’re seeing these types of funny things.”
Katelyn Miner, who owns The Miner Details, an event planning firm that caters to couples in Northern Virginia and D.C., said that couples are swapping out real flowers for artificial ones because they’re cheaper and more sustainable.
She is also seeing a boost in couple who want high-tech touches.
“There’s an uptick in digital RSVPs and invitations. You’re getting a QR code in the mail and that’s how you make your meal selection,” Miner told WTOP. “I had one couple that had a phone where people could record their voices instead of signing a guest book.”
All of those details add up. The national average cost of a wedding is $30,119, according to personal finance company Nerd Wallet.
In the mid-Atlantic, Sockol has seen budgets balloon over the last couple of years — from an average of $65,000 to about $80,000. She blames inflation and couples wanting to extend cocktail hour and receptions well into the night.
“Everyone I talk to nowadays says they just want a really fun party,” Sockol said. “Couples want to be done with dinner by 7:30, cut the cake and get everyone on the dance floor for at least two to three hours.”
Sockol and Miner agree that some of the trends sparked by Gen Z may change.
Others are here to stay.
“That’s the fun thing about being a planner right now,” Miner said. “There really aren’t any hard and fast rules anymore. You really should make the day about you.”
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