Wedding Week on WTOP is a 3-part series that dives into Gen Z brides and grooms to be, as their generation puts a spin on tying the knot. This is part 1.
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Gen Z is breaking the mold for weddings, just as generations before them shaped how to tie the knot with puffy sleeves, Mason jars and other beloved relics.
For young brides and grooms, social media is a free planning resource with tens of millions of videos from vendors, planners, couples and others who want to throw their wedding “expertise” into the ring.
Wedding planner Jordan Snider wants couples to use social media as a starting point for inspiration, not a list of must-haves.
“It’s like having a beautiful, ever-evolving inspiration board right at your fingertips,” said Snider, who runs Boundless Love Events in Virginia. “It can really help you to discover new trends and save ideas that resonate with your personal style and really explore different venues and vendors.”
Snider has planned about 100 weddings over the course of her career, mostly in Virginia, though she’s worked on celebrations in Maryland and as far as Texas. She got into the industry during her freshman year of college at James Madison University and started planning during her junior year.
In Snider’s case, planning involves bringing a couple’s vision to life. Those goals are often influenced by watching what their peers came up with online.
What’s in and out?
Customization
In a sea of white wedding posts, couples are looking to make their special day stand out.
That goes down to the dainty details. Faith Housley, 23, of Fairfax County, Virginia, posts videos about her upcoming wedding next winter.
She’s customizing her wedding down to the cocktail napkins — which will sport her dogs’ faces.
Couples are also looking to personalize essential elements of the day — like what they’re wearing.
Amanda Alexander, 23, grew up in Prince William County, Virginia, and got married in June 2024. Her now husband didn’t want a traditional outfit.
“He wanted something that was going to make him feel special, as well,” Alexander said. “He was able to find a green suit that matched the colors and that set him apart from everyone else, as well.”
He accessorized with cowboy boots for the couple’s rustic wedding at Oak Creek Farm in Orange County, Virginia.
Ditching traditions and boosting guest experience
Many of the trends involve couples looking to make a “personable and memorable guest experience,” Snider said.
That experience could include welcome parties for guests, interactive stations, such as watercolor paintings, photo booths or games.
Guest favors can sometimes get left behind at the end of the night. Some couples are hoping to counter that by bringing in goodies that can be consumed.
Instead of a wedding cake, Alexander served up grab-and-go style dessert. In Housley’s case, she’s wrapping 200 matchboxes in custom stickers for her wedding.
“Planning a wedding, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m spending money on these things. I really want somebody to take it home and use it,’” Housley said.
Ceremony
For many, prioritizing the guest experience starts with the ceremony.
“Many of the couples that I’m working with are choosing to have a close family member or a dear friend serve as the officiant for their wedding, which I feel like brings such a personal and heartfelt touch to that ceremony,” Snider said.
The look of the ceremony has changed. Some couples have ditched a traditional arbor in favor of floral installations that can be repurposed throughout the day at a sweetheart table or elsewhere during the reception.
Couples are planning intentional ceremonies. At times, Snider said that means cutting out some traditional unity activities.
“Things like candle lighting and mixing sand,” she said. “I think couples are starting to keep the ceremonies more short and meaningful and more to the point and focusing on their vows and that core commitment that they’re making.”
Though it was once considered a faux pas for a groom to see a bride before the ceremony, Snider said it’s become commonplace for couples to do a first look.
That allows for private vows to be exchanged and lets couples get some of their photos out of the way early, she said. With that time freed up, the bride and groom can join their guests for partying sooner.
Receptions
Though a garter toss was once a beloved ritual meant to bring the catcher good luck, Snider said it’s not something Gen Z has embraced.
“The garter tosses can be uncomfortable for a lot of people that are in the room. So, yeah, I’m OK with that trend dying,” Snider said.
Even bouquet tosses, traditionally “selecting” the next woman to get married, are gradually falling out of fashion.
“I think people are leaning more into their investing in really high quality DJs and bands and so kind of leaving the entertainment to that, and also not singling out their single friends,” Snider said.
As some reception traditions are getting ditched, one of Snider’s favorite trends for that portion of the celebration is dining al fresco — in the fresh air.
“I think there’s something so romantic about dining under the stars or the twinkle lights and surrounded by the beauty of the venue that you’ve selected,” Snider said.
Though perhaps less jazzy than florals and food, another trend has to do with where guests are sitting.
“We’re seeing a lot of emphasis on luxury linens and beautiful chairs and a curated tabletop, rather than just solely relying on flowers to kind of carry the visual design in a reception,” Snider said.
That could be a worthwhile investment, she advises.
“I always tell my couples the largest visual real estate that a guest will see at your reception space are your linens and your chairs,” Snider said.
To cap off the night, many of Snider’s couples are opting to do a private last dance.
“It’s such a meaningful way to kind of soak in the day and kind of wrap that up and really just savor that ‘just married’ feeling,” Snider said. “I know me and my husband did that when we got married, and it was one of my most favorite parts of the day.”
At Alexander’s wedding, guests were sent off to line up for the grand exit, while the newly married couple swayed on the wooden dance floor of the barn.
“That day, people were watching our first look,” Alexander said. “People were watching our first dance. People watched us say our vows, and, like, all the things that like that moment in particular, got to just be ours.”
Check out Wedding Week part 2 on how content creators are reorienting wedding videos — literally.
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