wedding

Millennial brides create their own wedding traditions

By Rieva Lesosnky

We’ve talked about weddings a lot in this space. But that’s because wedding trends come and go—and affect so many small businesses. Now, as most of those getting married are millennials, let’s take a look at their wedding demands.

According to a YPulse survey, millennials are “prioritizing ‘comfort, personalization and innovation’ for their weddings. YPulse cites a report fromPinterest saying millennial brides are more into having fun and less into tradition. Their focus on the “experience” of their wedding days prompted YPulse to dub millennial brides more “bridechilla” than bridezilla.

So millennials are creating their own wedding traditions. Here are the top 10, according to YPulse:

  1. Hashtags / Social Media
  2. Barn / Country / Rustic Weddings
  3. Photobooths
  4. Mix and Match Bridesmaids’ Dresses
  5. DIY / Pinterest
  6. Colored Wedding Dresses
  7. Cake Alternative / Cupcakes
  8. Choreographed Dances
  9. Honeymoon Registry / Money / Donations Instead of Gifts
  10. Themed Weddings

Not that you can make money from all of these (hashtags?), but it’s worth taking a look at the whole list (at the YPulse link above) to see how you can profit from the trend. For instance, “sneakers for the wedding party” comes in at #18—and the big brands (Keds, Converse, etc.) have added “comfortable yet stylish” sneakers to their lines.

Don’t sell sneakers? YPulse notes this is just one part of two bigger trends: brides believing it’s more important to be comfortable than look glamourous on their wedding days, and wanting to be/look unique. Part of that is “saying yes to the non-white dress,” having themed weddings, and adding color to wedding cakes.

Since the youngest millennials are still in their teens, there are many years left to take advantage of these trends.