Bridal Industry

The bridal industry is economically and culturally powerful, as it is a wide-ranging, multibillion-dollar-a-year industry that supports one of the most salient rites of passage. In so doing, it is connected with gendered divisions of labor and gendered family arrangements, while it also serves to sustain cultural ideas supporting these phenomena. The bridal industry is composed of some businesses that cater exclusively to customers planning weddings and many businesses that plan weddings in addition to other events/purposes. [Page 96]The former category includes bridal consultants (wedding planners), wedding chapels, bridal salons, bridal magazines, advice books, and bridal Web sites and others that provide more specific services and products directed at brides. While other businesses specialize in weddings, their services can be applied more broadly. These include photographers/videogra-phers; florists; clothing designers, manufacturers, and retailers (for bridal gowns, tuxedos, and attire for attendants and family members); beauticians and beauty suppliers; caterers; ceremony, reception, and prewed-ding party venues; jewelers; musicians and disk jockeys; religious and secular officiants; travel agencies; rental suppliers; paper/invitation suppliers; and various businesses that offer favors for ceremony guests and gifts for attendants.

Bridal consultants are independent professionals who attend to every detail of planning the event, coordinating the services of other vendors from the time of engagement to the honeymoon. The Association of Bridal Consultants is the professional organization for the wedding industry. Started in 1981, it is an international association with several thousand members and offers seminars, conferences, and training materials in addition to local networks. Association membership requirements include successful completion of their professional development program, coursework, and apprentice experience. Bridal professionals may also have taken other independent coursework and be members of event-planning organizations that do not specialize in weddings. These associations are important as networking resources for bridal professionals; referrals are vital in this industry because there is relatively little repeat business.

Because many of the businesses that are part of the bridal industry do not exist exclusively within this realm, it is difficult to estimate its size. Industry associations and census data suggest more than 2.2 million couples wed each year and spend an average of $20,000 to $30,000 on their ceremonies and receptions. This figure, approaching 50 percent of the annual household income of newly married couples, includes an average of $1,000 for a cake and $2,000 each for attire, flowers, photography, and jewelry. The industry is also supported by guests who purchase gifts for the couple and the common practice (99 percent of couples) of taking a honeymoon after the ceremony. These two practices, respectively, contribute an additional $19 billion and $8 billion dollars annually. Although there are significant regional differences in the cost of items and services, these figures combine to create a $70 to $80 billion per year industry.

Recently, several additions to the bridal industry have begun to change its landscape. Lower-end bridal shops, such as the national chain David's Bridal, offer bridal gowns, bridesmaids' dresses, accessories, and tuxedo rental for far lower prices than traditional salons. Another example is the destination wedding, popularized by couples looking for an alternative to the traditional ceremony. All-in-one packages to vacation destinations offered by travel agencies and resorts include an officiant, minimal accessories, and group discounts for wedding guests. Alternatively, in the context of a rising divorce rate and sensational popular press stories of jilted brides and grooms, the industry also offers wedding and divorce insurance.

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