The 2022 Wedding Boom: 5 Ways to Prepare
If you’re engaged, newlywed, or even know someone in the wedding industry, you may have heard the term “Wedding Boom” — it’s a phrase getting thrown around social media a lot lately. But what does it mean?!
According to an article by Jenn Sinrich from Brides, “After a year of postponed and downsized weddings, the wedding industry is seeing a surge of couples looking to plan 2021, 2022, and 2023 weddings. As a result, experts say the demand for venues, vendors, and goods such as flowers and attire has never been higher.”
Sounds stressful, right? Now that 2021 is almost over, there is one thing I know for sure: 2021 was a big year for weddings. After a vaccine rollout and some lifted travel bans, I personally shot over 30 weddings and elopements. Whew!
So what should we expect for the next couple years? Is there really going to be a wedding boom in 2022? And if so, what should you do to prepare for the famed 2022 wedding boom!? Let’s get into it.
Take a big deep breath, and don’t rush into signing wedding vendors.
This is my first and biggest piece of advice. Whether you’re feeling the pressure from family, friends, or even just people on the internet, just know that there is no reason to rush into hiring vendors. The vendors you choose to hire can make or break your wedding day! Your venue or location should be everything you dream of.
Your photographer should be someone you vibe with (you’re gonna be with them all day for goodness sakes), and your other vendors should be the rest of the puzzle pieces for your perfect wedding. Rushing to sign your vendors can lead to wedding day regrets, which is not something I would wish on anyone. Imagine being bummed out when you get your wedding photos back? Ugh. It hurts.
So, as we head into 2022 and the “wedding boom” just remember to take a deep breath, and don’t rush into signing your vendors.
2. Make sure you have a solid plan with your partner.
If you’re starting the wedding planning process and everything feels insanely chaotic (which it probably does) my suggestion would be to sit down with bae, grab a drink, and make a list of your priorities. I tell all of my couples to do this because it also massively helps you break up the budget.
Not only that but weddings are so unique, so if you start looking at a ton of planning things online it might start to get overwhelming. Making a list or two of the things you care most about is the best way to ensure you each get a say. It keeps the planning authentic to you and encourages you not to settle for vendors or details that you truly care about.
With a solid game plan, if the planning process starts to feel chaotic again or if some person on Instagram starts to make you feel the planning-panic, you can just refer back to the list to feel a little more grounded.
If you’re looking for more advice on this specific tidbit, here’s another good piece to read.
3. Don’t forget that weddings are supposed to be fun.
Weddings are meant to be an enjoyable event and I personally believe the planning part should be fun too. This is why it’s a real bummer that this whole “wedding boom” rhetoric already in 2022 has people stressing out more than they’re enjoying the process.
Planning a wedding is such a cool opportunity to uniquely celebrate your love together with a bunch of people who love you both! That sh*t is so rad. So again, take a big deep breath, and then give a big ol’ middle finger to the people who make you feel rushed or stressed through your wedding planning.
Here’s an example of a couple that said “hell yeah we do what we want” for their big day.
4. Ask for recommendations.
While enjoying your beverage of choice and booking your lovely wedding vendors, make sure you ask them for recommendations!
Most people in the wedding industry have a nice long list of people they love to work with and will gladly hand that list over to you. What’s even better is that vendors typically know if those referrals are available for your date, which could save you from shopping around for weeks. I get asked for recommendations all the time, and I try to make sure they’re available before I actually send them to the couple. Saves everyone a bit of time, and then I get to work with people I love and trust again, yay!
Alternatively, if you’re inquiring with a vendor and they are already booked, ask them for referrals! The wedding industry is shockingly tight-knit so if we aren’t available for your date, I guarantee we know someone who is, and who hopefully has a similar style or customer service to our own. Personally, I refer people to the same 3-5 photographers all the time because I know they take amazing care of their clients and also take beautiful photos.
So never be afraid to ask for recommendations! Ultimately, we want you to have the best wedding possible no matter how busy the year might start to feel.
5. It’s YOUR day. Trust your gut.
Maybe you recently got engaged and you’re trying to plan for 2022, but you just keep hitting roadblocks with the planning, or maybe you keep feeling pressured into having a wedding THIS YEAR, or maybe your mom won’t stop talking about wanting to invite all her cousins but you have to have the wedding on a very specific date and that date just isn’t working for any of the vendors you want to hire.
If this sounds like you, I am here to remind you that it is your wedding day and there is no reason to rush into it if your gut is telling you to plan for 2023 (or if your gut is telling you to elope on a Tuesday… do that).
I can not tell you how many people I have spoken to who are really feeling the rush of the wedding boom rhetoric. It honestly bums me out. The point I’ve essentially been beating to death in this article is that weddings are fun, happy, joyful events and should be nothing less.