Gen Z is ‘pushing the boundaries on tradition’ when it comes to wedding planning

Wedding planning company The Knot released its annual Global Wedding Report, compiled from more than 25,000 respondents, this week.

The report found that while couples still embrace traditions, they’re also “finding new ways to highlight their individuality.” Around the world, increasingly popular new wedding practices include throwing music festival-esque “wedding fests,” incorporating pets into ceremonies, and getting matching tattoos. Couples are also waiting longer to get married, especially in Western Europe, where the average age of marriage is around 35–36.

Jenny Lewis, president and CMO of The Knot, told Marketing Brew that Gen Z couples in particular are personalizing their weddings to “represent what is authentic to them” and buck traditions from past generations. “It’s important for marketers to be on their toes and be responding to that trend we’re seeing so they’re able to speak to their customers both today as well as tomorrow,” she said.

Lewis noted that the “guest experience” has also been an increasingly important area of focus for couples planning a wedding. “Things like favors are playing a bigger role,” she said, adding that guests are “willing to spend more traveling to weddings than they were pre-Covid…people are really hungry for gathering, coming together.”

Gen Z is arguably the most tech-savvy generation, something that The Knot is taking into consideration as it markets to this demographic. “This is a generation that has grown up with phones in their hands. They have been on social media for many years. Their expectations when it comes to technology are high,” she told us.

Interest in Pinterest

From a social perspective, The Knot, which brought in $400m in revenue last year, is particularly focused on Instagram and TikTok. It also has a strong presence on Pinterest, where Lewis said many newly engaged couples go to find inspiration for their own weddings.

“A lot of the work the team does on there today is leveraging some of our own photos, videos, content—all the things we’re publishing through some of our editorial accounts—and surfacing it through that platform,” she explained. According to Lewis, The Knot’s Pinterest strategy has mostly been organic, though the brand has “dabbled a little bit in paid.”

Say cheese!

Lewis said The Knot also has a “robust influencer program” featuring engaged couples, wedding vendors, and influencers. For instance, The Knot has worked with JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers of The Bachelorette.

“We do influencer trips occasionally to bring some of our influencers together to connect them with wedding pros in their space to learn tips and tricks. We often engage them for social collaborations and partnerships,” she said. “We’ve even done some collaborations with influencers in the past on curating registry items.”

Beep boop

Lewis mentioned that The Knot has been using AI to strengthen its marketing strategy. For instance, she said the brand has used the tech to more efficiently test email subject lines and create content for paid media.

“We are very much in the test-and-learn phase right now,” Lewis said. “Obviously, it is a very buzzy topic, and we see such upside for it to help us be smarter, faster, better marketers, but we’re still in the early days of learning all that is possible within the world of AI.”