14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
How Gen Z Is Transforming the Wedding Industry
After sending one of his clients a quote for custom save-the-date cards, Jove Meyer, a wedding planner and designer based in New York City, received an unexpected response from the bride.
'She was like, 'My friend made this digital save-the-date with A.I. in the car on the way to work,'' said Mr. Meyer, who has worked in the wedding industry since 2008.
Welcome to the Gen Z age of weddings. With their native digital fluency, pervasive connectivity via social media and comfort with artificial intelligence tools, members of this generation, born approximately between 1997 and 2012, are transforming the traditions, logistics and aesthetics of modern weddings.
'With previous generations, you got a planner, they presented the options and you picked,' Mr. Meyer said. 'With these kids — and Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok — visual inspiration and aspiration are everywhere. They're being smart with the resources they have and being creative with the technology and tools that are available, and it's shaking up the industry.'
Last year, about one-third of newlyweds were Gen Z, according to the Knot, a wedding planning website.
Many Gen Z couples use social media as a core wedding-planning tool, scouring Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and Reddit for ideas, advice and vendors. But these platforms are more than that: They're a space for comparison with peers. They are also the primary place where couples and their guests share photos and videos, and where newlyweds put themselves on display for the consumption of others.
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