Last week on the Job
Men and women for centuries have been practicing the ritual of marriage. These differences of each specific practice ranges from time period, to country, to personal preference. Wedding ceremonies today have evolved beyond measure and it looks like there is no stopping them now. There are some specific rituals that have been around since the beginning of time, for instance the veil. However, some of the newer traditions such as white dresses developed much more recently. Today, you will rarely find a simple home grown wedding of old, but rather an elaborate production.
(Ancient Weddings)
According to the article and Yalom emotional commitment and communion between a couple were non-sought after factors. Sexual release, procreation, and house hold labor were the sole purposes of finding a wife in a nearby village. It may hurt to hear these things being said, but survival and continuing legacy were about all there was to focus on in far distant times. The ideas of marital consent from the bride and divorce were concepts not heard of until the Romans. Wedding of ancient times were not for show as they are today. With wealth and revolution came the elaboration of wedding nuptials.
(White Wedding Dresses and Wedding Vendors)
Households of the early 1800s were simple, especially of the normal class people. Clothing was nothing like it is today and not just in regards to style. Closets were filled with a few pieces to be worn seasonally, and a best dress. This "best dress" would act as a wedding dress when the occasion arose. Usually a woman's best dress was dyed black or another dark color. It was not until 1840 when Queen Victoria wore a white dress during her wedding to Prince Albert. White was seen as one of the most luxurios colors due to its difficulty to clean, but after Victoria sparked this trend it overtook Endland and hopped across the pond to America. As time went on weddings continued to evolve. Towards the end of the century more outsourcing was being used to carry out weddings. Wedding professionals began to orchestrate ceremonies, and churches began to hold the wedding to allow for more guests. Now dressmakers were being brought into production of the bride's gown. Lavish cakes and flowers even began to make appearances at the affair. Quaint ceremonies of the past were turning into extravagant practices that would be the future.
(Wedding Industry Booms)
With the 1920s, 30s, and 40s came the big business. Stores finally opened their eyes to the immense potential profits that came with weddings. A majority of brides began to rely completely on wedding professionals (now know as vendors). Bridal sections in department stores opened up along with caterers, invitation engravers, photographers, and more. Young ladies and girls in America began to fantasize about the cookie cutter dream wedding.
(Wedding Diversity and Come Back to Center)
Uniqueness faded back in with the 60s and 70s straying away from the cookie cutter weddings of the 50s. However, the uniqueness factor would not last long. With the marriage of Diana Princess of Whales and Prince Charles, fairytales and opulence crept back into the minds of future brides. With today's weddings averaging $20,000 and professionals taking care of every detail of a couple's wedding, marriage ceremonies have traveled a long way from ceremonies of the past.
Since this article was written in 2007 I believe weddings have come even farther over the past few years. Weddings are even an bigger spectacle than they were a few years ago. With multiple wedding TV programs, growing technology, and social media outlets booming; weddings are bigger than ever. For most people weddings are a way to one up the last person. New bride's are getting over-the-top ideas from Pinterest and other online archives. Wedding planners can be found around every corner and wedding budgets are higher than ever.
This information means a lot for Blue Planet Green Events as an event planning company. Due to the fact that more and more brides are looking to professional planners to orchestrate the big day, this means more business for those planners. More business is almost always good business. On the downside of the information age comes wedding knowledge available to anyone with any sort of internet connection. The trend of the times is DIY. More and more brides are trying to create their own weddings from past ideas she finds online. However, the more the industry grows, the more overwhelming it will be to plan a wedding with no professional help. BPGE provides all facets of wedding help from total planning, to simply day of management, and even to providing flowers for the wedding. Adaptation is one of the best characteristics that any company in any industry can possess. With time comes change and we should file suit. Gay weddings will be next on the home front because of changing judicial laws within our country and even across the world. BPG is not only on the forefront of sustainable wedding practices but also on the future of the institute of marriage. Just the other day I helped with a photo shoot the company staged involving a gay couple's commitment ceremony.
This article relates to both sides of my educational knowledge: Marketing and Fashion Merchandising. So many aspects of the wedding business deals with business and fashion concepts. The process is extremely creative and beautiful on the outside, and a lot of business opportunities exist on the inside. I cannot wait to see where weddings of the future go, heck even my own wedding!
Here comes the bride: A history of the american wedding. (2007, May 08). Retrieved from http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/009wedding.html
No comments:
Post a Comment