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Wedding Industry Research

Additional Reading

Articles are often a good source for more current and accessible information on the market when access to market research reports is not an option. Check your local public or university library for access to full-text databases to find more information. If you are looking to track local trends also look to location publications.

Selected Articles

These are a sampling of articles, if you are looking to do more research check what databases you have access to via your local public or university library. To see what the databases that the Library has access to look at the Subscription Resources link in the left navigation.


If you are interested in researching older information here are a few articles that may be of interest as well. Some of them still may be available if you search online, or try a library with full-text databases.

  • National survey finds most engaged couples are interested in eloping this year External (2022)
  • "Welcome to the wedding boom. How couples are handling the busiest season in 40 years." External (NPR, March 24, 2022)
  • "Weddings are booming again, and the industry is struggling to keep up." External (Washington Post, April 10, 2022)
  • "Weddings Are Back — And They're More Expensive Than Ever." External (CNN, March 30, 2022; originally In Style, May 16, 2022)
  • "Smaller cakes, shorter dresses, bigger diamonds: The pandemic is shaking up the $73 billion wedding industry," External(Washington Post, February 11, 2021)
  • "The "Wedding Boom" Is Officially Here: What to Know About Party Planning This Year and Beyond" (Brides.com, May 24, 2021)
  • "Covid-19 has stalled the wedding industry," External (Economist, June 16, 2020)
  • "The Pandemic’s Long-Lasting Effects on Weddings," External by Ashley Fetters (The Atlantic, May 18, 2020)
  • "COVID Crisis Shaping New Wedding Formats, The Knot Says," External (Special Events, May 15, 2020)
  • "Micro-Weddings Are on the Rise: Here’s What DC Pros Are Offering," External by Jacqueline Tynes (Washingtonian, April 30, 2020)
  • "How WedTech is Changing the Wedding Industry," by Sofia Nikolaeva. (Eventmanagerblog.com, March 26, 2018)
  • "The wedding industry's pricey little secret," by Will Oremus (Slate.com, April 2018)
  • "The decline of David’s Bridal says a lot about millennial attitudes toward weddings," by E.J. Dickson (Vox, November 20, 2018)
  • Part 1: "The Past, Present and Future of the Wedding Industry" by Matt Douglas (Huffington Post, February 23, 2017)
  • Part 2: "The Past, Present and Future of the Wedding Industry" by Matt Douglas (Huffington Post, March 2, 2017)
  • Part 3: "The Past, Present and Future of the Wedding Industry" by Matt Douglas (Huffington Post, March 17, 2017)
  • "The White Wedding Dress Industrial Complex," by Helena Fitzgerald (Racked, June 5, 2017)
  • "The Wedding Industry in 2017 and Beyond," by Sarah Schmidt (Marketresearch.com, May 16, 2017)
  • "This Is the Actual Cost of Being a Bridesmaid," (Weddingwire.com, 2017)
  • "Don't buy a 'wedding dress' for your wedding," by Sarah Halzack (Washington Post, June 21, 2016)
  • "Sound of wedding bells is fading for millennials," by Brigid Schulte (Washington Post, May 18, 2015, pA4). Reprinted on WonkBlog (May 17, 2015) as "Why parents should stop hoping their kids will get married."
  • "VCs put a ring on wedding companies," by Christine Magee (TechCrunch, May 11, 2015)
  • "Wedding Bells Aren’t Ringing for Millennials," by Brent Roderick (from Esri’s blog Esri Insider,June 10, 2015)
  • "A Big Wedding with a Smaller Bill," by Francine Parnes (New York Times, May 25, 2002)
  • "The Bridal Business Branches Out," by Rosemary Feitelberg (WWD: Women's Wear Daily, December 20, 2005, p. 8)
  • "Bridal Market Takes Aggressive Stand." (WWD: Women's Wear Daily, (2009): 198(46), 8-1)
  • "By the Numbers: Divvying Up the Wedding Cake," (HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, March 10, 2003)
  • "Can't Buy Me Love? Maybe Just a Wedding?" by Julie Dunn. (New York Times, Feb. 11, 2001)
  • "The Copycat Wedding," by Lauren Lipton. (Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2004)
  • "The Cost of Weddings." B. F. Timmons. (American Sociological Review, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Apr., 1939), pp. 224-233)
  • "Destination Weddings: Exotic Locales and Stress-free Nuptials Could Mean the End of Bridezillas," by Janeen Christoff, Marty Wentzel, and Jamie Wetherbe. (TravelAge West, October 31, 2005, p. 20)
  • "Destined to be Different: In Their Search for Paradise, More and More Contemporary Couples Are Choosing Destination Weddings," by Beth Bernstein (Lustre, March-April 2005, p. 60)
  • "For Love and Money Amid Economic Sickness, Bridal Industry Radiates Health," by Dina El Boghdady (Washington Post, May 25, 2003)
  • "Hotels Say 'I do' to Destination Weddings, Ring in Profits," by Shannon McMullen-Coyne (Hotel & Motel Management, February 21, 2005, p. 33)
  • "Inside the Designer Bridal Boom" by Lauren Sherman (Businessoffashion.com, October 29, 2013)
  • "Internet Sales Threaten Bridal Salons. - Focus on the Bridal Industry," by Dominic Mariani (Fairfield County Business Journal, Nov 5, 2001 v40 i45 p17(1))
  • "Love is Priceless; Weddings Cost," by Leslie Haggin Geary (CNNMoney, June 2, 2003)
  • "Murphy's Law: The Wedding Version," by Christine DiGrazia (New York Times, June 16, 2002)
  • "Wedding industry costs soar even as growth slows," by Kirby Lee Davis (Journal Record, November 21, 2005)
  • "You're Getting Married," by Rebecca Mead (New Yorker, April 21, 2003)

Consumer Magazines

Consumer magazines devoted to brides are a good source for looking at what is hot in the industry generally as well as reporting on the state of the industry.

Internet News Sources

Local newspapers and community magazines will also be important resources for those interested in understanding the industry in their particular area because the cover local business, industry, and community events.