#Sponsored: This Wedding Is Brought To You By…
How’s this for ‘something new,’ it’s actually becoming a trend for couples to find sponsors for their wedding days. Yes, sponsors. As in, hey we’ll put your logo on all our stuff if you can oh-so-nicely waive the cost of your services.
A New Jersey couple is making headlines as of late for soliciting sponsors for their June 2018 wedding (and they’re not the only ones). While their big ticket items are supposedly already taken care of - like the venue in Philadelphia, the bride’s dress, and the meal costs for their 150 or so guests, they’d like to amplify the ‘interactivity’ of the wedding by onboarding corporate, small-scale startup and local wedding vendor sponsors… Sponsors who want to be a part of something cool and edgy and don’t mind not getting paid.
Let’s rewind a little, the bride and groom (who are each 26-years-old) are both in the business of spinning and bartering. He’s in media, she’s in PR, and given their industry know-how, they’re pretty savvy about sponsorships and the power of influencer culture. Following their engagement, the bride-to-be shared her new #soengaged status with her social spheres and jokingly ended the sentiment with #LookingForAWeddingSponsorship. Soon after, the pair created their own wedding logo (featuring a silhouette of the groom popping the question) and actively started soft-sounding interested partners.
Next up was a Twitter plea to all of the groom’s followers to consider sponsoring their 2018 wedding - sure he included friendly emojis, but the message sounded a littttle like a cold call to advertisers.
“LET'S GO! @jodgilbert and I are getting married in June 2018! We are now looking for sponsors! LMK if you want to market your company. ”
The tiers of sponsorship, you ask? Well, it seems these two are looking for:
Entertainment
Day-of stationery / decor
Attire for their respective bridal parties
Swag for the restroom guest baskets and favors
And they don’t mind giving shout outs to the names behind their nuptials when it comes time. We can just envision it now, the couple thanking their families and guests for sharing in their special day and then taking a minute to salute their loyal partners.
Hmmm…. I don’t know, as interesting as this all seems, especially to a fellow PR person, I’m feeling slightly icky about it. Sure, it can be a great opportunity for these participating businesses, but they’re putting in the time and energy to make this day the best ever for these crazy kids, and they deserve more than an Instagram post for payment. Not to mention, certain hashtags (#ad, #sponsored, #partner) seem a bit out of place in the captions of #realwedding photos. AMIRITE? Just like the bridesmaid who made an insanely inappropriate request at her friend's wedding.
Can't forget these other crazy wedding stories on Reddit.
What are your thoughts, peeps? Thinking my hubby and I may have missed the boat on this trend when we got hitched in 2014, but my sister is getting married next fall. Maybe she’ll be looking for her Matron of Honor to step up and get that paper ….