How Can You Make Your Wedding Business More Inclusive?
The wedding industry is (seriously...no pun intended) overwhelmingly white. No, I’m not talking about the dresses or the flowers or the floor-length linens. I’m talking about the people. Namely, the people on the covers of all the magazines, in all the social media posts, and dominating every image on Pinterest boards.
Except that’s not what the world looks like.
Not every person that gets married has blonde hair, blue eyes, and light skin. Not every person who gets married has a partner who is the opposite sex. Not every person who gets married is rich, or able-bodied, or Christian. And the list goes on and on.
Why Is Diversity Important in Business?
Here’s the thing: 51% of all couples marry someone with a different background from them [1]. Now, this stat, provided by The Knot’s Real Weddings report from 2019, isn’t just referring to race. It’s not only referring to demographic labels at all. Included in this definition of different backgrounds are factors such as geographic location and family tradition.
Regardless of the factors they’ve chosen to include, truly inclusive and diverse content in the wedding industry should be a reflection of the actual population. In this case, 51% of wedding content should feature couples from different backgrounds.
This also applies to any single demographic. Let’s look at some stats real quick:
According to the United States Census, 76.3% of the US population is white [2].
The Innovation Group recently found that only 48% of people who are Gen Z consider themselves “completely heterosexual” or straight [3].
Of course, these statistics are not the only meters of diversity in America. They also don’t align 100% with the demographics of couples getting married. However, even without the exact numbers, it’s clear that the wedding industry is not a true reflection of these demographics.
If wedding industry marketing was to accurately match up with the population, 23.7% of its content would feature non-white couples. When you add to that the growing number of interracial marriages, the percentage of non-white content increases even further.
Now, this doesn’t mean you have to take the number of images or Featured Wedding posts on your website, divide them by each category’s percentage, and make sure that you have exactly the right amount of each content.
But it also doesn’t mean that you can have one BIPOC, same-sex, or interfaith wedding on your website and call it a day.
You also can’t only write a diversity and inclusion statement on your website. To be genuine, the content you put on your website should be as close to an accurate reflection of the current population as possible.
This can be difficult, especially if you are starting your business and have only had a handful of clients, or if you’re working out of an area that lacks diversity. One simple way to solve this problem would be to update your website and include royalty-free images of diverse couples and ceremonies from sites like Pexels or Pixabay.
This is a good option if you are looking to rebrand your company to be more inclusive and diverse. However, simply changing images on your website or in your marketing strategy is not enough to create a genuinely diverse business.
It’s impossible to leave politics out of the industry without pushing away large numbers of newly-engaged couples. The rise of unrest surrounding racial discrimination in the US must also come with the acknowledgment that the wedding industry, much like many industries in our country, is falling short.
Don’t let your business contribute to that trend.
I am a firm believer that love is love, no matter how you choose to celebrate it or who you celebrate it with.
First and foremost, your desire to increase diversity and inclusion within your company should come from a desire to be a more supportive and inclusive person. Your business comes second.
Once you pledge to become a more inclusive person, you can become a better business owner.
One fabulous inclusive business owner, who I find myself returning to again and again for inspiration, is Brittny Drye. As the founder of Love Inc. Magazine, Brittny creates content that inspires diverse couples and connects them with products and wedding professionals that also have an inclusive mission. Brittny began Love Inc. because she saw an opportunity to market specifically to LGBTQ weddings. She found that wedding business owners and professionals are unintentionally missing out on a huge market because they aren't tailoring their content to LGBTQ+ clients [4].
And it’s not just about being a good person (though treating everyone equally should be enough of a reward on its own). Non-white, non-straight, and non-christian couples are often the couples who start the trends wedding professionals use to increase their relevance and profits. BIPOC and LGBTQ+ couples are the ones ditching traditional and often sexist wedding traditions and creating change in the wedding industry.
As a wedding professional, you have an ethical responsibility to contribute to this change. Here’s a short list of things to get you started.
5 Things You Can Do to Bring Diversity and Inclusion to Your Business
If you want to run an inclusive company, it is important to have genuine, equal representation in your company, and you have to be willing to work for it.
To create a diverse business, you need to have an inclusive mindset
This starts with self-evaluation, education, and a lot of hard work. Biases are within each one of us. In a polarized society, this is impossible to avoid.
It’s important to understand that biases are a part of human nature. They do not make you an inherently evil person, but they do influence your actions. Search within yourself (with the help of some resources) for bias and work towards eliminating it.
This is so important for your business. Just as you do market research to determine the best ways to help your clients, you need to research to determine how to be an inclusive business owner.
Race and Sexual Orientation are the two demographics that appear most in conversations about diversity and inclusion in the wedding industry. They are a great place to get started.
Learning about your own inherent biases can be uncomfortable and scary, but it is a necessary step to becoming an inclusive business owner. It is important to remember that you are always a student, even when you’re running your own company.
Choose to be a leader, not a follower of outdated, biased trends.
2. Make sure your language isn’t alienating
Traditional language in the wedding world is extremely sexist and hetero-normative. It can often unintentionally alienate couples who do not fall perfectly into the hetero-normative relationship.
Jove Myer has some great tips for this you can find in a presentation he did for WeddingPro. To cover the basics, here are some terms he suggests changing:
Replace “bride” with “couple”
Replace “mother/father” with “parent”
Replace “bridal party” with “wedding crew”
A great way to avoid any unintentional offense when you’re speaking to potential clients is to ask for their pronouns. This can simply be an additional question added to an intake form before your initial conversation.
Asking a client for their pronouns is a simple and respectful way to make sure you’re being inclusive of all gender identities. Be careful not to pry for any further information though. Pronouns are for purposes of addressing your clients only, not a way to gain personal information about them.
3. Is your team as diverse as your client base?
This one is so important, you guys. You can do all the research, education, and self-improvement work in the world, but none of that is going to change who you are.
It can be really difficult to get potential clients to identify with you if you don’t fully understand their perspective. Networking comes in handy here.
Let’s say you want to work with more LGBTQ+ clients. You’ve done the research, checked your biases, and are looking to make your content and services more appealing to non-straight couples.
If your team and your networking contacts are diverse, you’re already halfway there. Ask your LGBTQ+ identifying team member for advice and resources to help you reach that audience. Reach out to other professionals who you know have worked with LGBTQ+ couples before and ask them how they navigated it.
If you’re working solo or your team isn’t very diverse, there are plenty of resources out there you can look to for advice and inspiration. Try a database like Love Inc’s “Equality-Minded Vendor Guide” to find people to connect and work with who understand the market and are thriving there.
It’s common to feel uncomfortable when trying to navigate this. Don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself and your peers. It’s better to admit you have no clue what you’re doing than to pretend and accidentally offend someone you’re trying to emulate and learn from.
It’s also important to remember that it’s not your LGBTQ+ friend’s job to be your consultant on all things politically correct in their community. The bulk of the responsibility lies with you. Do your research thoroughly, and only use people you know as resources sparingly and respectably.
4. Is your content promoting a diverse business?
Remember - your content should be a true reflection of the market and the clients you are trying to reach.
If you don’t have diverse content, create your own with a styled shoot. This is a great way to involve other wedding professionals in a way that highlights both them and you. This is a bit of an investment, as you’d only be using the content for promotional purposes, but it is worth it. It allows you to open up your business to a whole new audience.
The easiest and fastest way to show prospective clients that your business celebrates diversity is through images. Your website and social media pages should be full of many different clients. And make sure your diversity is showing not only with your couples but also with the weddings you’ve done. This is especially important if you have a Real Wedding or Featured Wedding blog.
Not sure what you should include in your content? Jove Myer suggests finding inspiration from businesses and social media accounts that differ from your own [5].
5. Be intentional, informed, and genuine
It’s so important to make sure you’re branching out for the right reasons. Clients can immediately tell if your marketing isn’t genuine, and it’s always important to be respectful. You want to create content that is inviting and reassuring, not alienating.
While BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals are two of the biggest groups pushing for change right now, there are other groups to consider when creating diverse and inclusive content. Here are a few other factors that you should strive to include in your content:
Religion/Faith
This includes couples who both have the same religion or faith and couples who each have a different religion or faith. Couples whose faith is an important part of their lives are constantly looking for inspiration to use in their ceremonies and receptions.
Body Type
Not every person getting married is a size zero, contrary to what the wedding dress models try to make you believe. Many individuals aren’t. It’s important to fight against unrealistic and unhealthy beauty standards in the wedding industry. Create content that makes potential clients want to celebrate their beautiful bodies, not change them.
Ability
This is often completely overlooked by many in the wedding industry. Some of the most popular pictures to show off in your content is a couple walking down the aisle or having their first dance. People who use a wheelchair, for example, rarely see couples who look like them. Choose images that represent people of all abilities.
Country of Origin/Cultural Diversity
Many couples who get engaged have found each other through the internet, meaning many of them may be from completely different parts of the world. This gives you a wonderful opportunity to celebrate your client’s cultural diversity. Couples whose country of origin differs often have wonderfully unique aspects of their wedding, and this can allow you to showcase your services differently.
Geographic location
Similar to country of origin, geographic location offers a wonderful opportunity to showcase the diverse weddings you’ve worked on. Maybe one was a beach wedding, while another was in the mountains. Show off the beautiful locations your couples have chosen while also showing new clients how flexible your services can be.
As Brittny Drye so perfectly explains, it is not enough to do the bare minimum: “if you throw up a picture of a same-sex couple and call it a day, without making the necessary efforts to your language, your staff training, etc. then it falls under tokenizing” [6].
Be respectful and intentional with your marketing. Don’t ever brag about having diverse content - this isn't about you.
The best way to make clients feel respected and represented is to not single them out. It’s not a same-sex wedding. It’s a wedding. It’s not an interfaith wedding. It’s a wedding.
If your content is specifically focused on one type of wedding, this language may be appropriate, but be careful. For example, if you recently did a Jewish wedding and your couple had a lot of faith-related elements, you can focus on those. Just make sure that your content is highlighting both the couple and your services respectfully.
WeddingPro has compiled a detailed list of resources relating to social justice for professionals for the wedding industry. If you’re looking for more information relating to the wedding industry, this is a good place to start.
Embrace the uncomfortable and dive into your education. Dismantling the systems of unequal representation in the wedding industry begins with one person, one piece of content, and one business. Be the change.
How are you actively working to make your wedding business more diverse and inclusive?
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