COVID-19 hasn’t put a dent in love. However, it’s made some couples hesitate to get married. In fact, plenty of lovebirds are wondering if they have to put off their nuptials because of mounting pre wedding expenses.
Although not all pre wedding expenses are exorbitant, some do add up. Even a modest wedding can cost as much as the down payment on a house or a young couple’s first few months’ rent. And statistics show that the average guest size for a typical wedding celebration hovers between 130 and 140 individuals.
With this in mind, some community-minded businesses have started to step in and give away products and services to help cover the cost of pre wedding expenses for as many people as they can. If your organization is interested in joining groups of good samaritans around the country, why not think of some ways you can make pre wedding expenses lighter for romantics hoping to say “I do” in the coming year?
Below are several pre wedding expenses that your business could conceivably cover for a few couples. Be sure to market any sponsorships or contributions you make on your social media and web pages. That way, you can be sure to get a bit of media attention for your compassion and care.
Cover the Cost of the Wedding Dress
One of the biggest pre wedding expenses for any bride is her wedding day dress. A single dress can easily cost thousands of dollars or even tens of thousands. For some brides, paying just a few hundred dollars might be out of the question. However, that’s where you can get some inspiration from what other businesses have done.
For instance, a Vermont bridal shop recently decided to give away 150 wedding dresses to essential workers. To add a unique twist to their generosity, they allowed brides to determine whether or not they were essential employees during the global pandemic.
Another bridal boutique across the nation in Seattle chose to participate in “Operation Wedding Gown.” The boutique owners donated dresses to first responders and women in the military. Again, their goal was to take one of the most potentially significant pre wedding expenses off the table for women already stressed about the current world on top of planning a wedding.
Not sure that your company could quite manage to pay for several wedding dresses for brides? Consider raffling off one to the public, and then donating any money raised to a local charity. That way, you’ll only need to purchase one dress instead of several. Another idea is to see whether you can partner with a local retailer that sells bridal gowns. You could pay for a certain amount toward a gown purchased at the store.
Who should you target in terms of brides deserving of a free or lower-cost wedding dress? During coronavirus, active military personnel, military veterans, healthcare workers, and frontline employees are all possibilities. Still, you may want to reach out to others instead. A lot of women have lost jobs because of widespread corporate downsizing. Perhaps you could offer to give away wedding dresses to a few ladies who are lucky in love but who aren’t receiving an income at the moment.
Pay for the Wedding Ring
Another of those pre wedding expenses that can add up to a ton of money is the wedding ring. Lots of grooms save up for months just to purchase the most beautiful ring they can find. But during COVID-19, many men and women are having trouble making ends meet. This could mean forgoing a gorgeous wedding ring, or perhaps a wedding ring altogether.
Even if your company doesn’t have anything to do with rings, you can still donate a wedding band or diamond. Check with some of your area’s jewelry stores. See if one might be willing to work with you to offer some kind of a promotion, like a wedding ring giveaway. As with wedding dresses, you may want to ask certain types of people to apply for the possibility of winning a free wedding ring.
To make things easier on yourself, be very specific in your parameters if you’re going to make applicants write essays or letters telling why they should be chosen. Or, if you’re uninterested in picking someone, you could always make the winning a random occurrence. As with any type of raffle, just be sure that you’ve covered all your legal bases. That way, you won’t get into potential hot water if you have to do anything special during tax time.
Feeling a little iffy on whether or not you want to buy a wedding ring upfront? Work with your jeweler of choice to come up with a discount. That way, the winning bride or groom can merely go to the jewelry store and use the coupon to receive several hundred or thousands off the price of a ring perfectly suited to the couple.
Help Decorate the Couple’s New Home
Unless your corporation has deep pockets to pay for extreme pre wedding expenses, you may not be able to cover the cost of a new home. That being said, you could always do your best to donate items to decorate and outfit a couple’s first house together.
As an example, you could offer to buy appliances or a bathroom vanity from a local supplier. You might want to get creative and offer to cover the cost of child care for a season or year if the lovebirds have a little one. Whatever you can do will be much appreciated by the newlyweds who are trying to turn their nest into something they can enjoy for a long time.
Again, you’ll probably want to work alongside other businesses to make this kind of donation work. In fact, you could bring together lots of organizations in your city. If tons of companies donate different items for one lucky couple, the companies could practically supply all of the furnishings in a smaller home.
What if you think you might actually be able to buy a small residence? Be sure to get as much traction out of your spending as you can. Alert the news of your plans and give yourself a long runway to earn loads of publicity and marketing efforts. It’s fine to be altruistic. However, you should feel free to enjoy a bit of a spotlight for your largesse.
Pay for the Price of a Wedding Venue
Have you looked at the cost of most wedding venues? Renting a modestly sized room for a day can cost many hundreds or thousands of dollars. For that reason, some couples may not want to even consider having their dream wedding in a lovely venue. You can change their minds, though, with a little giveaway.
Think of all the wedding venues that are most popular in your neck of the woods. Do any locations spring to mind? Call their event planners to talk about how much it would cost for you to pay for a couple’s wedding to be held there. The onsite event planner might be willing to give you a discount, especially if you can buy out the venue during an off-season time.
Remember that venues right now are hurting, too, though. Many have been shut down because of coronavirus occupancy restrictions. Therefore, many wedding venue staffers, managers, and conference planners will be more than happy to not only get some publicity but let you pay less for the rental.
Donate Money That the Couple Can Use Toward General Wedding Preparations
Maybe you’re not convinced that you want to, or even should, give away something tangible like a tuxedo, the wedding bouquet, or matching floral arrangements. That’s okay. You can always just give away money to a couple who could use the cash toward any pre wedding expenses they have.
Giving away a lump sum such as $500 won’t have the same impact as giving away a wedding item or a pre wedding experience like a trip to a wellness spa. Nevertheless, you’ll still be achieving your goal of covering pre wedding expenses for a couple in need. You can still get a bit of a branding boost by encouraging couples to apply to win the cash.
Need a basic idea to generate interest in your giveaway? Ask followers on social media to share your wedding cash contest with their friends. With any luck, you’ll get some extra exposure for your company in the process. You might even snag a few followers while you’re at it.
Throw a Memorable Bridal Shower
For couples who are tightening their belts and trying to save money, bridal showers, bachelor parties, and bachelorette get-togethers may seem too extravagant. Yet these gatherings can lead to incredible, touching, and funny memories.
To ensure that at least one couple has an unforgettable bridal shower, consider giving away a whole bridal shower package. Your package could include everything from a place to hold the shower to custom tee shirts for all attendees. Get creative and think about all the possibilities when it comes to this donation. To be sure, you’re just playing the role of an event planner and designing a one-of-a-kind moment.
If you’re having trouble coming up with bridal shower concepts, be sure to ask your whole team for their input. You might be surprised at how easy it can be for your staffers to come up with interesting bridal shower package thoughts.
What happens if you know that a bridal shower just isn’t possible because of the pandemic? You can still offer to cover the costs of an online bridal shower via Zoom. Just ship those tee shirts and other fun gifts to participants, and make sure to cover any online video conferencing fees.
Help a Bride and Groom Feel Good Before Their Wedding Day
Most brides and grooms want to look and feel their best when they walk down the actual or proverbial aisle. Yet many are embarrassed because of crooked teeth or blemishes. That’s where you can jump in by offering anything from fast clear braces treatment by a local dentist or orthodontist, or a skin rejuvenation treatment at a popular spa.
Unless you’re going the braces route, you probably won’t have to spend a fortune to cover a spa day. Consequently, you might be able to make several brides and grooms happier, instead of only being able to focus on one couple. At the end of the day, the more wedding-bound people you can please, the better. And don’t forget about bridesmaids and groomsmen. They’d probably be thrilled to be included in a wellness package, too.
Send the Couple on a Second-to-None Honeymoon
Though traveling during the COVID-19 isn’t what it was pre-pandemic, airlines, hotels, and resorts are still operational around the world. Plus, as vaccines become increasingly available, more individuals will feel comfortable going to exotic and exciting places.
Rather than make a couple wait for their honeymoon, work with a travel agent to figure out how your company can offset at least some of the honeymoon expenses. As an example, you may not be able to pay for a week’s stay in the Bahamas, but your small business could underwrite some boating accessories so the newly married couple could hang out on a yacht for a few days.
What happens if you know of a couple who would rather have a staycation style honeymoon, just to be safer and remain socially distant? Offer to help them boost the exterior living spaces of their house with some upscale landscape design, such as the installation of a pool, patio, or gazebo.
Truly, there are many different ways that you can use your clout as a community-focused business to pay for pre wedding expenses for at least one bride or groom, if not many couples who are about to tie the knot. Chances are good that you’ll not only be rewarded for your goodwill with some much-needed press, but you’ll see people flocking to buy your products and services as a thank-you. Now get out there and show your charitable side.
