What It's About
An unconventional couple becomes champions of the unconventional marriage!
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
One of the biggest considerations for revamping the wedding market for new generations is cost. Since the average salary for an adult between the ages of 25-34 runs just shy of forty-thousand [cite], the thirty-five-thousand dollar price tag [cite] for your average, traditional American wedding (not including the honeymoon!) has left many millennials looking for something less... well, traditional.
And if there's one thing we've learned so far it's that there are plenty of business opportunities available when new needs pop up!
Fun Fact
Lindsey says that she got her first start coordinating in high school as a stage manager for her theater group. And if you think the two sound unrelated, she assures us that high schoolers and tipsy wedding guests have a lot more in common than you would think.
Notes from Chris
Episode 357
When she’s not on the hunt for the best vegan restaurant in Atlanta, chasing after her three fur-babies, or watching endless amounts of videos on YouTube, Starbucks barista Lindsey Delgado-Harris and her wife, Shaun, are working to revolutionize the way millennials are getting hitched. When it came time for them to plan their own wedding, Lindsey and Shaun found themselves completely overwhelmed with all of the fluff of conventional ceremonies. Being an unconventional couple themselves, they thought it would only be fitting that they chose to have an unconventional wedding. They cast aside the wedding planning magazines that didn’t really represent them or their ideals in the pursuit of something a bit different (not to mention, more affordable). What they eventually landed on was a small, intimate brunch with family and friends. It was a delicious success, and in the afternoon haze of bubbly and good company, it occurred to Lindsey and Shaun that there really should be more options available to this generation of the newly engaged. Weddings are simply too expensive, and while the classic courthouse elopement may have a certain appeal to some, it certainly wouldn’t do for many of the selfie generation who like to visually document every aspect of their lives on Instagram. Lindsey and Shaun put their heads together to find a way to combine the desire for good visuals with the emptiness of their pocketbooks—and they created the Fancy Elopement! For around $1,200, Lindsey and Shaun can provide you with a licensed officiant and a tailor-made ceremony with your choice of backdrop (twinkle lights, neutral colored bunting flags, muted colored dip dyed fabric, macrame, or paper cones), small handcrafted bouquets and/or boutonnieres made with seasonal flowers, some sparkling wine (which no ceremony can be without), a 30-minute portrait session with a photographer, and online gallery and digital rights for sharing your photos. The best part is that they do all of this for you...all you have to do is show up and get married! Since planning and orchestrating fancy elopements are a pretty involved and customized process, Lindsey and Shaun have also found success in offering “day of” wedding coordination services for $1,800. This involves them flawlessly handling all aspects of the wedding you’ve planned so that when the day comes, you can hand off the reins to them and focus on walking down the aisle and not tripping on your train. With these two services combined, they’ve been able to plan and help out fifteen couples, and have made more than $8,000!
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- LIFE & ART events: Learn more about the services this powerhouse couple offers over on their website!
- Squarespace: The website building platform that Shaun used to create LIFE & ART events
- Writing Duo Makes a Vow To Improve Wedding Speeches: Two freelance writers use their wit with words to write wedding vows for tongue-tied brides, grooms, and sometimes even the best man.
- Wedding Bells Ring Brighter if the Bride’s Not Broke: A New York professional rents high-end accessories to brides who want the glam without the buck
- Chicago Psychotherapist Becomes Ceremonial Wedding Officiant: After being featured on TLC, a Chicago psychotherapist and marriage counselor becomes a ceremonial wedding officiant
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