The Golden Rule was instilled in my brain since the first day of Kindergarten – treat others how YOU would want to be treated. As I’ve grown up and become a business owner, the Golden Rule continues to be an important value I live by every single day. But what does that mean for the wedding industry?

Imagine if a male gay couple found your website and they see the term “bride” mentioned everywhere, and you didn’t show a single gay couple. Who do you think this couple would assume you catered to? Imagine a POC is looking to get hair and makeup done and all they see are fair-skinned, bright blonde clients? They’re probably not going to feel safe with that vendor on their wedding day.

As wedding pros enter the 2024 season, it is so important now more than ever that couples feel seen and heard when seeking services. In many cases, wedding vendors are exclusive and dismissive completely unintentionally! Inclusivity means that couples of all races, ethnicities, ages, sizes, genders, and sexual orientations are safe and seen.

How can you make advances toward being an inclusive and diverse wedding vendor?

USE NEUTRAL LANGUAGE

The words you use on your website, social media, and contracts matter and should send the message that you value inclusivity as a professional. Take a deep look at everything from your website, and contracts, to your social media, email templates, and questionnaires, and replace any gendered terms with neutral language. Of course, you can always individualize gendered language later with specific couples! Some examples of this include:

• Replace “Bride” and “Groom” with “partner” “spouse” “nearlywed “Person A/B.”
• Instead of “Bridal Party / Guide/ Suite” or” bridesmaids and groomsmen”, use terms like” Wedding Party / Guide / Suite” “Wedding Squad” or “Attendants.”
• Exchange “Maid/Matron of Honor”, “Best Man”, and “Flower Girl” with “Person(s) of Honor” and “Flower Child”  or “Petal Patrol.”
• Replace “Mother/Son” or “Father/Daughter” dances with “Special Dances.”
• Consider referring to Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties as “Bach Parties” or “Pre-Wedding Parties.”

Using neutral language also extends past gendered terms!

• Replace “Priest” or “Pastor” with “religious leader”, “officiant” or “celebrant”.
• Consider terms like “Place of Worship” or “Ceremony venue” over the church.

POST DIVERSE COUPLES

2024 is the year to showcase humans of all flavors! When a newly engaged couple heads to your website or social media, having a portfolio that showcases couples who are biracial, disabled, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, of all body sizes, etc. will allow potential clients to feel included. When I got eloped, I looked VERY hard at photography portfolios to see if my team had worked with plus-size couples. I wanted to ensure my body type could be captured in a way that made me feel beautiful without the use of Photoshop, and it made such a difference in how I look back on my wedding day.

Now what if you’re a newer business or weddings in your area are heavily populated with a specific clientele? If you haven’t worked with couples who identify with underrepresented groups, this is the time to pay special attention to who you hire to model for styled shoots. Choosing to feature a plus-sized model or POC over thin, white, heterosexual, cisgender couples tells others that who they are and what they identify as MATTERS.

GET COMFORTABLE WITH USING PRONOUNS

Pronouns are not hard, people! We use terms such as “she,” “they,” and “his” every single day when we communicate with each other. “Look, somebody lost THEIR dog!” “Someone forgot to turn THEIR headlights on.” When we speak like this, we don’t assume this whoever we’re talking about is male or female. It is time to start applying these same rules when we talk to couples and be respectful of their pronouns.

Start by sharing your pronouns whenever possible! Add your pronouns to your “About” section on your website, social media, and in your email signature. Request pronouns from your couples in your Contact Form and contracts. This way, when you go to speak to your clients, you are mindful of their identity and can respectfully speak of them without assuming.

ENGAGE WITH INCLUSIVE BUSINESSES

Any wedding professional you do business with, employ, or recommend can reflect your values and commitment to providing a safe and inclusive experience for the wedding day. We’re currently in Wedding Show season which makes it a great time to network with other wedding vendors. Let’s learn about their values, and experiences, and discuss ideas. Being able to recommend like-minded vendors to couples who can make couples feel safe and seen will never go unnoticed.

MAKE YOUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACCESSIBLE

Did you know 1.3 Billion people are visually impaired? How about the 466 Million who are hearing-impaired? Let’s get our websites and social media accessible to clients with disabilities. Whenever you’re using images, use alt-text to describe the content of your photos. When posting a Story, Reel, TikTok, or other video, remember to put captions on the screen when you are talking to your audience. This is incredibly easy to do on sites like Instagram and website builders such as Elementor. Speaking of websites, make sure you are using rich text so text-to-speech engines can recognize your texts.

BE TRANSPARENT

One of the biggest ways a wedding professional can make their stance on inclusivity known is the just say so! Phrases such as “All Love is Welcome Here” in your Instagram bio, an inclusivity badge on your website, and even listing your business as inclusive on Google can truly go a long way to letting your audience and couples know they are safe and heard for their wedding. Being open and proud about your stances on inclusivity can truly welcome in like-minded people, causing a ripple effect; That ripple effect is where the true impact of diversity in the wedding industry expands and multiplies.