When most people think of weddings, they imagine large-scale celebrations with tons of friends and family. Perhaps they envision an exotic destination wedding on the beach or a night of dancing under flashing lights. However, that’s not for everyone. Introducing the pop up wedding.
There are small weddings and micro weddings, of course. These have guest lists of 50 or fewer people but still require many of the services and vendors that make planning a larger wedding so stressful. As such, that too may be too rigid for some couples. This is where the pop-up wedding has burst onto the scene and gained a following.
If you think of it as a slightly more thought-out elopement, pop-up weddings may not seem so strange. Spontaneity is the name of the game when it comes to these weddings, after all.
Besides, with COVID-19 having cancelled numerous ceremonies in the past year, tiny, surprise pop-up weddings are becoming increasingly popular.
What is a Pop-Up Wedding?
Pop-up weddings are weddings on the fly, typically on a budget, and that are ready to go with all-inclusive services for a small group of people.
The planning for a pop-up wedding is typically done within two weeks to two months. This allows the excitement of an elopement with the reassurance of a traditional ceremony. Think of it as a more adventurous micro wedding. That said, these weddings aren’t nearly as stressful to plan.
Why? Because wedding planners contract and handle the services for the couple. For a flat package fee, the wedding planner will make sure the photographer, caterer, florist, and whom and whatever else is desired is taken care of.
The clients don’t have to worry about anything other than showing up. What isn’t attractive about that?
Because these weddings can be so quick, it’s not uncommon for a wedding planner to have multiple pop-up weddings booked on the same day. This can prove stressful in terms of timing, but it does make it a lucrative business model.
What Makes Pop Up Weddings So Popular
Millennials are unsurprisingly the biggest fans of pop-up weddings. Adventurous and on a budget, this is the key demographic you’ll run into when looking for clients. This is especially true in the era of COVID, where large, expensive weddings just aren’t feasible.
Pop-up weddings allow these events to happen safely but also in a budget-conscious fashion. They also appeal to couples who don’t want to disappoint family members by eloping and missing out on an actual wedding. Pop-up weddings can be a compromise for some families.
With traditional weddings costing over $20,000 on average, a pop-up wedding is a fraction of that price tag. Typically, a pop-up wedding will cost anywhere between $1,500 to $10,000 depending on the number of people and what’s included in the overall package.
These packages at the base level include performing the ceremony, the venue, a photographer, and a cake or florist. From there, you can add more features at higher-priced packages, but the necessities are what pop-up weddings are all about.
It’s more about the couple rather than the table dressings. The focus on love, the low cost, and the shortened time scale are significant draws.
Six Tips for Adding Pop-Up Weddings to Your Service Packages
Have a Variety of Package Tiers
Even when it comes to pop-up weddings, there are budget concerns and expectations. Don’t sell yourself short by only offering a catch-all pop-up service. After all, no one wants a cookie-cutter wedding, even only with two week’s notice.
Create three or four package options for your clients to choose from. These can range from very simple and intimate to more extensive packages still under the pop-up umbrella.
Focus on the Couple
One of the many perks of having pop-up weddings included in your service packages is the opportunity to really personalize the ceremony. Larger weddings often lean more traditional or focus on the bigger picture.
However, pop-up weddings allow you to create something genuinely catered to your client and their special day. You can incorporate inside jokes, favorite movies, stories from their courtship, and their pets.
You may even want to encourage them to include some DIY or family heirlooms. Perhaps there is a particular type of bouquet the bride wants to make. These weddings are really all about the love between those getting married. Anything you can do to help accentuate that is a win.
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Creative
Pop-up weddings allow a specific sort of freedom that traditional weddings may not. This is especially true when it comes to themes and more unique types of ceremonies. Maybe your clients are huge Harry Potter fans and want a magical pop-up wedding. You can offer that!
Pop-up weddings can also allow you to advertise how flexible you are as a wedding planner. Anyone looking for a spontaneous marriage will appreciate a planner who highlights the quick but amazing things they can do.
Find Your Niche
What is it that you’re wanting to offer with pop-up weddings? Is it because of where you’re located and it’s a destination wedding hotspot? Or perhaps you live in a city with a younger population who might be more inclined toward this sort of ceremony.
Regardless of your reason, you need to really hone in on why pop-up weddings with you are memorable.
But Keep It Simple
There is always the temptation to keep adding more and more services to appeal to additional customers, but simple is essential for pop-up weddings. If couples wanted a complicated wedding, they wouldn’t be asking for one in a week’s time.
Make your packages straightforward and clear. Let clients know precisely what it is they are getting for their money. That said, having a la carte add-ons isn’t a bad thing. Just don’t get carried away and make life unnecessarily hard on yourself.
Stay on Time
Chances are, you will book multiple pop-up weddings on the same day. After all, they’re meant to be quick and fun. That said, make sure there is enough buffer time between ceremonies. Not only will you want to book chunks of time, but also make sure you overestimate the time needed.
Even the strictest of timekeepers fall mercy to surprises. Whether it’s a surprise storm, the groom stuck in traffic, or a power outage at the brewery where the ceremony is happening, always plan for something to go wrong.
By giving yourself extra time, you’ll make sure you won’t be running late for your next wedding.
Jump On the Pop Up Wedding Trend Now
While they haven’t quite hit mainstream popularity just yet, pop-up weddings are sure to only grow in demand. The best thing you can do as a wedding planner is to get ahead of the curve. This means adding pop-up weddings to your service packages sooner rather than later.
Riding the trend will not only bring in new clients but open up a whole new part of the wedding world for your business. What isn’t to celebrate and love about that?
