I'm all about being original and creative when it comes to getting married. (I, myself, wore fairy wings on my back and sparkly Converse sneakers under my dress, after all.) But now some brides and grooms are taking their creativity a step further--choosing to hold their weddings at retail stores. Yes, retail stores. As in The Home Depot. Taco Bell. TJ Maxx.
Talk about brand loyalty!
According to a recent USA Today article, The Home Depot has now hosted half a dozen weddings. Taco Bell says they typically host one wedding per year. And even a Cold Stone Creamery store allowed for a late opening so two employees could say "I Do."
Rebecca Dolgin, Executive Editor at TheKnot.com says, "Brides really want to make their wedding different from others—and getting married at a retail store definitely takes this desire to be unique to the next level."
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But why on Earth would someone want to do this? Well, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than renting out the Plaza for one thing. (In fact, often the venue is completely free--great for this economy!) But it's got to be more than that. The venue has to mean something personal to the two of them. Maybe they met there. Maybe they work there. Maybe they just love the store! (One person in the USA Today article claimed TJ Maxx was the one constant in her life.)
"Couples often want to get married at a location that has special meaning to them," says Dolgin. "If a couple met and fell in love while working together (i.e. at TJ Maxx, Home Depot or even Cold Stone Creamery), there are some couples—albeit only a few probably—who might want to say their “I dos” at that location."
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Stores themselves can often benefit as well, she adds. "When a company finds out that a couple wants to get married at their store, it’s certainly something that they’d want to embrace and potentially help with the wedding planning. It can be an opportunity for them to showcase what an effect their company has on a consumer."
But while retail weddings are not likely to go completely mainstream, there are other ways to incorporate brand loyalty into your special day. "You don't have to go to the extreme and get married at a retail store--you could always incorporate it into your wedding in a smaller way," says Dolgin. For example, for Home Depot aficionados, she suggests "Mini tool kits as favors."
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