LUXURY WEDDINGS: A NEW DEFINITION FOR THE NEW WORLD
Luxury is not about money.
Luxury is all about intention and exclusivity….
I recently met with a bride-to-be who asked if I only plan luxury weddings. When I said yes she looked sullen and said, “I don’t know if I qualify…I am having a smaller wedding.” I told her that the size of the wedding didn’t matter to me. And - to some extent - neither did the budget. Luxury has never truly been about a guest count or a location, I told her.
“Luxury is personal, and on purpose.”
I have included that statement in every speech I have given over the last 5 years. It is a pillar of my belief system and a guiding principle that I apply to every decision I help my clients make.
But what does luxury mean today? Pre-2020 wedding planners labeled clients and events as “luxury” in an effort to convey a certain budget. Luxury weddings were meant to be extravagant, oftentimes with large budgets, exotic locations, and intense levels of production or entertainment. As we entered this new decade, we were prepared to launch a new era of opulence. The Roaring 20s Part II was in full effect, with couples wanting big parties, wild celebrations, and custom installations built to blow their guests away. We were looking for the “OMG I’ve never seen that before!” reaction.
Over two years later, however, it is a new world, however. Our lives have been rocked by the Coronavirus, social unrest, and a socially distant lifestyle. Governing bodies deemed weddings and celebrations to be “non-essential”. The act of gathering was seen as frivolous at best; dangerous and irresponsive at worst. Today, we are experiencing pent-up demand, supply-side issues, increased pricing, and labor shortages. Yet day after day we see people coming together, fighting for the right to bear witness to one another’s lives, desperate to share the full range of human emotions with those that we know and love.
Weddings will never go away; they will never be considered out of style or non-essential again.
Those of us who have dedicated our lives to celebrating these moments are committed to working and pressing forward, bravely daring to venture into the unknown and reimagine what luxury means in a society that currently values practicality over delight. In order to be the people we are meant to be, we must be better. We must think deeper, work harder, and execute in a way that does not feel “other” or dumbed down, but with a design that is intentionally better.
So what is the new definition of luxury?
Luxury is about being surrounded by the people that you love and communicating with them in a way that feels authentically like you.
Luxury is communication. It is found in sharing the thought process and information with our couples, their guests, and each other.
Luxury is found in learning. It is about integrating cutting-edge technology, audio-visual, medical testing, and art so that the wedding you have tomorrow is better than the one you would have had last week.
Luxury is about having the space and privacy needed to create an atmosphere that feels effortless.
Luxury is putting your guests at ease and giving them a sense of peace. Only when people feel safe can they shift their focus from the logistical details to the feelings behind them.
Luxury is about reimagining design so that you can give each guest their own personal space, but in a way that feels intimate and cozy, not separated.
Luxury is about finding the beauty in what is, and looking forward to what will be.
Luxury is about honoring the dreams you had, and gracefully letting them go.
Luxury is found in your ability to not just question the future, but to actively take part in creating it.
Luxury is found by those who seek beauty. Those willing to do the work necessary to bend the world to their will. Those who do not accept what is, but who are challenged to create what could be, what must be, in order to celebrate life, luxury, and above all else…love.
Always…a
