We’re on the cusp of a huge wedding boom, with 2.5 million weddings scheduled for 2022. That’s the most weddings reported in a year since 1984! As industry professionals, finding ways to distinguish your business and maximize your presence will be key to your success. The opportunity to make up for the last two years (and then some) is finally here! Wondering how you can differentiate yourself and land those bookings? VOW is here to help you wedding warriors stand out from the pack.

Supporting a worthwhile cause can be the defining factor that makes engaged couples choose you to service their big day. According to recent polls, 90% of Gen Z couples believe companies must help solve social issues, and 83% of millennials believe it’s important that companies they engage with align with their values. 72% of all couples polled said they were more likely to hire a vendor if a portion of their profits went towards a worthy cause— that’s 1.78 million weddings looking to be serviced by socially conscious vendors in 2022 alone! VOW makes it easy to give engaged couples that extra reason to book you (and do good in the process). We’ve laid out three easy steps to practically add our cause of ending child marriage to your wedding business and impress those future clients.

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Step 1: Become A Vow Pro Member And Go Public With Your Support

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Visit our website to sign up for our VOW Pro membership. It only takes a minute and is completely free to join! You’ll receive a VOW Pro badge to display proudly on your website and marketing materials. Spread word of your involvement with mentions in your introductory client calls, email blasts, and by adding your membership status to your social media bios. Post about VOW on your favorite platforms, or place a VOW sticker in your shop window. Couples are sure to take note– they’re already looking for vendors who support a cause, and your commitment to justice will show them you’re ready to meet their needs.

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Step 2: Set An Example For Your Clients On How Their Wedding Can Do More

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More and more couples want to be intentional with their weddings and want to see their wedding budgets have impact beyond the day itself. Besides hiring socially conscious vendors, they may not know where to start. That’s where you come in– after all, it’s part of why they chose you! Guide your clients on how they can VOW their weddings and be advocates for ending child marriage. VOW’s unique set of wedding-specific fundraising options make it easy to incorporate a cause into your existing wedding plans:

• Donations in lieu of gifts: VOW offers a charity registry so one’s entire guest list can easily participate in supporting girls. Especially great for the couple who has everything!
• Donations in lieu of guest favors: Guest favors are often thrown away before the plates are cleared or the cake is served. Inform your clients they can donate in honor of each guest as a much more meaningful and sustainable option.
• Add VOW to an existing gift registry: Including VOW as a charitable giving option alongside other gifts on their registry may be the perfect balance for those still in need of some housewares or had their eyes on that Kitchenaid stand mixer.
• Purchase or register for VOW partner products: VOW partners with select companies that produce gorgeous products, of which a portion of the proceeds goes directly to local initiatives that support the advancement of girls. Send your clients to our VOW Shop filled with wonderful items to populate their registry or give to their bridesmaids.
• Turn your bridal shower into a fundraiser: Between engagement parties, wedding showers, and bachelorette weekends, guests these days are giving multiple gifts before the wedding even arrives. Incorporate a fundraiser into your client’s bridal shower as a heartfelt way for the beloved women in her life to support not just her, but also girls around the world, choose love on their own terms.

Clients will be thrilled to not only have their wedding serve as a means for change, but also to be supporting this particular cause. When polled, couples reported the number one social cause they wanted to support with their weddings was women’s and girls’ rights.

With VOW, all funds raised go to community based organizations working to keep girls in school, provide job training, supply access to health services, and advocate for girls’ rights in their local communities. Your clients will thank you for leading them and their weddings in the right direction.

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About VOW for Girls

From wedding registry donations to partner product purchases, everything donated to VOW (that’s 100% of donations!) goes directly to community-driven efforts to help girls around the world. Our grantees, which are mainly women-led local organizations, use the funding we provide to directly support girls.

Twelve million girls a year, some as young as 8, become child brides. VOW is a global movement of the wedding industry community, partners and couples who are dedicated to a world where no child is ever a bride and where every girl has the chance to live the life she loves.

If you’re in the wedding industry and you’re interested in becoming involved, please find more wedding inspiration and advice in our blog, consider becoming a VOW Pro partner and learning more about VOW’s mission to end child marriage. If you’re an engaged couple and want to learn more about supporting VOW, please visit our couples page. We can’t wait to see what good we can do together!

Header photo credit: Rebecca Yale Photography

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