Who Knew? What’s New in the Wedding Business

Jobs in the wedding industry these days include welcome bag coordinators who will handle your party favors.

Looking back a dozen years ago or so, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who works as a wind turbine engineer, drone pilot, app developer, or (somewhat nebulously) an influencer. Today, though, each of those is a credible and sometimes highly lucrative job.

As businesses evolve and industries emerge, it’s common for new niche positions to be created along with them. The weddings world is no exception. While caterers, photographers, planners, and servers continue to be the mainstays of the profession, camping butlers, welcome bag coordinators, and bridesmaids-for-hire have joined their ranks.

Here’s a quick look at some of the new-fangled jobs and businesses in weddings and events. Whether you decide you can’t go on without a wedding speech coach or not, we hope you’ll get a kick out of this “what will they think of next” list. It brings a whole new meaning to the expression, “odd jobs.”

·       Camping butler. Too tired to rub two sticks together to light your own fire? Want to take the idea of glamping up a notch? Hire a camping butler! When a couple wed at a 625-acre cattle ranch an hour south of San Francisco, their camping butlers did all the work, building a campsite that included 77 sleeping tents, two hair and makeup tents, a dinner and dancing tent, and an off the grid kitchen — and making the experience less intense for the bride and groom.

·       Welcome bag coordinator. From individuals on Etsy to companies like Charleston’s A Signature Welcome, these are the people who will put together and package party favors, either customized or from a preset selection. Martha Stewart Weddings says this will save you the fuss of searching the internet or aisles at your favorite gift or party store for just the right thing to thank your guests for coming.

·       Professional bridesmaid. We get it: The women in your life are busy people who, despite their best intentions, may not be able to offer the kind of help a bride-to-be needs. Hire a stand-in! As the folks at Insider.com note, a professional bridesmaid will be at your side leading up to the big day as well as during the ceremony, acting as a personal assistant. And who knows? It may even be the start of a beautiful friendship.

·       Elopement planner. Remember when eloping was a hush-hush, spur-of-the-moment affair that meant stealing away to marry your beloved in a small ceremony with a witness or two? Today’s elopements are well-thought-out events that require committed planners. At least that’s the view of one company that has planned more than 9,000 elopements in 35 destinations.

·       Wedding insurance agent. Sure, your wedding will be the perfect day, and everything will go according to your fondest dreams. But just in case, wedding insurance can protect you from financial losses associated with illness, cancellation, property damage, injuries, and even the theft of wedding gifts. 

·       Wedding speech coach. Want to help your best man, maid of honor, or father of the bride shake the “I have to speak at your wedding” jitters? Hire a wedding speech coach! A quick internet search will turn up hundreds of freelance writers and public speakers who can craft the speech and provide the training your attendants need to deliver a memorable toast or longer talk. Curious about how one wedding speechwriter got into the business? Check out this interview with Den Pope of NailYourSpeech.com.

What does the future hold? Are weddings in space the next frontier, meaning you’d need a weightlessness trainer to help you prepare? No one can predict with any certainty, but one thing’s for sure: When it comes to weddings, there’s always something new to look forward to — or be amused by.