Trendsurfing: Sponsored weddings (The Times)
By David Rowan
It's the new wedding-day checklist: flowers ... rings ... oh, and what about the corporate sponsors? With typical wedding bills now well into five figures, enterprising couples are increasingly turning to business sponsors to recoup their costs. And while you might expect Donald Trump and Melania Knauss to trade wedding PR for free food and photos, ordinary couples too are turning their big day into unapologetic marketing opportunities. Traditionalists may sneer - but bride and groom, particularly in the States, are finding private backers ever more willing to say "I do".
Christina Vincelli and Jevon Gantner have already raised almost $20,000 in sponsorship, and they are not getting married until May 14. "We've been offered a $2,500 video, flowers worth $3,500, and a four-tiered wedding cake," explains an enthusiastic Vincelli, a receptionist for an office-rental company in Atlanta. "We have a Plan B in case some items don’t get donated - I've bought the wedding dress - but things are going pretty well. We’ve just got our truffle lady. She’s going to put chocolate truffles in 200 boxes labelled 'Welcome to Jevon and Christina's wedding'."
In return, businesses are promised "subtle advertising from the couple before, during, and after their wedding", according a contract both sides must sign. A list of sponsors will be included with the invitations, signs at the reception will explain who has given what, and during the dinner each will be given a "verbal thank you" by bride or groom, delivered, as the contract specifies, "in a clear voice and directed towards the guests". Sponsors will also be able to solicit business with discount vouchers. "Vendors can attend the wedding and market to our guests," Vincelli explains, "though they know they can’t be to heavily sales-focused. I don’t really feel uncomfortable about it at all."
It is nothing new for celebrity weddings to be sponsored. Anthea Turner's career may not have recovered from her being photographed enjoying a nuptial chocolate bar, but that has not prevented stars such as Britney Spears or Tori Spelling accepting gifts or discounts in exchange for publicity. Star Jones, a US television hostess, even had an "official airline" for her much-trailed wedding last November.
But now unknowns are turning their weddings into PR blitzes. Todd Weiss and Debbie Lay tied the knot last June in Kansas City without paying for catering, reception hall, even the groom's ring. Like most successful couples, they were inspired by another couple, Tom and Sabrina Anderson, whose own 80 per cent sponsored wedding attracted widespread media coverage and around $30,000 worth of donations - including T-shirts featuring sponsors' logos.
Christina Vincelli learned about the Andersons' success on Oprah Winfrey's show, and contacted Tom for advice. She promises potential sponsors "an entire page" on the official wedding website, but persuading them has not, she admits, been easy. "I’ve probably emailed 3,500 letters since last January, and you get one yes out of every 200 sent," she says. She has had only one rude reply - from an offended master chef - but she was not deterred. "I don't feel I'm begging, just asking. We could afford a very small wedding without it."
Now she is advising British couples to cash in on the trend. "You just have to sell yourself," she says. It is also important to ignore people who call you tacky. "I don't think I'm compromising," she reflects. "I really am having the wedding of my dreams. And how many people can say that?"
(The Times, London, January 29 2005)
It's the new wedding-day checklist: flowers ... rings ... oh, and what about the corporate sponsors? With typical wedding bills now well into five figures, enterprising couples are increasingly turning to business sponsors to recoup their costs. And while you might expect Donald Trump and Melania Knauss to trade wedding PR for free food and photos, ordinary couples too are turning their big day into unapologetic marketing opportunities. Traditionalists may sneer - but bride and groom, particularly in the States, are finding private backers ever more willing to say "I do".
Christina Vincelli and Jevon Gantner have already raised almost $20,000 in sponsorship, and they are not getting married until May 14. "We've been offered a $2,500 video, flowers worth $3,500, and a four-tiered wedding cake," explains an enthusiastic Vincelli, a receptionist for an office-rental company in Atlanta. "We have a Plan B in case some items don’t get donated - I've bought the wedding dress - but things are going pretty well. We’ve just got our truffle lady. She’s going to put chocolate truffles in 200 boxes labelled 'Welcome to Jevon and Christina's wedding'."
In return, businesses are promised "subtle advertising from the couple before, during, and after their wedding", according a contract both sides must sign. A list of sponsors will be included with the invitations, signs at the reception will explain who has given what, and during the dinner each will be given a "verbal thank you" by bride or groom, delivered, as the contract specifies, "in a clear voice and directed towards the guests". Sponsors will also be able to solicit business with discount vouchers. "Vendors can attend the wedding and market to our guests," Vincelli explains, "though they know they can’t be to heavily sales-focused. I don’t really feel uncomfortable about it at all."
It is nothing new for celebrity weddings to be sponsored. Anthea Turner's career may not have recovered from her being photographed enjoying a nuptial chocolate bar, but that has not prevented stars such as Britney Spears or Tori Spelling accepting gifts or discounts in exchange for publicity. Star Jones, a US television hostess, even had an "official airline" for her much-trailed wedding last November.
But now unknowns are turning their weddings into PR blitzes. Todd Weiss and Debbie Lay tied the knot last June in Kansas City without paying for catering, reception hall, even the groom's ring. Like most successful couples, they were inspired by another couple, Tom and Sabrina Anderson, whose own 80 per cent sponsored wedding attracted widespread media coverage and around $30,000 worth of donations - including T-shirts featuring sponsors' logos.
Christina Vincelli learned about the Andersons' success on Oprah Winfrey's show, and contacted Tom for advice. She promises potential sponsors "an entire page" on the official wedding website, but persuading them has not, she admits, been easy. "I’ve probably emailed 3,500 letters since last January, and you get one yes out of every 200 sent," she says. She has had only one rude reply - from an offended master chef - but she was not deterred. "I don't feel I'm begging, just asking. We could afford a very small wedding without it."
Now she is advising British couples to cash in on the trend. "You just have to sell yourself," she says. It is also important to ignore people who call you tacky. "I don't think I'm compromising," she reflects. "I really am having the wedding of my dreams. And how many people can say that?"
(The Times, London, January 29 2005)
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