How Gen Y Are Doing Weddings Their Way

Recently, we collaborated with research group CoreData and futurist Chris Riddell to investigate Gen Y's approach to one of life's biggest events – your wedding. We wanted to understand more about how Gen Y are approaching this significant event.

While two in five respondents were already married, over half (53.9%) of respondents who were single or in a de facto relationship hope to get married one day. The vast majority of respondents who are engaged or hope to get legally married agree or strongly agree that small modern weddings are much more meaningful (87.0%) or that people should be doing something fun for themselves on their big day rather than doing what people have done before (80.8%).

This aligns with other discoveries we have found in our Gen Y research, that overwhelmingly Gen Y don't want to be limited by tradition or convention – they are eager to do things their way, whether that be work, travel, weddings or home ownership.

For many Gen Ys, a big factor influencing this approach is their perspective on financing big life events. Nearly two thirds of respondents (60.5%) have the view that weddings are a waste of money (60.5%). For those that want to get married, they are thinking outside the box to try and save money on their big day.

Over 86% of respondents stated they will try to find clever and unique ways to save on wedding costs. One of the most common ways that they are hoping to achieve this is by seeing what elements they can DIY, with many stating that this achieves a dual purpose – cutting costs, but also allowing them to put their personal spin on the big day.

One respondent stated that they would: "consider making some things myself, look at how much the items cost and consider if I can substitute something simpler, minimise the number of items purchased, look for a venue like a garden to avoid hire costs."

And while many are eager to get friends and family to help out where possible to keep costs in check, such as baking cakes or helping to make the wedding dress, 77.6% would not consider asking friends and family to contribute to the wedding financially.

But that doesn't mean Gen Y are willing to compromise on the wedding they want – they're just finding innovative ways to make their big day their own.