Gen Z weddings are creative, budget-conscious and all about the experience

With the oldest members of Gen Z clocking in at 28 years old, the “Zoomers” are changing traditions and embracing individuality while planning their weddings.

Last year, about one-third of newlyweds were from Gen Z, according to The Knot, a wedding planning website.

Olivia Izzo, wedding and special events lead at Community Flower Shop in Pittsburgh’s Overbrook neighborhood, said its average bride is between 25 and 35.

“In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a lot more younger brides,” she said.

Tonya Edinger, wedding planner at Weddings of Pittsburgh, said tradition is getting flipped on its ear. Many things her company used to do as rote tradition are no longer.

“Gen Z knows exactly what they want,” she said. “They’re very open and honest.”

Kara Abbey is a wedding photographer and content creator based in Irwin. She said weddings are more laid back in 2025 and that brides and grooms have less urgency while planning their big day.

“The trajectory is toward less traditional,” she said. “Couples really want to hone in on their day and make it all about them.”

A full-time wedding photographer since 2014, Abbey said she has seen a shift away from the traditional bouquet and garter toss.

“It’s kind of a weird tradition,” she said. “A lot of people are skipping it or changing it, or doing it in a way that’s fun for them.”

In some weddings, the couple will toss a stuffed animal or T-shirts instead of the bouquet and garter. At one wedding, the groom tossed a football and ended up smashing the venue’s disco ball.

“The sky is literally the limit,” Abbey said. “I think it’s cool that couples are putting a lot of thought into these moments on their wedding day — asking if we can tweak this to make it more (personal) or make this more fun for guests.”

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Wedding fashions

Precious “Gigi” Jones, owner of Gigi Bridal & Boutique in Lower Burrell, has seen some brides ditching the veil to show off their gown. Others love wearing sneakers, even bedazzling them.

Madison Vargo, owner of Maria V’s Bridal Boutique in Oakmont, is herself a member of Generation Z. She said Gen Z brides who wear heels on their wedding day seem to be in the minority.

“I would say at least every other bride I have coming in is going to wear Converse or Vans, and they’re making custom sneakers because you can’t see your shoes anyway,” she said.

When Vargo first got into bridal, the emphasis was on the dress, venue and photography. Today, brides don’t care if their flowers are fake or if bridesmaids are in $50 dresses from Azazie, an online bridal and special occasion dress retailer.

Arabella Gilanshah, 22, of Mt. Lebanon selected the color and material for her bridesmaids’ dresses and sent them links on Azazie where they could pick out whichever style they preferred.

Gen Z brides who come to Vargo’s shop want simple but unique dresses.

“They want a twist,” she said.

Champagne undertones are trending, whereas in the early 2000s, anything other than bright white was deemed weird, according to Vargo.

Exposed corsets, lace details and Basque waist lines have also burst onto the scene.

“I don’t know if it’s from ‘Bridgerton’ or what,” Vargo said, referring to Netflix romance series set in the early 19th century.

Flower power

Even the floral industry is seeing shifts from wedding traditions.

Instead of whites and greens, floral shops report bright, vibrant colors.

Lauren Work Phillips, owner of The Farmer’s Daughter on the North Side, said her shop is doing more color than it has ever done. She mentioned chartreuse, a vibrant green, is taking off for 2026-27 weddings.

Izzo also has seen a rise in flower-forward designs.

“Lots of girls want unique stuff,” she said. “They’re getting into seasonal and local flowers. It’s a nice trend. A friend mentioned it’s nice if you use seasonal flowers, because every year around your anniversary, you’ll see them blooming and they’ll be available again.”

Flower shops also report a movement away from boutonnieres and corsages for the wedding party. Instead, brides are leaning toward memorable statement pieces: They’re covering fountains or staircases with massive flower displays, accentuating the venue’s natural charm.

Izzo chalks it up to investing in a statement piece that will be photographed, framed and remembered.

Strategic budget

Gen Z is more budget-conscious than their predecessors, which could be because roughly 53% of Gen Z adults say higher costs are a barrier to their financial success, according to a 2023 Bank of America survey.

Their weddings average $27,000, significantly less than the $38,000 average for millennials, according to The Knot.

Vargo agreed that her generation is more budget-conscious.

“My younger brides are coming in saying, ‘I’m going to wear this dress or hold these flowers for eight hours, I don’t want to break the bank — I just want to have a really good time,’ ” Vargo said.

Gilanshah thrifted most of her wedding decor, married in a donation-based church and gave simple yet thoughtful favors: handwritten thank-you cards for the guests.

Abbey has seen couples willing to cut the costs on centerpieces and save-the-date announcements.

“Couples aren’t against spending money, they’re just very strategic about where they’re spending money,” she said.

She loves the movement toward smaller, intimate gatherings.

“We’ve gotten away from needing to invite everyone,” she said. “We don’t need to invite kids we played soccer with, our third grade teacher or our parents’ co-workers. People are focused much more on smaller, more intentional groups of people, which is really nice. A lot of that has to do with the cost because weddings are very expensive. They’ve always been expensive, but in 2025, the cost of things has just skyrocketed.”

After splurging on her venue, Elizabeth Patterson, 21 of Canonsburg bought her dress on sale for $175 at David’s Bridal. She said she is more focused on trying to make the event a good time and not go into debt for it.

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Wacky individuality

Gen Z is celebrating what makes them unique. Weddings are a declaration of the couple’s bizarre tastes and a tribute to what makes them special.

Abbey says the departure from the traditional wedding formula keeps her on her toes.

“I have to make sure I know what I’m walking into because I can’t assume each wedding day looks the same, because they don’t anymore,” she said.

For Edinger, celebrating individuality makes her job as a wedding planner more fun.

“I love it because people are leaning into individuality,” she said. “As a designer and decorator, it’s important to be true to yourself.”

Edinger has seen an explosion of individuality since she first joined the business in 1999. Couples are restoring 1980s arcade games or creating flower power themes for their weddings.

“We have a Viking wedding coming up,” she said. “We’re having a Nordic, Viking officiant flown in. There is really a lot of individuality and leaning into an experience.”

Vargo is proud of the unique Gen Z weddings.

“They want a tattoo artist at their venue or a cannoli guy or somebody drawing pictures of guests,” she said. “They’re all about the experience and not so much about the materialistic part of it.”

Unlike “old school” wedding photographers, Abbey offers content creation as a package to her clients. She videos and photographs using her iPhone and sends wedding content the next day for brides and grooms to post as TikToks or on Instagram. She agrees that most people have a desire to go viral.

“Everybody wants to be famous,” she said.

She thinks it comes from a place of wanting to inspire other brides-to-be — and also to feel validated.

“I think a lot of brides see it as validation in their own planning, that what they put together was good,” Abbey said.