Bridal Industry

Emily Fairchild

The bridal industry is economically and culturally powerful, as it is a wide-ranging, multibillion-dollar-a-year industry that supports one of the most salient rites of passage. In so doing, it is connected with gendered divisions of labor and gendered family arrangements, while it also serves to sustain cultural ideas supporting these phenomena. The bridal industry is composed of some businesses that cater exclusively to customers planning weddings and many businesses that plan weddings in addition to other events/purposes. The former category includes bridal consultants (wedding planners), wedding chapels, bridal salons, bridal magazines, advice books, and bridal Web sites and others that provide more specific services and products directed at brides. While other businesses specialize in weddings, their services can be applied more broadly. These include photographers/videogra-phers; florists; clothing designers, manufacturers, and retailers (for bridal gowns, tuxedos, and attire for attendants and family members); beauticians and beauty suppliers; caterers; ceremony, reception, and ...

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