The Wedding of Gen Z Couples: A Meeting Point Between Breaking the Rules and Following Tradition

The Wedding of Gen Z Couples: A Meeting Point Between Breaking the Rules and Following Tradition

The wedding business officially emerged around 1950, an era when the Baby Boomer generation was young, in the post-World-War period. When the business emerged  the Baby Boomers, or “Gen BB” for short, were the main force reshaping society at that time. Their relationship with the previous generation was not complicated and was fairly similar.  The businesses of that era, knowing that the person most subject to change, the most emotionally sensitive, and the one with the most purchasing say was the bride,    in order to profit the most from the couple, adopted an industry concept centered on catering to the bride’s wishes, and built popularity around centering the bride’s wishes.  For example, framing it as the bride’s special day, “it’s our day, we don’t need to consider anyone else, we do whatever we want, we don’t have to listen to anyone,” and so on.

This concept worked and generated large profits, in an era when relationships between generations were not complicated, and it had not yet led to any particularly visible problems.  Until we reach the era of 10-20 years ago, the era when Gen X and Gen Y were the brides and grooms, problems began to follow, including family relationship problems and psychiatric problems arising from these relationships. The “Perfectionism” mindset and the “One day, my day” mindset began creating many problems, leading to the development of wedding management approaches aimed at reducing these problems, such as wedding therapy and others.

Today, as we enter the Gen Z era, an era that breaks every rule, combined with wedding traditions carried on since the Baby Boomer generation and before, wedding management has reached its breaking point. Weddings have become empty events, damaging relationships right from the start, creating conflicts over money and culture, and leading to separation or to not marrying at all, which causes further strain within family relationships.

In ARAYA’s work, we have developed a wedding-planning approach that puts the relationship first and organizing second,  and we hold firmly to the rule that planning a wedding should lead to family relationships that are better than before, or at least no worse. With this concept, we have continuously developed our body of knowledge, built on the idea that the wedding day is not about one person alone, but about the family with the bride and groom at its center, creating a safe space that maintains balance between wants and what is realistically possible, while at the same time keeping the ongoing goal moving in a good direction.

In organizing events together across Gen BB, X, Y, Z, and generations still to come, we have a process that is complex but has been turned into an easy-to-understand workshop format. It is a process that adjusts and prepares both families, giving them a basic mutual understanding, giving them a safe space to express their feelings, helping them see the same picture, and helping them understand the steps toward reaching their shared goal.  With this method, ARAYA’s wedding planning is carried out successfully, whether the bride and groom come from the same religion or not.

Finally, for Gen Z couples,  we affirm that we are ready to break every rule, but before any rule is broken you will be challenged with reasons, to make sure that what you have in mind truly is the best option. If you can convince us, we will plan the event your way. At the same time, for parents, uncles, aunts,  Gen X, Gen Y, and grandparents from the BB generation,  we will hold firmly to tradition, culture, and religious principles at the same time. These are things that Gen Z, the new generation, can put into real practice for the greatest benefit of the family.

Finally, a wedding that is simple is not the same as a wedding that is careless. ARAYA’s weddings bring everything together as one: correct according to religious principles, respectful to all guests, efficient, with a clear reason behind every activity, all in service of bringing two families together — that is our work. See you at the next event.

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