Bridal Brokerage: Market-Maker for Unwanted Wedding Ceremonies

 

It’s a sad-but-true fact – every year, thousands of brides-to-be change or cancel wedding plans, many ending up out of pocket because they can’t recover money spent on advance bookings for the big day. “Not any more,” says Bridal Brokerage, an online start-up, featured in The New York Times, that finds buyers for unwanted wedding ceremonies, receptions and wedding parties.

Couples who need to tie the knot in a hurry, or those for whom cost is a big factor, are the target market. Bridal Brokerage identifies cancelled ceremonies that match the required date, location and number of guests, and acts as a go-between, negotiating a price acceptable to both parties.

Bridal Brokerage claims that anything from wedding photographers to catering services can be reassigned. Once the deal is done, it utilises an in-house graphic designer to produce invitations and orders of service for the new couple – all in double-quick time.

The new service helps disappointed couples to minimise the financial impact of changing their plans, while allowing lucky brides and bridegrooms to enjoy wedding days that might otherwise have been unaffordable.

If you’re involved with events or bookings, is this an idea that you could apply in your niche segment of the market?

H&M ‘Waste’ Not

Fast fashion has been the norm for decades. With every season comes new styles and trends, different fabrics, and more and more frocks on racks. But nowadays the ‘sustainable‘ buzzword is making them think about how they’re steering the cart. From awareness of sustainable fabrics to ensuring closed loop systems – the fashion industry is heading in a direction that needs to rethink their process. And H&M, the major leader in all things fast fashion, seem to be taking interesting steps to pave the way. The Swedish clothing giant suffered a massive PR debacle when it was revealed they were simply discarding unsold pieces instead of donating or recycling them. Not to mention their organic cotton fraud. Since then they have been out hunting for more sustainable fabrics, such as the biodegradable material tencel made from woodpulp. Incorporating their findings into a solely ‘sustainable’ line called ‘The Conscious Collection’. Following on the heels of their Spring/Summer ‘Garden’ sustainable fabrics collection, this line is an industry first for high street brands. An interesting avenue that they’re also exploring is their ‘Waste’ collection. Capitalising on the sustainable benefits of an ‘upcycle‘ mentality. Upcycling recognises the wastes of the supply chain in a creative way with possibilities of a regenerated ‘end’ product. H&M are gathering their discarded materials and unsold pieces by repurposing (or upcycling) them into new items for sale. The fashion industry is fast, and at the rate that H&M are adopting these principles, the fashion industry is due for a sustainable change, just as fast.