The New Pandemic Business Paradigm for the Wedding Industry

The Covid-19 pandemic caught couples by surprise in 2020, with hundreds of thousands of couples scrambling to try and figure out how to make a wedding happen in the midst of the biggest global health crisis since the 1918 Spanish Flu. As 2020 turned into 2021 and now 2022, we’re all coming to accept that the old normal is a memory. A new normal that includes continued waves of Covid variants has changed every aspect of how we live our lives.

Weddings are perhaps one of the most dramatically changed aspects of our lives in the 2020s. Many of us still do not dare to plan large gatherings in indoor spaces, and with variants continuing to pop up, long-term plans for big parties are a risky gamble.

But that doesn’t mean that couples who are eager to tie the knot can’t enjoy a luxurious and very romantic wedding in a fantasy-filled location. Enter elopement and micro-wedding expert, McKenzi Taylor, owner of Cactus Collective Weddings and Electric Sugar Elopements. McKenzi has been planning all-inclusive romantic elopements and micro-weddings since 2017, way before the pandemic ever hit. She has married thousands of couples in remote, outdoor, and drop-dead gorgeous locations in and around the Las Vegas desert, San Diego beaches, Colorado mountains, and among the rural plains of South Dakota for years. From canyons and mountainous locations to beautiful lakes, deserts, plant nurseries, and landmark park settings, McKenzi’s intimate weddings are photographed like something out of a classic Disney movie or children’s fairytale picture book.

While some couples have gone into these micro-weddings lamenting the loss of their originally planned large wedding, they are actually surprised, overjoyed, and forever grateful to McKenzi after experiencing the magic of one of her signature elopements or micro-weddings.

Below are 5 great reasons to go micro or elope in 2022 according to expert, McKenzi Taylor:

1. Elopement Saves You Money

Photo Credit: Cactus Collective Weddings

Between shifts in people’s employment status and a sharp rise in inflation, the economy continues to get hit hard by the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, so it’s wise to save money during these uncertain times. An outdoor elopement or micro-wedding (with 20 guests or less), planned by a local expert who knows the lay of the land and how to make your romantic vision come to life will be a lot less complicated and a lot less expensive than a traditional large wedding.

2. Elopements and Micro-weddings Allow You to Focus On You Two

Photo Credit: Cactus Collective Weddings

It’s just you, the love of your life, and possibly a few family members and close friends (who have all been vaccinated and tested negative for Covid-19) Only the most important people will be there. Everyone gets to enjoy each other’s company without societal pressures. An all-inclusive wedding planner who specializes in more intimate, smaller weddings will take care of the details and all you have to do is show up.

3. Elopement Allows You to Spend On What Matters Most

Photo Credit: Cactus Collective Weddings

Weddings are expensive, and we can all agree on that. In addition to the enormous expense of a big traditional wedding, you end up spending lots of money on things that you might not necessarily care about. Elopements and micro-weddings allow you to spend that money on something that you and your spouse love and prioritize… each other. Splurge on your dress, accessories, your wedding theme, your hair, and makeup, and just about anything else you want. It’s YOUR day, literally.

4. Be More Sustainable

Photo Credit: Cactus Collective Weddings

Outdoor intimate weddings mean fewer resources used, from air conditioning and heating to excess décor that gets thrown away post-party, you’re leaving less of a carbon footprint behind once the I Do’s are over. 

5. Choose a Wedding and Honeymoon Destination in 1

Photo Credits: Cactus Collective Weddings

From the beaches of San Diego to the mystical Las Vegas Dessert, Colorado mountains, or rural plains of South Dakota, many of McKenzi Taylor’s clients plan their wedding and honeymoon with a one-and-done approach. The locales are so beautiful and romantic that right after the nuptials, the couple stays on for their honeymoon.