Lincoln, Calif.— Navigating a wedding was once solely the domain of young brides, but statistics today tell a different story. Of the 2.2 million brides each year, half a million are mid-life brides—a demographic that’s been largely ignored by the wedding industry.

It was a frustration that ignited a vision for Lincoln, Calif.-based author Lisa Joiner: To revolutionize the bridal industry so midlife brides feel welcome at every point, from bridal salons to reception venues. Her book Unveiled Wisdom: Wedding Planning for the Mid-life Bride was recently released by Morning Bird Press.

“I want a mid-life bride to walk into a bridal salon and not be ushered immediately toward mother-of-the-bride dresses,” she said. “We should be offering women a much better experience as they plan their wedding for this next chapter of their lives.”

Joiner was 53 when she married Lincoln’s current mayor, Paul Joiner, in 2011. Combining a background in sales with her work as an intuitive counselor, she had the background to pull off the kind of wedding she wanted, but she found a significant void in resources available to help with the other considerations unique to this life stage.

“Midlife brides are looking for a wedding experience that’s better, not bigger. We have a different perspective at this point in our lives.” What does she mean by better? For starters, she’d like to see bridal salons offer dresses tailored to mid-life brides and reception venues that offer packages conducive to the size and tone of mid-life weddings. Her book addresses the complexity of a mid-life couple’s family and financial situations, along with considerations and perspectives on the wedding planning process—from how to determine the ceremony details to who should be invited.

Joiner cites $15 billion in annual spending on weddings at this stage in life. Yet despite commanding a big slice of the industry pie (or wedding cake, as it were)—mid-life brides have had to fend for themselves amidst a sea of glossy bridal magazines and fantasy-wedding guides geared toward younger, first-time brides.

Joiner is passionate about championing the mid-life bride. “Because people are living longer, they expect mid-life marriages will be lasting longer,” Joiner said. “With a clearer vision for the marriage beyond the wedding day than they had when they were younger, mid-life brides seek a wedding experience that honors who they are as individuals going into this union.”

Her husband, Paul, contributed his graphic design expertise to the book’s cover. Early versions had a bride with glasses and a few extra pounds, an image that Lisa’s advisory board of girlfriends immediately rejected. “Mid-life women know our bodies are changing, but we still want to look and feel beautiful.” Paul changed the cover to an image that reflected how mid-life brides felt about themselves…and now Lisa’s looking to change the wedding industry to better reflect the significant share that belongs to mid-life brides.

See the book on Wedding Market

https://weddingmarketnews.com/books/unveiled-wisdom-wedding-planning-for-the-mid-life-bride/