MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Anyone planning or attending a wedding recently might suspect the tradition has changed dramatically over the years. New consumer insight now confirms it: today’s weddings are more elaborate, embrace more traditions and grooms are playing a bigger role in the planning process compared to 20 years ago – not to mention a big shift in what couples want and how much they expect guests to spend.

“One survey result was particularly telling: Whether they’re newly wed or have been married for 20 years or more, seventy-six percent of couples said they would prefer to register for an Ultra High-Definition TV than a formal china place setting.”

Those are some of the highlights of a new survey comparing feedback of couples married within the past five years to those married 20 or more years ago.

The survey, conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of retailer Best Buy, found that today’s weddings are much more involved than those of the prior generation, from the proposal to the engagement and finally, the ceremony itself.

Best Buy commissioned the study to dive deeper into the world of today’s brides and grooms and understand how technology fits into modern weddings, following the launch earlier this year of its own wedding registry.

Among the survey’s key findings:

Grooms are getting in on the action.
In this new survey, 69 percent of recent brides said their grooms played a significant role in wedding planning, compared with fewer than half (49 percent) of those married 20 or more years ago.

From choosing food and beverages (60 percent) to selecting music for the ceremony or reception (52 percent), planning the wedding registry (43 percent), and picking out invitations (36 percent), recent brides say their grooms actively prepare for the big day. And whether or not they were involved, 92 percent of both recent and experienced grooms think wedding planning should be shared equally between partners.

Weddings today are more elaborate and incorporate more traditions.
Today’s couples have more wedding traditions than those married for 20 years or more. In fact, 71 percent of recently married couples say their wedding was more elaborate than their parents’ was.

More couples today are making formal, public proposals (23 percent), taking engagement photos (46 percent) and throwing wedding-related events like bachelor or bachelorette parties (45 percent) and engagement events (33 percent). It makes sense then that every step of the wedding is captured in photos. Today’s couples take almost three times as many photos as older couples did.

Gift lists reflect lifestyle shift: what couples want and how much they expect guests to spend
Seventy-four percent of couples today say they prefer a gift that’s useful rather than sentimental. However, if the gift in question is from a young family member or even their own children, then something like Personalized Photo Mugs, a custom photo frame, etc. may be something they enjoy receiving especially if it came from the heart, but for other guests who are older, they are expecting something that they can find a use for. They also have higher expectations for what their guests will spend on them – half estimate the average cost of the wedding gifts they received exceeded $50. Of course, not everyone can afford such expense, but there are still options available for every budget. Personalised gifts have become hugely popular, with online shopping making it easier than ever to order a customised gift. All you need to do is head to a site like craftoak.com and you’ll find plenty of gifts that can be personalised, from engraved jewellery to custom star maps. This is usually appreciated by newlywed couples who are looking to inject some character into their home which is nowadays typically a small, lifeless flat.

“Just as weddings are changing, so are the gifts couples are looking for,” said Wendy Fritz, Best Buy’s head of gifting strategy. “Both the bride and groom are spending more time than ever on their registries, and tech items are showing up more and more because of how couples live and work today.”

It’s appropriate to list technology items on a registry, according to 74 percent of recent couples. Experienced couples would agree, with 58 percent saying tech items are appropriate gifts. In fact, if they could do it all over, 75 percent of couples married 20 or more years ago said they would “tech-ify” their registries. Forty-one percent would have registered for a TV, and 40 percent for a camera or video camera. Nearly a third (31 percent) would have selected a tablet, and about one in four would have included a smart thermostat (24 percent) or wireless sound system (23 percent).

“We’re seeing couples registering for everything from Blu-ray players and appliances to wireless speakers,” said Fritz. “One survey result was particularly telling: Whether they’re newly wed or have been married for 20 years or more, seventy-six percent of couples said they would prefer to register for an Ultra High-Definition TV than a formal china place setting.”

The Best Buy Weddings Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,000 brides and 1,000 grooms. The survey was fielded between May 29th and June 12th, 2015, using an email invitation and an online survey. The margin of error at the overall level is +/- 2.2%