In April, the influencer Brigette Pheloung, known as @acquiredstyle, shared many videos of her bachelorette trip sponsored by a previously unknown company: Swan Beauty, a $795 "AI mirror" (that also needs a $94 per year app). TikTok then did what TikTok does best: Exploded with discourse. Some people praised Pheloung and Swan Beauty for their partnership, while others, predictably, hated it. (Pheloung didn't respond to Mashable's request for comment.)

"I don't think anyone would say no to her bachelorette, whether hosting it or attending it," said Sarah Singleton, founder and lead content creator at Hype Gal Media, which specializes in wedding iPhone content creation. "You just got to do it in a really, really cool way that was sponsored."

It's just the latest in a series of high-profile influencer sponsorships in the wedding space. While getting free swag or paid services for weddings isn't new, it seems to be exploding in recent years, especially since COVID lockdowns. In fact, six in ten Americans would have a brand sponsor their wedding, so the naysayers may be in the minority. Mashable spoke to wedding professionals about these sponsorships and how the current state of the world means nothing is "sacred."

History of wedding sponsors

Despite the TikTok ire, brands have been gifting or paying for goods and services in exchange for attention for decades.

"Free or sponsored product or services is nothing new in the high-profile world," said Harmony Walton, founder of The Bridal Bar, a PR and marketing agency for luxury wedding professionals. Walton started The Bridal Bar in Los Angeles in 2004, and she's seen sponsored weddings before social media, even working with A-list clients who did it (though she declined to name who). 

A well-known, pre-social media example of this is TV personality Star Jones, who made headlines in 2004 for taking various freebies, such as bridesmaids' gowns and her (now ex-)husband's tuxedo, USA Today reported at the time. The same article also mentions early-2000s wedding sponsors, like fellow TV personality Tori Spelling, who received chocolates for her wedding party.

The concept has evolved, though, Walton said, as the influencer is the new celebrity. "So there are plenty of brands and companies that are motivated to gift products and services in exchange for attention, and the attention looks different now." Maybe it's a viral TikTok, whereas years ago it would be a mention in People magazine (print, of course). 

Throughout her career, Walton has seen wedding photographers, planners, dress designers, venues, and hotels climb in the industry because they booked a big influencer or high-profile client — whether they paid for it or not. The coverage is invaluable regardless.

Recently, brides who drummed up chatter on social media about sponsored nuptial elements were influencers Becca Bloom, who partnered with Lancôme, and Mikayla Nogueira, who said her 2023 wedding wasn't sponsored but did release a product with e.l.f. cosmetics (e.l.f. x Mikayla Marriage Material Lip Duo) before the big day.

A brand deal fit for a bride

Singleton, who has shot sponsored content for weddings, emphasizes that the best thing influencers can do is stay true to their personal brand. If a beverage brand you've never consumed before is all of a sudden everywhere at your reception, people will question whether you actually like it or if it's been gifted. Which is fine, Singleton said — but don't act like it's the best drink ever when you've been sipping on something else.

The best deals come when it's genuine and authentic to both the couple and the love story, she said.

The proper way to have sponsored wedding elements is to do this professionally, Walton said. The Bridal Bar gets solicited for free products and services from micro influencers who want discounts, but they aren't approaching it from a business perspective, more so as how to leverage their platform to reduce wedding costs.

An influencer who's used to these types of deals knows what contracts are appropriate, and to ask for what deliverables are needed — be it a certain number of posts, collaborative posts, or the like. 

And the more significant the cost for the brand, the more the return has to be. A beauty brand gifting products for bridal party welcome bags is entirely different from a brand offering all-expenses-paid travel. 

Like Singleton, Walton emphasizes that being authentic is the best course of action. "Just because someone's getting married, it doesn't mean that their audience is the right fit for [your brand]," she said. If it's an authentic and organic story being told, "you're more likely to see results and fruits from that labor, versus maybe a completely irrelevant brand or product that is distinctively different than the types of products and services that that audience is looking for."

Is nothing sacred? Not in this economy. 

A common refrain in TikTok videos criticizing influencers for cashing in on wedding sponsorships is: "Is nothing sacred?" One's wedding, in their view, is supposed to be a special day not infringed by Brands™.

But is anything sacred in 2026, when AI companies want to reanimate the dead, we're seeing the worst actions of humanity on our screens every second, and economic inequality is getting worse?

"In this economy, get your bag," Singleton said. "Do what you want to do." She added that in the digital era we're in, it's almost inevitable that we'll see influencers taking on sponsors for weddings.

Given the current climate, it's no wonder. The cost of living has increased in recent years. Weddings aren't any different — and they were already expensive compared to other events, so much so that the term "wedding industrial complex" is commonplace. 

And no matter what — through pandemics and recessions — people are going to get married one way or another, Singleton said. 

"Weddings since COVID have gotten exponentially more expensive than they were before," said Walton. What The Bridal Bar is seeing is that the middle class of weddings is disappearing. They're going to small, micro weddings or elopements, or the destination, multi-day affairs of the one percent.

"Weddings are expensive, so being able to work with brands that I would already be posting for was truly so helpful when it came down to staying within our budget," Jenna Liston, a content creator, told Mashable over email. 

Liston received pajamas for her bridal party, a cowboy hat for her wedding day, products like smiley-face socks for her bachelorette attendees, and dresses for her engagement photos.

Not only do weddings come with an exorbitant price tag, but social media has changed the game when it comes to weddings; people's expectations are higher now. When Walton first got into the business, people got married locally, had an intimate rehearsal dinner beforehand, and that was it.

"Now the bar is set so much higher. That's because of social media and Pinterest and Instagram and TikTok," she said. "The visual aspect of Keeping Up with the Joneses is because of Instagram."

Plus, the internet brought increased availability of information. We plan life events differently than we used to, thanks to the internet, but we also have different experiences. Now, it feels like everyone you know is going to Japan, but even a decade or two ago, that kind of travel required a travel agent and guides.

"This generation is more well-traveled and more life-experienced than a lot of previous generations. So they come to their wedding planning process with a different worldview and perspective," Walton explained. "If they've seen and done all of these incredible things, well, their wedding can't just be a cookie-cutter backyard wedding."

Someone's wedding might be the biggest day of their lives — but they've had some pretty big days, already. So this has to top it.

If you take a step back, an influencer working with a brand is a business transaction, and even on a personal day, influencers have built their careers on sharing their personal days as business transactions, Walton said. Now it's just on a grander scale. That being said, we need to remind couples that this is their wedding, after all. You don't want to look at the photos 10, 20 years from now and hate them because a brand's name is plastered all over them. 

Liston said sponsored wedding content is the smart way to go. "The only thing I'd say is be true to yourself," she said. "I wasn't accepting every offer from every company, but if it aligned with my page and what I was looking for, I was excited to partner with them."

If you have a following or platform and can work with companies on your big day, she said, why not?