New report from The Knot projects $2.2B in incremental global wedding spend over the next two years; searches for engagement photographers (+71%) and garden aesthetics (+70%) showed immediate spikes on The Knot Vendor Marketplace

The Engagement Era Effect has entered the wedding chat. Today, The Knot, a leading all-in-one wedding planning tech platform, releases The Swiftification of Weddings: A Report by The Knot, a first-of-its-kind analysis exploring how your favorite gym teacher and English teachers’ engagement could influence wedding demand, spend, aesthetics, and vendor opportunity. Early indicators are clear: 37% of couples say the engagement announcement made them even more excited about their own soon-to-be-wed status, while behavior on The Knot Vendor Marketplace shows a rise in searches tied to proposal planning and romantic garden design. Backed by financial modeling, search trends across The Knot ecosystem, and surveys of engaged and pre-engaged couples and wedding professionals, The Knot projects an estimated $2.2 billion in net new global wedding spend, $1.8 billion in the U.S. alone, over the next two years as couples mirror this cultural moment across proposals, weddings, wedding-adjacent celebrations, jewelry, fashion, florals, and guest travel.

“The Swiftification of Weddings Report quantifies how a major cultural moment translates into real planning behavior and spend, from a 71% lift in searches for engagement photographers and 70% for garden aesthetics on The Knot Vendor Marketplace, to a potential $2.2B in incremental global wedding spend over two years. What we’re seeing, in real time, is momentum: One highly visible love story reshaping everything from ring preferences to the modern wedding wardrobe,” said Esther Lee, Deputy Editor at The Knot. “We expect outsized impact across jewelry, fashion, and floral design, along with fresh demand for unique styles and multi-wedding events. Wedding pros who lean into era-coded aesthetics and servicing multi-event engagements and weddings will be best positioned to win.”

The Swiftification of Weddings: By the Numbers

The Overall Impact: Estimated $2.2B globally, $1.8B in the U.S. over the next two years

• The estimated increase in global wedding spend in the next two years as a result of America’s Favorite Lovers getting married.
  • Their union will spark cultural enthusiasm for weddings, influencing couples’ choices across attire, décor, and overall event style. Just as Kate Middleton’s gown reshaped bridal fashion, the star couple’s looks and aesthetic decisions will inspire new trends.
  • Couples will likely invest more in florals, photography, video, stationery, and day-of styling, along with creative “Easter egg” details inspired by the singer’s signature storytelling. Their celebration could also stimulate local economies and tourism, depending on the wedding destination.

The Celebrations Era: Other Wedding Event Impact

• Weddings are increasingly multi-event celebrations (showers, bach trips, welcome parties, rehearsal dinners, brunches, mini-moons).
• $400M estimated bump in U.S. wedding-adjacent event spend over the next two years; $220M for pre-events and approximately $180M for honeymoons.

The Pro-Posal Era: The Engagement Impact

• The couple's engagement news remains the most-liked proposal post in Instagram history with 37 million likes (and counting).
• 37% of couples say the engagement news heightened excitement about their own wedding journey.
• A 71% increase in searches for “engagement photographers” on The Knot Vendor Marketplace the week of the couple's engagement announcement (compared to the prior week).
• 1 in 4 couples already hire wedding pros for engagements; The Knot anticipates a meaningful increase, driving an estimated $120M increase in spend in the U.S. on proposal/engagement photographers and florists over the next two years.
• Proposal aesthetics, private, personalized, highly produced, are trending as couples recreate the “reveal,” spiking increased demands for pros, like photographers and florists.

The Bedazzled Era: Diamond Industry Impact

• The Enchanted star’s vintage-coded old mine brilliant cut diamond is driving interest in heirloom-style diamonds and settings.
• An estimated $350M lift in U.S. wedding jewelry spend over the next two years as more couples purchase engagement rings and bands aligned with vintage-inspired styles.

The Wedding Wardrobe Era: Fashion Impact

• The Folklore storyteller’s sold-out engagement look underscores fashion’s fast-follow effect.
• Estimated $200M lift in U.S. wedding attire (bridal, wedding party, suiting) over the next two years as couples adopt “bridal capsule” wardrobes across multiple events.
• Six in 10 wedding professionals anticipate that fashion could see the biggest impact for those who are planning current or future weddings.

The ‘Enchanted Garden’ Era: Design Impact

• Garden romance is poised to surge in 2026 and beyond: Think roses, ranunculus, anemone, hydrangea, sculptural installations.
• Searches for “Gardens” were up 70% on The Knot Vendor Marketplace the week the superstar couple announced their engagement news (compared to the prior week).
• More than 70% of vendors and one-third of couples agree that the couple’s vibe could influence wedding aesthetics in the upcoming year.
• An estimated $160M lift in U.S. floral spend over the next two years; over 60% of couples say the garden engagement imagery most caught their eye.

The Guest List Impact: Guest Travel

• Estimated $440M+ bump in U.S. guest travel (flights, hotels, car rentals/shares), approximately $160M+ in gifting, and approximately $300M+ in local non-wedding tourism over the next two years as wedding counts and event footprints grow.

How this Benefits Wedding Professionals

About half of wedding vendors expect the cultural power couple’s engagement to affect their business, with a general lift in weddings and budgets. Visual categories—such as florals, fashion, photo/video, stationery, and styling— stand to see the greatest opportunities. Early signals on The Knot Vendor Marketplace show +71% increase in search for “engagement photographers” (compared to the prior week) and +70% for “garden,” highlighting growing demand for proposal-related services and garden-forward aesthetics. As couples add more pre- and post-wedding events—from the proposal to the post-wedding brunch—and embrace “bridal capsule” wardrobes, vendor opportunities and spending will continue to rise.

For the full report, visit The Swiftification of Weddings: A Report by The Knot and read What Swiftonomics Means for the Future of Weddings, Trends and Budgets.

Methodology

To project potential financial outcomes, we developed a series of financial models designed to test a range of scenarios. The models incorporated historical performance data, third-party and internal search data, industry benchmarks and historical, proven effects such as the effect of Swiftonomics or the impact of the most recent Royal Wedding, as well as internal assumptions about key drivers such as revenue growth, market adoption, and cost structures. All projections are directional in nature, based upon specified assumptions, and intended to highlight potential ranges of financial impact rather than predict exact results.

In addition, to provide the most comprehensive insights, The Knot Worldwide analyzed our own on site behavioral data between August 19, 2025 - September 8, 2025 in addition to surveying our US audience of pre-engaged and engaged couples, along with wedding professionals, to get a pulse on anticipated changes and their potential impact. The Swiftification of Weddings: A Report by The Knot combines primary research from multiple studies, including a recent onsite survey of engaged and pre-engaged couples on The Knot, fielded during the first week of September 2025 (n=1,200+), an onsite survey of The Knot wedding professionals, fielded during the first week of September 2025 (n=90), and a survey of engaged and pre-engaged members of The Knot Insiders community, fielded August 28–September 1, 2025 (n=142). Respondents represent individuals from all over the country with various ethnicities, income levels, race, age, sexual orientation and gender identity.

About The Knot

The Knot is a leading all-in-one wedding planning resource offering a comprehensive suite of digital tools to help couples throughout their planning journey. Powering wedding celebrations through technology, the brand offers The Knot Vendor Marketplace, which connects couples with approximately 200,000 local wedding professionals, and personalized wedding websites, invitations, and registry services. The most trusted authority on wedding planning, The Knot reaches a majority of engaged couples in the U.S. through TheKnot.com; a leading wedding planning app with the most 5-star reviews on iOS and Android, The Knot Wedding Planner; The Knot national wedding magazine; and The Knot book series. Since its inception, The Knot has inspired approximately 25 million couples to plan a wedding that’s authentic to them. Visit The Knot online at TheKnot.com and follow on social media: @TheKnot on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Threads, and Facebook.com/TheKnot.

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