Millennial weddings come with a basically compulsory social media component these days, and one woman is taking advantage.
After dealing with wedding overload (19 ceremonies over the past two years), Los Angeles-based magazine editor Marielle Wakim had witnessed her fair share of bridal processions, wedding veils and best man toasts.
She'd also seen the rise of the wedding hashtag, a short phrase that's usually an overly cutesy blend of the bride and groom's names or a trying-too-hard nod to how they met.
If you've been to a wedding in the last few years, you'll know it. The wedding hashtag can be found on everything, starting with invitations and the wedding website, and then plastered onto napkins, photo booth pictures and and centerpiece displays at the reception.
They've become as expected as a bouquet toss.
Wakim started offering to help some of her many soon-to-be-married friends come up with something clever for the special day's Instagram posts, and she realized she could monetize the phenomenon.
Last month, Wakim launched "Happily Ever #Hashtagged," with package deals for her hashtag-making services. The simplest start at $40, while $115 gives couples three options, plus two more for any bachelor and bachelorette parties.
"People can't think of that notch-more clever of word play," she told Mashable in a phone call Friday. "That's why they hire me."
Today's couples don't want a generic #SmithWedding2016, but something that reflects who they are, whether that be super romantic, mega cheesy or more quirky.
"People are always trying to add a really personal touch to their day," Wakim said, which she thinks makes her service that much more appealing.
Thanks to her magazine training, Wakim said she's a prime punning expert, which she believes is a big part of building a catchy hashtag. (Wakim was the source of the viral asparagus water ridiculousness at Whole Foods, so she seems to know what resonates.)
For her clients she tries to avoid the obvious, because that's why they're paying her. She usually starts with rhyming and combinations of first and last names and working in any idioms. She has customers fill out a survey with nicknames, wedding details and back stories, which all help her process.
For one couple with the last name Ferris, a Ferris wheel proposal story and Ferris wheel decor planned for the event, she came up with #WheelyInLove. Another for sillier pair Maggie and Charlie became #CharMagweddon.
"They are deceptively difficult to come up with," she said, since it's not just what the hashtags sound like spoken aloud but how they look written down — without any gaffes or unintended innuendo.
In the past week, Wakim's received a flurry of media attention, and she claimed her business has since quadrupled. "I'm going to be hashtagging my face off," she said about her side hustle.
As for her own wedding hashtag, if the 29-year-old one day decides to tie the knot, "How will I ever pick?" she mused. The pressure is on.
