As a wedding professional, you do all the things, from calming stressed couples to tackling business needs– and you handle it all with a smile! So you know better than anyone a value we hold dear to us here at VOW for Girls: no matter the situation, the support of a tight-knit community is key. We’re honored to have so many amazing wedding pros as part of our VOW Pro community. Vendors across different parts of the global wedding industry have been seamlessly working VOW into their businesses in a variety of ways. Want to join the party? Here are some ideas and practical ways you can easily incorporate VOW into your company’s mission and actions.

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Join VOW Pro

The VOW Pro Network is specifically designed for wedding professionals and wedding-aligned businesses. By joining VOW Pro, you will expand girls’ access to education, encourage girls to become leaders in their communities, and shift social norms and perceptions of girls around the world. Become a VOW Pro Member and join our global network to support and celebrate girls choosing love on their own terms.

For a donation of less than one dollar a day, $30 per month or $360 annually, your membership will not only welcome you into this generous community of wedding professionals, but can cover all of the costs to send two girls to school for a full year - from school fees to supplies and transportation! 🎉

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Holiday and Marketing Gifting

Marketing gifts or yearly holiday gifts are a great way to incorporate VOW into your business with no extra effort required. Our photographer friends at Readyluck donate in the names of their fellow vendors every year in lieu of business gifts, and VOW sends certificates in each person’s name to tuck neatly into their holiday cards. No more waiting in line to ship out heavy boxes! And if you’ve forgotten about gifting until way too late (because 2020… and 2021), we got you– our digital donation certificates can be emailed for an even quicker and paper-free option.

VOW donation certificates also make a great supplement to your business gifting to enhance the customer experience. If you want to keep your traditional client gifts, take a note from luxury wedding planner Jassi of J Group Events. She makes a donation in the name of her couple on their wedding day as a special additional touchpoint. Her clients feel extra warm and fuzzy knowing their wedding day was honored with supporting a wonderful organization.

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Donations

All types of vendors can make their businesses agents for change by incorporating charitable giving to VOW, either in flat donation amounts or as a percentage of sales or proceeds. Donating isn’t just for big corporations– our VOW Pro+ membership badge comes with a donation of only $10/month or $120 for the year!

A leading voice in luxury events, planner Emily Campbell donates a set amount per wedding produced. Bridal shops have donated per appointment booked or dress sold. The Bridal Collection in Colorado chose a high-traffic sale, the Justin Alexander trunk show, as the perfect time to maximize their contribution from dress sales. And they did not disappoint– they committed to giving $90 per trunk show dress sold and donated a whopping $5000!
Clients celebrated not only finding the dress but also seeing their purchase help hit the store’s goal displayed on a fundraiser chalkboard.

Photographer Jenna of Jenna Wren Photography donates for every new client she books– check out these gorgeous shots of her couples below. We encourage you to be creative and find the best way a VOW Pro+ membership will work for your business.

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Client Outreach

Many VOW Pros are furthering VOW’s mission through their clients. Venues 501 Union and The Green Building include VOW in their open houses and on their preferred vendor lists as their selected charity option. Ann Marie and Emily from Simply Styled Events provide instructions on how their couples can donate to VOW in lieu of guest favors.

Wedding planner Andi Schilawski of Musa Weddings includes literature about VOW in her welcome packages for new couples and sends informative email blasts to clients and vendors. Many couples have set up charity registries with VOW after being educated by their vendor teams, and we couldn’t be more grateful for this exposure.

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Spreading the Word and Helping Us Connect

Educating and creating awareness of VOW’s work beyond one’s clients can do a world of good for our girls, and you don’t have to reside in the U.S. to participate! Premiere luxury (think royal!) UK planner Sarah Haywood serves as a global ambassador for VOW Pro by teaching about VOW in her speaking engagements and on her social media channels. Emily Campbell, in addition to her donations, also advocates for VOW during her featured talks at international Engage Summits in her role as Executive Director of the Engage Foundation. We have partners across the globe, and we’d be honored to have you spread VOW’s message to local communities in your area.

Vendors can also use their professional connections to help us meet our next great advocates. Photographer Anna Gianfrate connected VOW to the lovely folks at Wedding Sparrow, which led to them becoming our valued partner. Photographer Amy Mulder incorporated VOW into a published styled shoot to bring light to our organization. The opportunities to champion our girls are endless!

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No matter the size or what kind of wedding business you run, we appreciate the work you do and would love to partner with you to help end childhood marriage.

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About VOW for Girls

From wedding registry donations to partner product purchases, everything donated to VOW (that’s 100% of donations!) goes directly to community-driven efforts to help girls around the world. Our grantees, which are mainly women-led local organizations, use the funding we provide to directly support girls.

Twelve million girls a year, some as young as 8, become child brides. VOW is a global movement of the wedding industry community, partners and couples who are dedicated to a world where no child is ever a bride and where every girl has the chance to live the life she loves.

If you’re in the wedding industry and you’re interested in becoming involved, please find more wedding inspiration and advice in our blog, consider becoming a VOW Pro partner and learning more about VOW’s mission to end child marriage. If you’re an engaged couple and want to learn more about supporting VOW, please visit our couples page. We can’t wait to see what good we can do together!

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Header photo credit: Chaz Cruz Photography