Fast-growing online wedding company opens store—complete with ministers

1/3/2019
Zola has made the leap to brick-and-mortar with an experiential destination where it promises customers can plan their entire wedding and register in under one hour.

The online wedding planning and registry company has opened a temporary store, in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, that offers one-stop shopping for wedding planning. Designed for engaged Millennials who want to have a fast, fun and easy experience, the outpost includes sections where customers can create free wedding websites, design “save the date” and wedding invitations, and register for gifts. And for couples who don’t feel like waiting, they can elope on site — all of the store associates are Universal Life ministers available to perform weddings.

Additional store features include a listening booth where couples can plan their ideal wedding playlist, and a 3D printing “chapel” where they can make their own wedding cake toppers. There is also a CBD lounge to help make wedding planning even less stressful. (CBD is the legal, non-psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis. It is easily blended into beverages and food.)

On the merchandise front, the pop-up features more than 2,000 top-selling gifts for newlywed life, and 200 “save-the-date” and wedding invites. Couples can make an appointment to meet with a Zola advisor for one-on-one planning help or walk in on their own. They can also attend weekly events designed to assist with wedding planning. (The pop-up will remain open through April.)

"We are so excited to bring the entire Zola experience under one roof," said Shan-Lyn Ma, CEO and co-founder of Zola. "We translated everything our couples already love about us, including our easy-to-use planning tools, our curated gift selection, and our outstanding customer service, into a wedding planning destination unlike anything couples have ever seen."

Zola was founded in as a wedding registry website, but it has since evolved into a one-stop destination for couples’ wedding planning needs. Its registry offers some 60,000 products from over 600 brands.

In August, the company launched a print save-the- date and invitations business. To date, Zola has raised approximately $140 million in VC funding.
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