Purpose The wedding market exhibits growing consumer diversity. The seven identified segments navigate multiple factors balancing in their decision-making process. These segments weigh the desire for a perfect dress that embodies cultural and social values, against other considerations, including pro-environmental attitudes and financial constraints. The analysis illuminates the situational and contextual nature of wedding dress selection, which is influenced by both the wedding experience and the reference group opinions. Each group, from Hedonists to Conscious brides, demonstrates distinct prioritisation patterns among sustainability, affordability, symbolic value and style. This study aims to provide valuable insights for brands and services and offer recommendations for implementing sustainable marketing strategies. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive survey of brides (n = 921) captured response heterogeneity due to the substantial sample size. Through factor, cluster and discriminant analyses, seven consumer segments were identified, revealing key patterns, motivations and contextual elements in wedding dress selection. This study contributes to existing literature by examining sustainable choice tensions within a highly symbolic context, classifying lead attributes that influence decision-making. Findings The multi-dimensional segmentation identified seven consumer groups: Trend-setter, Status-seeker, Distinctive, Lead, Conscious, Hedonist and Unconcerned. These segments provide empirical insights into how sustainable attitudes translate into action, when high-status symbolic products are involved. Originality/value This study enriches consumer behaviour research by exploring the interplay between sustainability, and symbolic value in the wedding dress market. The findings provide actionable insights for fashion management and marketing, enabling brands and services to better align their offerings with the complex motivations driving consumer choices.
Faludi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.