VOW for Girls Celebrates Inaugural Year of Its #LoveIsOurBusiness Initiative

In conjunction with the return to New York Bridal Fashion Week, VOW for Girls, the nonprofit that partners with the wedding industry on a global scale, held a celebration on April 6th of its recently launched #LoveIsOurBusiness initiative. The evening’s festivities were hosted at XX Venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and the event was sponsored by Maroo, a new fintech company innovating payments across the wedding industry. Leading wedding professionals, wedding-aligned businesses, and media partners joined VOW to show their support of the cause and take the #LoveIsOurBusiness pledge:

“As a company that celebrates love, we support VOW for Girls. Because #LoveIsOurBusiness, we believe every girl should be able to choose love on her own terms and no child should ever be a bride.”

The evening brought together an inspiring group of wedding industry professionals who donated their time and skills to bring the event to life. The Revelry cooperative introduced VOW to the new wedding venue XX V owned by two female founders, which seemed like a fitting location to host VOW’s event. Little Sister Creative created art installations that spoke to the impact of VOW’s work, such as safe transport to classes, keeping girls in school by providing school supplies, and providing start-up costs for young women to start their own businesses. The inspired floral installations were a mix of live and faux flowers, with the florals being composted and repurposed as a commitment to sustainability. Bombshell graphics provided the accompanying event signage.  Guests sipped on “Maroo Me” cocktails featuring Vera Wang Party Prosecco and Betty Buzz premium drink mixers and nibbled on delicious hors d’oeuvres from Thomas Preti Catering as they mingled to tunes by DJ Shilpa.

Rent Patina, one of the premier designer rental companies in New York, supplied stunning bars and lounge furniture to bring the event to life. Universal Light & Sound illuminated the event and Shades of Grey Productions draping made the space feel more intimate. Guests were invited to take home a customized “LOVE” or “VOW” bracelet provided by brand partner Names for Good from a display creatively styled by AMF Studios and were invited to capture the evening’s fun at the Flux Photobooths.

VOW for Girls CEO Clay Dunn said of the evening, “I was so thrilled to see how many wedding professionals and wedding-aligned businesses came together to say #LoveIsOurBusiness. Celebrations like tonight are a testament to what’s possible when we work together towards a common goal – creating a world where no child is ever a bride.”

Anja Winikka, Co-Founder and CMO of Maroo added, “We are beyond thrilled to support VOW for Girls while giving couples the ability to make donations directly to VOW. Not only are we using technology to streamline and simplify payments for the wedding & events world, we’re giving couples the ability to decide exactly when and how much they want to donate at the tap of a button. We hope all US-based wedding businesses opt in to our brand-new donation feature to further increase VOW’s impact around the world.”

A special thanks to the creative vendors who generously helped make this celebratory evening come to life:

Nonprofit Host – VOW for Girls (@vowforgirls)

Main Sponsor/ Wedding Payment Platform – Maroo (@maroowedding)

Planner – Diwan by Design (@diwanbydesign)

Photographer & Videographer – The Wedding Artists Co (@theweddingartistsco) Samm Blake (@sammblake) Sasithon Photography (@sasithonphoto) Liron Erel Co (@lironerelco)

Venue & Venue Management  – XX Venue (@thexxvenue) and The Revelry Cooperative (@the_revelry_cooperative)

Installations Little Sister Creative (@littlesistercreativenyc)

Designer Rental Furniture – Rent Patina (@rentpatina)

Prosecco Sponsor – Vera Wang Party  (@VeraWangParty)

Non-alcoholic mixer sponsor – Betty Buzz (@BettyBuzz)

Catering – Thomas Preti (@thomaspretieventstosavor)

Partner/Bracelet Activation – Names for Good (@Namesforgood)

Styling for sponsor activations and Painted Florals – AMF Studios (@amfstudiosnyc)

DJ – DJ Shilpa (@djshilpa)

Lighting –  Universal Light & Sound (@ulsnyc)

Draping – Shades of Grey Productions (@shadesofgreyproductions)

Photo Booth – Flux Photo Booth (@fluxphotoboothco)

Signage/Vinyl – Bombshell Graphics (@bombshellgraphics)

Covid Compliance – VOW Digital Health (@vownetwork)

About VOW for Girls

VOW for Girls is a growing global movement that partners with the wedding industry, engaged couples, brands, and individuals to end the international child marriage crisis. Count to three. A child just became a bride. By raising funds and awareness, VOW is ending child marriage by building a connected groundswell of love and support for every girl whose right to own her future is at risk.

100% of the funds raised by VOW for Girls are invested in underfunded yet effective local efforts that advance girls’ rights by providing education, job training, and vital life skills, so girls can own their futures. VOW for Girls is a vow for the future.

Of the 175+ organizations supported to date, 85% are led by women. An estimated 260,000 girls have been directly impacted by this work to date and 1.6 million individuals have indirectly benefited. Please visit vowforgirls.org and follow along @vowforgirls to learn more about VOW.