When it comes to weddings, any planner (or stressed out bride) will tell you, the details are endless. By association, so too, are the topics for wedding coverage. Having planned literally hundreds of dream weddings over the last eight years, I decided to focus on what trends are popular, what I am seeing a lot of right now and what my brides are hinting at for next year.
At first, I thought--vintage! Without question, we've seen an overabundance of vintage inspiration in everything from wedding dress styles, to décor, to cakes--you name it. If you could find it at a flea market, it was making its way to a wedding near you. But then I thought, no, not vintage--handmade! With the emergence of Etsy, brides are foregoing the usual sources for their wedding accoutrements and buying it from little mom and pop shops all over the country. Oh, but what about the muted tones we've been seeing? Or the use of individual cakes instead of one big one? What about dessert bars and dance troops and surprise performances?? And the more I thought about it, the more I realized the trend in weddings right now isn't about antiques, or colors or a style of dress. It's about the couple getting married!
"Wait, isn't the wedding always about the couple?" you ask. Well, it should be, but in years past it was very rarely the case. For the longest time, designing a wedding was based on a handful of pages my brides ripped out of magazines. She wanted her hair to look just like this, the centerpiece should be exactly that height and her mother insisted the cake be simple and elegant. Weddings were essentially keeping up with the Jones's and brides were fixated on one-upping their friends. In fact, in one year alone I did thirteen weddings with a Tiffany blue/chocolate brown color scheme! Lord help me, I told every single one of those brides the choice was totally original and fabulous (far be it from me to dream crush someone's favorite color scheme!).
Today's bride is a little older and a lot more confident in her choices. I've seen weddings themed to a favorite song, a hometown, even one where the bride said "I want it to look exactly like Anthropologie." And you know what...it looked fabulous! It seems rather than trying to look like everyone else, brides and grooms are stretching their creative muscle to the limit to try and be the very first people to do something!
I was reminded of this again this weekend when I saw this adorable video of a couple getting engaged during a flash mob. A quick Google search reveals that the pair are both dancers, so of course it makes sense that their one-of-a-kind proposal would involve dancing and total originality.
Of all the trends that come and go in the wedding business, from over the top opulence, to understated elegance, elbow length gloves, taffeta dresses and everything in between, the one that I hope couples hold on to is a wedding day that is utterly them. Whether you're a deep-sea diver or a cowboy, finding an elegant way to incorporate yourselves into this party is what it's all about. This isn't your mother's wedding (she already had her chance) or your best friend's, or even Martha Stewart's. This day is supposed to be about what YOU love. Don't be concerned about what guests will think. If they love you, they must already like your style and will totally appreciate seeing it instead of yet another Tiffany blue/chocolate brown swathed banquet hall.
Why Brides And Grooms Are Being Themselves (Finally!)
"Wait, isn't the wedding always about the couple?" you ask. Well, it should be, but in years past it was very rarely the case.
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