In yesteryear (is that a word I really just used?!), weddings were pretty straightforward. There was the cake, flowers, venue, decor, and music. Brides chose things that her and her fiancé liked, but she was less concerned with it reflecting their personality as a couple.
Times have a-changed.
Today's modern bride is extremely interested in celebrating her nuptials in ways that bring her and her soon-to-be husband's hobbies and interests to the forefront during the wedding day.
"The more personalization, the better the wedding day experience," said Candace Frank of Atlanta-based Evermore Wedding and Events. "Brides want their guests to know that this is Mr. and Mrs. (insert last name here) wedding."
So how are today's brides finding their inspiration?
"Pinterest," Frank said.
Over the last several years, Pinterest has become the go-to destination for brides to find creative ideas on how to make their weddings one of a kind. And brides are tapping the expertise of their wedding vendors to help them come up with details that are unique to them.
For instance, Christine Eberle, owner of Atlanta-based Eberle Invitations, helps brides custom create monograms for the invitations, which are then carried throughout the entire wedding.
Recently, she worked with a bride and groom who were both pilots so she designed an invitation that used an airplane as part of the monogram.
In addition to personalized monograms, lately couples have enjoyed experimenting with unique colors and foils on their invitations.
"Even though couples are getting more modern in style, our grandparents and mothers wanted something engraved, which has led to the rise of foil printing on invitations," Eberle said. "Rose gold has been really popular this year and I'm getting more and more requests for brushed gold."
Frank notes that wedding favors are trending out unless it's something super personal like grandma's peach jam or a thank you note from the couple on the place setting.
Wedding professionals are continuing to see signature drinks that reflect the couples' taste and choreographed dances by the couple or wedding party.
"When it comes to the photographic aspects of the wedding day or engagement session, I encourage my couples to incorporate details or activities that are innately meaningful to them and their story," said Lindsey LaRue of Lindsey LaRue Photography.
For the bride or groom who has lost a loved one, Frank says that the couple typically embeds several personal touches that are sentimental reminders of their loved ones on their wedding day. This even applies to the jewelry.
According to Melissa Jacobson of Cobb County, GA-based Cumberland Diamond Exchange, taking a family diamond and purchasing or custom designing a new mounting, sometimes re-shaping the stone, is a way that brides and grooms personalize the engagement ring.
She continued, "We cut a marquee into an oval for a client and then he [the groom] customized a band for it. It was one of the most beautiful, unique rings I've ever seen. The stone was her grandmother's, who is no longer with us, and it meant so much to her that he proposed with her Grandma's diamond."