Here are some of the top wedding trends, some culled from The Wedding Report, others polled from wedding professionals across the USA and England.
The top trend is smaller weddings with fewer guests with the average wedding coming in between $21,000 to $25,000 which is a decline from 2008 and years prior.
Relying on family to help with wedding expenses and friends and family to help with services instead of hiring a professional. It might include making the centerpieces, taking pictures or helping with food.
Simpler wedding invitations, decorations and centerpieces. Couples are spending their budget on food and music and less on the staging and frills. Decorations and centerpieces are one of the first budget cuts.
Even though its considered socially incorrect by anyone but the wedding generation, they are using more online RSVP's to save on postage.
Weddings are being scheduled for off peak times to save money. Friday evenings, Sunday afternoons or a weekend morning or afternoon wedding. Most halls discount for times when they aren't busy, so you can have your dream wedding without extra expense.
October is overtaking June as THE wedding month. Part of the trend is because most honeymoon and travel destinations drop their prices. Families have their children back in school and prices drop on travel.
Eco friendly green weddings and products in the wedding to leave a small carbon footprint. Wedding favors are going green, wedding dresses are going green, receptions are going green. Some couples are planting trees in their guests name in lieu of a traditional favor. To give guests a traditional take home favor, they are giving packets of wildflowers or favors that you can plant to grow flowers.
Blended families with children are incorporating the family medallion into their wedding service to include their children into the ceremony.
A buffet meal at the reception instead of a sit down dinner or a cocktail and hor d'ourve reception to cut costs.
Open bars are being replaced with lesser hours of the bar being open. In lieu of an open bar: Champagne punch in a champagne fountain, bottles of wine on the table, a keg of beer or a cash bar. Cash bars are still frowned upon, but some couples will have it rather than pay the additional costs for alcohol.
Unique wedding cakes designed towards the interests of the couple.
Lots of accent colors on wedding cakes or all colored cakes in the wedding and accent colors.
Wedding cakes are more colorful with fondant icing and fresh flowers or whimsical cake tops that express the couples interest.
Cheesecakes or miniature cakes served to each guest instead of a large wedding cake.
Cupcake trees are still popular instead of a large wedding cake.
Destination or all inclusive weddings at a resort. Some destination weddings are close to home, some are in the Caribbean or Mexico.
Outdoor wedding ceremonies in a park, by the lake or in the mountains instead of a traditional church wedding Many of these are religious ceremonies done outdoors.
Wedding colors are bold and bright or cool greens or blues. We are seeing a lot of corals with turquoise accents for the Caribbean wedding themes, Tiffany blue with chocolate brown silver or champagne as the accent color, vibrant greens with hot pink accents, pinks in any shades especially hot pinks and accents of greens, light pink and chocolate brown. Blues and greens continue to dominate with the green shades going away from the sages and more toward olive, grass green and
tranquil greens. Blues are the still favorite Tiffany blue, and blues that match the colors in the oceans.
More wedding dresses are accented with color. We are seeing more ivory dresses with color as well as champagne with color . White with color is still popular, but ranking third in basic color choices.
We are seeing sleeker silhouettes in wedding dresses. Pick up or rouched skirts are still popular. Mermaid or trumpet skirt wedding dresses with lots of pleating and lace are being shown in a lot of designer wedding dress collections.
Strapless wedding dresses are still outselling other styles, although there are new puffy baby doll sleeves that is gaining interest because they are different.
Dresses for destination weddings tend to be lighter fabrics, like chiffon and without trains.
Maternity wedding dresses are gaining in popularity because brides are not waiting to marry until after the baby's birth. Cute, stylish designs have hit the market with room for the bump that don't look like tents.
The average number of bridesmaids per wedding is four.
Bridesmaids dresses that two tone colors are wildly popular. The accent color on the dress is the accent color of the wedding.
Floor length bridesmaid dresses are more popular than tea length and street length UNLESS its a destination wedding.
Bridesmaid separates are "out". Two piece bridesmaid dresses are also history.
Bridesmaids are wearing metallic color shoes, most popular color is silver because they can be worn again. Dyed to match shoes are not as popular.
Strappy shoes and sandals are the most popular choices for brides and bridesmaids.
Accessories for bridesmaids tend to be non traditional, with bolder wear again jewelry and bright wear again shoes or patterned shoes to take a simple bridesmaid dress into todays style.
Brides are setting up online wedding web sites to keep their guests in the wedding loop and to post their links to their registries.
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