We’re swooning over trends we’ve identified to be on the rise for the year ahead. From colorful, oversized bouquets, sleek modern matte decor, and live-streaming your ceremony, we’ll be seeing plenty of fresh ideas. We’ve come up with our most notable wedding trends to watch for in the year ahead, making each ceremony come to life in its own unique way.
Unplugged Ceremony
If there’s a major trend we’re looking forward to seeing more of at weddings this year- it’s the banning of cellphones. No one needs uncle Joe with his iPad standing right in front of the (paid) professional photographer. Couples don’t want their guests in the middle of the aisle, spoiling the ceremony’s money shot, and they’re increasingly demanding that certain points of their wedding be a safe haven from cell phones. The unplugged ceremony- meaning no phones (and definitely no iPad) – will continue to take hold in the coming year. Luckily, Joy can help.
So Long Wedding Hashtags
With Instagram’s ever-changing algorithm, wedding hashtags are less trackable than ever! Not only that but the desire to make your wedding into a social media spectacle is becoming less and less appealing. With the lack of control over image sharing, wedding parties are increasingly reluctant to have their special experience warped by… well, let’s just say less than ideal Instagram posts. Luckily, wedding parties can use Joy to better capture and share every major moment – before, during and after the wedding. Joy allows your guests to take photos in the app or upload them from other photo apps, add captions and tags, like and comment on other users’ photos – in the same manner as Instagram would. Guests often share more photos in Joy than traditional social media feeds, because only invited guests can see the photos. There are no concerns regarding privacy or posts being too “noisy” on guests’ personal, more curated social feeds. The best part? You can download all photos to keep forever, using Joy!
Destination Weddings
Married couples worldwide are becoming more focused on pleasing and entertaining their guests, than anything else. Weddings are a reason to bring friends and families together to celebrate and enjoy each other’s company. Destination weddings enable all of these things, while also cutting back on couples’ overall wedding budgets (contrary to popular belief). True, all-inclusive venues mean that guests will foot the bill for most of their trip, but the also means that they can transform weddings they need to attend from an obligation, into a vacation.
Modern Elements
One of the most popular words this wedding planning: modern. Couples want their weddings to feel relevant, sleek, and far from boring. Incorporating of-the-moment interior design elements, we’re seeing mattes, marbles, greys, and even blacks become major themes throughout all wedding components- from invites to tablescape.
Live Slideshows
While the photo booth trend isn’t going away anytime soon, there’s no question that these days, everyone is their own favorite photographer (even you, uncle Joe). Streaming photo and video content live during the reception have become extremely popular, and it’s essentially a cheap way to add a personable touch to any wedding. Added bonus: If grandma can’t make the wedding, she can still enjoy the wedding live, even from thousands of miles away! Use Joy to help you live stream.
Fast Casual Food
When it comes to food, most couples-to-be are taking it back to the basics. Instead of fancy cocktail hours with hors-d’oeuvres that you can’t pronounce, couples are shaking things up by bringing in more casual options like taco trucks or DIY donut bars creating shareable moments that feel authentic to them as a couple or echo special moments from their past together. This livens up the party, creates an instant photo moment and breathes life into yet another memory that will live on long after the reception.
Cash Registry (Check Please)
One of the fastest changing trends amongst weddings is the registry, and cash registries specifically are already exploding this year. As experiences outshine material items, brides and grooms value not what their wedding registry can do for them, but what their registry can let them do. Cash registries help compile funds for a honeymoon, support married-life dinner dates and can even contribute to a new home. On top of that, most couples are already living together prior to getting married, so traditional registries made of kitchen supplies and home goods have become passe. Let’s face it- we don’t need to wait to get married to get a Keurig.
Colorful Floral Arrangements
Gone are the days of simple pastel florals and roses. Brides are getting bolder, and they’re adding vibrancy back into their color schemes. From reds and oranges to violets and blues, floral arrangements have become livelier and are now serving as an additional means of self-expression for the couple-to-be.
Flexible Schedules
We all know the traditional wedding schedule: rehearsal dinner → ceremony → photos → reception → Sunday brunch. This year, Joy couples are beginning to disrupt that flow by mixing up the traditional elements of a wedding. From wine tastings, bridal party games, local bar blocks and even work out classes, couples are adding unique elements into their wedding weekends to keep things interesting and ultimately, create a dynamic experience for their guests.
Greenery & Botanics
The three most popular website themes on Joy are “Calligraphy Botanical”, “Lush Greenery” and “Rustic Wreath” and this botanical theme holds true for the actual weddings, themselves. Brides are turning to Pinterest, too and echoing popular brands like The Sill to create lush environments for their weddings with a focus on plants, succulents, and greenery.
Do you have any awesome wedding ideas on the rise that we may have missed? Share them with us!
