Latest Wedding Trends

Weddings Online

This blog is an interview with Weddingsonline.ie. Ive picked their brains on what we need to be looking out for in terms of key wedding trends and here you go….

Dresses: What styles are going to be popular?
The retro tea length dress has been so popular for the last few years and will continue to be for the quirky bride who wants to bring some retro style into her day. These 50s style dresses are typically well suited to ladies with curves, as they accentuate the waist and show off a bit of leg!
Another style we love is the mermaid style gown, perfected by Enzoani for 2013. It’s a tough one to pull off as there’s no hiding in it, but in terms of elegance, sexiness, style and femininity, it’s a hard shape to beat.
Art deco styles (20s/30s Great Gatsby style dresses) are gaining in popularity too. These incredibly detailed often hand beaded gowns tend to be for women with slim, or athletic shapes and add a real vintage factor to the bride’s style – you can find this style of dress in collections by Jenny Packham, Yolan Cris, Amanda Wakeley… In terms of the ‘statement’ trend for 2013, for me, it’s definitely the back – beaded, lace, bows, or nonexistent (some styles are dangerously low this year!) – the back is a real point of interest for bridal designers this year.

Colour Schemes: What are the popular bridesmaids, floral and décor colours?

from: www.theperfectpalette.com

Blush pink appeared on bridal catwalks this year in floral embellishments, belts and trains, and has transferred into decor and flowers. It’s the perfect colour for those going for a muted palette, and want an elegant, somewhat understated scheme but that still looks romantic and pretty.  Another colour we’re seeing making its way to bridal, and particularly to bridesmaids’ dresses, is emerald green. It’s a stunning statement colour that works on pretty much every skin tone, and gives a real depth and richness to a wedding palette.

Guests Attending: What are the styles that guests attending a wedding should look out for – are there new patterns?

Guests are tending towards a more casual style of dress for weddings, due mostly to the fact that full length formal dresses tend to be more expensive and are usually never worn again! Bright floral patterns are great for summer weddings – and particularly marquee weddings – and don’t have to be accessorised too much (ie a hat would be overkill, so a cute slide or hair band will do the trick). For dresses, below-the-knee styles are usually the best bet if you’re not sure what style is most appropriate. Really it depends on the style of the wedding and on the guest’s personal style as to what they wear, a tip is that you can usually gauge from the stationery or maybe even from the couple’s personal wedding website what the style of the wedding is and just dress according to that. However I will say that one trend that is huge in fashion this year and one I think guests should AVOID is the two-piece with the exposed midriff. I can’t imagine there’s a style of wedding suited to that look.  Also, don’t wear white. Or cream. Or ‘off white’. It’s not cool.

Venue: Décor: We’ve seen a huge surge in handmade, folksy, DIY styles – will this be even bigger or will novelty wear off?
The funny thing is this is not only just for weddings! Handmade, DIY, folksy style is EVERYWHERE. You see it with the increasing popularity of sites like Etsy.com, and programs like The Great British Bake Off. Bunting, floral accents, chalkboards, burlap style stationery, Polaroid guest books, handmade photo booth backdrops etc are still popping up in weddings (as they are in home decor shops, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and clubs) and it’s just a sign of the times – it’s become the anti-‘big wedding’ which some people equate with pre-recessionary times of overspending and everything that goes with that. The trend will definitely carry on this year, and may get more popular but like all trends it’s not for everyone and even though it sometimes seems like the only way to style a wedding (and if you’re an avid blog reader or Pinner, it probably does!) it’s only one, and if it’s not your retro china cup of chai, don’t worry about it.

Unique Touches: Is there anything that you are seeing that is completely different to the usual wedding format?
Cheese platters and cake buffets instead of the traditional wedding cake – for many brides it’s all about making the wedding personal and making guests feel special (individual notes for guests, family/friends involved in ceremony, table names, family photos, flip flop baskets, alternative bouquets and alternative guestbooks, photobooths)

Budget: Are they getting more expensive- are prices going up?
According to our recent wedding survey (1700 brides surveyed) weddings in Ireland continue to be an expensive event, with people prepared to spend significant amounts on their big day. While the most popular bracket was the €15,000-€20,000 (24%), over 21% of respondents still planned to shell out between €20,000 and €25,000 on their day.

Thanks to Sophie and all the team in Weddingsonline.ie.