Something old, something new, something borrowed and something wow.
With every year – and, indeed, every season – comes a new crop of wedding trends. While wedding experts will say that it’s the individual couple’s taste rather than current fashions that should drive the look and feel of a Big Day, many brides- and grooms-to-be want to incorporate an up-to-date look.
So what’s hot for 2019? We asked Zoe Kelly, wedding and events planner and founder of MBZ International, what are the three biggest trends she’s seeing for weddings right now.
1. Colour
Pinterest is choc full of muted colour schemes and Scandi-chic foliage displays from last year’s weddings, however Zoe says that tastes are changing for 2019.
“Lush florals in green and white were huge for weddings last year. They’re still really popular this year but we’re seeing colour coming back into florals too.
“Colour is also coming back into other aspects of the wedding – having your bridesmaids in white was a recent trend that looked really different at first. However, it doesn’t give a lot of pop in photos, so colourful dresses are coming back in.”
2. Balloons
Despite online debate about couples who impose social media bans on their Big Days, Zoe says that sharing pictures is still encouraged at the vast majority of weddings – especially when thought and effort has gone into the flowers and decorations. Indeed, creating an Insta-worthy focal point is often top of a couple’s wishlist for the day.
‘There’s still a huge demand to have a feature that creates a social media moment. Doughnut walls were used quite a bit last year but it’s balloons that are the choice for 2019. A few years ago people would have scoffed at the idea of having balloons – it’s a wedding not a kids’ party – but now they’ve seen that suppliers can style them in really beautiful ways.
“If you have a big budget, floral arches are still number one for an Instagram feature, but with a more modest budget balloons are a great alternative.”
3. Wow moments
As a specialist in planning high-end weddings, Zoe says that she’s often presented with off the wall ideas. For one South African wedding that she put together, the couple had cheetahs as ring bearers. CHEETAHS. (On leads, we asked.) Naturally, that made for some stunning wedding photos.
Closer to home, Zoe says that Irish couples are also looking to include OMG moments in their weddings – including one feature that wouldn’t look out of place on the red carpet.
“There is a new kind of photobooth available that throws out confetti and makes you feel like a movie star. It has quite a big footprint, however, so it won’t fit in all venues.”
