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Bright Colors
The world was abuzz when we saw Pantone’s color of the year announced as Viva Magenta. In the wedding industry this triggered a flurry of activity among professionals excitedly anticipating a run on bright colors against clean white palettes for 2023 couples.
In 2023, I predict that we will see an increase in weddings bringing in vibrant color palettes.
The past several years of wedding trends have had a large number of weddings focusing on muted tones, neutrals, and an emphasis on bohemian a.k.a. boho style, but all of that is about to change this year. Pampas grass and muted tones are on the way out being replaced with vibrant colors and jewel tones. Don't be afraid to bring in bright colors for your wedding. Lean on a seasoned wedding planner and floral designer to help you design an aesthetic that brings these colors together in an elegant manner!
Smaller Bridal Parties
In the post-pandemic wedding boom, we saw news articles and blog posts about individuals being asked to be in as many as 8 weddings in a single year. As couples continue to think about the demands that being part of a bridal party places on friends and family, many are significantly downsizing their bridal party keeping with only 3-4 bridesmaids and groomsmen. Brides with small bridal parties have shared that it decreases costs in paying for hair and makeup for everyone and keeps the wedding morning calm with a few close family/friends nearby.
Benefits of a small wedding party also include decreasing the strain on their photography timeline by not having to wrangle as many people all at once and allowing the wedding party to be smaller allows each individual to bring a significant other without placing a strain on the overall wedding budget due to extra plus ones.
I anticipate that we will continue to see small bridal parties becoming the norm in 2023 with large abundant bridal parties becoming the exception.
As you consider planning, don’t be afraid to keep your bridal party small and include all the rest of your friends as guests, they will have just as much fun, and you will have a less stressful day. Having a small bridal party allows you to spend more time putting together extra special touches for bridesmaid proposal boxes and groomsmen proposal boxes to help your bridal party feel extra special.
Sustainable Florals
As the cost of florals have been escalating, couples are becoming more aware of sustainable floristry and seeking out floral vendors who provide services that incorporate more sustainable mechanics and who source florals locally. We have seen a resurgence of locally grown florals which provide an abundance of beautiful seasonal flowers. As such, couples are beginning to lean more on the expertise of their floral designer to provide them locally sourced options for florals instead of being anchored into one specific type of flower.
Vintage Luxury Aesthetic
Couples are seeking out options to add in vintage flare as part of their weddings whether it be a vintage car for the grand entrance or exit, hollywood glam waves for bridal hairstyles, fringe and lace for bridal gown details, or wax seals and letter press invitations and wedding stationery, luxury vintage aesthetics are absolutely on trend for 2023 weddings.
When planning for these noticeable vintage touches for your wedding day I highly recommend incorporating them into your details photos. Details photos tend to be forgotten or left until the last minute but consider sourcing some unique vintage items for these highly curated photos. One of my favorites is this vintage trinket tray which is great for displaying your invitation suite or rings and small florals.
Investing in Entertainment
The past year and half since the pandemic lots of couples started to bring in more entertainment to provide a great guest experience. While this is not necessary (reminder, you and your significant other ARE the main event), adding in some fun entertainment can be very memorable. For 2023 weddings we are seeing couples invest big in entertainment. While DJs have been a longstanding part of a well run wedding we are seeing couples add in live bands for several hours during their reception. When deciding on a live band don't skimp on the DJ as well, having a professional wedding emcee is a must and this is not a job that your wedding coordinator or wedding planner will take on. I find that couples that hire both a DJ and a live band are much happier with the flow of their wedding.
Honeymoon Funds & Delayed Honeymoons
The average age of marriage in the United States has been steadily increasing over the past 20 years. In 2001 the average age of marriage was 25.1 for women and 26.9 for men. By 2021 the average age rose to 28.6 for women and 30.6 for men for first time marriages. Due to the fact that more and more couples are well established in their own homes with the essentials that they need, less and less couples are opting for traditional gift registries.
The trend in 2022 was cash funds on registries for couples, but as the world has fully reopened for travel in a post-pandemic environment, couples are eager to make explore the world together by planning an epic honeymoon adventure and adding a honeymoon fund to their registry.
We encourage you to still include a few gifts on your registry for guests to choose from, this can include gift cards for experiences like a couples massage, dinner, and even airfare. My favorite wedding website to use for your wedding website is Zola. Since we are a Zola Affiliate you can use the link in the banner on our homepage and get an extra $50 toward your registry when you receive $500 in gifts.
Couples are constantly asking me how soon after their wedding should they leave for their honeymoon and my answer is always to give themselves a solid 3-5 days at a minimum to settled after their wedding but a trend for 2023 is to delay the start of your honeymoon by 1-2 months. Couples are doing this so that they can fully enjoy their wedding weekend, get settled back in after the festivities and get all those thank you notes written and then embark on their honeymoon when they are fully relaxed and settled in to married life.
Photos used with permission from Camila Margotta Photography, Dirt, Pearls & Curls Photography, Golden Arrow Photography, Viby Creative & Stock image from Amazon.
All links to Amazon products are affiliate links resulting in compensation to Kristine Smith Designs