Last week I shared One Wed‘s first five wedding trends of this year…to finish off the great tips here are the rest of the trends! Enjoy
6. You Can Go Home Again
Backyard rustic chic is the best way to describe the newest wedding venue – your own backyard. Whether the wedding actually IS in your own backyard, a local park, beach, barn or even the “backyard” of a fabulous resort, the idea is to invite just your nearest and dearest to a wedding that’s long on comfort, charm and love, but low on artifice, pretension, and unnecessary extras. Low heels, casual dresses, and a tent in case of rain are all you need!
7. Mix and Mingle
Instead of a traditional sit down dinner, experiment with a new twist on wining and dining. To get your guests mingling, try an extended cocktail hour, lounge-style seating or a family-style meal. Anything you can do to shake up the format will give your guests a chance to socialize more freely… and avoid the awkward introductions at the table with assigned seating. Also, couples want to maximize their time with guests and are taking advantage of first-look photo sessions (to cut down on photo time after the ceremony), pre-wedding festivities and after-parties to keep the celebration going.
8. Return to Romance
Forget the “perfect day.” Now couples are letting go of the pressure and creating a “perfect for us” wedding. Romance is in the air with special engagement photo sessions, videotaped proposal stories to capture the memory (and possibly share at the reception) and a renewed focus on marriage. A few other romantic touches include the abundance of lace and tulle on the bridal runway for 2010 dress trends and the continuing popularity of deeply emotional vows and toasts.
9. Food You Can Eat
We all cheered when wedding menus expanded beyond chicken, beef and fish, but let’s face it, infusions, foams, mousses and “bites” left a lot of us speed-dialing for delivery after a wedding reception. Fortunately, today’s wedding receptions are serving upscale comfort food at sit down meals, buffets and as late night snacks. Desserts are getting a make-over too as hard-to-eat fondant is upgraded to butter cream icing on wedding cakes (softer and sweeter) and the cakes are paired with palate-friendly sweets like pies, brownies and cakes.
10. iDo
Tech-savvy couples are embracing online wedding planning to save time and money…and tweeting about it along the way. Aside from status updates, brides-to-be are experimenting with LED lighting, iPod DJ’s and digital cameras to complement their professional wedding vendors.
Nice article, very interesting topic.-niel