Wedding Season 2018

‘Marriage is like a deck of cards. All you need in the beginning is two hearts and a diamond. After 10 years you need a club and spade’

The time of year to celebrate

Every year from late Spring until early Autumn the season of exchanging vows and making lifelong promises to loved ones returns. The weather is drier (and more reliable), the sun shines down on those late summer evenings making it the best time of year for a Wedding. A celebration among family and friends, and a day for everyone to remember.

I’ve been getting thoroughly into the Spring/Summer vibe, like most of us, and I’ve been conducting some research in to this year’s Top Wedding Trends.

The trends that everyone is following and the ones that are ready to be forgotten…

If you’re going to a Wedding this year then I guarantee some of these trends will pop up.

Okay so, picture yourself on a beautifully manicured lawn, drinking an ice-cold beverage. Listening to the beats of the music carry over on the summers evening breeze. There are kids running around on the grass, and the sound of laughter among groups of friends. Aunties and Uncles dancing to the live band, with the Bride & Groom smiling sweetly into each others eyes. Is this not the most perfect vision of a wedding? Good! Because this year’s trends are along this wavelength. Classy, classic, relaxed and au naturel.

‘It’s time to drink champagne and dance on the tables!’

2018 is all about the ‘Casual Vibes’; lawn games, greenery, personalised cocktails, tennis shoes, blush golds, aloe green and llamas wandering around in top hats. Wait – what?

Yes, that is correct – one of this years Top Wedding Must-haves is a Llama!

Trend No. 1 – Rent-a-Llama

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the end of the Unicorn frenzy. We can deal with a sweet South American camelid, but we are well and truly over the pointy-headed magical creature that seems to have taken over until now. Llamas are fluffy, they’re photogenic – sometimes, and they are all the rage, so it seems.

Not only can you rent them to attend your wedding, but the handlers will dress them up in top hats and veils. They’re good around people, well-trained, provide interaction for guests and children, and create a talking point. A fun, albeit slightly smelly memory for your wedding party. Just don’t get too close for a selfie as they have a habit of spitting.

Trend No. 2 – Installation Art Pieces

These days we seem to have moved away from the traditional wedding décor, yes, we still love a beautiful centre-piece and ribbon-covered chairs. But this year venue decorators are all about the ‘installation’. A creative construction of floor to ceiling décor. To turn the ordinary old venue into an ‘experience’ for your guests to remember forever. Create a wonderland by covering the ceiling in hanging greenery, or whimsical umbrellas, walls of flowers and exaggerated balloon displays. Many companies now specialise in the ‘Creative Wedding Decoration’ sector to help bring these wild ideas to life. Of course, to save some money for the honeymoon you could always grab some ideas and inspiration from old-faithful ‘Pinterest’ and get a load of your friends on-board to help you DIY.

Trend No.3 – Innovative Photography Styles

Top photography for Weddings these days is about being creative. Capturing shots using a drone to get birds-eye-view angles is a new must-have. Couples are opting for contemporary, illustrative and documentary style photography. As well as intimate moments captured during the day, from hair and makeup with the bridesmaids to Auntie Wendy dancing in her spanx at the disco. Keep your drink topped up though because the traditional roll-call of photos are still important and as we all know – they can go on a while. Couples are now looking towards newer inventive styles of photography as well as the traditional. If you have a friend with a drone then ask them to bring it along, if you can have some sneaky shots captured throughout the day then even better! It’s not unusual to find more than one professional photographer on the day, along with a videographer.. The more natural, less posed, yet more creative the better. We’re making memories here!

Trend No.4 – The Boho Theme

This theme has been around for a while now, but with ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ being very much in the public eye, this is bigger than ever. The Boho style plays on the incorporation of bold and dramatic florals, colours and textures with free and flowing fabrics to make you feel ‘comfortable and in harmony with nature’. Naked Tipi alters (Google that – it’s not rude) adorned with fresh forest garlands and feathers. Dream catchers hanging from trees, and lots of wood incorporated into the venue décor to add the outdoor elements. This is a great theme for a high season wedding, when you can be almost certain that the weather will be dry enough for the indoors/outdoors open-space idea. Weddings booked for Autumn and Winter should perhaps be a bit more cautious. Is it too late to book Bob Dylan for a performance?

On their way out

With all the new trends moving forward, there will always be the ones that have had their time in the limelight but are now ready to find their way to the back of the queue again.

So here are some of the most well used and ready to retire trends of 2018:

Trends to try and avoid…

• The choreographed dance performance

If we’ve seen it once, we’ve seen it plenty. Social media is always filled with new videos of Father/Daughter routines, or the ‘Dirty Dancing 1^st dance’. Then there’s the bridesmaids and the groomsman all kicking it like they’re in Diversity. It’s not cool, it’s a little bit embarrassing and let’s be honest – it means you’ll be stinking of sweat the rest of the night.

• Photobooths

They were fun the first few times, we had a laugh, we even used them as our facebook profile pictures – (guilty!) But now it’s time to move on. Say goodbye to the cardboard moustache, the feather boa and Viking hat and hide them safely in the bottom of the bin.

• The (competitive) Best Man’s speech

It has become a bit of a competition in this department now. There have been some brilliantly hilarious speeches made, there have been songs created, and comedy sketches performed. But unless you are a natural or a celebrity then this really does come off a bit naff. Leave it to the pro’s and just write a genuine speech about your bezzie, raise a toast and then sit back down. It’s for the best – trust me.

This is all in jest of course!

When it’s your big day you can choose to do whatever you blooming well wish to. It’s the season of celebration and enjoyment, everyone loves a good wedding. So much so that if anyone has one coming up locally this year I would be happy to tag along!

And always remember –

‘Being married is great because it means you can find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.’