Wedding Trends 2023

There’s no doubt that we’ll all remember 2022 as the year of the huge post-pandemic wedding boom! So, what does that mean for weddings in 2023? After so many weddings in a short space of time, following a period of such tight restrictions, we believe we’re about to see the biggest shift in wedding trends in decades!

As such, 2023 wedding trends are going to be all about re-inventing the whole wedding experience to suit your needs and wants as a couple, and making it a whole experience for your guests!

And, every detail is open to reinvention, from simple details like more tailored guest lists, to much bigger considerations, like wedding sustainability, the wedding trends for 2023 are set to shake up weddings as we know them. And, we for one, are here for it!

Bold Color Palettes

There’s no need to shy away from color! Think bright, bold and energetic! If minimalism is not your thing, embrace it fully and include vibrant hues, bright metallic accents, eye-catching patterns (maybe even pattern on pattern), super saturated decor lighting, and maybe even requesting guests dress in a certain color palette, or simply avoid all black!

Bright Beautiful Wedding Dresses

Who says that your wedding dress needs to be white?! We’re seeing a much more varied collection of wedding dresses at the weddings we attend, and expect the trend to continue in  the 2023 Wedding Season. So, if you have your eye on a bold sapphire gown, have at it!

Mismatched Wedding Party Attire

While you may want to keep your wedding party’s attire within a certain color family and tone, feel free to use mismatched prints and colors such as florals, polka dots, etc. And, the style of dress can vary as well, ensuring that everyone has a dress that fits them well and are comfortable in! That way your bridal party can get down to the real task of the day, celebrating your and having a fantastic time! 

All That’s Old, is New Again

We’re seeing a definite trend towards updated 70’s, 80’s and 90’s silhouettes in recent years  wedding attire, and we anticipate that it will continue! Think beautiful puff sleeves and a gorgeous veil, but done in a way that doesn’t scream Princess Di’s overstuffed silk taffeta gown!

Sustainable Weddings

There’s no doubt that the wedding industry can create a lot of waste, there are lots of ways to embrace sustainability at your wedding! A few trends we’re seeing are: second hand wedding attire or decor, using in season or locally grown flowers, doing away with wedding favors all together or switching to an eco-friendly option.

Big Bold Entertainment

Another trend we’re seeing, and believe will continue, is providing numerous forms of entertainment for your guests over the course of your celebration! While many couples have slightly scaled back their invite list, they’re still spending about the same, and are using the extra to create truly memorable reception experiences! Think amazing DJ’s with over-the-top light shows and accompanying musicians! Think circus performers, dance troupes, drag queen MC’s, impersonators, stand-up comics, on site artists such as: plein air painters or caricature artists, and etc.! The sky’s the limit! Go for it!

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Reasons to Ring in The New Year With “I do!”

You Get To Be With Your Friends and Family

It’s very rare to be able to get all of the most important people in your lives in the same room for a celebration on a holiday. And, a NYE wedding adds another dimension to the celebration. Meaning, you’ll get to experience a truly unique way to mark the passage of time with all your nearest and dearest. 

Everyone Has The Next Day Off

Almost all companies give their employees a day off for New Year’s, so even if your wedding date falls during the week,  your guests shouldn’t have to use up a vacation or personal day to celebrate with you!

Not Everyone Has Fun Plans For NYE

It isn’t always an easy task to make plans to ring in the new year! In fact, for some people, finding something to do can be seriously stressful! So, many of your potential wedding guests will appreciate having something set on their calendars well in advance of the big day! And, even better, you’ll be planning all of the fun, and all they have to do is show up!

Guests Can Go Glam

If you want to host a formal or semi-formal affair, NYE is one of  the perfect dates for it! You can request the guys to get dressed in their best tux or suit, while the ladies can wear as much sparkle and shine as they want. And, the couple can really turn it up when it comes to their own wedding day attire. They can use the holiday for a reason to go bold and unexpected with their wardrobe.

Celebrate Into The Early Hours

Since your wedding is on New Year’s Eve, some venues might allow you to extend your reception hours at no extra charge, as you might already be paying a holiday premium rental rate. But, if that isn’t an option, you might still want to consider adding an extra hour (or more) to your party so that people don’t have to leave as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

Over The Top Decor

New Year’s Eve is all about glitz and glam, so couples might want to showcase bold statements like metallic colors, champagne towers, lots of twinkling lights, big balloons, neon signs, and disco ball décor! A New Year’s Eve wedding is an open invitation to do something huge and really make a statement with your decor.

Easy Wedding Favors

Couples that decide to get married on NYE won’t have to think too hard about what kind of favors to give their guests. A great solution is to simply hand out party hats, noisemakers, confetti bombs, and anything you’d like your guests to use when the clock strikes midnight!

Start The Year As Newlyweds

One of the best parts of having a NYE wedding is that you get to start the new year off as a married couple! Talk about starting your lives together in style! Your first kiss of the new year will be as newlyweds!

Super Memorable Anniversary

Not only will your wedding anniversary be easy to remember for you (and all of your guests), but you’ll also have a built in excuse to really celebrate each and every New Year’s Eve!

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Just Got Engaged! Now What?!

Stop, and Enjoy the Moment

Before you jump into wedding planning, stop and take a moment to bask in and savor your newly engaged status! In other words, this is a huge milestone in your lives, so take the time to really celebrate your engagement! And no, we’re not – necessarily – talking about a formal engagement, We mean taking a little time to revel in – and share – your new relationship status before getting all wrapped up in the busy process of wedding planning. But, why, you might ask!? Well, because it’s a huge life event in and of itself, and should be properly acknowledged. Whether that means a date night with your fiancé, a casual backyard BBQ with your families, or even a full-on catered cocktail style engagement party, be sure to embrace your new fiance status and savor your engagement before diving into the planning process!

Get Your Ducks in a Row

As you start planning your wedding, you’re going to end up with lots of ideas, checklists, vendor and venue recommendations, photo inspiration, wedding magazines, bridal show tickets, contracts, and. Etc. So, you’re going to want to figure out an organizational system, so that you can keep track of all your wedding-related material. That way all your information will be right at your fingertips when you meet with potential wedding vendors or your wedding planner. You can keep all that info in a Google Doc, Evernote, a dedicated Pinterest board, an old fashioned wedding binder, a calendar app, or maybe a combination of several systems. The important thing is that it works for you and your fiance! We promise that getting yourself organized early will help to minimize wedding stress, so you can hit the ground running with all of those important wedding decisions!

Choose a Date (or Date Range)

Unfortunately, even if you have your heart set on a certain day in particular, you may not know your exact wedding date for a while! The truth is that the day you say “I do!” depends on many factors, like the actual availability of your top 3 potential wedding venues. 

That being said, settling on a general date range will enable you to get some of your planning process started. For example: “Spring 2024” or “Next fall” will give your plans a little structure, and make it seem real! It will also be nice to finally have an answer when all your friends and family members start asking, “Sooooo, when’s the big day?!” Because, trust us, they’re going to ask!

Set Your Priorities and Budget

Setting your budget should be one of the first items mentioned on any wedding checklist! It’s crucially important that you and your fiancé are on the same page as far as how much you’re willing to spend on your big day! Now is a good time to consider your savings, family contributions to the big day, and  things like your current debt load (including student loans). Then, have “the money talk” with your significant other to come up with a ballpark range. Once you come to a ballpark figure, you can start brainstorming ideas and getting in touch with vendors for pricing information. This will help shape your priorities, as in, “We absolutely need to have a photo booth at our wedding!” or “We’re not attached to the idea of having a traditional wedding cake at our reception.”

Create Your Custom Wedding Checklist

Maybe you have a really tight timeline. Or maybe you’re just not into the “traditional” wedding elements that most planners include on their lists. That’s why we think it’s a good idea to review a handful of different checklists and pull things from them to create your own, custom wedding to-do list. By piecing together all of the items that are applicable to you, you’ll have a personalized, hyper-focused guideline of what needs to be done, and when (where and why) you need to do it, so that you can accomplish your unique wedding goals!

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Top 5 Tips For Choosing Wedding Vendors

We know it’s both incredibly exciting, as well as a little overwhelming to plan your wedding! It can be tempting to rush through the process of hiring your wedding vendors, just to secure your date. But, you really don’t want just anybody to provide services on one of the biggest days of your life together! You want to find qualified professionals who really get who you are as a couple, and the vibe you want to create for your wedding day.

So, we’ve put together 5 tips (or guiding principles if you will) to use to help pick and hire your wedding vendors. 

Overflowing With Gratitude

You want to hire wedding professionals that understand that it’s an honor to be chosen to be part of a couple’s celebration, and who treat that honor with respect! You also want to hire wedding professionals that feel grateful to be a part of the industry, and realize that it’s a privilege to have a vocation that helps people celebrate life, love and family.

Always Learning

You want wedding vendors that stay on top of industry trends, are always learning new ways to improve the service they provide and the rapport they have with their clients, and who aren’t too proud to admit that there is always more to learn! In other words, you want your wedding vendors to operate from a growth mindset! 

 “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities

 can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent 

are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and 

a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” – Carol Dweck

Takes Responsibility

You want to hire wedding professionals that take responsibility for their actions, and who don’t assign blame when or if problems arise. To that end, taking responsibility requires the realization that we all play a part in every situation or experience and therefore, we have some degree of responsibility over the outcomes or consequences. It also means that the first reaction when a mistake is made or a conflict arises, shouldn’t be to blame others, make excuses, twist the facts, or flat out lie. Instead, it’s important to swiftly acknowledge there is a problem, identify your possible role in it, and implement an action plan to minimize (or entirely eliminate) the chances of it happening again.

Honors Your Time

Planning a wedding is a huge commitment, and will require a lot of your time in the next 6 months to a year (or longer). So you want to hire wedding professionals that understand that your time (and theirs) is precious and should be spent wisely. Some clues to weather or not your prospective wedding vendors value you time are: They start and end meetings on time, they state the amount of time that they will need from you (and stick to it), they’ll let you know is something unforeseen has come up and they are running behind schedule, they will cancel or reschedule meetings with lots of advance notice (when possible), and last but not least, when you’re together they will give you their undivided attention. 

Has Good Vibes

This last tip might seem a bit funny, as ‘good vibes’ are kind of an intangible concept, but trust your gut on this one. If you feel like your prospective wedding professionals don’t live up to the baseline of gratitude, growth, accountability and recognition of your time, and you feel a lack of authenticity in your interactions with them, then they’re probably not the wedding vendors you should hire! After all, you are bringing people into one of the most intimate and special days of your lives together! You need to feel like your vendors really ‘get’ you and have your best interests at heart!

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