Now that we are in 2020 and many of you are planning a 2020 or 2021 wedding, I thought that it might be kind of fun to look back 2019’s wedding season and share some of my favorite wedding trends that I saw! I love these elements so much and while there are plenty of trends that I’m ready to leave in 2019, I’m hoping these will continue into 2020! So without further ado,
these are my favorite wedding trends from 2019...
1. LONG SLEEVED WEDDING DRESSES
For the last few years, the most popular wedding dress cuts have been sweetheart necklines and sleeveless dresses but this fall, I saw a huge increase in dresses with long sleeves, generally made of lace. I personally love this look, especially for fall and winter weddings and I think that it is such a classy, gorgeous touch. Lace sleeves are so dainty & versatile for lots of dress cut and they are flattering on every body type!
Another great thing about long sleeves is that they can generally be easily added to dresses if you fall in love with another dress at the shop. One of my amazing brides this fall found a gorgeous lace strapless dress and was able to have a seamstress add lace sleeves that blended beautifully with the rest of the dress. Many times, when you have the dress altered and hemmed, there is excess material taken off the dress that can be repurposed into sleeves, so that it exactly matches the lace and the material. However, if you decide to go this route, ask a seamstress about your dress before you’ve purchased it if you are set on adding sleeves. There are certain cuts and materials that are a lot more difficult to adjust than others and you may find that the process of adding sleeves will be too expensive or take too much time or just not be possible. So, while adding sleeves is an awesome option most of the time, it isn’t *always* an option.
If you choose to buy a long sleeved dress, a few of my favorite designers are BHLDN, Hayley Paige, Lazaro, All Who Wander & Martina Liana. If you want to see some of my favorites dresses from these designers, I will link them in the blog post in the description.
2. OVERSIZED BOUQUETS
I absolutely adore the growing trend of large, overflowing bouquets and I have seen it so many times this year. Oversized bouquets generally incorporate lots of different colors and textures and have a ton of beautiful greenery. They are especially awesome to me because they give you the opportunity to use large showcase flowers like king proteas or peonies or even succulents. These are usually too large to be incorporated into a traditional bouquet but with an oversized bouquet, you can show off this large blooms and accompanied by smaller complimentary flowers and gorgeous leaves.
However, if you decide to go with an oversized bouquet, I’d really recommend going with a professional florist and not attempting to make this yourself. Because they are so large, it can be difficult to put them together in a way that they will be stable & manageable. These bouquets are quite heavy too so be prepared for that!
3. MIX AND MATCH BRIDESMAID DRESSES
I frickin’ love when people choose mismatched bridesmaids dresses! Over the last few years, I’ve seen more and more brides allowing their bridesmaids a choice over different cuts in the same collection and color and this year, I saw that trend go even further when bridesmaids showed up in all different dresses in a palette that goes beautifully together and with the wedding colors!
If you want to go with a mixed palette, here’s an easy way to do it and make sure you love all the colors together. Head over to Home Depot or another home improvement store and check out the paint sample cards! Pick out a set of colors that you love together and that goes with your wedding colors. For example, if you have a fall wedding with navy and rose gold, a set of jewel tones would be gorgeous on your ladies. Grab a couple copies of each of the color cards and then when you’re with your wedding party, have them each choose a color from your set and use it to find a dress! That way they can physically use the card to see how close the dresses they are looking for are to the color that you envisioned!
If you like the idea of mixed bridesmaids dresses but aren’t sure you want a full rainbow of colors, a subtler option would be to choose a color family and just have the party choose from different tones of the same color. If you go this route, it look really great when there is huge variety in the cuts and textures of the dresses. So lace, tulle, embroidery and beading all look really great when combined in the same family of colors.
4. PET-THEMED SIGNATURE COCKTAILS
This is a very unique & specific trend but a couple times this past year, I saw couple who had their signature cocktails named and themed for their pets and it was the cutest thing ever! A lot of couples want to incorporate their fur babies into their wedding day but actually having a dog or cat at your wedding is a lot easier said than done. So, a lot of couples are looking for other ways to honor their pets during their day. Signature cocktails are a super fun wedding tradition where you essentially choose one or two specialty drinks for your bar so guests can try a unique drink that you love. A lot of times, couples will do “his & hers” cocktails but a fun alternative to that would be naming them after your dogs or cats instead! One of my lovely couples last fall had a drink to honor their cat (who tagged along at their engagement session!) called “Schnookum’s Meow-garita” and another couple had a set of two drinks, “The Milo” and “The Charleston” after their sweet pups who had to stay home across the country. I think that this is such a fun and easy addition to the wedding day and I hope to see it more often this coming year!
5. BRIDESMAIDS FIRST LOOK
First looks between the couple have been a part of weddings for a while now and recently, the love for the emotional first look photos has started a whole slew of other first look trends, including my favorite, the bridesmaids first look! Essentially for this, the bride will get ready in a secluded room in the bridal suite, usually accompanied by just one or two people. This can be whoever you’d like but many brides choose their mom, grandmother, sister or maid of honor. This person can help the bride get dressed and put on shoes and earrings for all of the beautiful getting ready photos. After that, the bridesmaids line up outside the room and the bride opens the doors to show them all. This usually results in sweet, emotional photos of everyone sharing tears and hugs and lots of love. I even had one bride this fall that had only bought her dress with her mom present, and didn’t show photos to anyone, so it was truly a surprise for all of her bridesmaids when they saw it!
This is a really fun and easy moment to add to your wedding day schedule and a few tips to make it work are to ensure that all of your bridesmaids know what time to be ready and set that time to be thirty minutes before you expect to get ready, make sure your getting ready space has large bright windows for perfect lighting, and make sure to allot a minimum of 20 minutes for this moment into your schedule. While it probably won’t take that much time, this will ensure there is enough time to place all of the bridesmaids correctly, give you time to get ready without feeling rushed and allow for moments to show off your dress, talk to your bridesmaids and put on any finishing touches.
A lot of my couples who are opting out of a traditional first look but still want those emotional reactionary photo love to include this in their wedding day because it is so fun and easy! If you have any more questions about first looks, keep an eye out for my next episode, which will talk about anything and everything first look!
6. NON-TRADITIONAL WEDDING PARTIES
This is just a reminder that on your wedding day, there are no rules and just because something is traditional, doesn’t mean you have to do it! This fall, I saw two of my couples opt for a non-traditional wedding party and I am so here for it! Essentially, what I mean is that the wedding party wasn’t divided by gender and both brides and grooms had ladies and gents on their side of the wedding party. Just because you’re a bride, it doesn’t mean you best guy friend can’t be in your wedding party and just because you’re a groom, doesn’t mean your gal friends can’t be included! “Bridesmen” and “Groomswomen” are becoming more and more popular and I love to see so many couples breaking the mold and being more open with their wedding party structure.
The biggest question that I see couples have when they do non-traditional wedding parties is deciding what they should wear and there are a couple options for this. One option is that you can choose one feminine look and one masculine look and then regardless of what side of the wedding party they are on, they would just wear one of those two looks. Then, you would still have just two outfits, but they would be mixed on both sides of the couple. The other option is to choose a look or color for each partner and then have a masculine and feminine look for each side of the party. For example, if the groom chooses navy, the masculine look could be gray suits with navy ties and the feminine look could be a navy dress. If the bride chooses maroon, then the masculine look could be gray suits with maroon ties and the feminine look could be a maroon dress. That way, the wedding colors are still just maroon and navy (maybe with a little gray) and there is a distinction between each side of the wedding party. But, there are no rules, so if you don’t particular care if it is perfectly matched, don’t worry! And it will look good in photos no matter what!
7. GEOMETRIC ARBORS
Geometric arbors are a super trendy fun wedding piece that I saw popping up this year and I have to say, I really dig it! What I mean by geometric arbors is that instead of getting a traditional arch, these arbors are in unique shapes like triangles, hexagons and even circles! This gives your ceremony space a contemporary, avant-garde look and I think it really adds a unique touch to your wedding photos as well!
Most of the geometric arbors I’ve seen are made out of thick dark wood, but I have also seen some made of copper! Because of their unique shape, they pair well with lots of thick, asymmetric florals! Your florist can use flowers and greenery that complement your bouquet and incorporate them into the arbor all over or just in a few key spots! If you are looking to rent a funky arbor like this, check out your local wedding rental places and see what they have to offer. My favorite in Tucson is Vintage Blossom Events! Be sure to check them out.
8. PATTERNED TIES & BOW TIES
Lastly, this year, I have seen a ton of fun patterns on bow ties & ties and I am so here for it! I especially love floral ties that incorporate the wedding colors and the colors from the bouquet! I think it’s such a fun touch that adds a bit of personality to the groom’s attire. It’s also an easy way to make the groom’s attire just a bit different than the groomsmen’s! If the groomsmen are all wearing solid ties, having the groom wear a patterned or floral tie or bowtie is a fun and simple option! If you are on the hunt for ties, I recommend checking out tiebar.com. They have a ton of ties, bow ties, skinny ties, pocket squares and even socks and they have so many options, both solid and patterned.
Okay, there is it, my favorite wedding trends from 2019! As I am gearing up for my weddings this year, I look forward to seeing how these trends grow this year and what new ones start to pop up! I hope you enjoyed this video and that it gives you a little wedding inspo if you are in the middle of planning! And if you have any questions or ideas for future videos, comment them below or send me an email!
Happy wedding planning friends! Thanks for tuning in!