Another year, another round of wedding trends, but I’m not just looking at any typical kind of wedding trend, I will be looking at trends that have been influenced from the outside. In the industry we speak a lot about trends, last year’s trends, upcoming trends but where do they come from? How you design your wedding is hugely influenced by the rest of the world and other industries. So to see what the next wedding trends are we must first look at what is trending at fashion week? In TV and film? What about interior design? How do the outside industries influence weddings?
Florals and Fashion
The fashion industry does hold a large standing over the wedding industry, as a bride your wedding dress is something you will remember for the rest of your life, your wedding dress is you at your most exquisite for most brides. Much is the same for your bridal party and groomsmen. I mean in what other situation can you match your entire outfits with your best friends? So what’s hot in fashion this year…designers such as Erdem and Anna Sui used florals in the most recent shows. Florals tend to come back and forth into style every few years and every time society eats it up. Flowers signify new beginnings and femininity, the idea of new beginnings is something we can all share in interest in this year. With its sudden interest in the fashion industry I think florals will be making a big statement this year in bridesmaids dresses, grooms wear and ceremonial design elements.
Credit: Cary Bates https://patternbank.com/
Photo from Patternbank as a part of their trend boards, displaying the trend of florals and pressed flowers in fashion
A great example of the fashion inspired floral trend, floral wedding and bridesmaids dresses by Victoria Sanders. Photos by Maxeen Kim
florals and interior design
Where else have we been seeing florals in a big way this year? Interior design! Cottagecore is all the rage right now. If you are unfamiliar, cottagecore is an Internet fashion aesthetic that celebrates an idealised rural life. Florals and earthy tones have been a primary design choice, rising over the last two years. With the never-ending lockdowns people are feeling nostalgic, looking for a life simpler than their own. Cottagecore focuses on the idea of simplicity in life. Gardening, baking, reading and long walks through the forest, all of these ideas have been taken back into the home and will in turn influence the wedding industry. Weddings will take a turn and focus on the more simple and fundamental things that are important to a wedding and a couple. The country house style will make a comeback because of this, barn and outdoor weddings being both romanticized and practical with lockdown restrictions, candles and lots of foliage and greenery to create a simply beautiful display that fits into a more natural environment.
Image by Dan Duchars from Ideal Home (What is cottagcore?) , displaying an home interior in the style of cottagecore, aesthetic represented through the use of earthy tones, natural wood, candles and flowers.
Kidge Flowers abundant but loose style perfectly display the influence of the cottagecore style with this simple outdoor wedding set up. Photos by Eva Tarnok, styling by me.
maximalism from Film and TV
Speaking of film and television, have you seen Bridgerton yet? Bridgerton is a scandalous period drama surrounding the lives of young girls primed for finding their husbands. Since the release of the show corsets and period dresses have made a comeback in a big way. With my background in Theatre and costume design as you can imagine this show was a feast to my eyes. But it wasn’t just what they were wearing that sparked my interest I was looking beyond the characters, literally, what rooms are they standing in, what venues did they shoot in, what weddings could I plan there. One of the most used filming locations was that of Rangers House, in Greenwich, that was used as the exterior for the beloved Bridgerton family home and made an appearance many a time throughout the series. All of these period throwbacks have been a massive inspiration for television and film. But what does this mean for the wedding industry though? There have already been predictions that maximalism will be making a return this year and I agree, with influences such as these period dramas and the last year looming over our heads, couples are getting ready to splash out and party hard! Grand parties, exquisite food and beautiful dresses are going to be the ideals for any couple.
Rangers House was used as the location for the Bridgerton family home and they host weddings too.
Cowley Manor has a wonderful ballroom space in the maximalist style, with its grand interior, that can easily be dressed for your weddings with luxurious flowers, tableware and candle lighting.
With other industries constantly chopping and changing it is hard to make predictions about wedding trends in the years to come, but something that we can predict is that weddings will always be influenced by life. Your wedding day is a representation of your love and your life together with your partner, so it is only right that it would be influenced by the other industries. Whether it be Cottagecore, earthy tones or maximalism were excited to see what influences you will be inspired by.
