2024 Wedding Trends: What's Heating Up and What's Cooling Down
The wonderful thing about weddings these days is that couples can truly make the event a statement of their personalities and one that captures the essence of the love they share. As more and more couples are designing weddings that provide their guests an immersive experience there are some wedding trends we'll be saying goodbye to in 2024 and others that are starting to get their moment to shine. From decor to destination weddings, the industry is witnessing a shift in preferences. Let's dive into some of the hottest wedding trends that are heating up and the ones that are cooling off.
Decor
Heating Up: Jewel Tones Take Center Stage when it comes to 2024 wedding decor. We'll see touches or rich emerald, sapphire, ruby, magenta and canary yellow hues spanning everything from table linens, accent furniture and accessories, lighting, florals, bridal party attire and even the food being served.
Cooling Off: Overly Elaborate Decor Gone are the days of excessive decorations. Couples are leaning towards minimalist aesthetics, focusing on meaningful details rather than overwhelming embellishments.
Photo by Marc Babin on Unsplash
Food
Heating Up: Interactive Food Stations Say goodbye to traditional plated dinners. A key element to delivering an exceptional experience for their wedding guests, couples are embracing interactive food stations. Whether it's a taco bar or grazing station, couples are allowing guests to customize their meals. Another trend is bringing in outside local vendors to delight your guests. Trends we love include wood fired pizza makers, sushi chefs, and popular food trucks.
Cooling Off: Buffet Style Buffet-style dining is becoming a thing of the past. Couples are opting for more curated and personalized food experiences, steering away from the generic buffet setup.
Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash
Wedding Traditions
Heating Up: Personalized Ceremonies Couples are redefining wedding traditions to make them more personal and inclusive of their guests. Continuing with the immersive experience for wedding-goers, couples are adding some flair before the ceremony. This may include a pre-ceremony cocktail hour to entertainment like a magician or psychic.
Cooling Off: Strict Adherence to Tradition The rigid adherence to traditional wedding ceremonies is becoming less common. Couples are breaking free from the conventional and infusing their ceremonies with personal touches.
Photo from Getty Images
Florals
Heating Up: A Nod to Sustainability While we firmly believe that sustainability is not a trend, but a way of life we all need to adopt, the intention to be more sustainable is growing in popularity for couples tying the knot. Some of the ways couples can go green include, using dried and preserved flowers, incorporating plants that can be reused, replanted or composted, using foraged florals that are sourced directly from nature, or opting for in-season flowers that are sustainably sourced.
Cooling Off: Oversized Floral Arrangements While grand floral arrangements have been a staple in weddings, 2024 sees a shift towards more understated and delicate floral displays.
Photo by Anita Austvika for Unsplash
Wedding Cakes
Heating Up: Textured Wedding Cakes Details. Details. Details. That's the theme for wedding cakes in 2024. Whether you're bringing modern dimension with spatula textured frosting or incorporating classic accents like ruffles, lace and pearls, a couple's cake can be a stunning focal point.
Cooling Off: Classic White Wedding Cakes Classic white wedding cakes are taking a backseat as couples explore more creative and diverse options for their sweet treats.
Photo by JSB for Unsplash
Wedding Reception
Heating Up: Lounge Seating and Cozy Corners Creating cozy corners with lounge seating is becoming a trend for a more relaxed and intimate reception atmosphere. It's all about making guests feel comfortable and at home.
Cooling Off: Formal Seating Arrangements Formal and rigid seating arrangements are being replaced by more flexible setups that encourage mingling and interaction.
Photo by Jenny Quicksall
Venues
Heating Up: Intimate and Unique Venues are just another way for couples to feel closer to their guests and where all of their loved ones feel like they have the best seat in the house. Some of our favorite intimate venues include tented back yard affairs, beachside decks and platforms with breathtaking views, weddings at sea on a beautiful schooner, rustic barns, and industrial city lofts.
Cooling Off: Cookie-Cutter Banquet Halls Cookie-cutter banquet halls are losing favor as couples seek distinctive and unconventional spaces for their celebrations. This doesn't mean that you should forgo this option if that's what you want. If you have a great design eye or have hired a wedding designer you can make any setting feel intimate and unique.
Photography by Jenny Tong Photography for Green Wedding Shoes
Destination Wedding Locations
Heating Up: Off-the-Beaten-Path Destinations Couples are exploring under-the-radar destination wedding locations. This requires some deeper research, perhaps taking a visit to your desired destination to find the perfect venue, or inquiring with the locals or people who've traveled the land extensively to ensure your destination wedding exceeds your expectations. Even if you choose a polular tourist site for easy travel planning for you and your guests, you can definitely find some hidden gems that feel untapped. Some of our favorite stateside and international places to tie the knot include Cape Cod MA, Greece, South Africa, Napa CA, Montverde FL, Italy, Scotland, Oahu HI, Taos Ski Valley, NM and Nashville, TN.
Cooling Off: Overly Popular Tourist Destinations Popular tourist destinations are taking a backseat as couples seek more exclusive and undiscovered locations for their destination weddings.
Photo from Getty Images