Are Trends Defining Your Wedding Style?

I watched a video on Wedding Wire the other day entitled “2019 Wedding Trends You need to Know. It was resplendent with colorful and stunning eye candy that commanded my complete attention. I was mesmerized. But suddenly, I just went blank. Literally, I felt overwhelmed with all of the trends…one after another… Drones, light box signs, giant acrylic menu installations, cigar bars, sushi bars, coffee bars, steak stations, pampas grass, shrimp boats, grazing buffets, weekends extravaganzas… on and on and on. It was like the flood gates of prettiness opened and I found myself careening down the river without a pretty raft.

I sat back and thought, what happened to a simple wedding? How did we get to these larger-than-life, trend-of-the-moment productions? Is it social media? Reality TV, the Kardashian effect? I just don’t know. But it made me think about that word, “trend”. Trends are fleeting. Trends are great for fashion as we all get tired of ourselves and our wardrobes. But for weddings, is it really important to jump on trends? If we changed our spouses as much as we change our boot styles, then maybe. But the theory is, we stay married for life. So our wedding should be classic, timeless and look amazing no matter the decade. And they should not, under any circumstances, send us to the poor house..

I do think wedding planning induces a sort of mania in some of us. Look at Instagram or Pinterest… the more we click, the prettier things are until we get engulfed in beauty and our fingers go numb from pinning and saving. We simply want it all! Sometimes we forget, that just because it’s all over the media, it might not be right for us. Take the 2019 trend of bridal jumpsuits. Enough said. For me anyway. QR codes on invitations were a trend several years back. I did not comply with my clients wishes to print any such codes onto their invitations. Of course they are all thanking me today. Actually, they probably all forgot about QR codes, so probably not. Last year rose gold was all the rage. It’s a great color for metallics and fabric, but on paper, it’s was just peach, run of the mill 1980’s peach. And let us not forgot the entire wedding party- guests included, gyrating in synchronized dance moves while making a music video complete with crane shot cameras mounted high in the sky. A little self indulgent? Not if you are Rihanna.

Wedding trends are not like fashion trends. Nobody on the planet, other than people in the wedding business will say, “Acrylic signs were so 2018” or, “Pampas grass was so 2019”. If you wore acid-washed jeans, then yes, we could all say, “oh you were so 1992”. No matter what is hot now, or last year or next year, don’t feel like you are missing any kind of boat… whether it be a Pantone Living Coral boat, rose gold boat, or pampas grass boat.

While trend forecasts might be a great place to start, don’t necessarily let them define your vision or style. Trends are just that—they are trendy— they are fleeting and in the moment, they are not a lifetime of great design. According to Wedding Wire, “mix & match" is a big trend for 2019. This is by far, my favorite trend. Of course I always love mixing plaids with stripes, but my interpretation of “mix & match" goes beyond that. Mix and match to your personality, your budget, your vision and your day. If you can look back in 30 years and say “wow, that looked really great and was fun” then it was worth doing. While many trends are lovely and inventive, they are just that— trends. Let’s not let them replace traditions… nice, simple, "hey I love you” and “we are not broke" traditions.