Here's our ultimate list of the top 10 trends in 2021 - read on to find out more;
- Garden Weddings
- Small Weddings
- Live Wedding Entertainment
- Homestyle Hen / Stag Dos
- Buying British
- Eco-friendly favours
- Up-cycled Wedding Dresses
- Going DIY
- Go-with-the-flow outfits
- Minimalism
For recently engaged brides and grooms as well as couples frustrated by the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing a veil (pardon the pun) over 2020 and looking towards 2021 for their big day seems like a safer option. We don’t blame you! With the constantly moving picture, guided by infection rates and emerging health advice, cancellations and postponements have left people feeling drained and apprehensive - but there is light at the end of this tunnel. With the end of the year drawing mercifully closer, the promise of a more optimistic new year has recaptured couples’ enthusiasm for wedding planning. Having covered one of the emerging wedding trends for 2021 in the previous blog post (The Rise of The Midweek Wedding), we wanted to explore what else is hot for next year to help your big day be super chic.
Read on for your ultimate guide to 2021 weddings.
1. Garden Weddings
Home is where the heart is right? And a large number of happy couples are embracing this well known saying by celebrating their wedding day at home - in their garden to be specific. The appeal of a garden wedding is easily understood. From saying your “I do’s” in your family home - where you made most of your childhood memories - to saving a huge amount of money on not having to pay for your wedding venue and achieving the ultimate relaxing day, there’s a lot to be said for pitching that marquee in your backyard.
Pinterest and Instagram are full of #gardenwedding inspiration and weddings at home are growing in popularity in Scotland. In Scotland, a significant proportion of households are fortunate enough to have a garden or even some adjoining land, so choosing your home address (or that of your parents) as the place to for your wedding reception is a no-brainer for a lot of couples. And think about it, at least your venue won’t have any nasty surprises - you’ll know it inside and out!
2. Small Wedding
With the Scottish government’s lockdown rules stipulating that no more than 20 people can attend the wedding (including the couple) and 30 in England, couples have had to reduce their guest lists to include just their nearest and dearest. And far from regretting having to have a more intimate gathering, couples are finding that a small wedding actually offers an enhanced overall experience. You can take your time talking to all of your guests without feeling the pressure to get round a huge room full of people; you can afford better food and refreshments with a restricted amount of guests; group photos would take no time at all (and trust us this part can drag on a bit at larger weddings) and the logistics of a seating plan would be a piece of cake. Result.
3. Live Wedding Entertainment
As weddings will be focused very much on quality rather than quantity, wedding entertainment, including live wedding bands, are becoming more and more of a priority. Whilst DJ sets can be a lot of fun, nothing can give you the atmosphere of live music. Above all, it’s been shown that guests engage with live music far more than with its recorded counterpart. The best live bands can change their set list proactively, gauging the feel of the room and assessing when energy is lacking, when people want to dance to a well known banger of a tune and when it’s time to mellow out and help the audience relax. In Scotland of course, a wedding is not a wedding without a ceilidh and a ceilidh and covers band can guide you through any reel, jig or barn dance so you’re spinning the night away like pros. What can beat that? Live music is truly a unifying experience and helps you and your guests create memories that you may otherwise miss out on, so this wedding trend will be one to stay.
4. Homestyle Hen / Stag - Do
Just as weddings in your garden are becoming a hit with couples, so is the appreciation of the opportunities staying in the UK affords when it comes to hen and stag dos. No early morning flights or long delays in the airport, no lengthy transfers and no panics about expired passports / visas / flight connections. Just a hop, skip and a jump away from your postcode are incredible experiences, events, accommodation as well as mouthwatering restaurants and bars. Want to start feeling like a princess before your big day? In Scotland, you can hire a castle for exclusive use for you and your guests - Aldourie Castle for example is only 15 minutes away from the vibrant city of Inverness and the surroundings will be fit for a Queen, let alone princess. Want something more adventurous? Then head to Loch Tay for a glamping weekend and enjoy the great outdoors through the numerous activities available in this stunning area - kayaking, canyoning, segways, wild swimming, a hot tub overlooking jaw dropping views...what’s not to love? Or if you want to have the ultimate city hen or stag do, no need to go to Vegas. Glasgow has it all - luxurious hotels (we love the Kimpton Blythswood Square - check out the award winning spa), Michelin star restaurants, trendy bars and swanky nightclubs. And not only will you be having the time of your life, you’ll be supporting the economy to try and get us all back to where we were pre Covid - you can polish your halo while you nurse that hangover.
5. Buying British
And speaking of our fractured economy, buying British is a major trend for 2021. UK wedding suppliers - and especially Scottish suppliers - are second to none. From world class caterers, fishmongers, butchers and breweries, to award winning bakers, talented musicians and incredible wedding dress designers - we have it all, so why go elsewhere? We Brits are masters of all trades which makes picking the businesses to recreate the vision you have of your wedding day a piece of cake. Buying local keeps your wedding sustainable too so your celebrations can be guilt free. So if exceptional quality is on your doorstep, why go anywhere else?
6. Eco-friendly favours
Speaking of eco friendly - let’s talk wedding favours. This tradition started hundreds of years ago as an act of gratitude to your guests for attending your wedding or celebration. Since then, wedding favours have been a staple of the reception but let’s face it, the amount of money and effort put into organising them is not always reflected in the guests’ response. After the initial “aw isn’t that sweet” reaction, favours are either left forgotten on the tables, cleared away with the dirty plates by accident or - quite frequently - ignored by the guests entirely as they’re more interested in what’s happening around them. In recent years, wedding favours have diversified into sustainable, thoughtful and socially conscious gifts to include charity donations, trees planted in the guests’ names, little house plants, homemade bakes, jams and condiments as well as crafts or produce from the immediate area which support the local economy (a particular hit with wedding guest from out of town) all lend a more personal touch to the wedding reception.
7. Up-cycled Wedding Dresses
Demand for second hand, up-cycled wedding dresses is through the roof, powered by a desire to be more sustainable and have an eco-friendly wedding as well as a drop in the populations’ collective spending power. This means that this trend has well and truly been catapulted to the forefront of 2021 wedding must haves. With a growing focus on where our clothes come from and the shocking amount of waste in the fashion industry, coupled with the eye watering prices for one, single use, item of clothing - that will ultimately be worn for 12 hours max and spend the rest of the time languishing in the loft - brides are increasingly trying to make savvy decisions regarding their gowns.
The number of websites selling pre-loved wedding dresses are growing whilst some brides have embraced the heirloom dress trend and given a new lease of life to a vintage dress worn by their mum or a close family member - sometimes with multiple generations re-using the same dress. With a little alteration or a bit of a modern twist, that decades old dress in your mum’s or gran’s wardrobe can be the one for you too. Choosing to go down this route could add even more meaning to your big day and carry on a family tradition down the generations.
8. Going DIY
With weddings becoming more about who you invite rather than how many guests you have, couples are starting to ask their nearest and dearest for wedding gifts that are more DIY than shop bought. In your arsenal of family and friends, there will most likely be a talented baker, photographer, cook or someone with a flair for calligraphy. So why spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds on elements of your day that could be achieved in a more meaningful way and for free?
Recently, I was lucky enough to attend a garden wedding, where the bride and groom had not one, not two but several close friends who could have easily navigated the Great British Bake-off tent. And so they had 6 (yes 6!) incredible wedding cakes, as well as stunning wedding invitations designed and created by the artistic bride, table decorations created by someone in the family with flowers picked from the garden as well as homemade cocktails, favours and pretty much anything else you could think of. And you know what? It looked like something from a wedding magazine.
Achieving a DIY wedding is an immensely rewarding experience, not least because you get the fun challenge of searching out stunning accents at car boot sales or charity shops for a fraction of the cost and giving them a new lease of life. The sense of satisfaction when you’ve pulled off a jaw-dropping day on a shoe-string budget will be worth it, especially when you’re sipping champagne on your honeymoon, thinking of all the money you saved without compromising the experience in any way.
9. Go-With-the-Flow Outfits
Gone are the days where white was the only colour for a wedding dress and matching bridesmaids dresses were non negotiable. In these, slightly drab days of lockdown, people seem to be desperate for colour anywhere they can get it, including weddings. Colourful wedding outfits, bridesmaids wearing what they choose and - crucially - what suits them, ochre, pastel, luxurious metallics and striking reds, blues and yellows are elbowing tradition out of the way. And we say the brighter the better!
10. Minimalism
No, we’re not talking going without, but more minimalism in the sense of understated elegance. Tying in with the sustainable, eco-friendly element, the minimalist wedding trend is all about achieving a stunning visual effect with fewer materials. Think single stem flower displays using orchids, birds of paradise, decorative trees or British foliage. Stunning cakes decorated with seasonal fruit or flowers to match the theme of the wedding. Simple stationary, jewellery and table decor will all lead the way in 2021 and chair covers may be left in the cupboard next season (what’s wrong with a naked chair anyway?)
Above all, the trends for 2021 seem to be marking a shift away from the elaborate wedding day and reception with hundreds of guests, to focus more on the significance and meaning of the occasion. The fewer distractions incorporated into the day itself the less stress the happy couple are likely to feel and we’re on board with that 100%.
However you choose to celebrate your big day in 2021, we hope you have a fabulous time and wish you the happiest of marriages.