With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, wedding trends are beginning to look more and more like they used to look. Couples are valuing precious time with friends and family, and they want their weddings to be highly personal, creative and fun, featuring unique, unexpected elements to wow their guests and live on in their memory, long after the day has ended.
In alphabetical order, the following is a list of the popular wedding trends for 2022:
Big Blowout Weddings – After two years of intimate gatherings and micro-weddings, Vogue is reporting that big weddings are making a comeback.- Bows – Big ones, little ones, and everything in between, bows are adorning wedding dresses, hair accessories, shoes, tablescapes and cakes.
- Fairytale Lighting – Lighting sets the tone and mood for the entire event. Couples are choosing unique and statement lighting options to create a magical, movie-worthy vibe. Lights come in many forms including Edison lights, string light installations, mix-and-match vintage chandeliers and classic fairy lights. (We have Edison lights on the patio at Hampton Roads Event Center!)
- Garden Weddings – From backyards to wedding venues with gardens, more couples are choosing more natural, greenery-filled outdoor spaces
- Hand-Painted Details – From dresses, stationery, cakes and even decor items such as candles, ribbons and napkins, more couples are incorporating personalized and artistic elements into their big day.
- Non-traditional Wedding Attire – Another wedding trend is that many brides are making their own rules about wedding attire. The wedding gowns have a tint or are a bold color. Many brides are even outfitted in cosplay, leather or feathers.
- Open Air Tents – A wedding trend still in is open-air tents, so make sure you reserve those early on!
- Sustainability – Sustainable weddings are becoming more popular and more attainable. From biodegradable cutlery and wedding dresses to engagement rings, sustainable choices are available for all.
- Technicolor – Couples are looking to celebrate with their surroundings. They are incorporating florals and lights and all things alive.
- Themed Parties – Both weddings and rehearsal dinners are more about fun and whimsy without being trite. Brides are embracing themes like the circus, outdoor bonfires in the woods, masquerades, Vegas, disco nights, Old Hollywood and 1980s.
- Unusual Reception Table Layouts – This wedding trend started in an effort to keep people safe during the pandemic, but due to their uniqueness, they are becoming very popular. Creative layouts such as square table groupings, infinity shapes, U shapes, T shapes, X-shaped long tables, single-length dining tables, and double-width long tables have emerged. If you’ve got the space, these unusual layouts give your dining space a cool, contemporary feel.
- Wedding Weekend – After a couple of years of not seeing each other very much if, at all, couples want their party to last an entire weekend.
Whether you embrace any of these popular wedding trends for 2022 or not, there is a good chance that you will agree with the number one trend:
Unique, one-of-a-kind weddings with less focus on tradition for tradition’s sake and more focus on the couple and the people they invited. Couples are choosing to be more guest-focused and make sure their guests are having a good time. Swapping traditions and focusing on the experience will cause folks to look back on your day fondly.
Hampton Roads Event Center can meet your needs no matter which wedding trends you decide to embrace or ignore. If you are interested in learning more about HREC and what we have to offer for your big day, review our website. We have beautiful images and answers to all of your questions. When you are ready to reserve your date, you can even do that right on our website. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
