Photo credit: Angel Gray Photography

Wedding Trends VS. Traditions

Keeping up with trends and traditions when it comes to the “big day” can be daunting. How do a bride and groom find the right mix of trends and traditions that reflect their love and personalities? Local experts weigh in on the latest developments and timeless traditions.“Since professionally planning weddings and events beginning in 1988, long before wedding and event planning became a recognized industry, I have noticed that many traditions have gradually changed and trends, as they do, have come and gone,” Jamie Field of Jamie Field Events said.

Today’s weddings are all about maximizing meaningfulness for the couple and guests. After consulting with some of Brevard’s wedding vendors, here is what they had to say on 2014 trends:

Invitations
Charlotte, owner of Decoratifs in downtown Melbourne finds that brides’ selection of invitations have remained traditional. “However, one big trend that I have noticed, is that the wording is often not the traditional bride’s parents inviting the guests to the wedding,” Jamie said “It is often either the bride and groom or the groom’s family (usually mentioned along with the bride’s family) as inviting the guests.”

Economic strains, divorced parents, divorced parents who have remarried, couples marrying at an older age, where they are in the workforce and their parents may be at a retiring age, all contribute to reasons why the bride’s parents may no longer be the hosts of their daughter’s wedding. DecoratifsGifts.com

Venues
Hotels and country clubs have always been and remain a viable option, but Penny Flaherty, owner of the Indian River Queen Paddleboat, offers a unique venue in two ways:

  • Capitalizing upon the geographical benefit of living in Brevard.
  • She includes planning services, booking all of your vendors on the paddleboat.

When asked what the biggest trend seems to be this year, Penny says she has seen a big shift from big blow out weddings to smaller more intimate affairs, where every person at the wedding means something dear to the bride and/or the groom. This may be due to economics or just keeping things simple, uncomplicated and more meaningful.

She also said that although destination weddings have been around for years, they are becoming more popular as a way to control the guest list to those of just the closest family and friends. IndianRiverQueen.com

Since the Brevard area is an attraction for relatives and friends who live elsewhere, the “destination” could be a local one. Up the Creek Farms sits on eight acres of land with a beautiful oak canopy and a tranquil creek. The 130 year old farmhouse, turned bed and breakfast, can host the bridal party the night before. The classic wood framed barn is now available to host receptions and other special events with a blank canvas to style any event. UpTheCreekFarms.com

 

Wedding Planning
Hiring a wedding planner used to be a luxury. Today, in 2014 it seems to be a necessity now more than ever for two reasons:

  • Full-time jobs and family obligations do not leave much time for brides and moms to plan all of the wedding details.
  • Today, event professionals offer budget friendly services from “the day of” to hourly consultations just to get you on the right track with the right vendors. These are economical ways to use a wedding planner and can help you avoid making costly mistakes such as hiring a vendor off the Internet which oftentimes is risky and aggravating at the least.

 

Décor — Floral Trends
Linda Davis of Petals Florist has seen more variety of floral centerpieces versus the same arrangement on each table. Popular colors include, blushes, ivory, champagne and
pale peach.

Just browse through Pinterest or various bride magazines and you will see what’s trending in weddings. Lisa Packard of Weiner Dog Promotions names the latest themes:

      • Rustic and vintage
      • Romantic and glamorous, from the flowers to the white-gloved waiters, big band dancing and gold-rimmed china
      • Pink wedding dresses or soft nude colors
      • Smaller invitations with custom illustrations
      • Mindful party favors
      • Unplugged (no phones allowed) or full on social media events where the couple has their own Twitter hashtag or Instagram account for posting
      • After parties for after the reception for just the couple and their friends

Lisa believes that the “glamour” will never go away because every bride wants to feel like royalty on her wedding day. But as the price tag for that is climbing upward, there is another movement gaining strength across the nation. “It’s referred to as independent wedding shows for modern, unconventional brides,” Lisa said. “The rise of non-traditional couples planning special ceremonies has also created a demand for non-traditional wedding shows.”

New Wave Wedding Show is a small, curated wedding show designed to connect independent minded couples with creative, unconventional wedding vendors who may even be new to the wedding business. NewWaveWeddingShow.com

New Wave Wedding Show
Sunday, October 12
Azan Shrine Center

Contributing Editor, Jamie Field has been in the wedding and event planning industry since 1988 working as an event planner for Washington University’s Alumni Relations office in St. Louis, until starting her own event planning company in 1992 in St. Louis, 2002 in Dallas and 2004 in Brevard County.