1 Black orchids
Are you over boring white ones? You should be. This year, it’s all about the
black orchid. At £400 per table centre, from the florist Jamie Aston (020
7387 0999), it’s the rarest and most exclusive breed. It isn’t cheap, but
boy, does it have impact.
2 Red
If you’re searching for passion, “make your day full-on red”, says the Alist
wedding planner Liz Taylor, of Taylor Lynn (www.tlc-ltd.co.uk).
Red marquee? Check. Red tablecloths? Check. Red lips? Check, check, check.
3 Couture cakes
In black and white icing, or white with dark chocolate, designs become nipped
and tucked, neat and flawless. Look for gilded chocolate patterns with
hand-piped black pearls, or black and white polka-dot frills, for a flamenco
feel. Sequins, pearls and frills will also be big this year.
4 Marquee villages
Marquee mania has taken over. This year, marquee villages are big news, says
Simon Sinclair of Berry Marquees (www.berrymarquees.com):
“Multiple structures, combining smaller intimate areas with larger reception
spaces, rather than traditional tents, will become de rigueur.”
5 Imaginative favours
Forget the sugared almonds, buy each of your guests the ultimate favour – an
iPod Nano preloaded with your and his favourite tunes.
6 Extreme dancefloors
If you want red-hot feet, rent the Savoy’s dancefloor, on which Fred Astaire
and Frank Sinatra dazzled on their many visits there. Bentley’s
Entertainments (www.bentleys.net),
which did the planning for Posh and Becks’s wedding, has just bought it;
it’s available for hire from £500.
7 Monogramming
Monomania is huge in the States, and it’s heading here, too – everything from
monogrammed invitations and dining plates to favours and wallpaper. Check
out Wonderful Graffiti Wedding (www.wonderfulgraffitiwedding.com),
which will monogram anything and everything. Wonder Walls (www.wonder-walls.net)
does personalised wallpaper.
8 Bespoke honeymoons
Want a luxury igloo in the Canadian wilderness? Or perhaps a mud hut in the
Kalahari is more your thing? Either way, no problem. Based on a True Story
(www.basedonatruestory.co.uk) is a bespoke holiday company that will make
even the wildest honeymoon dreams come true.
9 Sweetheart tables
Can’t be bothered with the emotional minefield of planning who sits where on
the top table? Forestall the family feuds by seating just your two selves at
the best idea we’ve ever heard: a sweetheart table.
10 Chandeliers
So flowers aren’t your thing, but you want to avoid that conference-room feel?
Go for bling instead, by hanging chandeliers above each table for guaranteed
wow factor. Or just put a big one in the middle of the room. To hire them,
visit Glory Chandeliers (www.glory-chandeliers.co.uk).
If that’s too expensive, opt for cool lamp shades instead.
11 Orchestras
Full-on concert-style entertainment is where it’s at this year. Fly in your
band from the Continent and your DJ from America. Check out Swan, a
sensational 19-piece ensemble from Paris who are a favourite at footballers’
weddings. They come dressed in white and include an electric violinist and
Ibiza-style podium dancers (available through www.tlc-ltd.co.uk).
12 Grazing
Forget the usual three-course sit-down do. Instead, mingle while you munch,
thanks to the trend for grazing. Set up food stations around the room: think
sushi bars, canapé kitchens and a pudding bar. “For one wedding, we took in
Yo! Sushi – the belt, the stools, the high-top tables, everything,” reports
the London-based caterers By Word of Mouth (www.bywordofmouth.co.uk).
13 Superstar arrivals
Craving a grand entrance? Do it Moroccan-style by entering the party on the
shoulders of your best men, as they carry you on ornately painted wedding
chairs.
14 Eco-weddings
You do your recycling. You offset your carbon emissions. Now it’s time to go
the whole hog and have an eco-wedding. Arrive on a rickshaw, use an
electrical generator and grow your own flowers. Oh, and don’t forget to
recycle Auntie’s wedding dress by wearing it.
15 Hand-delivered
invitations With the post being so unreliable these days, more and more brides
are opting for their wedding invitations to be delivered by hand. Just
remember to use the ordinary post for ones to Australia.
16 Woodland fantasies
Love magic? Then follow one bride’s example and create a purple forest
wedding. Spray trees purple, and mass purple and lilac flowers around the
trunks. Make each table centre look like a scene from the enchanted forest
in the Harry Potter books.
17 Brights
It won’t be all white on the night if you’re getting married in 2008, as
flashes of hot colour are set to become the latest trend. Think turquoise
and icy blues with a shock of orange or purple.
18 Multiple themes
Difficulty choosing your theme will no longer be an issue, according to Kelly
Chandler, director of The Bespoke Wedding Company (www.thebespokeweddingco.com).
“We’re currently planning a wedding with four themes: a Russian drinks
reception, with vodka cocktails and caviar; a lunch with an Asian theme,
featuring bamboo mats and oriental flavours; then a circus school for
after-dinner entertainment. We’re finishing with a Moroccan afternoon tea –
mint teas and sweets, with guests seated on low cushions.”
19 Black wedding dresses
“Turn the white wedding on its head and wear a black wedding dress with your
bridesmaids in white,” says the London-based designer David Fielden (www.davidfielden.co.uk).
Sarah Jessica Parker did the black meringue years ago, and look – she’s
still married.
20 Small, decadent weddings
Got a £30,000 budget, but like only 30 people enough to want to invite them?
All the better. Small, decadent weddings are increasingly popular – imagine
paying for everyone’s flights to Italy, hiring a yacht for you all to lounge
on, then buying everyone’s spa treatments, champagne breakfasts and
personalised menus. Start married life as you mean to go on.
Deborah Joseph is the editor of Brides magazine Photographs taken from
Unbridaled – The Marriage of Tradition and Avant Garde by Swarovski (Thames &
Hudson £32). Order it for the special price of £28.80 (inc p&p),
through The Sunday Times BooksFirst; 0870 165 8585
One trend you missed is the rise of the Humanist Wedding. In Scotland, where they've been legal since June 2005, demand has grown exponentially, with couples traveling from all around the world to have their marriage conducted by a celebrant authorised by the Humanist Society of Scotland. Weddings can take place anywhere 'safe and decent' and so they've been celebrated in keeps and castles on beaches and mountains, as well as hotels and people's own houses and gardens.
Tim Maguire, Edinburgh, Midlothian
I am getting married in June here in New York and we have budgeted for it costing us $5000. What has been amazing is how it hasn't been that difficult for us to achieve it. I have done nearly everything myself as I can buy the materials for a fraction of what these 'wedding' people charge. We are also fortunate that two of our friends are professional photographers. We have worked hard for two years to build up our savings account and I don't wish to spend one day depleting it when we could use it to put down as a deposit on a house. There is no way we are going to waste it on one day. The act of getting marriage is special enough and if guests complain I will ask them to pay the extra through the gifts they bring (lets face it your never going to get your money back that way!).
NEKP, Hoboken, NJ
I'm getting married this summer, and I thought this article was hilarious!! My wedding is going to be gorgeous-the trees will remain green, the linen and flowers will be white, the guests will be dancing to a band of my choice, on a regular dance-floor, whilst munching their sugared almonds. I can't wait!!
Athena Clift, Marlow,
20 hot trends for people with unlimited budgets perhaps. I am beginning to think I am the only non-billionaire that reads the Sunday Times...
Anna, Exeter,
Wow! The weddding dress that you have shown is at last a little different from all of the other exceptionally boring wedding dresses and at present the styles are either straight off the shoulder or wide and sleeveless.
The styles need changing to a vast range from traditional white with sleeves, to victorian silver silk satin vintage style with sleeves train, tiara, small bouquet, delicate bridesmaids and page boys with a more polished look.
More wedding gowns please with long sleeves and fairytale style dresses, with long trains all that young ladies could ever dream of.
Daniela Pani, Milano, Italia