Discover the biggest wedding trends of 2022, and how they’ll shape next year’s celebrations

Weddings may be back, and to a certain extent, they look a lot like they did before. But there’s no denying that the pandemic has shaped almost every aspect of our lives over the last 18 months. And those changes are being seen in how people are choosing to celebrate their big day. These positive, reflective lessons and adjustments are a product of our experiences during this most arduous of time. Therefore, the wedding trends of 2022 will not simply be parties, dancing and just doing stuff without a mask! No, next year’s hot themes, and ideas will be based on the things we have learned, and all the TV we watched…

The Wedding Trends of 2022 You’ll Be Including in Your Big Day

 

The Wedding Crèche

It goes without saying, and we’re sure you’ve noticed, there’s a lot of babies being born right now! And you don’t need to be a top scientist to work out why this might be. What this means for weddings is that there may well be a lot more babies around. In fact, a recent study showed that there has been an 80% increase in searches for ‘maternity wedding dresses‘, meaning brides aren’t prepared to wait until they’ve popped to say ‘I do’. For this reason, we may see more child-friendly weddings going forward, with couples looking for fun, and safe ways for everyone’s kids to be looked after. And if this isn’t a crèche, then maybe an army of nannies could be a regular site at nuptials in 2022.

Rented Wedding Dresses

For many years, the only people renting clothing on a wedding day, was the groomsmen. But nowadays, the rental clothing market is booming, and not just for weddings. Consumers have begun to shift towards a Netflix style approach to wardrobe filling. Opting instead to wear a look for two weeks, or just for one night, and then move on to the next. Be this a positive, or negative change, it has certainly affected brides, and how they view purchasing a wedding dress. The most notable example of this has been Carrie Symonds, who made headlines when she married Boris Johnson this year. Carrie chose to wear a Christos Costarellos-designed ivory tulle and silk gown that retails at £2,870, but was rented for just £45. Some may say that renting your wedding dress takes away the sentimentality of the item, but on the other hand, you’ll probably only wear it once, and then what happens to it?

The way that we have been getting married during the pandemic, may have also inspired this shift towards rentable clothing. With many couples having more than one wedding day, often a year apart. Therefore, it’s understandable that a bride chooses to rent her wedding dress for a small, private ceremony. In order to save her ‘real wedding dress’, for the big party with all her friends and family.

A Destination Elopement

For many of us, the idea of an elopement pre-pandemic was an alien one. A concept dreamed up long ago for those who were not deemed suitable enough to marry each other. However, now, with our post-pandemic hats on. The elopement is a viable, and attractive proposition. It was popular in 2021, at the height of Covid-19, but only domestically. However, now that we’re vaxxed, we can elope (almost) wherever we choose, and this will certainly become one of the major wedding trends in 2022. With couples realizing they could blow their highly prized wedding budget, on the destination elopement of a lifetime, with their loved ones — in a place they’ve always dreamed of going to. And after the last 18 months, it’s understandable that couples are fed up with dreaming, and now actually want to experience things!

Multi-Sensory Experiences

After all the restrictions of the last two years, marrying couples will want to give their guests a genuinely unforgettable experience, one that is truly multisensory. Think Heston Blumenthal, and how his food doesn’t always taste like it looks. Or how he uses props, or showmanship to take a once normal dish, and create something spectacular. Going forward, couples will actually be thinking about how their guests experience the food, as much as how it tastes.

The use of scent, in particular, will also be high up on the wedding trends of 2022, with stationery playing a much larger part in the wedding experience than it once did. With different smells popping up as you navigate your way from invitation, to table plan to registry book.

Luxury Vegan Food

After the indulgences of the last two years, many people have been coming out the other side of the pandemic with a fresh perspective on how they want to live their lives. This may be a move towards an alcohol-free diet, more localised purchasing, or Veganism — a lifestyle choice that boomed during the pandemic, and has accelerated further as we ease into near-normality. This, among many other dietary trends, and lifestyles will be out in force on wedding day’s in 2022. And couples will not be willing to give their loved ones a substandard meal, or simply ‘the vegan choice’. They will be putting much more care into their wedding menu’s, ensuring that they’re offering delights for all of their guests, no matter their dietary preference, or needs.

Bridgerton Vibes

Whether you watch the hit Netflix show Bridgerton, or not, you’ll know that this raunchy series captured the hearts, and the imaginations of the world during the pandemic. It arrived on our screens at the perfect time, and managed to release us from our prison-like sofa’s, and drop us into its fantastical, Regency world of flounce and frivolity. And the popularity of the show has certainly inspired the wedding trends of 2022, with eBay reporting a 205% rise in searches for ‘puff-sleeved wedding dresses’. Meaning, brides are determined to live out their regal fantasies now they are able. So, you can expect to see a lot more ornate headpieces, gloves, feathers, and maybe even coloured wedding dresses. Not to mention Regency style wedding venues becoming hot property, and vintage china laden reception tables suddenly in high demand. And all of this bathed in a pastel blue colour scheme.

We hope we have inspired your 2022 wedding plans with our latest trends and predictions! It would be an honour if we could help you further, and actually join you on your wedding journey. The Crystal Events team are very experienced destination wedding planners, who work not just in Barcelona, but all over Spain. Together our team will realise your big day vision, and then take care of every single detail for you, ensuring your dream destination wedding in Spain is exactly how it should be. You are welcome to browse our portfolio of past weddings, and get in touch via our contact page. ¡Hasta luego!