A wedding is a statement of love. However, it’s also a huge party that involves your closest family and friends. Some people hate the idea of a wedding as an excuse for a big bash, but it’s part and parcel of the process. Would you prefer it to have a couple of witnesses and your parents only? Of course, you wouldn’t!
Still, you want it to be special and unique because nobody likes a copycat. The truth is that it’s hard to imbue your big day with originality since most of the ideas have been done before. Lots of them have been done to death. Therefore, you’re not alone if you are stressed out about the prospect of planning a ceremony that reflects on the bride and groom.
You will be glad to know that current circumstances have made life a little easier. Sure, the Covid-19 outbreak has been tough and there haven’t been many silver linings, yet this isn’t the case across the board. As far as weddings go, 2021 is going to be a bumper year after all the ones that were canceled.
But, you won’t be able to rely on the tools that happy couples previously took for granted due to coronavirus restrictions. You’ll have to get creative, which is where the biggest trends for 2021 come in handy. Keep on reading to learn more.
Buying Local
The lockdowns have put a massive strain on supply chains. As a result, many of them have buckled under pressure. Of the ones that are still around, they have had to alter their processes, meaning they are starkly different from how they were previous to the Covid-19 affair.
What does this mean? It means two things. Firstly, lots of standard items and services won’t be available any longer. Secondly, if they are, they will take a hell of a lot longer to reach you than they did before. Thankfully, the internet offers a readymade replacement for brides and grooms who need to source substitutes.
Whether it’s place settings or fabric for dresses, there are tons of independent entrepreneurs and businesses that are willing to bridge the gap. The likes of Etsy are thriving platforms for artisan stores as they encourage shoppers to invest in local offerings. So, a scroll through the website should throw up interesting and charming replacements.
Not only will they save your bacon, but they’ll also add to the character of the event. After all, the products are designed and distributed by handmade companies, not mass-manufacturers that only care about their bottom lines.
Not-So-Subtle Reminders
Sadly, your wedding might have been canceled more than once if the date was slated for March 2020 onwards. Tens of thousands of fiancees have found themselves in the tricky situation of having to decide whether to stick or twist. Even then, it’s not as simple as crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.
As a result, most couples have postponed their big day for a time when they are confident it will go ahead as planned. But, this leaves the distinct possibility that guests will forget. After all, everyone has had a lot on their plate for the last twelve months, so it’s easy to let a date slip from your head.
It’s the couple’s job to ensure they are prioritizing the day. However, you don’t want to send out the same old save-the-date cards and invitations as they’re boring, and the monotony takes away from your special occasion. It’s as if you’re going through the motions rather than ramping up to your vows. That’s why it’s essential to switch up your reminders’ game. For example, you can opt for a witty “change the date” card, or a “save the date” postcard. Magnets are popular, too, with custom save the dates from MagnetStreet providing personality and originality.
The choice is yours, but whatever you do, don’t forget to re-remind guests of the time, date, and location of the venue well in advance.
Remembrance
2021 weddings will go ahead with massive elephants in the rooms – the loved ones you have lost since Covid entered our lives. You wanted nothing more than for them to be there with you to experience your special day, so it’s going to be even sadder when you do get around to doing the speeches.
Rather than glossing over your emotions and bottling them up, why not address them head-on? It will be emotional and sad, but weddings are filled with different feelings. When the day is over, you’ll be glad that you recognized how much they mean to you and how much they would have loved to attend.
A simple-yet-powerful option is to design an in-memoriam section for the venue. You can place photos of the people you love who can’t be with you on a board, along with poems or phrases that represent how you feel. Alternatively, taking time to make a speech always works well. Of course, it’s hard to include everyone in a toast, so a memory board is a lovely way to pay tribute across the spectrum.
Experiences Over Tradition
Traditions were important when life was normal. Life is nowhere near normal any longer, and that is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. One thing that is set to take over when the world reopens is the emphasis on experiences over everything else. Being locked up for a year will encourage the most patient men and women to indulge.
This applies to weddings, too. Okay, you can’t go overseas or on vacation, but you can bring a splash of what people cherish to the venue. For instance, fiancees are leaning away from standard features towards more abstract ones. A prime example is a cocktail bar that replaces an outdated standard bar. Instead of paying for a few drinks for your guests, beverages they will buy throughout the day regardless, you can give them something they wouldn’t typically purchase. You can provide them with an experience.
An excellent way to stand out from the crowd is to create bespoke cocktails for members of the wedding party. Do your parents, in-laws, groomsmen, and bridesmaids have any particular personality traits that dovetail perfectly with spirits? If they do, they’ll love the homage to them, and the rest of your guests will remember a feature they don’t find at many other weddings.
The website Brides has inspiration for anyone who wants to learn more about making signature cocktails.
Green Fingers
Covid has rekindled our love for the Great Outdoors. We always said we valued green spaces, but the reality is that most people took them for granted because they were so busy. Where have you heard that before? Thankfully, going outside was one of the only respites of the lockdown, which is why lots of couples are incorporating an element of sustainability.
It’s about time considering that Carbon Credit Capital reports that the average US wedding results in 63 metric tons of CO2 being released. To put it into context, the figure is about the same as what four or five adults would create in a year. Wow.
When you think about sustainability in these contexts, it’s easy to see why you should introduce an eco-friendly feature to your big day. You can go big by holding the event in a green-fingered venue. In the UK, for instance, couples rent out space in the Eden Project in Cornwall. Another option is to keep the food mileage down by sourcing ingredients and chefs from nearby.
Plant-wise, you can use flowers that can be repotted after the day is over. That way, they don’t have to end up in a compost heap and can continue to absorb carbon and release oxygen into the atmosphere.
Breaking The Rules
There are so many rules that it can be hard to keep up with them. As the person tying the knot, all you care about is saying “I do” and taking your relationship to the next step. Unfortunately, there are traditions and institutions to throw into the mix. However, if Covid has taught us anything, it’s that breaking the rules is fine!
After all, your perspective is bound to be different thanks to a year of being locked down. Today, you only care about having a good time and doing what makes you happy, which is how a wedding should be. If that means rules must be broken, then so be it.
It starts with saying your vows in a space that suits you, whether that’s a religious place or not, and it ends with eating the food you want to taste. In between, you can have everything from a tarot card reader (how topical) to a stand-up comedian if you think a band is OTT. Let’s face it – Spotify has made wedding DJs obsolete anyway!
You shouldn’t be afraid to break the rules anymore. You’ve been sticking to them for months hoping for things to change without luck. Now is the time to make your own luck. Hopefully, these six wedding trends in 2021 will help.