2016 Wedding Trends

Jan. 22, 2016

Weddings are constantly changing – with shifting styles, budgets, trends, and technology – virtually guaranteeing celebrations only a few years apart will have completely different and exciting flavors. While navigating the wedding planning process has always been a bit overwhelming – deciding what to serve guests, what type of music to have and how the special day should look – these are a few new trends in the wedding industry that can help guide today’s journey to the altar. Whether you found your soul mate or you’re helping friends or family members plan their celebration, here’s an update on the latest innovations from a planning professional.

As a wedding guest, aside from the excitement of seeing the happy couple, I must admit I’m always looking forward to what type of food will be served. Gone are the days of cookie cutter menus, thankfully! Couples are borrowing inspiration from their favorite childhood dishes, bringing a sense of nostalgia to their celebration. They are also paying more attention to the popular regional dishes or available seasonal produce; some are even building their menus with flavors and service styles taken from recent travels. Be on the watch for menus produced around a particular type of cuisine showcasing a couple’s unique palette and even playful ways to display the food. For example, having an Asianinspired meal? Serve a course in a Chinese takeout container!

With the playful and diverse flavors included in today’s wedding menus, couples are choosing to break out of the mold and build entire stations around a favorite type of food or course. For example, raw bars were once a thing of the past and often associated with larger banquet hall weddings of the ’80s and ’90s but, as interactive stations, they are making a comeback and drawing a new crop of wedding attendees. My two favorites are S’mores and Coney Dogs – both great options for late-night food, each with simple ingredients and endless toppings options that make for fun and memorable dishes.

The same attention to detail can be seen in the exploding wedding bar and beverage scene. Bar menus read more like the courses at a Thomas Keller restaurant, with infused spirits and muddled concoctions. For example, unexpected flavors like beet and tarragon, when infused in spirits or simple syrups, not only add great color to your bar, but also fun topics of conversation for your guests.

If raising the "bar" on cocktails wasn’t enough, expect to see a new generation of special touches behind the bar. Custom wine labels are great, however, how about a custom blended wine or your own aged spirit bottled specifically for you? Being able to serve a one-of-a-kind bottle of whiskey or glass of bubbly that couples had a hand in creating brings in a new level of personalization.

Music and entertaining go hand in hand. When you are thinking about what song will accompany you down the aisle or who will be playing in the background as you share your first dance, there are no right or wrong answers – only your preference! As you plan these magical musical moments, don’t be afraid to incorporate variety. If you have always envisioned a string quartet playing for your ceremony, but want a bluegrass band for cocktails, don’t be afraid to mix them up; genre specific entertainment is a great way to share your personality with your guests. Or maybe it’s a fabulous jazz trio for dinner and a killer DJ for the reception. For those who love live music and are looking for the next big thing, cover bands are more popular than ever. Dreaming of dancing the night away to a favorite artist? We’ve hired a Beatles tribute band and a Neil Diamond cover band, and that’s just the beginning!

From the ceremony to the reception, couples are looking for ways to showcase their personal style and share a beautiful setting with their guests that reflects their love story. Design trends are bringing centerpieces with influences from the runways of Bryant Park to table linens inspired by the shores of St. Barths. Some of my favorite design trends for 2016 revolve around statement lighting, mixed metallics, lush blooms and playful patterns.

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I am a lighting nut; great lighting can transform an event. Whether you are hosting your wedding in a tent or a ballroom, we’re seeing more emphasis on overhead lighting, including chandeliers of all styles; not just crystal or wrought iron, but mixed materials and sizes including punched metal. These decorative statements transform rather ordinary spaces. As you plan your wedding, think beyond the votives on your dining tables and let there be light!

For years, we have seen metallic accents making their way into wedding decor. Various finishes of copper, silver, gold and rose gold add reflective properties and shimmer to your design. Don’t be afraid to mix metals. Hosting your special day around the lakeshore, silver is a classic choice for summer, but mix in a weathered gold or polished copper and you will see a silver unlike any silver you have seen before!

Weddings are synonymous with flowers and, whenever possible, I always say the more flowers the better! Lush blooms continue to be showstoppers in the coming year. Flowers such as peonies, dahlias and garden roses will continue to reign, but be on the lookout for unexpected varieties of floral to accompany, and even steal the show, from time to time. On the other hand, hydrangeas have been a steadfast staple in summer floral designs around the area and, I’ll admit, I’ve trimmed my own bushes to fill in an arrangement a time or two.

Textile design has heavily influenced wedding decor and the various patterns and textures couples are using in their special day. Geometric and naturally inspired patterns are emerging in everything from table linens to stationery. Keep your eyes open for tone on tone with metallic designs and oversized graphics.

As you dive into wedding planning – from the menu and music to decor and floral – take a moment to look at the big picture of the day and perhaps some of these trends will inspire your soirée. But above all the details, timelines and logistics, remember to enjoy the process and focus on what matters most – you spending the rest of your life with the one you love!

Alicia Caldecott is a local event planner and owner of Traverse City-based A Day in May Events. A native of northern Michigan, Alicia and her team produce events around the region while also working in and around the metropolitan areas of Grand Rapids and Detroit and beyond. Her firm was recently named by Martha Stewart Weddings as one of the Top Planners in the country.