5 HOT Wedding Trends
By Jenny Tiegs, GalTime.com
These days, weddings have taken on a competitive edge. Blowing bubbles and throwing birdseed at the happy couple just doesn't cut it anymore.
Today's weddings are more than a celebration of the newly minted Mr. and Mrs.-- they are also spectacular pull-out-all-the-stops extravaganzas.
Here are some of the hottest trends in weddings right now.
1. Magic
It used to be that the couple's first dance together served as wedding entertainment-- but modern couples have kicked it up a notch by hiring REAL entertainers like magicians.
Nash Fung, voted The Knot's "Best of Weddings" pick in 2012, is a magician at the forefront of this trend. Known for his classy and interactive acts, there is no fear that your guests will feel like children as they watch a Fung pull scarves from his hat. The magician starts his act by walking around and socializing with guests during cocktail hour. According to Fung, "Weddings are unique in that it will most likely be the first time people from different sides of the family meet each other." He adds, "Most wedding guests will only interact with people they know. So, I work as an ice-breaker among them. When I get a reaction or roaring laughter from one group, it will catch the eyes of another. That's when I invite them over and introduce them to a new group." Tada! Now guests know more people and it's the magic that brought them together. "My magic is all about bringing strangers together," explains Fung.
Related: Favorite Pinterest Pages for Weddings
2. Handpainted Shoes
If you've ever been a bride or bridesmaid, you know the struggles of finding a perfect pair of shoes. Hourglass Footwear has knocked this dilemma back on its heels by creating the perfect solution: hand painted shoes. Kira Bundlie and her business partner, Lisa Strom, work with their talented artists to help "smart, stylish women of all ages express their individuality and personality" with their one-of-a-kind footwear. They are a huge hit among brides. After the masterpieces are painted, the shoes are sealed so the color stays on after months of wear. The artists themselves don their own shoes and not only have a pair of fantastic heels to wear, they also get compliments everywhere they go. Every bride wants something unique at their wedding and these shoes are a perfect fit.
3. Late Night Snacks
At a traditional wedding, guests arrive, watch the exchange of vows and make their way to the reception for cocktails, dinner and toasts. Then the evening concludes with dancing and perhaps drinking. Weddings used to end there... but with the new trend of food trucks and caterers bringing post-drinking and dancing snacks, guests are revived and ready for some more dancing and fun! Brenna Profit, a bride from Seattle first heard the idea of serving her guests fresh wood-fire pizza from her Deer Harbor caterer. "Everybody thought it was an amazing idea," Profit recalls. "It was devoured!" Why not extend the excitement over an evening snack? Nadia Digilov, a New York wedding expert and author of Getting Married in New York, says this is a great way to catch guests off guard . "This trend is somewhat correlated with another trend of converting a part of the reception to a club-like atmosphere and as a result, offering less "serious" options to munch on." It's also a great way to end the evening and send your guests off into the night with a happy heart and full tummy.
Photo Credit: Michelle Lindsey Photography
4. Brooch Bouquets
Want a beautiful and special way to combine something old, new, borrowed, and blue? A brooch bouquet is the perfect way to do this and add some bling to any ceremony. You can even do the project yourself. After DeAnn Jahnke, author of the blog titled Diary of a Middle Aged Me, made her first brooch bouquet for a bride, she received rave reviews. Her process was simple-- Jahnke and the bride collected gorgeous rhinestone pieces such as earrings, pendants, shoe clips, rings, and brooches from flea markets and local craft stores. They also had great success asking guests of the wedding shower to bring jewelry to donate to the bouquet. "We ended up with approximately 70 total pieces in her bouquet, which weighed close to 3 pounds!" This crafty project will catch the eye of every guest and make for a stunning display for wedding photographs. If you would rather order a brooch bouquet, Etsy.com has a great selection. Noaki from Los Angeles makes customized bouquets and allows brides to match wedding colors for head turning creations.
Related: Planning Your Wedding: 6 Questions to Ask Your Florist
Photo Credit: Noaki on Etsy
5. Morning After Photos
We've seen the very fun and cute photo booths at weddings, but what about photos of the bride and groom after their big day? A very sexy new wedding trend is emerging: "Morning After" photos. A photographer comes in the morning after the nuptias to capture the passion between a newly married couple. Inna Shamis Lapin, a recent bride and subject of a very intimate morning after shoot with photographer Michelle Jonne, tells GalTime that the photo shoot was not awkward at all. "The images are clearly intimate, but they are not of our intimacy. Michelle wanted our pictures to look sexy, sensual, passionate- but most of all, implied." She also adds that while the photo shoot is called "Morning After," the pictures did not take place the morning after their wedding. The bride did her own hair and makeup and let the moments unfold. "My husband and I are very happy with how they turned out. Sexy, passionate and artistic- beautiful moments captured on camera." Be sure to look at Michelle Jonne's webpage to give you an idea of how sexy these photographs really are.
Photo Credit: Michelle Jonne Photography
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