Top wedding styling trends for 2020

[As featured on pages 65-67 of the October/November 2019 edition of Your Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wedding]

Couples are currently looking at ways to personalise their nuptials and break from tradition. Wedding styling is seeing an abundance of original alternatives that blend together cultures, creativity and lots of personal touches.

Mixing and matching seem a great way to compromise, as couples decide that they don’t have to settle on one particular style. This gives a great fusion of modern and vintage, along with contrasting textures, colours and mixed metals.

It’s why there’s an abundance of beautiful wedding styling trends to look out for at the moment. Here’s my top pick for 2020:

contemporary classic

Subtle updates to some traditional wedding styles include an injection of more vibrant colours. The use of colour is being used more subtly though and is often paired alongside neutral colours. And it certainly isn’t the case of everything having to match anymore.

Coloured linens are giving white napkins a run for their money, whilst cutlery is coming in different colours too. The best use of colour is with mix and match bridesmaids, where the styles and hues of dresses compliment each other or are in varying shades of the same colour.

Nods to Art Deco are appearing again in wedding themes, paying homage to the golden jazz age and The Great Gatsby era, with lace also seeing a revival. Scents are becoming important at weddings to appeal to ALL the senses, so more personalised scented candles are being used around the venue to enhance the atmosphere.

Couples are choosing to sit intimately on their own sweetheart table, whilst an array of cakes are being displayed on dessert tables. And whilst there is a move towards having less décor, some couples are supersizing their décor elements to make an impact.

country garden

The greenery trend is still going strong with couples wanting connections with nature. Weddings are bringing the outdoors in with an abundance of foliage, trees, enchanted indoor forest walks and floral arches. Banquet tables are being decorated with low florals (so guests can see one another across them) or hanging centrepieces above the tables.

And couples continue to use alternatives to real flowers such as pot plants, succulents and air plants that can be reused again after the wedding. But the biggest trend right now is the use of grasses, pods and dried flowers, with pampas grass seeing a huge surge in popularity. This is being used across all elements of décor from the big statement pieces (like ceremony backdrops, aisle runners and chandeliers), to fillers in bouquets (or big statement bouquets), table centrepieces and accents on the cake or table plan.

One plume or a huge arrangement, dried or fresh, pampas grass is proving to be versatile across seasons and marries well as a neutral with many colours.

modern minimalism

Thanks to the Marie Kondo effect, minimal weddings are still popular and continue to exude sophistication especially when couples stick to one colour, such as white, to make an amazing statement.

To achieve maximum impact the minimal way, couples are keeping decor, florals and styling to a few key pieces.
The use of metallic decor, silverware and mirrors bounce natural light around the space, along with clear tables and chairs with no fussy table cloths or chair covers.

Use of geometric shapes such as hoops and prisms in different scales add to the modern styling. With free-flowing modern calligraphy on stationery items.

urban cool

Old warehouses, city pubs, or disused factories with deteriorating brickwork, wooden beams and big windows, all provide a great contrast with a relaxed wedding vibe. These are the perfect venues for some New York loft styling and to mix modern and vintage elements together.

Décor is focused on concrete, stone and cement details such as marbled concrete pots, concrete coasters, concrete letters, and concrete table numbers.

And it’s all about unique lighting with vintage lampshades, statement chandeliers and 80s inspired neon.

quirky and personal

Personalisation is still the most prevalent theme in weddings right now. Couples are making their nuptials as individual as they are and are breaking from tradition. There is an abundance of original alternatives that blend together cultures, creativity and lots of personal touches.

Couples are going beyond paper stationery with different material types such as Perspex, denim, wood or agate slices. And printing invites on things their guests can use again. Likewise, guest books are things couples will use or see every day such as recipe books, furniture and artwork.

Alternatives to real flower bouquets include flowers made of fabric, felt, paper, sheet music or comic book pages. Carrying flowers in different arrangements such as pomanders, hoops and wreaths. Holding objects instead of flowers, using sparkly things to make a bouquet or using other natural alternatives to flowers. Plus, paper flowers are being used for décor and in ceremony arches.

Couples are considering new ways to wear flowers such as bow ties, corsages, floral rings, anklets and chockers.

Llamas seem to be the animal of choice to be a guest at weddings. Plus, the evolution from Chinese lanterns and sparklers has now moved on to super dramatic smoke bombs.

bohemian and vintage

It’s a sad fact that, by their nature, weddings can be quite wasteful. However, more couples nowadays are choosing eco-friendly and sustainable options to reduce the impact that their wedding day has on the environment.

Where possible couples are thinking about foraging, borrowing or hiring items, upcycling vintage décor, making their own items and considering how to pass on items afterwards. Food is more seasonal, local and vegan. With couples looking at how to make their wedding a plastic free event.

The other trend to look out for is Kintsugi. This is upcycling Japanese style – the art of repairing or recycling broken items in beautiful and artistic ways.