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The Top Wedding and Reception Trends for 2008

2008 weddings are all about color and texture. Now more than ever, we’re seeing the wedding industry look to the fashion runways for the hottest trends, and brides and grooms are adding ‘stylish’ and ‘sophisticated’ to their dream wedding descriptions. While budget is still on most couples’ minds, they’re finding ways to bring their dreams to life in dazzling creativity. Here are the top wedding and reception trends for 2008:

1. Guest lists are still getting bigger.
   According to TheWeddingReport.com, the average number of wedding guests is 167. Despite the challenging economy, weddings are not shrinking in size. We’re moving away from the more intimate wedding and are inviting more colleagues, distant relatives, friends, and parents’ friends. It’s all about the people you want to share your celebration.
   
   
2. Weddings are returning to traditional.
   For a short time, wedding couples sought out strange and unique celebrations – like underwater ceremonies – but now we are seeing a return to the traditional wedding. TheWeddingReport.com says that 1.3 million weddings will be traditional, 435,000 will be casual, and 481,000 will be unique. Of the traditional weddings, 53% will be church weddings, 36% will be outdoor weddings, 22% will be held in a hotel or country club, and 11% will be destination weddings.
   
   
3. Budgets are getting bigger.
   In 2007, the national average wedding budget was $28,000 (up from $27,490 in 2006) and in 2008, the average is expected to grow to $29,780. Of course, that’s just a national average. To see the figures in your area, visit www.costofwedding.com and enter your zip code. It is a great way to see what couples in your region are spending on which portions of their wedding plans.
   
   
4. Weddings are going green.
   The green, or environmentally conscious, wedding is a goal of many couples who seek out ways to include recycled products, locally-grown foods and flowers, even earth-friendly materials for their gowns (silk and hemp or 100% cotton are all the rage), and wedding favors trending toward flower seeds, planted seedlings and herbs, and organic chocolates. For more tips on making your wedding green, see the Top 10 Ways to Make Your Wedding More Environmentally Green.

5. Etiquette is back!
   More and more couples want to know the proper way to address invitations, and they’re promptly mailing their thank you notes, making the notes as beautiful as possible and respecting the bounds of proper wording. Visit Ask the Wedding Etiquette Expert at the iVillage Weddings message board to have your etiquette questions personally answered.
   
   
6. The bride and groom are paying.
   More wedding couples are footing the bill for their wedding themselves. According to TheWeddingReport.com, 1.8 million wedding couples are paying for their own Big Days, as opposed to 1.3 million weddings planned by the bride’s parents. This means that couples are more in control of their wedding plans, and the day is more a reflection of their relationship and personal style. Parents are given individual tasks to handle as they wish, and more parents are giving the honeymoon to the couple as a gift.
   
   
7. Couples want smart budget ideas.
   With the economy not as strong as in past years, everyone’s feeling a money crunch. Because guest lists are bigger and everything is more expensive, it's more important than ever for couples to find brilliant ways to save money on their weddings without the savings showing. So we’re seeing more do-it-yourself decisions, such as couples making their own invitations, programs, menu cards, favors, centerpieces and décor.
   
   
8. Weddings are more personalized.
   Couples are adding their digital image, monogram or custom designed logo to their invitations and programs more than ever, and they’re writing their ceremonies to reflect their own unique personalities and sense of humor. Toasts are a big focus of the personalized wedding, as are unusual song choices for First Dances and Parents’ dances, all outlined for guests in a detailed ceremony program.
   
   
9. Dinner menus are unique.
   Couples and their caterers are bypassing the usual dishes (chicken, beef or salmon) and creating combination platters of unique dishes that guests can’t get everyday. A lot of creativity goes into the menu, as well as the salad course, the intermezzo and even side dishes. Options such as Asian, seafood, pasta and raw “bars” as well as chocolate fountains are also increasingly popular. Since guests know their gourmet foods and wines, brides and grooms are serving only the best in both categories. One big trend right now is choosing less-expensive chicken and pasta dishes, and having the caterer ‘gourmet’ them with amazing sauces and creative presentations.
   
   
10. More weddings are being held in the spring.
    April is the new June, since it’s outside of peak wedding season, and couples can find reception sites charging 1/3 of what they charge in September and October. According to TheWeddingReport.com, there were 162,867 weddings in March, 181,393 weddings in April, and 204,952 weddings in May when peak season starts. Besides pricing, couples love the spring colors such as lilac, sage green, pink, and yellow.
    
    
11. Yellow is the new white.
    By far, the hottest wedding color trend comes off the fashion runways, and that is yellow. Designers showed plenty of bright yellow, daffodil, and light yellows on their runways, and fashion-savvy brides are bringing those colors into their wedding décor. They’re also choosing bright jewel tones of red, blue, and purple for fall and winter weddings, and fashion experts say that bridesmaids get far more post-wedding use from jewel-toned dresses and shoes than from pastels.
    
    
12. It’s all about metallics.
    Also from the runways, weddings are following a big trend toward metallics. Specifically silver. Not just for dresses and jewelry, but for invitations and envelope liners, favors, and wedding day décor. Brides and grooms want sparkle in their day, so they’re overwhelmingly choosing silver, with copper and bronze coming in as close seconds. Check out Mountaincow’s metallic stationery to see sparkly takes on eggplant, pink and other popular wedding colors of the year.
    
    
13. Invitations are layered.
    Layered invitations are totally in vogue for 2008, incorporating pocket folders, pochettes, backing cards and seals. The backing layers are added as an accent and do not need to be printed, so they can be black linen, dark metallics, patterns and interesting textures. These can be complicated to order because of all the pieces, so check out Mountaincow’s complete pocket invitation sets for an easy one click option. They even offer individual samples so you can try it out and see if it’s the right project for you.
    
    
14. Entertainment is key.
    Guests go home remembering the food and the entertainment, so couples are bringing in soloists and musicians for special performances in addition to the playlist of the deejay or band. They’re hiring talented artists for guitar solos, cultural music, Sinatra-like tributes, opera solos and other special surprise acts.
    
    
15. Couples are dancing.
    Many couples are not only take dancing lessons before the reception, they also have a choreographer arrange a custom dance just for them and for their comfort level. The big trend is to start off with a slow dance, then change into a samba or tango halfway through for a real crowd-pleaser. We’re also seeing more slow dances on wedding playlists, which is also a benefit for guests who don’t want to hear the same songs they have heard at every other wedding.
    
    
16. Desserts are bite-sized.
    We’re moving away from the giant collection of desserts to elegant trays of bite-sized pastries and petit fours, which may be served to each table or hand-passed by servers. This is smarter on the budget, and guests say they never have room for much dessert anyway.
    
    
17. Leftovers are donated.
    This is an extension of the green wedding trend, where couples or their reception sites arrange for all leftover wedding food to be donated to a food pantry, shelter or hospital in the couple’s name. There’s less waste and the food goes to a worthy group.
    
    
18. Brides and grooms pay more attention to their guests.
    Even if they opt to forgo a formal receiving line immediately after the ceremony, couples are making a point to visit each guest table throughout the reception. There’s a big emphasis on spending time with the loved ones who have traveled to attend the wedding.
    
    
19. Digital photo albums are more creative.
    Now, with digital technology, wedding albums are designed as scrapbooks with multiple images per page, in far greater creativity than the old one-photo-per-page model. The hottest new trend is peel-and-stick wedding album pages where a digital image is expertly printed on special peel-and-stick paper and affixed to album pages for 1/3 the cost of traditional albums.
    
    
20. The wedding breakfast is a big event.
    Since more couples are taking the reins and planning and funding the wedding ceremony and reception, parents might host a morning-after breakfast for out-of-town guests. Brunches are a popular choice, as are breakfast buffets with pancakes, omelettes, eggs and free mimosas. Parents send out printed invitations to this official event of the wedding weekend, sending guests off with a special event.
    
    
21. Destination weddings are still hot.
    More private couples love avoiding the circus of a big wedding, preferring to take a small group of friends and family to an exotic locale for their getaway wedding. Upon their return, they may send printed wedding announcements, or even host a larger post-wedding celebration with their extended family, friends and colleagues. This celebration can be formal, informal, at a banquet hall or at home. It very often turns into two special celebrations for less than the price of one, big formal traditional wedding.