You’re engaged! Congratulations! You’re about to have the most exciting year planning your big day. With the New Year celebrations behind us, you can now focus on the important stuff so we thought we’d give you some inspiration for the wedding trends coming up in 2020.
Gone are the traditional weddings, where archaic customs dominate the day. The contemporary wedding is all about you - your style, your personality, your rules. The more unique you can make your wedding, the more on-trend you big day will be. This is great news for your guests too as they no longer have to attend a string of events that are indistinguishable from each other.
So this coming year, be bold and make your wedding day your own - here are some ideas on how you can do just that!
Laid Back Style
2020 will see more and more couples opt for an easy, more comfortable wedding style. Practical outfits - think two piece suit, jumpsuit, suit suits even knitted gowns (for the Scottish bride) - will overtake the big princess dress. Grooms too are edging away from the formal tux, kilt and tails fashion and choosing patterned and colourful suits that give the wow factor without the stuffy, strict dress codes of the traditional wedding.
Hair is also facing a make-under. Relaxed tresses, un-done buns, sexy beach waves on freshly washed hair - all of these are overtaking the complicated up-dos and curls of previous years.
Guests will notice the trend towards a more laid-back occasion - in particular through the refreshments and food choices the couple will make. Self serve drinks are big, with couples providing the beverages via kegs, big bathtubs full of chilled wine and huge glass jars full of punch, cocktails and soft drinks. Food stations of hors d’ouevres, charcuterie boards and desserts allow guests more flexibility (and the opportunity to avoid having to wait for that pesky waiter to do his rounds with the canapes.) Street food vans are also a hit, providing much needed variety to accommodate the food preferences / requirements of the wedding guest - vegans, vegetarians, coeliacs - can now confidently choose their sustenance from vendors specialising in providing a variety of food choices.
And, of course, a “relaxed” wedding frequently means a cost saving for the couple. Win, win.
Wedding Colour Schemes 2020
Say goodbye to whites, creams and neutrals - 2020 will be the year of colour. And we’re not talking pastels. A full blow riot of bright hues will barge its way into the venue space and will show itself off in dresses, decorations, florals and even food. Go for “the brighter the better” approach and you’ll achieve a fully fledged fiesta of a day. Think lanterns, garlands, ribbons, clouds of punchy floral arrangements, lanterns, lights, tableware - even the cake; the options are limitless. You have to admit that cream does not scream “celebrate!” - whereas a well placed shot of orange will get you and your guests in the mood to party and maybe even give you that extra injection of energy when you’re flagging towards the end of the night. So go colourful and take your inspiration from Indian weddings who know how to use colour to the max.
Small Weddings Are In
Inviting 100+ wedding guests seems to be becoming a thing of the past as couples opt for more secluded, intimate and serene wedding days. Having a smaller wedding not only helps you keep the costs down but also, crucially, allows you to make the most of spending the biggest day of your life with those select few guests who truly want to celebrate your relationship. Likewise, your options for venues open up massively - quirky, luxurious, central, on land, on sea - the choice could be limitless. A small wedding day will also allow you to avoid being overwhelmed by the scale of the event and achieve that laid back style and truly focus on the details, committing everything to memory...and think about what you can afford for your honeymoon if you successfully stick to a budget for the big day
Eco Friendly Wedding
Sustainability is more than a trend of course but, boy, is it a cool one to get on board with in 2020! Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway, Alicia Silverstone, Princess Eugenie (it’s a long list, so I’ll stop there) all had eco friendly weddings. From wedding gowns recycled from awards ceremonies, to locally grown and supplied flowers, food and drinks (thus avoiding a large carbon footprint), an outright ban on anything plastic at the event and vegan menus - the opportunities to go green are endless. We’ll give you a few ideas for inspiration:
- Potted plants instead of cut flowers as decorations
- Update a family wedding dress to have a more modern vibe instead of buying new
- Forego the favours and donate to charity instead
- Plant a tree to mark the special occasion or buy a grove to plant trees for every anniversary or momentous occasion in your lives together - you’ll hopefully have a whole forest by your Diamond Wedding anniversary!
- Up-cycle household items (jam jars, gin bottles, terracotta plant pots, mismatched cups / mugs) and integrate them in your decor. It will give your wedding a wonderfully personal touch
- Don’t spend half your budget (and a rainforest) on invites; send them out electronically or better yet, build a wedding website where you can keep everything in one place and keep everyone updated with the details in the run up to the big day
Planning an eco friendly, sustainable wedding will not only make that halo around your head shine brighter but save you loads of money which you can then spend on your honeymoon!
Wedding Music Collaborations
More and more couples recognise the importance of music on their wedding day and aren’t content with just having a DJ play tinny tracks through the venue’s sound system. Whilst having a DJ certainly has its advantages, you’ll always be missing that live music element. That’s why there’s a growing trend for DJs and bands to collaborate or for couples to hire a band who can also provide DJ entertainment in between sets - thereby achieving the best of both worlds. Most quality ceilidh and covers bands will also be able to provide you with a Scottish country dancing option on the night.
Got some extra money down the back of the couch? Why not hire a dance act to provide some alternative entertainment on the day - that’s a trend that looks to make a wedding even more memorable.
If you're looking for a DJ or wedding band in Glasgow, Edinburgh or anywhere else in Scotland (and beyond), Music For Scotland has got some of the best talent the country has to offer. Have a look at the HD videos of all of our bands and come along to our regular wedding band showcases (Glasgow / Edinburgh) to see them live.
You might also want to check out our wedding suppliers page for our list of the best of the best around Scotland who can help make your 2020 wedding painfully cool and bang on trend.