As it is easy to guess trends for Ceremonies and Receptions tend to change over a few years. Back in the day it was simple and quant. These days it is all about intimate settings with attention to detail adding in a splash of personalized colors that are are the latest craze. Brides it is your special day so place your fingerprint where ever you can. Make it your own no matter if your budget is small or you are able to pay Jennifer Lopez and Justin Timberlake to be your wedding band for the evening.

Here are some trends we have noticed over the last year that may inspire you to just go for it and not worry about what the last wedding you went to looked like. Hope these help you begin to get creative for your special day.

1. Signs, Seals, and Delivery It seems Brides are getting more creative with their
   invites, their place settings, and signage around the wedding ceremony and reception. Fun invitations with a silly image of the two of you the first vacation you both went on. Seating assignments, not to make sure certain people sit at certain seats due to family, but to give a personalized item with their name on it either on a special note or gift item.                                                       The cuter the better for signage. From welcoming the guest into the wedding ceremony to clever signs at the Popcorn bar to signs throughout in strategic locations to add the special and fun touch to your wedding day. Creating memories not only for you but for your guest they will talk about years later. Don’t over think any of these as it is suppose to reflect your personality and that should come easy no matter who you are because it is you.

2. Phones not Included We have noticed a huge increase of Brides and Grooms requesting all cellphones be placed away and not brought out during the ceremony. A small announcement is made while people are sitting down about 5 minutes till the ceremony begins to say that professional pictures are being taken of the ceremony and to simply enjoy the spacial moment that is about to happen.

The other reason is it truly limits the photographers ability to get that perfect image when uncle Charlie is reaching high in the air to get that perfect shot on his SmartPhone. Or your friend from College is Snap Chatting your whole ceremony about head level along with ten other guest and all you see are phones in the air. Oh and there is always that one person who never remembers to silence their phone to their zanny ringtone goes off and disrupts the ceremony. Maybe it gets a laugh but it not about the call it’s about the awesome moment that is happening before God and all your guests.

3. Party like its 2099 Even before the reception starts we have seen a huge increase in cocktail and juice bars before the reception area opens up. Some have made a special plans to not start the reception till 30 minutes later so guest can enjoy a drink. Sometimes it’s light cocktails and sometimes it is different Teas, Lemonades, and flavored waters. No matter this allows for a small break between the wedding ceremony and the reception. Allows guest to talk to one another and to initially get to know each other before entering the reception area.

4. Green Green Green Flowers have always been a big part of weddings, however, the trend recently is to almost have more greenery than actual flowers. Variety of greenery with different textures with a touch of a beautiful flower here and there. They can be in the vase, table, and many have been wrapping the posts of the building and adding small touches of greenery to the aisle chairs of the Ceremony area. These days the more green you go the better.

5. Mixing Things up a Bit Last but not least having interactive food bars and photo ideas are the largest trends out there today. It could be design your own doughnuts, mix and match sweet treats in a candy bag, different flavored popcorn, some have even provide a small taco bar with mini tortilla shells. Some have even place mix and match of games out for all ages to play like a large Jenga game that people can write on, corn hole boards, and we have even seen a large Yahtzee game to help pass the time should it present itself.

If games are not your guests thing then photo booths with a large mix of props for everyone to have and to hold. You want to make sure if you get a large group that everyone can have a silly hat, glasses, boa, or mustache for that once in a lifetime image. Ideas that add a fun touch to the image idea as well is creating your own hashtag for the special wedding night and even going as far as to create your own snapchat filter. It’s not that expensive to do for the one night and it creates a unique border to capture those moments you didn’t even know happened till later.

You are getting married!!! Have fun with it! If it doesn’t have you written all over it then it’s time to get started. Again you can modify these trends to fit any budget. You will want this night to be remembered and why not see your personality in every picture taken that night? Congratulations on your engagement and who knows maybe we will be at your next wedding as well.