After an abundance of rustic-barnyard and vintage, Anthropologie-esque weddings, event planners are anticipating a wedding-style movement in the complete opposite direction. “We’re predicting less D.I.Y. and more clean, modern lines and color palettes,” says Tara Maxey, co-owner of the Los Angeles-based catering company Heirloom LA. “With all the D.I.Y. wedding details out there, expertly styled minimalism feels like the sophisticated alternative.”
Wedding planners Maria Cooke and Kelly Seizert of Ritzy Bee Events in Washington, D.C., agree: “We’re seeing more couples focusing less on dramatic color and more on classic combinations such as black and white, gray and white, and navy and cream.” The modern-minimalist theme will be reflected in the wedding menu, too: Instead of lavish buffet stations or decadent entrées, couples are moving towards healthier choices and smaller portions. Maxey says, “Gluttony has been overdone.”
Pictured, clockwise from left: Ritzy Bee Events created a reception lounge setup with a clean, neutral color palette; a wedding catered by Heirloom LA incorporated crisp, all-white decor; shooters of vegan carrot panna cotta were served during cocktail hour at a wedding catered by Heirloom LA.
In contrast to the modern-minimalist style, wedding professionals are also predicting a return to formality and dramatic opulence. “Say goodbye to Mason jars and burlap, and say hello to caviar and elegance,” says South Florida-based party planner Sara Renee Lowell of Sara Renee Events. “Wedding vendors are sick of couples bringing in the same rustic, vintage inspiration photos. Opulence is in.”
Which means the return of dramatic floral arrangements on pedestals, gleaming candelabras, and loads of professional lighting (translation: no more simple strands of café lights). For a recent wedding, New York event designer David Stark of David Stark Design and Production created a luxurious reception with a formal French garden theme: Sculpted hedges around the perimeter of the venue and structured dinner table centerpieces were juxtaposed against a lush, romantic canopy of flowers and glowing lanterns suspended overhead.
Pictured: David Stark created a formal French garden theme for a recent wedding reception.
