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.