It’s the start of 2020…. and it’s a whole New Year of unbelievable trends in dream weddings!
From quirky to outlandish to experientially cool chic to traditional-heavy…it’s all about creativity and being original on the one hand and being consciously yourself with a personality that sings out to you.
With originality taking a front seat at the wedding mandap, there are couples planning to stake a claim to the “Who will make it to the most talked about the wedding” — and hard as it is to believe that couples want incredible wedding themes, the fact is that each year a brand new wedding craze catches the imagination…and it’s all in!
Dream Wedding covers it all… everything is acceptable in Indian weddings, so long as it is creative. Going modern or staying traditional is a personal choice, but wedding planners predict that traditional will win each time!
Going Bespoke
“Bespoke Weddings” are trending in 2020 and ‘intimate’ and ‘exclusive’ are the buzzwords. The more exclusive the wedding, the more personalised the experience for the couple as well as for each guest. And, of course, the more expensive the experience, as it allows a visual narrative of customised gifts, headline entertainers, ultra-luxury shipments of international fruit and food, not to mention theme and set-up.
The personalised touch can be wildly imaginative as the guest list is small and exclusive….from iced bottles of Dom Perignon and caviar to monogrammed luggage to couture dresses for guests to private jets to blessings from a revered monk to 10 different dining experiences!
Extravagance Is In
A desire to flash a more memorable wedding than anyone else is driving wedding trends in 2020. Individuality statements are taking their shape in terms of exuberance and explosive expression in Oversized or Over-the-top wedding ambience or trends.
And so, one-off experiences like full-ship charters for the wedding is taking off big time! A 1000-strong guest list on a Mediterranean cruise are offered onboard experiences like dedicated Jain kitchens and Michelin star Chefs, personalised wedding logos on access cards to cabins, not to mention all-night entertainment by international stars and casinos as well as exotic destinations where the ship docks.
Oversized decor and insta-friendly design and activities include everything from magical fireworks to giant ice-sculpted centerpieces, astrology experts, and recreated zodiac signs for all 200 guests. The groom could arrive in a helicopter or a Victorian buggy, both of which will come in handy for a tik tok or video shoot. The dinner could be on silver plated thalis or eco-friendly banana leaves or a ten-course classic dinner service…the idea is to go oversize in a statement.
These kinds of king-size weddings are no less than theatre productions spread over several days, with huge installations and massive and intricate detailing for a thousand guests, involving an army of engineers, food specialists, florists and even architects.
Offbeat
Uncommon weddings in 2020 will have all the style and glitz that one can dream of. It will come as no surprise that a Desert Wedding does not suggest decorated tents and palm trees in a resort hotel. It means flying off with the entire entourage of guests to a desert location in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, where luxury meets sand dunes, entire souks are moved to the desert and white glove service juxtaposes personalised spa treatments, and the wedding mandap is laid out under the stars.
Closer to home, a wedding atop an 18th-century palace fort, gleaming with ancient history and decked in bright colours, amazing food flavours, and cultural lifestyle recreates an authentic outdoor royal paradise complete with lights, canopies, and bedecked elephants, alongside the traditional drums and music, for welcoming the Baraat lights. Obviously, some fireworks with the sun going down on an ancient landscape below the ramparts and the razzle-dazzle of an enchanting location would be swoon-worthy for social media!
For the offbeat bride who’s never been one to take the normal route, it’s a feverish craze for excitement and distraction – how big the bang is and how much the fun quotient plays out.
Art deco styles are in and art deco jewellery, clothes, architecture, and styling will be a ‘tour-de-force’ of luxury, exotica, and lots of fun in its wedding wake.
Oriental splendour and theatrical embellishments juxtapose splendid in-your-face jewellery styles and brilliant colours.
Location hunts for the offbeat wedding will be the order of the day. Recreating a glittering wedding ambience in a worn-down mill, an old factory, or an abandoned warehouse with a strong Andy Warhol spin, thereby playing up pop culture items in dramatic displays and quirky touches, promises to herald the future of designer weddings. Floral cascades and gemstone embellishments against an industrial backdrop will ensure the wedding is anything but boring.
Style statements
Among the trending wedding statements, ‘Style’ is making waves and themed outfits for the bride and groom and their relatives for every function -from Mehendi to Sangeet to the Pheras is keeping the cash registers ringing for designers and hotels….as the ambience and lighting play up the themed outfits, accessorise the ambience and create the mood for the wedding rituals.
Outfits with similar leitmotif on display in 2020 will showcase traditional Indian wear…read decorative turbans and designer headgear, not to mention bejeweled tattoos, rings and earrings for the groom and party.
The bride and family are likely to recreate the stylised hairstyle, jewellery and look of the 50s and 60s in a retro throwback.
The 2020 upscale ‘Theme’ weddings are heavily curated to present a particular mood or style, all the way from designer vintage, whimsical, modern, rustic, and even a casual garden party theme with cuisine to match because it promises that it will remain a talked-about event.
In the same spirit of style and statement, the ‘Contemporary’ theme of cool chic will be coral and softer colours and brides and grooms in an all-white theme will remain a steadfast 2020 phenomenon. Western wedding gowns and veils for brides – complete with bridesmaids in tow, will be the rage.
Complementing the bridal wear will see grooms in elegant three-piece suits with individual style statements like a formal hat or an informal pair of shoes. In keeping, will be sharp lines and geometric shapes on wedding invitations and in the decor. Sheer fabrics, crystal chandeliers, and elegant centerpieces will showcase the sophisticated look.
Finally, if a traditional wedding venue can be replaced with a sophisticated locale like a museum or art gallery, the contemporary theme is complete. Obviously, vintage settings will demand much of the hotel or resort, which will be expected to recreate vintage decor and classic retro detailing with artifacts inspired by a design from the 1950s and beyond.
Recreating mid-century nostalgia, designers are likely to embrace timeless elegance with a palette of colours like sepia with pops of gold, sparkling sequins, and feathers, along with retro tableaux featuring burnt-yellow and orange furniture.
At the end of the wedding day, the thought that stays is simple: all that joyful energy brought together near and dear ones among a host of other guests to celebrate a momentous occasion. Now, it’s on with the grand Reception and the honeymoon…
Read More: Weddings
