4 non-traditional wedding trends to consider for your own wedding day
It’s hard to deny, I go to a lot of weddings. Like, a LOT.
When I sit down for a consultation with my couples, I love hearing them talk about how, now that they’re getting married, all of a sudden, they start paying attention to weddings they’re attending as guests.
What do they like? What do they NOT like? Well, that got me thinking—especially since so many of my couples are thoughtful about what wedding traditions they keep because they feel meaningful, and what they do in a more modern or unique way, because it feels more authentic to themselves.
Here are four less-traditional wedding trends I’ve been seeing my couples embrace, and why I love them. I hope if I tell the world about them, we’ll see them even more!
1. Getting ready together
Especially for couples who are eschewing a wedding party, who are eloping, or who are just low-key… you can get ready together.
When Elizabeth and Daniel (above) exchanged vows at the US Supreme Court, before they did, they got ready together in a room at the JW Marriott.
Elizabeth still had a hair and makeup stylist come in, but then, she and Daniel helped each other get dressed. (Is there a wedding gown in existence that you can put on without help? If so, I haven’t yet seen it. I’m on the lookout.) After this sweet moment, she helped him with his tie, and off we went to those big gorgeous white steps at the Supreme Court.
Getting ready together is low-key, for many couples it feels natural, and it can be (so my couples have told me) a great way to settle wedding day nerves, with your sweetheart by your side every step of the way. Bonus points if you get ready together at home (I promise in the pictures to frame out any mess you didn’t manage to tidy pre-wedding).
2. A dusk or sunset ceremony
Now, don’t get me wrong — I am ALL FOR timing sunset to be right during your couples’ portraits time — whether that’s pre-ceremony for first look (the common timeline for winter weddings), or sneaking out for more post-ceremony (summertime weddings)! But during spring and fall, sometimes your ceremony will actually fall during sunset.
And you know? That’s actually pretty damn cool! All three of the ceremonies above happened just as sunset was striking, and the really cool thing about photographing a sunset/dusk outdoor ceremony is you get the opportunity for both dramatic, darker, colorful photos AND brighter, more traditional, brightly-lit shots, because it’s just that time of day that I can really push them in either direction when it comes to editing. So, sunset ceremonies? Consider it. You’ll get two thumbs up from me.
3. Spending the ceremony standing side-by-side
This one I got from clients Ali + Joe. I loved it so much that now, anytime I think my couple might be into it, or if I’m at a rehearsal, I’ll mention it.
Standing side-by-side isn’t only nice for photography’s sake (though it is so good for photos), it lets you hold hands throughout the ceremony, and see more of your guests than you otherwise would.
Plus, no awkward looking-over-your-shoulder for one of you during readings and other parts of the ceremony. All in all, it tends to feel much more contemporary, and more “us as a unit, here to get married” that many of our couples are looking for.
4. Toasts during cocktail hour
These days, I’d say 75-90% of my couples choose to get their portraits out of the way pre-ceremony. Why? Everyone wants to be at their own cocktail hour!
If you want to shake things up a bit, and not have a super-long program while people are seated at dinner, consider moving some or all of your toasts (like a parents’ toast, or alternatively the best man and maid-of-honor toasts) to during cocktail hour.
This may not work for all venues, but if cocktail hour is in one relatively open space (rather than say, a set of interconnected small rooms), it can be really wonderful! Plus, you’ll be at cocktail hour anyway because you already did photos, so…why not?!
Bonus: Late-night portraits - for you (or for your parents!)
I couldn’t stop at just four, so here’s a bonus trend for you!
If you’re my client, you probably love golden-hour (sunset) portraits as much as I do. We often design timelines around them!
But sometimes they’re just not possible, whether because of other constraints on your timeline, or sometimes because of the weather, there’s no real sunset at all!
In the past year, I’d started substituting in late-night rain photos for my couples who missed sunset photos because of rainy weather. But as time went on, I realized that late-night photos are fun regardless of whether it’s been raining or not — no wet weather needed!
And then, earlier this year, the parents of one of my brides modeled for me while I light-tested a setup for my bride and groom… and we were all kind of obsessed with the resulting photo. So now, if we decide to do late-night photos, I might sneak out with your parents before I sneak out with you. ;-)
