Obviously we can't wait for weddings to go back to normal. But, there are some wedding trends from the last 12 months of the Covid-19 pandemic that we think have actually improved the big day experience.
All of us cannot wait for restrictions to be safely lifted, and for weddings to get back to normal. When guest limits are a distant memory, dance floors are full and face masks are a thing of the past. So why would we be saying that we want to keep some wedding trends from the Covid pandemic? It is because couples around the world have been getting married since early 2020, and they had to get creative in order to do it safely. They, and their suppliers, have come up with brilliant ideas to keep their weddings Covid-compliant while really elevating the day.
Some of these ideas are so smart, in fact, that we think they have real potential for weddings of the future. We're talking about the kind of menu, décor and planning trends that will help make a celebration magical, even when restrictions are a distant memory.
Photo by Jonathan Borba from Pexels
Here are the Covid wedding trends we are more than happy to continue for years to come.
Micro-Weddings
While big weddings will be making a comeback, there will simultaneously be an attitude change among couples who were always going to have a smaller wedding, the pandemic has opened people's eyes to what can actually be achieved with a micro celebration.
With a smaller guest count you can afford the luxuries and elevate each guest's experience in many ways that you may not have been able to with a larger celebration. Hosting a micro wedding means you can embrace 'quality over quantity', and while some couples will still opt for a smaller guest list, they'll want to focus on spoiling their loved ones in a bigger way.
The Minimony
2020 and the first part of 2021 have seen a necessary rise in 'minimonies', a small ceremony and mini celebration on one day, then a larger reception at a later date. This is definitely something we can see sticking around.
A wedding ceremony is so intimate and heartfelt, and actually it would be quite to sweet to just share that moment together. Smaller ceremony numbers also suit some couples best if nerves are an issue. Not everyone feels comfortable, confident or wants the whole guest list to hear their future promises and vows to their partner, and that's understandable.
No-Obligation Traditions
Pre-pandemic, more and more couples were deciding to do away with wedding traditions, seeing them as a constraint. Now there's a new mindset. When couples got married in 2020, they worked with their suppliers to make sure they could at least have a version of certain traditions, such as the first dance and cutting the cake.
People want to make sure their big day embraces everything that at one point they thought might not be able to happen. Whether you chose to include these as part of your day or not, remember that your day has to reflect what you want and no special moment should be missed.
A More Careful Guest-list
We've all heard the predictions that post-pandemic weddings will be smaller. But we are confident that if so, it's only in the short term. After all, large weddings are an important part of many different cultures.
What we are expecting, however, is to see couples continuing the restrictions-era mindset of considering more carefully who they want at their wedding. So, big weddings will be back, but couples will just spend a bit more time deciding who they really and truly want to have with them on their special day, prioritising people they care about over obligation invitations.
Live-Streamed Weddings
Many venues invested in live-streaming technology during the pandemic, and some videographers started offering the service, to make it easier than ever to share weddings with absent guests in real time. This is a trend that's likely to turn into a wedding staple, as there will always be some guests who just can't attend, however much they want to.
From readings at the ceremony via Zoom to joining for speeches at the wedding breakfast, loved ones who are prevented from physically attending (either through restricted numbers or international travel bans) will still be able to participate in the big day.