We are incredibly happy to see weddings back in full-swing following the last few turbulent years. But the wedding of 2023 is looking vastly different to the weddings of 2019, with many new trends taking the wedding industry by a storm.
From Ibiza-inspired saxophone evening receptions, to twilight ceremonies – wedding trends for 2023 are all about embracing and celebrating the flexibility and diversity of the modern wedding couple. Read on to see the top trends to watch out for. Which of these 2023 wedding trends will you be incorporating into your big day?
Outdoor weddings and ceremonies
If there was one good thing to come from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is outdoor weddings. Before the pandemic you could only get married in England and Wales within a licensed structure such as a summer house, but the safety concerns of the pandemic forced rules to change to allow outdoor ceremonies with or without a structure. Thankfully, this temporary rule change has been made permanent, ensuring stunning outdoor weddings for 2023 and beyond.
Chalk Barn benefits from stunning lawns surrounded by rolling Wiltshire countryside to make for the ultimate outdoor wedding venue. We can offer an outdoor ceremony featuring the incredible countryside views, enabling you to marry the love of your life under the clear blue skies. Continue the outdoor fun with lawn games or fire pits to really optimise on the stunning outdoor space.
Celebrant or humanist led ceremonies
Celebrant led wedding ceremonies are booming, with an increase in couples looking to get married in un-licensed venues. This convenient option gives 2023 wedding couples more flexibility on location and costings.
Despite Chalk Barn being a licensed wedding venue, we have also seen an increase in couples opting for a celebrant or humanist led ceremony due to the personalisation options it provides for our couples. With a celebrant or humanist led ceremony, the couple is able to to fully take control of their ceremony and make it their own. We absolutely love this modern take on a wedding at Chalk Barn!
Additional unique entertainment
In 2023 couples will continue to invest in additional unique and fun entertainment to keep their guests entertained! Whether it’s a magician, lawn games, board games or photo-booths – modern wedding couples love to cater to their guests and provide options for those who aren’t so confident on the dance floor.
A huge bonus of this – many of this additional entertainment comes with added benefits, such as a photographs to treasure from the photo-booth, or a way of keeping guests occupied during the drinks reception.
The unique entertainment doesn’t stop when the DJ arrives – a trend we have seen growing in popularity is additional evening entertainment such as a saxophonist to accompany the DJ or a live music act to get everyone dancing.
Taking advantage of the darker days and evenings
Just because the sun has gone down, doesn’t mean the opportunities for your wedding day have to stop. One huge trend for 2023 is couples really making the most of the evening, including sparkler send offs, moody evening photographs and magical autumn/winter decor themes.
Further, off-peak weddings are on the rise in general, with many opting for the stunning autumnal/winter light as the backdrop for their big day. For an even more standout approach, some couples are also choosing to hold twilight ceremonies at their autumn or winter wedding. There is something incredibly special about a candlelit, magical evening ceremony. If you’re dreaming of an autumn wedding then head to our blog to read more autumn inspiration.
Environmentally friendly weddings
Traditional weddings aren’t entirely environmentally friendly – whether due to the cut flowers, the guest travel or food left to waste. Of course, your wedding day is your one chance to indulge on what is really important to you. However, we have seen a huge boom in guests adopting some more environmentally friendly options within their wedding day, such as choosing to send digital save the dates, opting for local and seasonal food or perhaps forgoing wedding favours.
At Chalk, we take huge pride in being an environmentally-friendly focused venue. This is a key element of the Rushall Organics ethos – we generate our own electricity and heat our water on-site with a biomass boiler. We have specifically designed the venue to compliment the natural environment and showcase the countryside. And to top it all off, we always support local on the food and drink.
Head to our blog dedicated to environmentally friendly weddings for more tips.
Ditching the cake
An overriding trend we have noticed is to abolish traditions and celebrate the couples love with a fully personalised experience – and the wedding cake is no different. Many couples prefer alternative dessert options that more accurately reflect their personality, whether that’s a donut wall or macaron tower.
We are currently loving the trend of a small wedding cake to follow the cake cutting tradition, but offering a variety of other dessert choices for your guests. Especially with dietary requirements to contend with, multiple flavoured cupcakes or a sweet cart can be more inclusive for your guests.
Shaking up the bridal party
From bridesmates to groomsmaids, the world is embracing diversity and the wedding scene is too. Forgoing traditional single-sex roles, many couples are opting for their nearest and dearest to support them on their big day, to accurately reflect their actual friendship group regardless of what is traditionally expected.
And this doesn’t just apply to the wedding day itself. We have heard from many of our couples that they are choosing to celebrate the wedding-couple-to-be in a joint stag and hen do, appropriately nicknamed a ‘sten do’.
Renting the wedding dress
In a move to be more environmentally friendly and to save costs, many brides are choosing to rent their wedding dress instead of purchasing a new one. This is allowing brides to wear a dress that would otherwise be out of their budget, or for those brides where budget is less of a concern it is still allowing them to make a sustainable choice and to ensure a dress doesn’t sit in your wardrobe for years to come, never to be worn again.
In previous years we have also seen the trend of multiple wedding dress looks throughout the day gain popularity. With many couples opting for more vibrant evening celebrations, a lot of brides opt for a shorter or more comfortable evening dress. By renting your ceremony or evening look, you are saving costs for the other outfit as well as minimising your impact on the environment.
Sharing the first look
A trend that has made it across the water – we have noticed a huge increase in couples adopting the “first look” tradition, and we expect this trend to keep growing into 2023. The first look is an arranged part of your day where the photographer is poised and ready to take photographs of the bride revealing her final look to her groom, bridal party, father or another member of friends or family. This allows for the photographer to capture the raw and emotional private moment, before the bride walks down the aisle.
While the American tradition often features the bride and groom sharing a first look, many UK couples are still keeping to tradition and keeping apart until meeting at the alter, and we see a lot more first looks with the bridal party and father of the bride.
With 48-hour venue hire at Chalk Barn, the opportunities are endless and flexibility is key to ensure your wedding day is everything you have ever dreamed off. Personalisation is at the core of everything we do, and we love to see our couples unique visions come to life. Get in touch with our friendly team today to book a private tour of our venue to discuss your ambitions and ideas.