Exclusive Wedding Trends for the Modern Bride
“Trends” can be a tricky word. Some couples light up when they see something fresh on TikTok or Vogue Runway. Others worry about their wedding feeling too much like everyone else’s. Either way, the goal is the same: a celebration that reflects you, not a recycled idea.
At Mandy Marie Events, we don’t adopt trends just because they’re everywhere. But we do keep a close eye on the shifts happening in design, fashion, and culture, because those shifts can inspire innovative designs and help create truly memorable experiences.
The best trends aren’t about replicating someone else’s exact choices. Instead, they introduce new ideas, palettes, installations, or experiences that you can shape into something personal.
Below, we’re sharing the most compelling wedding trends we’re seeing for 2025-2026 and beyond. Some are bold. Some are subtle. All of them are invitations to create a wedding that feels unmistakably yours.
2025–2026 Wedding Trend Report
How minimalism with impact is redefining wedding design through texture, proportion, and purposeful restraint
Why architectural florals and tonal color palettes are taking the spotlight in 2025–2026
The rise of editorial bridal fashion and personalized wardrobes across multi-day events
How modern weddings prioritize immersive guest experiences over tradition
The role of visual storytelling in capturing energy, emotion, and real-time moments
Why couples are investing in wedding content creators and 35mm film for lasting impact
Photo By: Emily B. Photo
Design with Depth: A New Era of Aesthetic Direction
There’s a difference between minimal and minimalism: in 2025, current wedding trends are highlighting a design movement that strips away excess without sacrificing style. It’s minimalism with impact, texture, and presence.
Florals are no longer centerpieces—they’re architectural sculptures built with negative space, proportion play, and unexpected elements like stones, fruits, or boldly tinted blooms. They're abstract, layered, and meant to be seen from every angle.
Color choices are shifting, too. Monochrome and tonal palettes create boldness in a different way. Clay, bone, olive, sand, and muted reds create a grounded base, while accents like wasabi green or metallic chrome introduce a sharp, editorial edge.
Even the linens are doing more than covering a table. Fabrics are chosen for their movement and form—think velvet, piped linen blends, or soft, custom textures that turn a tablescape into something sculptural. Chairs are styled as part of the design, not just functional pieces.
And lighting creates both ambiance and architecture. Taper candles with sculpted bases, glass vessels in oversized shapes, and fixtures that feel more like art than rental.
The result is a design language that feels elevated without extravagance. These modern choices add confidence to on-trend celebrations that we’d be hard-pressed to ignore.
Photo By: Emily B. Photo
Bridal Fashion, Rewritten
One wedding trend we can get behind is that bridal fashion is no longer just about the dress. Couples are curating cohesive wedding wardrobes like fashion campaigns.
From sculptural gowns and tailored separates to after-party minis and poolside brunch looks, today’s bridal fashion trends are editorial, expressive, and anything but expected. Gowns are making use of volume, structure, and shape—bubble hems, basque waists, architectural capes. Chrome and silver are showing up everywhere, from earrings to heels to hairpieces—replacing the more traditional gold and pearl.
Accessories are doing more than just finishing a look. Sheer gloves, bold jewelry, and overskirts or cover-ups let brides shift styles across events without changing entirely.
Beauty is following suit—modern bridal looks highlight the bride’s natural beauty. Hair is sculptural, not stiff. Makeup is clean, radiant, and intentional. A bold lip might show up for dinner. Neon nails might make an appearance at the pool party. But nothing is overdone.
And grooms? They’re not being left behind. Modern menswear is sleek, stylized, and every bit as much a part of the wedding look. Grooms are sporting tailored suits in fashion-forward color ways, sneakers with tuxes, and weekend wardrobes with just as many outfit changes.
→ Get inspired by Vogue’s Spring 2026 bridal runway coverage.
Photo By: Katina Patriquin
The Experience Is Everything
Design may draw the eye—but experience is what lingers. Modern couples are curating entire weekends, with the goal of creating a guest experience that feels thoughtful, immersive, and effortlessly personal from start to finish. Here are a few new wedding trendswe think are worth embracing:
Multi-day itineraries are becoming the new norm.
That might mean a poolside welcome, a tequila tasting in the courtyard, or a mountain hike followed by an open-air farewell brunch. Modern couples are building out destination weekends that feel effortless, intentional, and styled from start to finish.Hospitality has taken on new meaning.
Couples are redefining luxury as how their guests feel: ease, clarity, warmth, surprise. Think: printed room keys as itineraries and bespoke welcome kits, but more importantly: a clarity and flow that ensures guests never have to wonder where to be, when to move, or what comes next..Venues are being chosen as brand extensions.
Think modern villas in Punta Mita, off-grid luxury in Jackson Hole, or architecturally rich properties with raw textures and scenic drama in Big Sur. Traditional ballrooms are being traded for open layouts and natural light in spaces that reflect the couple’s aesthetic point of view.Even the structure of the wedding is evolving.
No bridal party. No forced timelines dictated by tired traditions. Instead, private vows, shared dressing moments, and guests seated casually at welcome drinks instead of ceremonies.Culture is woven in with intention.
Not as a theme or checklist, but as a guiding lens. For multicultural couples, this might look like modern interpretations of rituals, attire, or cuisine—styled with depth and care.Food is part of the design story, too.
Chef-led pasta stations, oyster carts, live caviar bumps create interactive moments with each element styled just as boldly as any tablescape. Cakes are architectural and sculptural: dome-shaped, tierless, or asymmetrical with piped detailing and bold geometry. And dessert alternatives are taking center stage: croquembouche towers, Japanese parfaits, or custom confections designed for the moment.
Photo By: Mashaida Co.
Visual Storytelling, Lasting Value
Today’s couples are going beyond hiring a photographer to curate a team who can capture the energy, movement, and ambient emotion of the weekend as it naturally unfolds.
Cinematic, unstructured photography helps couples skip the portrait session in favor of in-the-moment narratives that are more about being present than posing. Photographers capture movement, energy, and ambient emotion—wind catching a veil, light moving across the floor, a glance between friends over champagne—especially in destination settings where the location becomes a co-lead.
35mm film is making a major return, prized for its grain, warmth, and imperfection. There’s something deeply intimate about the texture it brings to a wedding gallery—so much so that second shooters working exclusively in film are becoming a staple for couples who want something that feels more editorial than polished.
And then there’s the rise of the wedding content creator: not to be confused with the friend filming TikToks on their phone—this is a professional, dedicated role. Content creators work alongside the creative team to capture real-time, behind-the-scenes footage for social platforms, edited and delivered in near real time, without disrupting the flow.
This new trend in wedding documentation creates a visual legacy that feels as layered and personal as the wedding itself.
Wedding trends come and go—but celebrations that feel personal, thoughtful, and well-executed will never go out of style.
Photo By: Mashaida Co.
If you’re interested in working with Mandy Marie Events to plan your wedding, we suggest reaching out to our team 9-18 months in advance of your desired wedding date. Of course, we can work on tighter timelines, but when possible, we like to make sure we can reserve your date, venue, and creative partners around a year ahead.