White wedding table setup decoration with lights in Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Cover White wedding table setup decoration with lights in Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

Planning your 2022 wedding and looking for expert tips to make it truly unforgettable? These are the top wedding trends you should take note of

The wedding industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic since last year, with lovebirds forced to postpone tying the knot, downsize their nuptials or move their celebrations online. But there’s at least one silver lining: many couples had gotten creative with micro weddings, and were able to make the soiree still feel meaningful with more room for intimate connections.

Offering couples the opportunity to focus more on the joy and love that comes with the new stage of life, instead of the amount of resources spent on opulent showings, scaled-down weddings will continue to grow in popularity in 2022. Though the pandemic's impact on weddings will likely remain for some time, with destination weddings still out of the question, there are plenty of ways to ensure your big day is as magical as you’ve always imagined it to be. Think beautiful gowns and jewellery, photogenic decorations and live entertainment.

With the new year on the horizon, we spoke to expert planner, Joan Auyang from White Bridal—a Hong Kong-based wedding planning company, about the top trends to keep in mind as you start planning for your upcoming wedding. From venues to decorations and party arrangements, these are the five trends to look forward to in 2022.  

Read more: 10 Best Bridal Boutiques in Hong Kong to Find Your Dream Wedding Dress

Colours

Gone are the days of classic palettes such as whites, pinks and pastels which have been popular for many years. According to Joan, 2022 will see a bolder mix of bright shades and patterns that haven’t been seen before at traditional weddings. As the micro wedding trend will still be going strong in 2022, couples are bidding farewell to some old traditions such as cake cutting and formal speeches, so it's not surprising to see that people want to embrace new design elements to glam up their celebrations.

“Bold and bright colour palettes are going to dominate the wedding scene this year,” Joan said. “Some couples want to experiment with new things for a design that will make their ceremonies feel more personalised; while others just want to make their big day livelier and more fun, as vivid colours symbolise optimism, joy and excitement.”

The bold use of colours can be expressed through invitations, floral decorations, table settings and even clothing attire for the bridal party. Take the time and enjoy the process of planning a party that can really reflect your personal style.

Joan also notes that eco-friendly green is going to be huge next year, where various hues of green such as sage, olive, eucalyptus, emerald and dark forest green will be played out in many wedding designs, as many couples these days seek to make their celebrations more sustainable.  

Decorations

One of the biggest wedding décor trends for 2021 is the inclusion of greenery, and this isn’t going anywhere soon, according to Joan.  

“Since overseas travel is still off the cards, many couples have been looking to transform their event venues into beautiful places reminiscent of their original wedding destination or dream honeymoon locations,” she said. “Using lush greenery to mimic the tropical settings in Bali, or to host a dreamy Provencal Garden celebration are some of the examples to make your celebrations fun, immersive and memorable.”

For couples opting for sustainable weddings, they may want to share their environmental values by decorating the tables with greenery or potted plants that double as gifts to guests.

She also predicts that artistic and dramatic floral installations and creative lighting installations will take centre stage at 2022’s wedding scene, with couples being more creative and willing to look for unconventional decorations to surprise their guests.  

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Unique wedding venues

Outdoor ceremonies and dinner receptions will continue to be popular in 2022, as the pandemic has prompted people to the great outdoors and enjoy their wedding celebrations with more unique backdrops and experiences.

According to Joan, couples these days are preferring venues with outdoor spaces—such as gardens, rooftops and balconies—over traditional indoor ballrooms for a change of scenery after another year without travel.

“Places that have an outdoor element are more popular now, especially for those couples who aren’t able to travel abroad for a destination wedding with beautiful scenic view or gorgeous natural surroundings,” she said. Some of the best alternative outdoor venues in Hong Kong include The Lawn at Rosewood Hong Kong, The Lawn at The Upper House, Garden Suite at The Peninsula Hong Kong, The Upper Garden in Clearwater Bay, as well as The Lawn at The Repulse Bay.

If you want to go all out and make your celebrations truly unforgettable, you can also consider hosting the wedding on a luxury yacht surrounded by spectacular sea views and open skies. 

Weekday ceremonies

During the pandemic, many couples postponed their ceremonies due to government regulations on events. Together with newly engaged couples who are aiming to host their weddings in 2022, it becomes even more difficult to book venues and other services, such as photography and planning over the weekends.

“Most venues and vendors are already fully booked on weekends next year due to event postponements and cancellations amid the pandemic,” said Joan. “Many newly engaged couples who don’t want to wait for the next available weekend (which may likely be in 2023), have decided to host their celebrations on weekdays instead.”

She also noted that weekday weddings are great as it makes the process of wedding planning easier, which could also be a good option for those who are on tighter budgets, as the pricing of venues and vendors will usually be lower when comparing with weekends.  

Multiple celebrations

“Before the pandemic, it was normal to have wedding guest sizes of anywhere between 300 and 600,” Joan said. “The constantly changing government regulations that limit the size of banquets during the pandemic, had given rise to a new norm: hosting the wedding with multiple events within a day, or splitting up the celebrations into multi-day experiences.”

Having multiple celebrations is a good idea, as it gives the couples more flexibility in arranging the guest lists, allowing them to celebrate the big day with their loved ones without having to limit the attendance for just one event.

Currently, with loosened social distancing rules in Hong Kong, the size of a wedding banquet is 240 guests with a maximum of 12 persons per table, provided that two-thirds of the people at the banquet have received their first dose of the vaccine. “This regulation will likely remain in effect going forward,” Joan predicts. “Some of my clients decided to hold both lunch and dinner events on the same day, while choosing to have their wedding ceremony held earlier on a different date. I’m also seeing more clients planning to host their ceremonies, and two to three dinner events on different dates and venues.” 

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