Photo: Kobus Louw / E+ / Getty Images
Imagine this: You step into your best friend’s wedding at a cozy hometown pub, dressed in a floor-length gown. Tables are adorned with grapes and artichokes as centerpieces. The bride makes her entrance in a pink dress, holding a bouquet of calla lilies. The bridesmaids all sport coordinated pantsuits. Welcome to a 2025 wedding.
These are just a few examples of this year’s most unique and unexpected wedding trends, as predicted by experts, with engagement season coming to a close.
According to The Knot, the months from November to February are the peak time for proposals—like Tom Holland’s recent engagement to longtime girlfriend Zendaya over the holidays and A-lister Selena Gomez’s announcement in December of her engagement to Benny Blanco.
As wedding planning season gets underway—and with my own experience fresh in mind, as my sister’s wedding is just around the corner in less than two months—what can we expect from weddings this year?
“Reframing your wedding as a dedicated place to foster in yourself and the people you love is very relevant. So, I encourage people to think about what brings them joy, and usually, you can find cool ways to do that in a wedding,” Oregon-based wedding planner and consultant, Elisabeth Kramer, told me.
Floral displays without the blooms
Centerpieces made from fruits and vegetables at weddings, designed and photographed by Victoria Jane (Courtesy of Victoria Jane)
While a signature centerpiece on the dinner table is traditional, flowers alone are no longer as captivating as they used to be.
Eva Lopez, owner of Cha Cha Linda, a vintage bridal shop in New York City, says she’s noticing a trend where couples combine floral arrangements with fruits and vegetables. To maintain visual harmony, they often select bold-colored produce, such as lemons, limes, grapes, and artichokes, to complement the flowers.
Some couples are ditching the big flowers, and using succulents or tropical plants as centerpieces instead, according to Kramer. “I have a couple of clients who are legitimately planting trees when they get married, trying to create a lush or greenhouse feeling,” she says.
Kramer has observed that centerpieces are shifting away from the center of the table, with couples opting to allocate their floral budgets towards creating floral clouds that hang above guests during dinner.
Calla lilies remain a top choice.
Flowers are a must-have for brides and bridesmaids as they make their way down the aisle, and in 2025, one bloom stands out above the rest: calla lilies.
“They are bouquets with really long stems. It’s just chic and elegant,” Lopez says. “It’s got that architectural intrigue and feels powerful. It’s not like the light classic girly bridal look that’s been an aesthetic in the past.”
Skipping the cake-cutting tradition
After the dinner portion of the reception wraps up, the celebration typically moves on to a cherished custom: the cake.
However, according to Sarah Klingman – the owner of event planning service Mostest — couples are moving away from the cake-cutting ceremony entirely, which means ditching the cliche moment of feeding each other cake. Sometimes, you even see the supposedly sweet gesture of a groom putting a piece of cake on his newlywed’s face – which actually just ruins that makeup she spent hours doing.
“ They’re opting for less staged trends, and they might even like skip it entirely,” she explained. “Or they’re just cutting the cake without their guests watching, and privately taking a picture.”
And the bride chose blue
As a wedding guest, you’re familiar with the unwritten rule of "never wear white," since that’s reserved for the bride.
But in 2025, some brides are even steering clear of white themselves. Klingman predicts that more brides will opt for colorful gowns, partly due to the historical association of white with purity in Western culture.
“They’re still wearing feminine colors, think lavender or light pink. They’re just not that traditional like white because the modern girls aren’t as into that,” she explains. “And they just like another color.”
Bridesmaids in pantsuits
When my sister was planning her wedding last October, I picked a sky-blue chiffon dress for the occasion. While we weren’t required to shop at any specific store, my sister directed the bridal party to websites like Azazie and Birdy Grey, which offer a wide selection of bridesmaid dresses.
However, Klingman notes that many bridesmaids in 2025 won’t be shopping at these traditional brands for their outfits. Instead, she’s seeing a growing trend of women opting for vibrant jumpsuits and pantsuits—pieces that can truly be worn again.
ChatGPT lends a hand with grooms’ speeches
ChatGPT has made its way into wedding planning—but it’s worth using with caution. Klingman mentioned that at a recent reception, she saw a groom urgently searching the internet to craft a heartfelt speech for his new wife.
“One groom generated his toast on Chat GPT one minute before he gave it,” she recalled, noting that he didn’t hesitate to tell all his friends that he did this. “It was hard to watch.”
Grooms are also switching outfits during the reception
It’s common for brides to wear several outfits throughout the day: one for the ceremony, another for the reception, and sometimes a third for the afterparty. The wedding gown, often the most expensive look, is typically worn for a significant portion of the reception as well.
However, brides aren’t the only ones enjoying outfit changes—grooms are increasingly donning multiple looks throughout the day too.
“At one wedding I went to, the groom changed into a different suit that was more colorful and playful,” Lopez explains. “For the third look, he kept the pants from the second look and changed into a really fun shirt that he got custom-made.”
Black tie weddings at a dive bar
Every now and then, a bride might want to enjoy a cold beer at a dive bar while wearing her wedding gown, mingling with the usual pub crowd. (Supplied)
The choice of venue usually influences what guests wear, whether it’s a more laid-back vibe at a farm wedding or a glamorous look at a hotel ballroom.
However, this year, why should a fancy venue be a requirement for dressing up? Lopez anticipates that couples will opt for more relaxed yet meaningful locations to tie the knot.
“Like a dive bar that has a lot of character,” she said. “It just feels funky, old school, and edgy in a way, but then you invite your guests to be really glamorous.”
In 2024, many celebrities chose to have destination weddings, with Millie Bobby Brown marrying in Italy and Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper saying "I do" in Mexico. However, Lopez believes that 2025 will bring a shift, with celebrity couples embracing a more understated elegance. For stars like Zendaya and Gomez, this could mean intimate ceremonies at home or spontaneous elopements.
Despite this, Klingman has a feeling that these brides-to-be will still go all out for their weddings, with destination celebrations packed with planned events, all expenses covered by the couples themselves. As for their wedding attire, Klingman suspects we’ll see refurbished vintage jewelry, perhaps with added diamonds, making a glamorous statement.
Source: INDEPENDANT