Our Top 10 Trends For 2024
As with all things, weddings have trends that come around and then back out, but with 2024 set to be a bumper year to say "I Do" here a few trends we think we'll be seeing a lot of this year!
1. Personalisation On a Larger Scale
You want your wedding day to be one to remember, and the best way to achieve this is to make it truly personal. This could be home-made decorations or favours, use of your initials in the décor and displays of family photographs. The menu could include your favourite dessert, or even a signature cocktail. We have recently introduced a new cocktail menu at Penshurst Place, which we anticipate will be popular this summer.
2. Entertainment and Little Added Extras
Most professional venues can supply or suggest additional activities or entertainment to add extra fun to your day. Here are a few of our favourites at Penshurst Place:
Lawn games –a great ice-breaker during your drinks reception, with no pressure to join in.
Sweetie cart – always popular with adults and children alike!
Ice-cream van - perfect on a summer’s day
A fireworks display – what a fantastic way to end your evening with a bang! Displays at Penshurst Place can be set to music and can even display your initials for the ultimate personalisation. Our partner at Flashpoint Fireworks have created some incredible displays and exits for our couples! Take a look here
3. Rustic theme
Historic wedding venues such as Penshurst Place are ideal for a rustic theme. This style has been popular for a while, but has now seen a glow-up, showing that rustic can be chic and glamourous too! Think huge floral displays with lots of lush green foliage and mellow candlelight. Bottle or emerald green is a current popular colour choice for bridesmaid dresses. A beautiful colour palette which suits most and pairs well with copper, blush and deep maroon.
4. Sustainability
Today’s climate conscious couples wish to reduce their carbon footprint and eco-friendly venues are becoming ever popular. With this in mind, choose a venue where you can host both the ceremony and reception, and suppliers are also based locally, to reduce travel. Buy fewer single-use decorative items, and ask your venue what they have available to use. At Penshurst Place we are able to lend lanterns, tea light holders, easels, a cake stand and table name holders, plus all dining furniture is included.
5. Multi-day celebrations
Your wedding day will go quickly, so why limit your celebration to just one day? While family and friends are gathered you could extend your wedding weekend, with a rehearsal dinner the night before, or a lunch the following day. Your wedding venue may have a different room or space you could use for the extra celebration.
6. Golden Hour Shoots
You will always be spoilt for choice for beautiful locations at a countryside manor venue for your wedding photography, and we are now seeing these emerging trends:
‘Golden Hour’ photos, just before sunset have been popular for a while, and we are now seeing requests for ‘Blue Light’ shoots at twilight too. The area at the front of Penshurst Place is spectacular at sunset with the backdrop of the house.
‘First Look’ photography is an American trend also becoming more popular in the UK. This captures the romantic moment the bride and groom see each other for the first time, just before the ceremony.
If you are considering any of these ideas you will need to discuss a suitable location at your venue for these to take place.
7. Embracing The Tech
‘Our wedding’ websites are now common and considered convenient for wedding guests, enabling them to RSVP, donate to a gift list, check out local accommodation and view an itinerary of the day, all in one place. It also negates the need to print and send physical invitations.
Live streaming is normally possible and is a way of sharing your ceremony with anyone physically unable to attend. It can also be a solution for guests with limited mobility, if your ceremony is taking place in an area some guests are unable to access.
360 degree video photobooths and digital guest books are super-cool and popular with today’s Gen Z couples!
Your own wedding hashtag is a great way for guests to share their photos and memories of your day
8. Championing Suppliers Who Reflect Your Values
Modern weddings should be about celebrating love, in whichever form it takes. At Penshurst Place we champion suppliers who work with a variety of couples to ensure that your wedding with us is filled with nothing but love, kindness and warmth.
9. ‘Non-Weddings’
Non-traditional weddings are growing in popularity, where couples wish to celebrate their love for one another in a less-formal way. This could be a small, intimate ceremony, with a larger after-party, sometimes the following day. Instead of a sit-down wedding breakfast, a more relaxed hog roast or BBQ may be served, with a garden party theme, and the emphasis on the party and fun.
10. Celebrant-Led Ceremonies
Couples are increasingly using independent celebrants to perform the wedding ceremony, to create personal and meaningful vows. The legal ceremony will need to be performed by a licensed registrar, so this can take place just before the main ceremony, or even on a different day, just with witnesses or immediate family in attendance.