As we emerge from a period where weddings were pared back and scaled down, couples have been celebrating their weddings like never before.
So, what wedding trends are instore for 2023? To find out, engagement ring specialists at Steven Stone spoke to Zoe Burke from Hitched.
Analysing a comprehensive list of trends from their Wedding Trends Report, we’ve used hashtag data from Instagram to reveal which trends have the highest number of posts.
1. Outdoor Weddings
Prior to the pandemic, you could only get married outdoors in England and Wales if your wedding venue had a licensed structure, such as a pagoda or bandstand. However, the COVID-19 pandemic saw lots of couples opting for outdoor weddings for safety reasons so temporary permission was granted to allow licensed venues to host ceremonies outdoors – whether they had a structure outside or not.
This proved to be so popular that it became a permanent thing and now, providing your venue has a wedding licence, you can marry in any location outdoors!
2. Multi-Destination Honeymoon
According to data from Go2Africa, searches for ‘multi-destination honeymoon’ have risen by 9,900% – indicating that newlyweds will be keen to make up for the two years of holidays that we all missed out on during the pandemic.
A whopping 1,338,350 people have used the ‘honeymoon tour’ hashtag on Instagram, indicating that honeymoons in 2023 are going to be all about making up for lost time!
3. Catering
Couples are going all out when it comes to catering and it’s not just fresh and local produce that they’re investing in – they want their guests to be entertained whilst they eat.
According to Lara from Bijou, 2022 has seen a lot of interest in food being cooked on show, outdoors with a chef hosing the area and theatre-style viewing surrounding it. To keep up with this trend, many venues are installing fire pits.
4. Something Blue
While green bridesmaid dressed dominated Instagram in 2022, blue and lavender hues are set to take over as a key wedding colour trend for 2023.
With regency blue still a popular choice for couples, it’s clear that Bridgerton is still having a huge impact on weddings!
5. Destination Elopement
Some of the biggest celebrities have eloped, with newlyweds Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker being the latest celebrity couple to put elopements back in the spotlight.
It’s worth remembering that if you decide to elope, that doesn’t mean you have to leave your loved ones behind – it can be as small or big an affair as you’d like.
Whether you opt for a delicate periwinkle blue or go for a royal blue tone, it’s safe to say that your bridesmaids will be totally on trend if you have them as your ‘something blue’.
6. Honeymoons
Travel is back and it’s bound to be bigger than ever in 2023! With 97,655 people using the ‘Honeymoons’ hashtag on Instagram, it’s looking like 2023 will be all about travelling far and wide for newlyweds.
7. Wedding Suits for Women
There’s no question that tradition plays a big role in modern weddings – from the dress, to the cake, to something borrowed and something blue.
Traditions don’t speak to everyone though and wedding suits for women are becoming increasingly popular – with 97,415 people having posted about women’s suits.
8. Sustainability
Sustainability is becoming a bigger part of the conversation around weddings and with 78,167 people using the ‘Sustainable Wedding’ hashtag, this is something that’s undoubtedly going to continue throughout 2023.
9. Wedding Dress Rental
Wedding dress rental is another thing that falls under the sustainable wedding category. For many brides, their wedding dress never leaves their wardrobe after their big day, so renting is a great solution to this.
10. Humanist Ceremonies
Humanist weddings have risen in popularity in the UK, with over 1,000 happening in England and Wales each year.
A humanist wedding is a non-religious wedding ceremony that is free from many of the traditional rules around weddings. Humanist weddings can take place in any location, at any time of day, and couples have the freedom to be as creative as they want.
According to humanist wedding celebrants, there’s an exceptionally high demand for this style of celebration.
11. Twilight Weddings
Personalising your wedding doesn’t stop with how it’s decorated and what you say in your ceremony – you control everything when it comes to your big day, and that includes your wedding day timings.
More and more couples are realising they would prefer to have a ‘twilight wedding’, which is set to be one of the biggest wedding trends for 2023.
12. Mates of Honour, Groomsmaids & More
With 6259 hashtags for the Instagram term ‘Groomsmaids’, couples are moving to create wedding parties that reflect their actual friendship groups, rather than the gender specific groups that are the archaic ‘norm’.
Couples are also pivoting away from single sex pre-wedding celebrations, with nearlyweds choosing to party together or include their entire friendship group – regardless of gender – in the fun.
13. Cocktail Hour
As couples focus more on putting creative spins on the typical wedding day structure, you can expect to experience more wedding cocktail hours in 2023.
Whether couples choose one cocktail that’s sentimental to them or offer a small selection of their favourite cocktails, a cocktail hour is a nice personal touch from couples.
14. Bring on the Bows
Get ready for the return of bows as they’ve been spotted on the bridal runways!
There are a lot more styles and ways to accessorise than you think when it comes to bows – they can adorn your wedding dress, bridal shoes, or even be a hair accessory.
Bows aren’t just for the bride either, they look great worn by your bridal party too.
15. Upcycling
Couples are more conscious than ever when it comes to the impact their wedding will have on the environment, and handily, one of the most popular wedding traditions lends itself to this mindset pretty well.
The ‘something old’ tradition plan can play a huge part here as it offers the couple the chance to upcycle an old item and include it in their wedding day look!
If you’re looking for some jewellery inspiration, why not take a look at our full collection? Whether you’re after a necklace or some diamond earrings, we’ve got you covered. We also have a vast range of engagement and wedding rings.
If you don’t see anything that takes your fancy, we also offer a bespoke service, where our designers will create a unique piece of jewellery that ticks all the boxes.
Follow us on our socials
Pop over to our social platforms to keep up to date with Steven Stone’s latest jewellery content and news.
