ON-TREND WEDDINGS Anouska Parsons, event manager and founder of Hampshire-based event agency Raggy&Boo shares her insight into key trends for 2022. ❤ Small and intimate Intimate weddings have made a big comeback and are likely to stick around. Some couples who had to cancel their original plans realised that the big wedding day wasn’t necessarily what they wanted after all. The pros of a scaled-down affair mean you can be more extravagant with your ideas or you might want to save cash for an almighty celebration or dream honeymoon afterwards! ❤ Eco-friendly and earthy tones During the pandemic people have been spending more time outdoors and have become more connected to the environment. Increasingly newlywedsto-be want to incorporate their eco-ethos into their big day, not only in terms of recycling, reducing and re-using but also in their big-day colour palette, so more earthy tones will be making an appearance in 2022. ❤ Weekday weddings There’s still a large backlog of postponed bookings due to the pandemic so it’s likely that in 2022 we will be seeing a big trend for weekday weddings. Even though it can be a little trickier for guests, it’s a great way to benefit from reduced rates, which can be a bonus for your family and friends too, if they need to book a hotel room. ❤ Going local Backing small businesses and shopping locally is increasingly at the forefront of people’s minds, not only to support them through the recent turbulent times, but also from an environmental aspect. More and more couples are choosing to use suppliers local to their venue and long may it stay that way. ❤ Sequel weddings Many couples who were deprived of their big wedding day due to Covid opted to go ahead and tie the knot despite restrictions and organise a follow-up celebration afterwards when they can hit the dancefloor and party into the night with all their friends and family. Raggy&Boo | www.raggyandboo.com REGENCY ROMANCE Laura Denny of Hampshire-based Spiral Events sees more Regency-themed weddings coming through, inspired by the popular period drama Bridgerton. Gifts with sentiment are also on the rise in place of standard favours for guests. “As people haven’t been able to see each other for a while the meaning behind the gift has become more important,” she reports. Also to look out for in the wake of the pandemic, Laura warns of rollercoaster emotions. “Many couples have waited so long for their big days to arrive, that the reality of them actually getting married hasn’t hit. We’ve worked with brides that have said that they didn’t feel like it was ever going to happen or they were waiting for something else to go wrong. So the emotional hit on the actual wedding day can be big, not only for them, but their guests too. Our advice is to try and prepare for it and have some extra tissues to hand at the front of the aisle.” Spiral Events | www.spiralevents.co.uk 82
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