With a new year (and decade!) comes new trends in the wedding world. Our lead stylist and wedding designer, Mishy, is here to give you the goods on what’s in, what’s out, and help craft your dream 2022-23 wedding day in Ireland!

Earthy Neutrals

A big shift will happen away from using cooler grey tones and monochromatic whites. Rather, focusing on warmer earthy tones will be huge in 2022 and going into 2023. Scandi style palettes will still have major influence, but they’ll incorporate more warm tones like sandstone, buff, warm gold and terracotta colors. Grey will still be a neutral, but more so the warmer “greige” (grey-beige) area. Brown and brown/red tones will be huge for 2022, especially orange spectrum colors like burnt orange and valencia that have that Mediterranean warmth to them. Don’t shy away from incorporating brown into your color palette: tan, soft copper, caramel, coffee, cinnamon, and gold tones are very sophisticated to work in with classic wedding color palettes and the lush greenery in Ireland! As a stylist, I’m super excited to work with more browns the next two years!

Bold Colors

Think big. Be Bold. That’s the mantra for color schemes for 2022 weddings. From creating a strong, bold color palette to using a bold color as an accent color, we have a lot of options to find that right shade of pop to make your wedding look enticing and passionate. Jewel tones will take the spot light, especially bold reds like poppy, cherry red, ruby, garnet, ferrari red, and cherry apple. Bright pinks will also play pretty heavily into 2023, ranging from peach-pink tones to almost neon pink. We’ll see pink used as an accent as well as building a pink-centric color scheme, ranging in tones from dusty to saturated. Think beyond blush this year!

Purple in particular will take center stage, from soft lilac and lavender tones to electric purple and romantic amethyst tones. Purple in particular is a wonderful color to choose as a main color to build the rest of your day: it has a variety of shades to suit your personality and style, and works beautifully in all spaces. In particular, against the green scenery in Ireland.

Megan and Brandon’s gorgeous wedding featured bold red tones just perfectly as one example. Check out more here.

Serenity in Soft Tones

After the continued chaos of 2021, calming and soothing tones and color palettes will still be a favorite to work with. Softer shades and “dusty” tones will continue to dominate the wedding scene. In particular, blush pink and dusty or powder blue tones will take center stage. They are are slightly modernized take on the traditional wedding colors, and they will certainly make for some gorgeous presentations and photos. In particular, rose quartz and “barely there pink” tones will be huge, as will sky blue tones, hydreangea blue, cornflower blues, and even periwinkle! If you’re feeling up to it, mix them together for a pink and blue color combo that is elegant and classic — just make sure it doesn’t veer off into baby territory!

For a more contemporary take, think peach and purple instead of pink and blue. We’ll continue our adventure into orange tones well into 2023, and this includes the softer orange and orange-pink tones of peaches, nectarine, morning sunsets and more. We’ve played with lots of blues (the new neutral) and that certainly won’t go away, but we’ll see people work with purples more, including the classic and effortlessly chic softer purple tones. Katelyn and Matt’s wedding is an outstanding example. The custom color palette we created for them you can see is at once so romantic, elegant, classically beautiful but has a slight contemporary feel to it.

Ceiling Installations

We’re still looking psychologically to lift our spirits, and this can literally translate into the ceiling at your wedding. We’ll see designs that are incorporating more and more ceiling decor, from greenery garland accents to full installations. We’ll see a range from garden accents with green foliage and flowers to whimsical designs of floating clouds in pops of bright colors, lanterns, suspended objects and more!

Satellite Bars… with a Twist

Not just great for spacing out your wedding crowd, satellite bars will take on a form of entertainment as well in 2022. Consider having each bar specialize in a particular tasting or serving: one has tequila exclusively, one has whiskey, one has cocktails, etc.

But why stop there? Feature a paired nibble or treat with each station to make the space a 360 immersive experience for your guests!

Take it Outside

One good thing that came out of the covid era was our comfortability with celebrating and feasting outdoors and in open spaces. Especially after claustrophobic quarantining, we’ll a trend in having ceremonies and receptions outdoors into 2022. This is super easy in Ireland, where you can take advantage of the breathtaking scenery to host an outdoor ceremony (garden, beach, cliffside, ruins, etc.). Keep the theme going with an outdoor tent for the reception. A glass marquee or open-sided marquee is a great way to incorporate this trend on your wedding day.

If the weather intervenes or you’re not keen on being that outdoorsy, consider anchoring your wedding with a garden style. Bringing the outdoors in will be huge for 2022 and into 2023.

Black Tie Required

After being cooped up we are ready to party. We will see a big shift in wedding style in 2022 that embraces formal and black tie to a new level. Not only will the bride and groom go big with their outfits, the bridal party and even guests will be encouraged to wear their best full on ballgowns and tuxedos. And we are living for this! Imagine everyone dressed to the nines for your castle wedding!

Beyond Flower Arrangements

Unfortunately, we’re predicted to see continued issues with sourcing things into 2022 as covid impacts production. This can include flowers. Working with local florists, especially those that are savvy in locally sourced and grown flowers, will be an ace in your pocket. We’ll definitely see a shift from special order flowers like orchids or out-of-local-season blooms; what was hard to get pre-covid will be almost impossible in 2022. As a result, we’ll see a lot of floral arrangements focused on greenery and foliage, woodland and garden styles, natural and whimsical styles (or undertones) when working out your wedding’s theme.

To help out, we’ll see a reliance on using non-floral decor more as well. Things like patterned linens, patterned or colored tableware, and more creative place cards and menus (rather than paper) to help create dimension and texture on the tables. Hand-painted items, paper, textiles will be a huge way to add visual impact to your spaces. Get in contact with us today — our designers already have some spectacular ideas they’re so excited to work with!

We’ll also see savvy couples using already built-in floral decor to serve as natural backdrop to help. Again, consider having receptions outdoors or with a glass marquee that’s set in a garden or coastal setting, host your ceremony outdoors if possible — all super easy to do in Ireland and with fantastic locations to choose from!

Dried Flowers

In anticipation of the flower sourcing and ability to tone exact colors better, we’ll see dried flowers being utilized more and more in 2022 and into 2023. Easier and more affordable to source, eco-friendly, and versatile, we’ll see dried flowers used as floral installations, ceiling decor, accent decor, and more. We won’t see them as much in bouquets, but don’t shy away from incorporating them in a way either. One of our clients used sachets of dried lavender for their church exit!

Interactive Receptions

Couples (and guests) want more than just to sit down for a great dinner. Creating a reception that has a flow and lots of great entertainment and activities will be the way to celebrate in 2022. Think beyond just a great DJ or band — it will be about their performance and energy. Consider surprising guests with professional dancers, performers, fire-breathers and more! For a lower-key option, consider having an artist paint or sketch in real time during your reception. Really lots of options to keep your guests entertained for a memorable experience!

Pick a Theme!

Many couple will feel like they have a lot to make up for, and everyone will be so excited and ready to party. There will be a big trend to host welcome parties before the big day, but even more so, having a theme that really anchors the event and brings everyone together for the right head space. There are no limits and no etiquette must do’s here: in fact, the emphasis is on fun and enjoyment, colors and vibe. We’re so excited as planners to dive into this with you!

Mediterranean influence

Mediterranean cultures will have a big influence into 2022. It will definitely influence in the color palette with deep ocean blue tones and earthy terra cotta and ceramics tones in particular, but we’ll also see the style taken quite literally in table decor as well. Using citrus as a main decorative theme will be big. Tableware that has a Mediterranean feel or theme will be huge.  We can dive into this style as much or as little as you like! Something like this cake with accents of lemons by Cupcakes & Counting is a great example of adding a pop of trend without overly saturating the presentation.

Trends We’re Saying Goodbye To

All good things must come and go, and such is in the wedding world:

fairy light walls & backdrops | We’ll see them in the ceilings more, not on the walls!

all white monochromatic styles | We’ll have some kind of bolder accent color breaking up the all-white look. And sorry, green/grey doesn’t count!

champagne/doughnut/etc. walls | Couples won’t spend the money on these custom displays. They photograph great, but functionally aren’t covid or budget friendly.

navy blue and grey | We’ll see a shift to classic formal black for the gents’ suits, softer shades of blue, deep midnight blue and green.

flower walls | Again, anticipating flowers will be harder to source, we’ll see the use of wallpaper and patterns instead.

overly complicated and overly styled wedding signs | We’re focusing on function now and a cleaner display style with a timeless or contemporary look.

casual calligraphy | That half-print, half-calligraphy style we’ve seen everywhere is done. We’ll see a shift to classic period-inspired hand-calligraphy for the more formal styles or classic sophisticated block print instead for your on the day stationary goods.

rustic | The days of barns, burlap, lace, and twine are (thankfully) done…they have no place on the wedding scene and are officially taboo.

exactly matching bridal party looks | The look of “the exact same dress” for your bridesmaids is officially done, and we anticipate potentially forever. Thankfully we’ve realized that everyone comes in different shapes and sizes, and dress styles should compliment that. Instead, going forward, we’ll see a range of dress styles in your chosen wedding color or a color range — where the bridesmaids take a range of your main color from light to dark. We’ll also see the guys start to diversify their looks as well — gone are the matching socks, matching boutonnieres, matching ties looks! We’ll see again a range of colors on their ties, replacing pocket squares for the flowers, and a bit more individuality celebrated.

photo booths / props | We’ll continue to see styled spaces in venues, but the idea for your guests to take photos will look and feel more organic rather than propped and forced.

buffets | This will have a carry-over from the covid era. We’ll see a trend for more formal dining at receptions, for weddings big and small. And for casual affairs, we’ll see food and dessert trucks utilized more than a buffet or self-serve situation.

doughnuts | Doughnut walls, doughnuts in your wedding colors, fancy doughnuts…. dough-NOT do it!

huge bouquets | We’ll have a return to smaller bouquets for both the bride and bridesmaids, again anticipating possible sourcing complications. We’ll see a flower-focused, curated bouquets that are easy to hold (and repurpose at the reception!).