We know that as graduates of Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute you dream of having a successful wedding and event-planning business of your own. Just like in any part of life it’s helpful to gather hints and learn from people who are living the dream! We welcome today’s guest writer, Nadia Digilov, a celebrated wedding and event planner in New York City. She has great insight into the trends for 2010, which you can pass on to your brides and clients this year as you plan their festivities!

Top 10 Wedding Trends for 2010
By Nadia Digilov, the founder and CEO of NYC event-production firm Celebrating in Style

Whether you are planning an ultra classic or a super modern wedding you can implement some elements of the trends that are happening this year in to your wedding day. Here are some of the latest styles in catering, decorations, flowers and much more!

1-Reception Venue: Transform a restaurant dining room into an ultra chic reception with the creative use of the right lighting. No longer do you need a family country club or a local catering hall that has already been used over and over again by friends and family!

2-The After Party: The after party is a great marriage of the old and new at one significant event. During the reception you will have traditional wedding customs such as your first dance and in some cases some religious traditions. The after party is pure music and dance and is usually held at a separate room that is transformed into an ultra chic lounge.

3-The Decor: The natural trend is still going strong this year, with the use of trees being a unique way to replace the traditional flower decorations. Candles hanging from the trees are a wedding classic, however, this year why not get creative and mix in a feeling of whimsy by add in ribbons and wind chimes.

4-Seated Dinner Twist: Consider serving some dishes family style and having your caterer arrange the platters on a couple of different levels. Serve your guests food rich in color, which adds a feeling of abundance, color and life to your wedding tables.

5-Late Night Surprise: Your guests will love you for some late night snacks after they dance up a storm and a hefty appetite. Just when the guests thought the food, was done have the caterer bring out some late night snacks like mini hotdogs, cheese and crackers!

6-The Bar: Last year we saw a whiskey and bourbon trend, the year before it was champagne, and the 2010 trend is tequila! Margaritas anyone? Impress your guests with non-traditional cocktails like cool refreshing blackberry mint or grapefruit basil martinis.

7-Cake Top: The classic bride & groom cake top has some competition this year. The trend of the year is to substitute the good ol’ cake top with gorgeous symbolic flowers, custom made by your florist at the cake top of your wedding cake.

8-The Wedding Dress: Add some color to your wedding dress with the use of flowers, head-pieces or jewelry. Check out the line of unique jewelry from Marie-Lise Lachapelle which incorporates real flowers such as orchids, pansies, and roses covered in gold, silver and lacquer to preserve the shape and color of the actual flower. These unique pieces can be worn as necklaces, earrings, or even pinned into the hair for a boho-chic look: http://marieliselachapelle.com

9-The First Dance: Many of brides are going back in time to the 1940’s for the music and are choosing the romantic classics such as “I’ll Be Seeing You Again” and “Moonlight Becomes You.”

10-Dessert Table: A candy table in place of a full Viennese table is a very hot trend for 2010. The traditional Viennese table is filled with heavy cakes, while a candy table is fun and arouses a feeling of adventure and youth in your guests! Who wouldn’t like that?

Nadia Digilov is New York’s premier luxury wedding expert and the founder and CEO of NYC event production firm Celebrating in Style, www.celebrating-instyle.com. After seven years on the trading floors of the largest investment banks on Wall Street, her passion for production led her to begin creating luxury events that leave a lasting impression. Since 2002 Nadia has created weddings, corporate events, concerts, trade shows, and marketing events in major cities around the world; including New York, Miami, Moscow, Tel Aviv and St. Petersburg.

We’ll freely admit that the first time we actually saw what Trash the Dress meant we were kind of horrified. Wedding gowns can cost serious money, and the thought of trashing it - literally! - after the wedding festivities are over is more than a little shocking. At the same time, however, we can think of a few situations - and a few brides - where trashing the dress is less surprising and more acceptable. And as a certified wedding and event planner you’re expected to have all kinds of weapons in your arsenal so when That Bride walks in and expects you to suggest the unexpected, a trash the dress folder may be the little detail she has been looking for!

Christa DiPaulo Becker, a bride that the New York Times intereviewed several years ago when it did a piece on this wedding trend, said that trashing her wedding gown seemed fitting because after everything was  said and done she was feeling pretty “antiwedding.” So for the brides who want to shed a little stress post-nuptials a trash-the-dress session may be just what the doctor ordered.

Trashing an expensive wedding gown may understandably send shivers down your spine. If you have a bride who knows beforehand that she’s interested in a post-wedding trashing session you may be able to persuade her to go green and buy, perhaps, an inexpensive used gown or something vintage that won’t break the bank. She’ll be saving the earth and keeping a little green in her wallet at the same time. (Plus, you may prevent the Mother of the Bride - or Father(!) - from having a heart attack at the thought of a $5,000 gown covered in, uh, mud.)

Michael Cooper, a Las Vegas photographer who is credited with starting the trend, said he was bored of traditional wedding photos. His edgy suggestions ultimately led him to putting brides (and sometimes grooms) in unexpected places: mud, water, by dilapidated buildings. Thus, a trend was born. For the bride and groom who like to think outside the box this may be a trend they latch onto. As a wedding and event planner it may be worth it to scout out a few places around your region where a trash-the-dress session would work. (And find out in advance which photographers are willing and experienced!) And, yes, grooms can get in on the action. Think how cute the photos would be of couples, while still in their wedding attire, climbed trees together, rolled around in the sand by the ocean, or played in the park. No - this has no aura of traditionalism about it - but weddings are about memories, and this is definitely one memory a bridal couple would never forget!

Links to check out:
* trashthedress.com
* a flickr thread dedicated to trash-the-dress photos
* it’s news to us, but this type of photography is also called rock the frock and fearless bridal!
* it’s all for the amazing photos, one recent bride says

Vera Wang at Work

 

 

While recent reports compiled by The Wedding Report show that almost every bride wants a wedding dress and the vast majority of wedding dresses are purchased and not rented, four out of five brides surveyed are listing price as an important or very important factor in their wedding dress purchase.

It's All About The Budget