The Biggest Wedding Trends For 2023

After two years of enforced micro-weddings, endlessly postponed nuptials and restricted events, the sentiment for 2023 is very much: go big or go home.

The freedom to celebrate as we please once again means brides and grooms are going all out with their weddings this year.

Kate Halfpenny, founder and designer of Halfpenny London, has noticed a stark change in her clients' plans. 'I think that micro weddings are swiftly becoming maxi weddings again,' she says. 'Now the world has opened up to celebrations on a big scale, people are partying bigger and harder.'

Think spectacular celebrations abroad, multi-night themed parties à la Tish Weinstock, extravagant dresses, gigantic cakes, champagne towers and guest-lists that are bursting at the seams in order to catch up on missed time with friends and loved ones.

And the 'go big' mentality extends to the wedding food too, that this year, is all about feasting without the formality. Just look to Kourtney Kardashian’s Dolce and Gabbana spaghetti bowls and fashion PR Daisy Hoppen’s French fries trolleys.

'Serve everything family-style,' suggests Rochelle Canteen chef and Hoppen's wedding caterer Margot Henderson, ‘food looks lovely on platters and brings everyone together’.

For those still at the planning stage, Henderson advises starting with large piles of crusty sourdough with ‘the best butter one can find’, roast sutton hoo chicken ‘chopped up into “happy” joints’, and Welsh rarebit served on toast in the evening.

Nineties nostalgia is one of the biggest fashion trends of the moment, so it was only a matter of time before it came for our wedding dresses too.

'Sleek 1990s chic wedding wear is here to stay,' says Clover London founder Ally Voss. 'Contemporary and uncomplicated bridal is something so many of our brides are after, from clean square necklines to unfussy fabrics.'

Slinky, cami-style dresses and square-neck gowns are both timeless and bang on trend, and can be dressed up or down depending on just how Nineties you want to go.

HURR has noticed an increased interest in 90s-style minimal silhouettes, shorter hemlines and 'lots of sequins'. And who does the combination of these best? Clio Peppiatt, whose recently launched bridal collection nails the Nineties aesthetic in all its playful, hyper-feminine glory. Crystal-covered mini-dresses such as the Lucina have been particularly popular with fashion insiders, with the designer's corsets and column gowns following closely behind.

Corsets are also enjoying a major comeback at Halfpenny London, where the new 'Okotan' design has been one of the most popular styles for 2023 brides. 'The corset is a draped silk crepe dream which is so flattering and everyone feels incredible in it,' says Kate Halfpenny. 'It can be styled in so many ways and offers a wonderful opportunity for brides to have any look they want, and wear it again and again.'

Now more than ever, hosts want to make sure their wedding feels like 'their wedding' – as opposed to a generic event seen all over Instagram countless times before. And so, they're turning to the likes of Ruth Kaye Design to help them create bespoke touches that reflect their personality.

'There's a huge drive towards attention to detail and a strongly personal direction,' says Sophie Lewis, a production designer at Ruth Kaye. 'This takes many forms like incorporating hand-drawn illustrations and also hand-written text.'

'Recently we have printed from one of the hosts' handwriting to make the details of the event feel even more personal. Notes to each guest and even illustrations of each guest are also used within table plans and place cards.'

Co-founder of Gigi & Olive, Georgie Le Roux, for example 'placed embroidered napkins on the table, which doubled up as place names that everyone got to keep' at her August 2022 wedding. 'I love wedding favours, especially ones that guests can keep after the wedding that aren't disposable.'

And if the host fancies themselves a bit of an artist? Wedding favours featuring their work are practically par for the course nowadays. Think sweet sketches of guests as place cards, calendars of their best prints and even crystal decanters with hand-drawn etchings.

As for gifting, gone are the days of gift registries – 2023 is a time for bespoke. ‘Presents should be thoughtfully selected to celebrate your love for the couple and commemorate the event,’ says Victoire Tardy-Joubert, the founder of The Go-To. For Liane Wiggins of Matchesfashion, ‘Gifts for the home that they wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves are always a great idea.’

The extra touches don't end on the wedding day either, with 'thank you' cards becoming elevated beyond all recognition. 'After a wedding we worked on recently, all guests received a knock on the door from a driver who handed over a linen box filled with a Diptyque candle, a bottle of ice cold pink champagne, an envelope with a thank you note and a night's stay at the hotel in the Cotswolds where the wedding took place,' says Lewis.

While not all budgets can stretch to quite that level, personalised stationery from the likes of Papier is a great place to start – and will instantly make the celebrations feel truly unique to you.

Instead of traditional photo albums and framed prints, try a coffee-table book of your wedding snaps. ‘Then you can flick through it like you would your favourite magazine,’ say Majo & Xav, the photographers behind La Dichosa. 'It's also easier to show your photos to your guests without forcing them to watch a slideshow, and a book blends in well with the decoration of a house.

Check out Milk Books, Printworks Market and Rosemood’s designs.

Sustainability isn't so much a trend as a way of life nowadays – and thank goodness for that. So it follows that whilst planning one of the biggest events of their lives, wedding hosts are increasingly incorporating eco-friendly elements into their big day.

From sending out e-vites and printing menus on recycled card to using local suppliers wherever possible, the 'reduce, reuse, recycle' motto is very much at the forefront for modern brides. 'Stationery that doubles up as gifts ensures that items are not thrown away and can be re-purposed,' says Ruth Kaye. 'For example, hand painted fans with guests names scribed by a calligrapher used as place cards or embroidered napkin rings that guests take home and re-use.'

Fabulous flower displays can be made sustainable, too. 'Speak to your florist about what the most seasonal options are, and make your flowers work harder by using your bouquets on the tables as well,' suggests ELLE UK's Senior Beauty Editor George Driver. 'You can also donate your flowers to charities and local care homes after the event so they don't go to waste.'

The same rules apply to the wedding outfit, and brides are increasingly turning to rental platforms and second-hand stores for their chosen look. Victoria Prew, founder and CEO of HURR, noted a 180% year-on-year increase in bridal rentals for 2022 – and even bigger growth on the horizon, thanks to recently launched rental partnerships with big e-tailers including Matches and Flannels.

Renting is not only the more eco-friendly option, but it's better for the purse-strings too – particularly since, as Prew notes, 'on average, brides are now looking for 3-4 outfits across the entire event, planning looks for everything from engagement parties and rehearsal dinners to multiple outfit changes on the big day.'

But if rental isn't your thing, then you can still shop sustainably by going second-hand, vintage, or simply considering re-wearability. 'Multiple wedding looks means that even more importance is placed on brides being able to rewear their piece long after the wedding day,' say Jess Kaye and Rosie Williams, co-founders of The OWN Studio. 'Many are opting to dye and tailor their pieces afterwards, so investing in silhouettes and fabrics suitable for dyeing are increasingly important to brides.'

The days of perfectly co-ordinated, all-white-everything weddings are long gone. For 2023, it's all about big, bold colours – and the more eclectic the better.

Want to pair a 'classic' dress with a bright red veil? Go for it (and go to Molly Goddard). Bridesmaids dressed in every colour of the rainbow? Why not! Tablescapes featuring a mish-mash of all your favourite shades? Clash away! Colour screams fun, celebration and personality – and really, isn't that what we all want on our wedding day?

Wedding dresses are increasingly getting the bold colour treatment too. As designer Clio Peppiatt puts it, 'Interestingly, wearing white only became the norm for brides around the 1800’s. I think given traditional values attached to wearing white, many of the clients we work with feel like this doesn’t necessarily represent the bride of today and instead have opted for touches of pinks, blue, silvers or golds.'

Ally Voss of Clover London, meanwhile, predicts that pink is going to be the wedding colour of 2023. 'Barbiecore has definitely influenced the amount of pink we are seeing in weddings of late,' she says. 'From electric bridesmaid ensembles to bright bouquets, pink is the colour I predict is going to trend this wedding season.'

Forget converted barns and bell tents, now is the chance to find a venue that ‘feels like a second home’, says Gaby Harvey, co-owner of the newly-opened wedding venue Kin House in Wiltshire.

'The little moments you share with all your favourite people the night before, on the morning of your wedding, and as you recuperate after the party are really special, so find a venue that has places where you can spend time together. And most importantly, make sure you'll be well looked after so you can enjoy every minute,' Harvey adds.

'Look for somewhere that offers something outside the usual formula. Could you host your rehearsal dinner in the gardens, or invite guests back the next day for lunch? Venues that have multiple spaces and are flexible on how you use them mean you can get creative. Thinking outside the box in ways that reflect you as a couple will make your wedding really memorable.'

Hot weddingvenues this year include London’s The Standard, The Cadogan Arms and House of St Barnabas, and Wild Thyme & Honey in the Cotswolds.

Call it The White Lotus effect: this year, Italy is a top honeymoon destination. ‘The elongated season gives those celebrating off-peak weddings more choice of honeymoon spot,’ say the boutique-hotel experts at Mr & Mrs Smith, who cite Lake Como’s Casa Olea, Ostuni’s Paragon 700 and Aristide on the Greek isle of Syros asfavourites for 2023 newlyweds.

'We’re also seeing couples booking shorter flights with longer stays,' says Aimee Hodgkin from Mr & Mrs Smith. 'Destinations closer to home are popular because they mean a reduction in carbon footprint. The tenets of "slow travel" are clearly taking hold, with newlyweds preferring to immerse themselves in the culture of one place for longer, rather than racking up air miles on multiple shorter trips.

Whether it’s a pre-wedding pub quiz and vitamin IV drips à la journalist Tish Weinstock, or using deadstock fabric for a Savannah Miller gown like model and slow-living advocate Danielle Copperman, 2023 brides are all about the personal details.

'We wanted to make it a three day affair without going too overboard on the first night so we took over a pub nearby the castle and did a fancy dress - in a nod to Halloween - pub quiz with a mixture of questions about us and general trivia,' Weinstock tells us. 'We also had the best man's speech so there weren't too many speeches on the actual wedding night. It was a good ice breaker for those who didn't know each other and last rounds were around 1am which meant there was a clear curfew. The next day we had IV drips at the castle to help with hangovers and energise guests for the day ahead. The actual wedding was themed black tie gothic again in nod to Halloween which is when we got married. The main advice I can give is to tailor your wedding to you. It's the most personal day and should be a celebration of you and your loved one.'

As for blending a touch of tradition with modernity, Copperman tells us: 'I wanted a vintage look (I generally am not drawn to anything modern. to be honest!) but with a modern edge to make it a bit more wearable and current, while still being timeless.'

For her dresses she used vintage styles and enhanced parts on one and added a slit to another to make it more modern and relaxed, despite their 'dated' origins.

'I also went for a pretty modern hairstyle which I didn’t expect initially, and kept the jewellery quite bold and statement, so it didn’t feel too "bridal" or too classic and "pretty",' she says. 'I think bridal dresses do all of that in some ways, so it’s good to have fun with accessorising - and better yet, you’ll be able to wear the pieces again beyond the big day.'

A new wave of wedding dress brands is making it easier than ever to create your perfect bridal look, without having to fork out on a fully bespoke design. Brides, meet the 'modular dressing' concept, in which you 'build' your dream outfit by mixing and matching a variety of purpose-made separates.

At The Own Studio, it's all about fabulous separates that 'allow brides to change up their look from day to night with minimal effort' – not to mention the added eco-benefit of being able to re-wear them. Think chic trouser suits given a party-ready zhuzh courtesy of a sequinned crop top, or feather overlays, organza wraps and dramatic capes to glam up a simple column dress.

Kate Halfpenny, meanwhile, has been pioneering the concept for years. 'I've always been passionate about individual styling and the Halfpenny ethos is all about choice,' she explains. 'I love the concept of taking a simple, yet stunning, base dress or slip and layering different elements to transform the outfit throughout the day. Brides are obsessed with this concept as it allows them so much freedom and fun to be creative.'

Her advice? Start with an expertly cut, minimalist dress in a stunning fabric and see it as a blank canvas that you can really make your own – be it with a glamorous overskirt, beaded cape, statement veil, detachable sleeves, or all of the above at once. The whole point is: whatever you want, goes.

Having spent so much time stuck at home during the pandemic, couples were more excited than ever at the prospect of getting married outdoors – not to mention the fact that, for a good while, it was their only legal option.

But while lockdowns, safety issues and confusing legalities are now but a distant memory, the outdoor weddings trend has well and truly stuck.

'Prior to the pandemic, you could only get married outdoors in England and Wales if your wedding venue had a licensed structure,' notes Hitched. 'However, the COVID-19 pandemic saw temporary permission 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.'

Check out our list of the best British wedding venues here.

Bridal accessories are big for 2023. ‘As soon as I saw Nicola Peltz’s ceremony look, I knew gloves would be a trend this year,’ says Annelise Sealy, founder of the Fall Bride, who suggests adding detachable bows and voluminous sleeves to 2023 looks.

'Gloves are great if you want to add a sense of formality to a more relaxed gown or a fun element to a reception look. Bows are a big trend for 2023 and this also extends into accessories. Hair bows - on their own or with your veil, you can't really go wrong with one. Bows are so easy to put on once your veil has come off. If bows aren't your thing then another accessory trend for 2023 is a halo - a more unique accessory, our brides are loving Lelet NY's scattered pearl halos to add a sleek and contemporary look to their hair do.

Clio Peppiatt says if an outfit change isn't possible, start with a veil or add a pair of tulle gloves. '[They] could be enough to transition your look from ceremony to party,' she adds.