Customizable everything
“I’m seeing a huge trend towards integrating your everyday rituals, beliefs and customs into your wedding,” says Toronto and L.A.-based event planner Melissa Andre, who counts Drake, Future and the Weeknd among her clients. This can be everything from having a vegan wedding to drawing your own hand-illustrated name cards if you’re an artist to. Remember: if something’s hyper-trendy — like mason jars or millennial pink — you may want to skip it. “Look within yourself for that inspiration rather than [falling into the trap of], ‘oh, every blogger likes blush and marble right now so I guess that’s what I should like,’” says Andre. “Weddings should be more timeless than that.”
Fashion designer Kresha Bajaj’s jewellery was custom-made by her jeweller husband, Vanraj Zaveri
The brunch wedding
If you’re the type who wants their guests to Footloose their way through your wedding night, stop reading right now. But if you’re “meh” on the dancing front, consider a brunch wedding. Plan your ceremony for noon and eat shortly after. “I love brunch weddings as most guests haven’t attended one before, so that instantly personalizes it,” says celebrity wedding planner Mindy Weiss, who has a client list as A-list as the Met Gala. “The food leans more toward breakfast choices, which is always a hit with guests. The decor tends to be a bit lighter and the flowers more whimsical.” Not to mention you’ll save heaps on your bar bill.
Small but luxe parties
One thing wedding planners always hear after the “I dos” is “I wish I had invited fewer people.” “The reason for that is the couple feel like they only got to spend a couple of minutes with everyone,” says Andre. “The concept of this mini, ultra luxurious and thoughtful wedding solves that issue. When we’re doing a 30-person wedding, it still has all the bells and whistles of a wedding with 250 people, but the experience is so different.”
No more welcome bags
“I’m over crazy, lavish, ridiculous welcome bags for destination weddings,” says L.A. based celebrity wedding planner Yifat Oren, who planned the nuptials of stars from Anne Hathaway to Natalie Portman. “Nobody needs more stuff and no one wants to put it in their bags. I see it firsthand; guests just leave it in their rooms.” Instead, she suggests gifting something small and locally made, like a luxury travel candle.
Hire a DJ
No, not the kind that will play the Grease remix and any Elvis song your uncle requests. If your budget allows for it (Oren says some of her celeb clients will spend $100,000 on sound and music) try flying in a famous DJ like DJ Cassidy or an orchestra. If your budget is slightly, ahem, smaller, ask a local underground DJ to play for you.
Good food goes a long way
“Even if you have the smallest budget, make sure the food is good. You can never go wrong with a great meal,” says Oren.
From: Elle Australia
