Each new year brings new trends for a variety of things including weddings. Here is what Bridal Guide and The Knot say are the trends for weddings this year.

Flowers

The many-petaled tree peony is stepping up as this year’s trend for flowers. With a full, round shape, the peony will add dimension as well as color. The tree peony blooms at the beginning of May and the head can grow to be as large as a dinner plate.

The popular way to display your flowers in a centerpiece this year is with crystal and silver. To decorate pews, arches and doorways, use flower garlands.

Invitations

The different elements of invitations that are trending this year include metallic embellishments, lace, hand drawings and florals. It’s becoming more popular to have smaller invitations as well.

Food

Instead of having buffet-style meals, brides are leaning more toward meals that are restaurant-quality and served family-style. Spicier dishes and late night snacks are also becoming popular.

Cakes

Not only is ombre popular for hair styles, but it’s also popular for coloring wedding cakes as well. 

Brides are choosing round cakes with sleek textures over square cakes this year. Some people are even choosing to add a bit of shimmer to their cakes with glitter. Don’t worry, you can find edible glitter at places such as Michael’s craft stores and Amazon.

Music

The choice of music is always up to the couple, but it’s usually a good idea to pick music that your guests will know. One trend that spices up the music is to have it performed in an untraditional way. For example, have an orchestra play classic rock.

If you have a specific theme for your wedding, try to match your music to that as well.

Guests favors

In the past, people have given out candles or other personalized items to their guests. This year, edible favors are becoming popular as are small gifts left on your guests’ pillows in their rooms.

Another popular favor is for the couple to make a donation to their charity of choice in honor of their guests.

Themes

The themes that are trending this year are both natural and nostalgic. Two of the most popular themes include woodland and 1990s inspired.

Some couples are also choosing to unplug their weddings by not allowing any sort of electronics in the wedding. This means a device check at the door and no Facebook, Twitter or Instagram during the festivities.

On the other hand, some couples are creating hashtags for their weddings for guests to use when posting to social media. Some even provide power sources so their guests’ devices don’t run out of juice.

Activities

Photo booths are still as popular as ever for the guests and couple to use during the reception.

Instead of trash-the-dress photos in which the photographer captures the bride getting her dress dirty and/or tearing it, formal portraits are becoming more popular. 

These portraits are reminiscent of the traditional portraits taken long ago and keep the bride’s dress in tact.