The Hottest Wedding Trends for 2025: From Sustainable Celebrations to Bold Hues

Are you planning your epic celebrations next year? If so, a HUGE congratulations! I’m here to talk about wedding trends for 2025 — long gone are the days of pink chiffon and shrimp cocktails, as modern weddings have become so much more personalized and unique. Impacted by cultural shifts, technology, and a desire for a meaningful day, weddings today are a bit different from even a few years ago!

Here are some of the hottest trends for 2025, but if they don’t resonate with you, that’s ok! The only rule you absolutely have to follow at your wedding is to do what feels right for you and your relationship! 

1. Modern wedding ideas in 2025 have to include sustainable principles

Just as we’re changing the way we travel, couples are changing the way they plan their weddings to be more eco-friendly. Your wedding is a day of happiness and joy, so it makes perfect sense that it should also be a happy day for our planet — but you can easily tweak your wedding to have less of an impact, so no stress!

Sustainable wedding trends for 2025 can include anything from reusable decor to zero-waste catering. Other easy ways to give back include working with green-certified vendors, using recyclable paper or plantable wedding invites, or planning your delicious menu using organic or locally sourced produce. 

For your bridal wear, renting or purchasing second-hand is not only way cheaper, but it’s sustainable too — score!

Even if everyone were to just incorporate one small sustainable practice into their wedding day, it could make a huge difference for the environment as a whole. 

2. Bold and unique color palettes are in

There are so many fun and unique wedding themes for 2025! Bold and stylish colors and patterns are big, but a cool thing you can do with your theme is incorporate it all throughout your wedding, including your florals, table settings, and even the groomsmen’s suits!

We’re going to see a lot of monochromatic modern wedding color palettes for 2025, using one color for your theme, but in lots of different shades. Pattern/texture mixing is also big, as are nautical, coastal wedding themes, or Renaissance themes. 

I’m also loving the caterpillar table trend, where you arrange small, circular tables in a wavy pattern, which allows for more guest conversation and connection. 

For wedding decor trends in 2025, you can also mix it up by using fruits and vegetables for centerpieces, draping fabrics or hanging umbrellas, and dance floor wraps, which can personalize your dance floor with a cool floor covering. 

Oversized paper florals are also big, as are show-stopping floral arrangements and cakes — wild and eclectic is on trend for wedding flowers in 2025!

3. Wedding fashion — what’s old is new again!

Bridal and groom fashion is totally about what feels right for you. But, in terms of 2025 bridal gown trends, Bridgerton-inspired fashion is definitely big, including drop and basque waist gowns and bubble hems. Set in the Regency era of the early 1800s, this hit show has been huge for fashion inspo, featuring luxury fabrics, soft pastels, and detailed embroidery.

Bows are also super popular, as are suit dresses and embroidery for men’s suits. For your bridesmaids, perfect color-coordination isn’t required, as it’s totally ok to go with florals or a mismatch of colors within the same hue. For the groomsmen, floral boutonnieres have definitely made a comeback! 

You can also check out wedding content creators on Insta or TikTok to get more ideas, always a good source for wedding fashion inspiration.  My #1 referral for a content creator is Forever After, Instantly!

4. Couples are loving intimate and personalized celebrations

Your wedding is all about you and your love, so don’t be afraid to ditch tradition and do what works for you, whether that’s a smaller, intimate gathering or a weekend-long celebration! 

It’s completely ok to cut down your guest list, so that only the absolutely most important people are there — not only will this save you money, but it allows you to stretch your wedding budget further to add special elements, like some of the ideas below. 

Wedding trends for 2025 around multi-day weddings and elopements focus on tailoring the celebration to what you and your guests enjoy. Whether you want to include mountain biking or wine tastings, make it fun and meaningful! Select a destination that you love, plan an epic welcome party or event, and stretch your celebrations out over several days. This gives you so much more quality time to spend with your friends and family. 

You can also include fun, interactive elements for your guests, like make-your-own cocktail bars, late-night nachos, or unique culinary experiences. This gets everyone involved and is really fun — the surprise of a snack bar being set up at your reception can be such a highlight, especially after everyone has had a few drinks and worked up an appetite on the dance floor! 

Whether it’s a signature cocktail that you and your partner love or custom vows, really think about what will resonate with you most — and then go for it! Authenticity is key. 

When it comes to planning the actual day, you can thrift, borrow, or rent a lot of your wedding decor, which will be more sustainable and unique. 

5. Authentic wedding photography that’s all about living in the moment

Your wedding photos definitely shouldn’t feel posed and unnatural! Instead, ditch the awkward posing and just have fun on your wedding day, forgetting the camera is even there. 

As a wedding photographer in western New York and the East Coast, I’m all about creating documentary style images for my couples, encouraging them to live their best life and dance, kiss, and just enjoy every second, while I capture it all behind the lens.

This results in amazing images, evoking drama, nostalgia, and love, especially if you incorporate film photography into your day. These true to color shots will capture the messiness, fun, and elation of the day with movement and natural light. You’ll love looking back on them, as they’ll feel natural and true to who you are. 

***

If you’re ready to book your wedding photography, I am so thrilled to meet you! Please get in touch and we can start planning your images for 2025 or beyond!