Sure… your love is forever, but wedding trends come and go. If you’re working on the details of a 2024 wedding, there are definitely some popular changes to the industry, and some you’re definitely going to want to embrace! Stay in style as you celebrate a timeless love story with these five wedding trends for 2024:

1. Restaurant Receptions

You read that wedding trend right—Restaurants aren’t just for rehearsal dinners anymore! Turn your favorite date night spot into the perfect place to celebrate your nuptials. Depending on where your heart and stomach connect, renting out a restaurant for an evening can be considerably easier on your budget than snagging a reception venue, and most will let you decorate for the occasion with wedding colors and personal touches. Different dining areas can be utilized in different ways (think dinner, dessert stations and a cleared floor for dancing), and you can add tons of your own personality to your already favorite food to make the day feel like your own.

2. Intimate/Low-Key Ceremonies

According to expert wedding planners, 2024 will be the year we say farewell to over-the-top spectacles, and say hello to intimate ceremonies that foster a sense of community and friendly accessibility. So ditch the razzle dazzle and giant floral arrangements, and gather your intimate guest list around a big family table instead. This trend lends itself to memorable ceremonies that are warmer, more meaningful, less formal and more comfortable for everyone.

3. Two-Day Events

If you’re on board with the intimate ceremony trend, but still want to dance the night away with an unforgettable party, you’re in luck. Friday night ceremonies and Saturday receptions is one of the biggest wedding trends making a splash in 2024! Even without keeping your ceremony small, planning a two-day wedding event can keep the ceremony from cutting into reception daylight and time, and keep the celebration from overshadowing the vows. Give each piece it’s due, and have twice the fun with double the days to remember.

4. Digital Guest Books

While there will always be space in the wedding industry for the old fashioned letterpress, wedding trends have long been highlighting the digital age, from the need for a wedding website to online registries and RSVPs. The next piece of a wedding now trending digital? The guestbook! Instead of asking your guests to sign a book, ask them to record a voice memo, short video or photo gallery with their well wishes. They’ll have fun embracing the technology and mediums we use every day. You’ll have fun watching and playing your messages in a more personal and interactive way!

5. Less-Formal Photography

Don’t get me wrong, here. Bridal portraits are still a must. But current wedding trends are all about the candid image. Think documentary-style photography, perfectly capturing moments as moments, not poses. It’s 2024… Your wedding photographer is also your content creator! This more relaxed approach to wedding photography allows others who weren’t there to experience your event as if they were there, documenting real-time memories you can share on any platform. 

Let’s talk bridal portraits! I’ve already explained the benefits of taking them (if you need a refresher, click here). But anything worth doing is worth doing well! You don’t want just any old pictures, right? You want timeless images looking your best, showing off all the amazing details you so perfectly planned. Whether you’re a model with plenty of experience or you’ve never spent time in front of the lens, there’s a few things all brides can do to look amazing in their bridal portraits—and ensure it’s a great experience!

Step 1: Lay the Groundwork

Yes, the images are captured at the session itself, but there’s plenty of things you can do in advance that will make taking your bridal portraits more enjoyable—which actually makes for better photos! Schedule your hair and makeup in advance, and have photos and ideas of what style/look you’re going for. If you’re doing your own, practice beforehand, and try to make your makeup a bit darker than you normally would. It may seem exaggerated in person, but trust me when I say it will look great on camera. (Don’t go overboard, just make sure everything will show up well!) Get a good night’s sleep the day before your shoot, eat well and stay hydrated on portrait day. The more confident and refreshed you feel, the more confident and refreshed you’ll look in your photos. 

Step 2: Come Prepared

You know what they say: It’s better to have something and not need it than need something and not have it! I’m a big fan of checklists, so having one with everything you’ll need for your bridal portraits is essential. You’re getting married… you’ve got enough on your mind! This is an easy way to take the stress out of your experience, and a simple step to looking calm and well put together in your portraits. I’ll even get you started! You’ll need:

• Wedding dress
• Sweater or jacket if it’s chilly
• Undergarments
• Veil or hair accessories
• Wedding shoes
• Comfortable shoes for walking between locations
• Jewelry
• Touch up makeup and hair pins/hairspray
• Bridal bouquet (or other props/accessories of your choosing)
• Engagement ring (be sure to get it cleaned!)
• A member of your family, wedding party or bridal squad

Step 3: Protect Your Time

Whether you’re scheduling a separate photo shoot (which I recommend) or incorporating bridal portraits into your wedding day itinerary, it’s important to protect your time. We’ve all got 100 things on our plates and a to-do list a mile long. Don’t let other errands, hard deadlines or other wedding festivities take over your time! The key to looking relaxed and natural is well… feeling relaxed and natural. And nothing ruins relaxation quite like rushing! Likewise, make sure your photographer isn’t multitasking or running to other obligations. Everyone should leave their phones silenced and put away. Simply focus on the experience and enjoy your time as a bride-to-be!

Step 4: Trust Your Photographer

The great thing about using your professional wedding photographer for bridal portraits? It’s in the name—We’re professionals! If your photographer gives you physical directions (like turn this way, chin up/chin down, etc.), trust them! Communicate with each other and build a relationship to relieve any portrait anxiety. Your comfort level will not only shine through your images, but allow the photographer to capture your radiant personality. Our job is to give you bridal portraits you’ll love, so trust the process and allow your photographer to suggest poses, adjust lighting or flyaway hair, and create complementary colors/composition.

Step 5: Have FUN

The biggest key to successful bridal portraits? Having FUN! It might be hard to feel like yourself in a wedding dress (especially if gowns and formalwear aren’t typically your thing), but it’s so important to laugh and have fun… in photos and in life! You only get to feel this glamorous so many times in your life, right? So enjoy it! Don’t pose in any way that makes you uncomfortable, and don’t take anything too seriously. In short, just be yourself! There’s only one you, and your portraits should reflect everything amazing that entails. Need some help? Give these tips a try:

• Bring a speaker and your device of choice to play your favorite songs during your shoot
• Talk to your photographer beforehand… they probably have some great tips!
• Have some fun props handy 
• Bring a close friend who can make you smile and feel at ease

Taking stunning bridal portraits is doable for everyone, even the most camera-shy brides. All it takes is some planning, preparation and JOY!