Putting a Mandy Marie Events Spin on the Top Wedding Trends for 2024

Here at Mandy Marie Events, we often avoid the wedding trends we’re seeing everywhere in favor of innovative ideas that make your celebration truly unique. BUT—sometimes the most popular trends are worth considering.

SO—let’s take a look at the 2024 wedding trends that we might consider working into some of our couples’ events … with a Mandy Marie Events twist, of course!  

First things first, here’s some of the trends we’re glad to see making their way out—

Sweetheart Tables & Formal Departures

Celebrating your wedding day is, of course, about starting your new life together as a married couple … but isn’t it also about enjoying the party of a lifetime with all of the people you love most? We’re glad to see planning & timelines start to err on the side of keeping the happy couple with their guests and allowing them to be present through their full celebration!

What we’d do instead:

→ Seat the couple with their family at a central location among all of their guests so that as people navigate the space, they don’t have to make a special effort to stop by and say hello. It’s more natural this way … and allows the couple to eat their meal without being on display.

→ End the night with an exciting transition into the afterparty—allowing the guest list to naturally dwindle to the late-night crew and avoiding the awkwardly forced exit that feels a little like an elementary-school fire drill.

Large Bridal Parties & Matching Bridesmaid Dresses

As you plan your guest list, inviting family and friends from every season of life, it’s natural to start feeling like your wedding party is getting out of control. (Because “if so-and-so’s included, then of course so-and-so must be, too!”) Before you know it, you’ve got a crew of 20+ people to wrangle as you get ready to walk down the aisle—which, even for the most laid-back couples, can cause a little chaos or stress.

Needless to say, we’re glad to see couples start to simplify their wedding party to include only a few close friends or family members! Also, on the out when it comes to wedding parties is the era of matching bridesmaids' dresses. Opting for the more fashion-forward, individualized choice and allowing your attendants to select their own attire (or work with your stylist to choose) not only allows for their personality to come through—it guarantees they actually like what they’re wearing as they celebrate you!

What we’d do instead:

→ Select just your siblings. Opt for only a Best Man & Maid/Matron of Honor. Or forgo a bridal party altogether—the choice is yours, but making the conscious decision to have a more intimate group of people standing beside you as you say your vows has our stamp of approval every time.

→ If you’re going to allow your bridal party to select their own attire, guiding them in the right direction is imperative! Choosing a color (or set of colors) or opting for florals is a great way to build on the aesthetic vision for your day. If applicable, be sure to specify length of gown, and level of formality!

Now, let’s examine 10 of the Top Wedding Trends of 2024 & how we might incorporate them here at Mandy Marie Events as a top West Coast luxury wedding planner!

1 | Unique Menu Items

Your food and beverage choices are an incredibly effective way to give your guests an unforgettable experience. After all, a delicious meal is one of the most talked-about elements of a wedding celebration!

We’ve loved incorporating zero-proof cocktails at our couple’s bars—not only for the obvious reason of offering a non-alcoholic option but for the opportunity to create a themed element that everyone can enjoy.

Adding meaning to your menu is another way to personalize your celebration at every level—incorporating family recipes or food of cultural significance can ensure some of the most important elements of your lives are reflected at your wedding

And – while this one’s been around for a while – it’s no surprise to see couples continue to offer late-night bites to their guests. Keeping people well-fed is one way to make sure they’re comfortable and that they stick around to celebrate with you until the very end of the night.

2 | Creating an Experience

This is a cornerstone of any event we plan. Not only is creating special experiences within your wedding day important, but we’ve also seen many couples opt for multi-day celebrations in lieu of single-day events. After all, a few hours with your guests just isn’t enough time to really soak in all the special moments that accompany your wedding celebration. Some of our favorite ways to build on the typical order of events are to host a welcome party, a pool party after the wedding, an activities day, and—a crowd favorite—the after party! 

Other ways we like to help our couples create unforgettable moments is by incorporating unexpected elements within the more typical structure of a wedding celebration.

What does this look like? Well, of course you’ll have music, but a strolling musician through your cocktail hour can make it even more special. Your bar can be taken up a notch when your mixologists incorporate cocktails with special drink activations like color changes or elements like fire, smoke, and dry ice. And, of course, your guests will be dressed to the nines, but what if you could offer them a permanent jewelry station that allows them to reflect on your wedding day for many months to come? We also love surprise musical performances, fireworks, and even had an on-site barista for one couple’s celebration!

3 | An Intimate Ceremony

Your wedding day is one of the most impactful days of your life—and one of the most intimate. For some couples, opting for a small or even private ceremony is the way to make sure the meaning of the day and the celebration are balanced.

If you have a meaningful location where you’d prefer to say your vows (like a historic chapel with seating for just a handful of people!) or if you just want to keep that portion of your day private, there’s no rule that says you can’t have a small ceremony with a large reception. Furthermore, this part of your day doesn’t have to be any less special, personalized, or meaningful—the details still matter, and intimate doesn’t mean ignored. (Not at all!)

4 | A Cohesive Look

In today’s day and age, everyone is becoming more aware of the aesthetic choices that impact the overall vibe of a celebration. As you work with your design team to make the important design decisions that bring your celebration to life—considering a consistent color palette is one way of extending that design through every layer of the event.

Our signature “quiet luxury” comes through best when consistent design choices and details support the overall vision. One way to ensure your event looks the way you want it to, both in person and in photos, is by asking your guests to dress on theme. Specific guest dress codes don’t have to impose on your guests' individuality—but actually, give them an opportunity to be part of your vision coming to fruition. (After all, if a wedding design is built on subtle, elegant, neutral tones, no one wants to be the guest in a vibrant red dress!)

Furthermore, it’s not just colors that can bring your event to life—asking your guests to choose an ensemble that matches your venue (Like our couple, Taylor and Luke, who had their guests dress in Ralph Lauren western-inspired attire.) can create an even more immersive experience.

5 | Capturing Candid Moments

Many couples look through their wedding photos and discover moments from their celebration that they didn’t get to witness first-hand. And while you may miss a moment or two simply because of the size of your event, you don’t want to miss out completely. We’re glad to see more couples emphasize candid photography over posed portraits because it gives them more opportunities to be present in their celebration.

We hear from many of our photography and videography partners that putting an emphasis on these candid moments allows them to tell a more authentic story of your wedding day. This unique perspective makes your images & video more emotional and more relatable.

6 | Creating Wedding Content

In addition to an emphasis on candid moments, we’re also seeing more of our photo & video teams offer the addition of a content creator to their team. This upgrade to your photo & video package adds a raw/unedited element to the library of images and videos that you get from your wedding day. Not only that, this content is easy to access, use, and reuse right from your phone. This shareable content often allows for more intimate, behind-the-scenes moments to be captured for many different uses after your wedding day.

7 | Working with a Personal Stylist

While this is becoming more and more popular, we refuse to call it a “wedding trend.” After all, it’s just a good choice all around. With all of the effort that goes into designing your wedding day, why leave the style choices to chance? And, why manage the task all by yourself?

Working with a personal stylist is an additional way to alleviate stress during your engagement season. In the same way you hand off the design and planning tasks to your planner, hiring a stylist makes choosing the right designer attire easier and less overwhelming. A stylist is also an excellent way to help navigate family stress, and make sure everyone looks great together being happy with their attire.

Your stylist will help curate a vision for your wedding day ensembles, as well as any additional attire you need for other events leading up to or after your wedding. They can help cut down the amount of time you invest in finding something to wear, and even make sure you see the best options available to you and even customize your selections directly with the designers!

8 | Digital & Audio Guest Books

This modern twist on a traditional wedding guest book takes your guests' sentiments off the page and puts them in digital form. Digital & audio guest books—like SOURCE and SOURCE—not only create a fun experience for your guests but they can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection … which means YOU can reflect on your wedding day pretty much any time (and anywhere) you want.

9 | Merch Bars

Gone are the days of traditional wedding party favors that no one really wants. We’re ushering in a new era that features immersive displays we like to call “Merch Bars” similar to those at your favorite concerts and festivals. Commemorative items your guests actually want can create a storefront vibe at your wedding with a fun interactive element that takes the traditional “party favor” experience up several notches.

We tailor your merch experience to you, but we’ve had couples hand out everything from custom pickleball sets to designer lip gloss. It’s a really fun and highly memorable way to bring even more of your personality to your celebration.

10 | Incorporating Sustainable Elements

It’s hard to make a wedding or any large-scale event truly sustainable. However, if your impact on the environment is important to you, and you want to choose sustainable options where possible, your planner can help you do that.

Ways we’ve helped our couples make more sustainable choices are in their invitations and paper suites and working with “built-in decor” like architecture and landscaping to highlight what already exists at your venue instead of bringing more in. Working with live plants instead of cut florals is also a sustainable way to make a big design impact on your space.

One sentimental trend we’ve loved seeing many brides adapt is choosing to wear a redesigned version of their mother's wedding dress at their rehearsal dinner. That “first look” makes us tear up every time!

Regardless of what trends you may or may not want to incorporate into your celebration, our team is here to help you make the right choices and plan the event of a lifetime. When it comes to design choices and planning all of the little details, we’re far more partial to the elements that highlight your personalities and make your celebration unique. After all, those are more important than any trend.

If you’re interested in working with Mandy Marie Events to plan your wedding, we suggest reaching out to our team 9-18 months in advance of your desired wedding date. Of course, we can work on tighter timelines, but when possible, we like to make sure we can reserve your date at least a year ahead. Click here to inquire about our services →