Today sees the start of London Fashion Week, the bi-annual event that gives the chance for fashion designers from all over the world to showcase their new collections for the following seasons.

Now, hands up. I’m not known for my fashion in a clothing sense. But I do know weddings.

So, in honour of London Fashion Week, I thought I’d take a look at some of the current trends in the world of weddings. Together with some of our friends from the wedding industry, here’s our take on what’s fashionable at the moment, and what trends you should be looking out for if you’re currently planning your Big Day.

THE WEDDING DRESS: FASHION FOR 2019 AND BEYOND
Whilst I strongly believe that your wedding invitation is up there with the most important investments in you can make in your wedding day, I’ve been a bride and I’ll never forget how I felt when I found ‘The One’.

The dress, I mean… not Mark (the latter ended with a hangover and was much less desirable!)

Finding the dress that is going to make you feel like a million dollars is priceless.

With two Royal weddings last year, it would be fair to think that we should be expecting to see a multitude of Meghan-style dresses, but Rhain Jenkins from New Beginnings Bridal Boutique in Fenny Stratford told us that’s not necessarily the case. “There was very much a marmite effect on Meghan’s dress” she says. “I personally loved it, and we are seeing lots of influence from both the royal dresses in the new styles for 2019. The Bardot neckline is still very popular and is incredibly flattering. Aspects of the royal dresses are influencing people’s choices but not quite as much as I had expected! After Kate’s dress, there was a huge increase of demand for lace and sleeves almost immediately!”

For those getting married in the next 12 months, Rhian says there are three big trends to keep your eye on.

Material
“Lace is still very big” explains Rhian, “but simple satin is making a huge splash and unique colours are being used more and more by designers.”

Cut
In terms of the cut, Rhian tells us that the “Mermaid” was the most popular style for the past few seasons, but her prediction is that “A-Line and sheath will be big throughout 2019”.

Design
We truly believe that your wedding should be unique to you and we do all that we can to translate that into your invitation, and it seems dress designers are beginning to think that way too. “Brides are allowing their personalities to shine through and translate into their dresses” explains Rhian, “so more unique styles, 3D lace and prints will become more common.”

According to Etsy, who recently released their 2019 wedding trends, they’ve seen more than 155,000 searches for “wedding dresses with sleeves” in the last three months, so this is something else to look out for in the coming months.

Etsy also report that they’ve recorded over 43,000 searches for bridal headpieces, so perhaps the traditional veil has had its day?

With brides becoming braver in what they ask for, one of the biggest changes that Rhian is seeing when she greets brides in her beautiful boutique is the request for more colour. “Ivory is the biggest colour in bridal. White is still available but is very rarely seen” she reveals. “One of the biggest changes we are seeing is an introduction of more colour; like champagne, blush and greys which is very exciting! We love stocking something different so having more colour in our boutique is something we are looking forward to!”

Towards the end of last year, Pantone announced that ‘Living Coral’ was to be its colour for 2019. We have found varying shades of coral popular in wedding stationery over the past few years and we’ve created some beautiful coral invitations recently, but is that a trend we’ll be seeing work its way into bridesmaids dresses? “Dusty pink has been big for a while now” says Rhian, which also fits with what we are seeing in wedding stationery. Dusky pink ribbon has been a huge hit in the past year and the colour we use within wedding invitations is usually driven from the colour of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Rhian continues to say that “We are staying with dusty shades of colours and finding mauve, periwinkle, lilac and similar shades are very popular at the moment, alongside gold and rose gold.”

If you’re still in dress hunting mode, we’d really recommend you book an appointment at Rhian’s New Beginnings boutique in Fenny Stratford. She has a great range of ‘off the peg’ dresses as well as working with the most popular designers, so you will be treated to a great range of choice as well as a lovely service.

9 Victoria Road, Fenny Stratford, MK2 2NG. Tel: 01908 639 453

THE SUIT: CLASSIC TAILS SET TO TREND IN 2019
When it comes to suits, we highly recommend Fogarty’s in Leighton Buzzard. Malcolm and Faye were wonderful when we rented our suits from them over 10 years ago, and we’ve become ‘wedding fair friends’ ever since. At the Aylesbury show last week, I asked Malcolm what trends he’s seeing in his showroom, and apparently, it’s all about Beckham.

Since he was seen stepping out in a Dior Homme suit designed by Kim Jones in May 2018, Fogarty’s says that the request for double breasted waistcoats has soared. If I was a bride-to-be, I don’t suppose I would mind too much if my future hubby turned up looking like Becks, so this is a 2019 wedding suit trend to be encouraged!

“Grooms are starting to shy away from lounge suits which have previously been very popular” says Malcolm, “they don’t want to turn up looking like one of the guests!”

Malcolm also told me that “patterns are on the up, with Liberty prints on ties and handkerchiefs in demand. Tweed, which has been previously popular, is becoming less fashionable, although we still get requests for the waistcoats”.

If you are on the hunt for wedding suit hire, then definitely pay Malcolm at Fogarty’s Formal Hire a visit. 81 North Street, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 1EL. Telephone: 01525 837227

WEDDING STATIONERY: THERE’S A LOT OF LOVE FOR LASER CUT
We couldn’t finish this fashionable piece without taking a moment or two to talk about what’s on-trend in wedding stationery.

We get a lot of requests for laser cut stationery at our showroom, and couples are certainly looking to make a statement with their invitations. We have a great variety to choose from, so if you’re in love with laser, come and take a look.

What’s really popular at the moment though is the natural look. Lots of floral wreaths and requests for simple foliage have been increasing in popularity over the past year and this certainly looks set to continue into 2019 and beyond. The bundle style is one of our most popular designs and eucalyptus (I had to use spell check for that one) leaves are really in demand.

Gold and rose gold remain popular and foiling is becoming a technique in demand. Although this is something we can’t achieve ourselves on-site, we’ve recently started working with a trusted supplier to ensure we can offer this increasingly popular style to our brides and grooms.

Putting your personality into print is becoming more and more appealing to couples and this is something we specialise in with our design experiences. Recently, we’ve designed an invitation in the shape of the continent of Africa, as well as a TiPi theme for a couple who entertained their guests in three awesome wigwams!

If you want your personality to be reflected in your invitation – the first thing anyone will see in relation to your Big Day – then get in touch.

All this talk about dresses and suits has made me reminisce about my (our) wedding day. For the record, here’s us in our wedding attire back in 2009! Were we in fashion? No idea! But we loved what we wore, and that is the most important thing.

 🙂