Wedding decor: Trend watch

The wedding season is on. This time around, wedding planners have noticed a spike in demand for sustainable decor and a dip in minimalist set-ups. They let us in on the ever-evolving scene.

Balancing act

Due to the pandemic, the past two years saw a rise in minimalist decor. The weddings were held on a smaller scale with fewer people in attendance. But now people are slowly returning to elaborate and lavish wedding decor.

“Parents typically ask for vibrant designs, which are the exact opposite of minimalist setups and often what couples who have lived in the US or UK prefer,” says Roxabell Gomez, wedding planner at Bengaluru-based Elegant Weddings. In such weddings, colours like yellows and reds are heavily used to symbolise Indian culture, she mentions.

Often, wedding planners have to do a balancing act. “Couples ask us to avoid the stage and bring in instead a head table and a couch and lots of floral elements for an extravagant look,” shares Roxabell.

While pastel colours had caught on because of celebrity weddings such as Virat and Anushka’s, some couples are embracing brighter colours with minimal decor. “Pastel shades like peach, off white and baby pink retain their charm in weddings but for the reception, the palette is now leaning towards vibrant colours such as purple and mauve,” says Chennai-based Bharath M N, a planner at Shribha-Wedding and Events. Vibrant colours, he says, “represent the ebb and flow of life and are meant to represent new beginnings.”

Fake flowers are in

More couples are gravitating to environmentally friendly weddings. Sarang Naroth, wedding planner with Bengaluru-based Aira Wedding Planners says, “Expensive dried flowers are popular among customers. These lend a subtle bohemian aesthetic. The idea of utilising real flowers is slowly vanishing. We rarely use them anymore.”

Bharath says the use and reuse of fake flowers (in plastic) has gone up in wedding decor. “A truckload of waste is usually generated from disposable decor,” Roxabell pitches in.

The overall cost of eco-friendly and normal decor comes around the same. “Exclusive props such as dried flowers are expensive,” he explains.

Mumbai-based Ankit Rao, who is a planner with A N R Weddings and Events, says small weddings are sustainable by design. Inviting fewer guests or choosing smaller venues like hotels are some ways to go about it. “Use a planned layout to its full potential rather than spread the wedding design out just because the venue has more space. It reduces the need for extra props,” he suggests.

Grand pillars

However, Bharath says some things have remained constant. In south Indian weddings, the installation of idols at the wedding entrance is a given. So is the use of pillars and traditional flowers to deck up the mantap.

When it comes to other props, wedding planners like to think out of the box. For an upcoming wedding that falls on the festival of Holi, Bharath and his team will use painted terracotta pots as props. For a Chettinad-themed wedding, Roxabell had once installed a 100-year-old Chettinad door as a photobooth. And for a Tamilian engagement ceremony, her team had used a peacock-themed floral backdrop against a low seating.

Nameboards are a key element of weddings and Roxabell says they often use foam boards with vinyl printing. “But for a recent wedding, we painted the couple’s name on a locally sourced wooden board. Such elements are planned according to the budget and the vision of the wedding,” she adds. Foam boards are cheaper compared to wooden name boards by at least Rs 1,500.

Trending ideas on Pinterest inspire couples to ask for unique name boards and signages. At a recent wedding planned by Bharath’s team, the bride and groom asked for a black board as a name board. The team used glass and acrylic sheets in the signages.

Power-efficient lighting

Sarang says that lighting choices have moved from mirchi lights and incandescent light bulbs to LED and fairy lights. Though the former provides a stunning look to the wedding sets, they consume a lot of diesel. “Most people are opting for less-power consuming options like LED lights,” he says.

The use of golden light remains relevant to this day, whether it comes in the form of chandeliers or fairy lights. It emits a grand look, the planners say.

Themes now

Wedding trends are changing fast these days because of the influence of social media. “But about 20 years ago, it would take at least a year for a wedding trend to even get noticed and catch on,” notes Roxabell.

Bharath says wedding sets themed on bohemian aesthetics, starry evenings, and secret gardens are popular currently. Some couples like
to depict and celebrate their culture through wedding decor.
“For a recent wedding in Chennai, we used a lot of decor influenced by Pichwai art (a 400-year-old artform from Rajasthan). We paid special attention to the pillars at the mantaps,” he says.