’90s Nostalgia
Factor in a few of these dope trends to look da bomb on your big day.
You know the 1990s are back in fashion when you can buy scrunchies from your favorite trendy retailers again. High-waist jeans, chokers, flannel shirts, velvet—love it or hate it, it seems like everything but “The Rachel” haircut has come around again. It should come as no surprise that many of today’s popular wedding trends came straight from the decade that launched the boom of the wedding industry. Here are a few nods to ’90s style that we are cheering.
Colors
In the 1990s, metallics were seen everywhere from clothing to fingernail polish. Whether it’s from a sense of nostalgia or a simple pull away from the burlap-and-mason jar weddings of the past decade, metallics are everywhere in weddings this season.
“People are much more into rose gold and yellow gold than they used to be, and yellow gold was pretty cool in the ’90s,” according to Natasha Bayse, one of the managers at Celebration Bridal. Tonya Scott agrees. As sales associate and repair manager at Bowen Jewelers, she notes that while white gold and platinum are still popular, “Rose gold is a trend and yellow gold is coming back.”
Kate Vincent, also known as The Gypsy Baker, states that metallics are even making their way into cakes. “A lot of people are going with fondant details in the rose gold,” she explains. Debbie Miller of bloom by Doyle’s says, “We’re seeing a bit of patina now in rose gold and copper colored containers for centerpieces, and we have vases in copper.”
Floral
Flowers and weddings go hand in hand, literally, and brides who married in the ’90s carried either small, compact bouquets or wildly overflowing bushels of blooms. The latter is more in line with what most modern brides ask for. Miller adds that “we’re seeing more loose bridal bouquets—almost cascading—than tight hand-tied [bouquets].”
In the 1990s, brides began asking their bakers and florists for fresh flowers as cake decorations, and that trend has escalated. Miller explains that she collaborates with cake bakers on these requests, saying more brides do ask for fresh flowers for their cakes than those who don’t. Garden roses, ranunculus, and peonies are the most asked-for blossoms, “but we’ve even done greens on a cake; greens are everywhere right now,” she explains.
For couples who prefer a completely edible cake, they can be on-trend and eat their cake, too: Vincent remarks that many of her customers who want the look of fresh flowers but prefer an entirely-edible cake opt for handmade sugar flowers.
Hair
Bridal hairstyles are following suit with floral trends. Emily Garbee Harris, manager of Body Works Day Spa & Salon, notes that her clients want less of a sophisticated chignon and prefer a “softer, cascading look, even when they want all up they want pieces down or flowers in it.” She mentions that flower crowns are certainly in, especially during the busy fall wedding season.
Bayse agrees, adding that fresh flower crowns have been huge over the past couple of years. She also mentioned the return of the tiara. “Yes, the tiara is back! It wasn’t happening at all for many years, but we saw them everywhere when we went to bridal market,” she explains.
Makeup
In the 1990s, brides wanted a makeup look that included a natural face with light blush, dark brows, and dark lips, and Garbee Harris sees this style returning to bridal makeup. “Wine-stained lip and eyes are stronger, and people are not scared of a dramatic eye,” she explains, “But they still have a very clean face.” She remembers the burnt colors of the ’90s (mustards, oranges, and crimsons) and remarks “you’re seeing more women wearing a darker matte lip and a bohemian look, and lots of texture in the hair,” especially for fall weddings.
The decade that brought us destination weddings and disposable cameras hasn’t entirely left us, nor has it left the industry that boomed within it, so go ahead, pump up the jam, and have fun incorporating some of these ’90s weddings trends into your special day. •
Some wedding trends from the 1990s aren’t coming back any time soon, but if you love the look (and if you love to eschew trends), here are a few things that the majority of brides won’t be including in their weddings this year:
Headbands with veils attached
Bayse reports that instead customers are coming in for cathedral veils or full, 2-tiered veils.
Princess-cut diamonds
Scott says that “We are still selling some princess-cut diamonds, but not as much.” (In case you’re wondering, the most popular diamond shape is round brilliant.)
Sculpted, tight up-dos
Garbee Harris notes that brides still want to wear updos, but not the kind formerly associated with 1990s prom or bridal hair. When it comes to an updo, she’s “doing a lot of those with a lot of texture.”
Sheath dresses
Even though Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy made headlines with her simple sheath gown in 1996, they’re not making a tremendous comeback yet—Bayse explained brides don’t usually come in asking for this particular silhouette.
Pillars on tiered cakes
Vincent states that she never receives requests for pillars to separate cake layers but that tiered cakes themselves are definitely en vogue. “More often than not, I get requests for round cakes, and they are stacked several layers, but without separators,” she explains. “And one thing that’s not coming back—and I hope it never does—are those fountains under the cake!” she laughs.
By Charlotte Farley
