Millennials are known for throwing traditional expectations to the wind and making their own way. Brides in this 20s-to-30s age group are no exception. Stephanie Andrews, of Step Aside Event Planning and Management Services, said most of what she sees with Millennial brides could be described as \u201cnon-traditional.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have people not getting married in churches,\u201d she said. \u201cThey use sand or ropes instead of a unity candle. There are more options for things to do at the reception than there were in the past, such as photo booths and new favor ideas for guests. Even the style of the gowns and tuxes has changed to either more-modern or less-formal styles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the past few years, perhaps thanks to websites like Pinterest and Etsy, there has been no shortage of blue mason jars, burlap and chalkboard signs spotted at Millennial weddings. Barns and rustic venues have been popular, for both country folks and city slickers.<\/p>\n
Asked about this theme, Foxie Morgan, of the Nelson County venue Pharsalia, said it\u2019s still popular, but evolving. \u201cThey all still want farm tables, but they\u2019re more dressed up. They might use silver and glass on them, and might use garlands that are more sophisticated looking, in whites and greens. … It\u2019s a little more sophisticated, a little more elegant vs. country.\u201d<\/p>\n
This \u201creturn to glam\u201d also is showing up at local bridal shops.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a lot more requests for beaded lace, as opposed to the soft lace popular with barn weddings,\u201d Jessica Boardman, manager and co-owner of Celebration bridal boutique, said. She added that ball gowns also are popular.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a return to glamour\u2014traditional, opulent looks [and] getting away from the rustic look that\u2019s been so popular for years. We\u2019re still getting requests for that but not as much as a couple of years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheilah Mercer, manager at Church Street Bridal in Lynchburg, agreed. \u201cRight now it\u2019s lace, lace and more lace. I can\u2019t say lace enough,\u201d she said, before joking, \u201cI feel like if I have one more bride come in and say, \u2018Lace,\u2019 I\u2019m going to scream.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to footwear, however, Mercer said it\u2019s still common to see Millennial brides forego the more traditional, dyed bridal shoes for something with more character. \u201cThe thing in our area of Virginia is cowboy boots,\u201d she said. \u201cThey love to show their personality. The wedding dress is kind of a rule, but you show your personality through your shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another change local wedding planners have seen with Millennials concerns who\u2019s planning the nuptials. \u201cOne of the real differences I see is I really work with the bride and groom,\u201d Morgan, who\u2019s been hosting weddings at Pharsalia since 2007, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t so much work with the mother. You know, it used to be the mother ran the show. It\u2019s not to say the mother isn\u2019t involved, but typically the bride and groom are older and they really, for the most part, seem to know what they want. They know the look they want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boardman said today\u2019s brides are \u201cmore independent\u201d and \u201cfor the most part they know what they want and, for the most part, think individually.\u201d She said it\u2019s common for brides to come into the shop with a friend, sister or even their future mother-in-law, rather than their mom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have a lot of brides that purchase their wedding gowns without their mothers,\u201d Boardman said. \u201cFive or six years ago, you weren\u2019t seeing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Who\u2019s paying also bucks tradition. \u201cYou will now see that the bride and groom are paying for the majority of the wedding items,\u201d Andrews said. \u201cGone is the idea of \u2018Father of the bride pays for everything.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI think having a wedding how they want it is the most important part and that they have a part in all of the decisions that need to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, cost can be a big issue for Millennial couples, who might be early in their careers. Asked where the money is being spent, wedding planner Barbie Sutton, of Sutton Event, said photography is a big ticket item.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost no matter how poor they are, they don\u2019t bat an eye on spending beaucoup on photography, which I understand in a way,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of us look back and say, \u2018I wish we had better photographs.\u2019 I\u2019d almost have to agree.\u201d<\/p>\n
As one might imagine, Millennial brides also are incorporating more technology into their weddings, particularly when it comes to documenting the big day. \u201cIt almost is a must now,\u201d Andrews, a Millennial herself, said. \u201cYou have to not only have a photographer and videographer, but there needs to be … drones and live-streams as options now.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd hashtags are a must. You have to have one and have others take pictures and load them up on their social media sites with your hashtag. It used to be you put out disposable cameras … for people to take pictures and then you would have a variety, but technology has allowed us to do so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another Millennial trend is the \u201cnaked cake.\u201d Before you Google that and get yourself into trouble, a naked cake is frosted between the layers but not on the sides. Between the layers might be crammed with icing, candies or fruit, for example, but the sides are bare. Thus, \u201cnaked cake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some brides are choosing not to have cake at all. \u201cMost of my brides are thinking uniquely,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cThey might not even have cake. They might have little pies for everyone. Not so much the cupcakes anymore, but they\u2019re looking for something a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Millennials, \u201csomething a little different\u201d appears to be a trend in itself. \u201cThe more different anything is, I love it,\u201d Sutton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love it, love it, love it. I think anyone should do anything. I think people get excited about, \u2018No one\u2019s done this. I\u2019m going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How Millennial Brides Are Changing the Wedding Industry Millennials are known for throwing traditional expectations to the wind and making their own way. Brides in this 20s-to-30s age group are no exception. Stephanie Andrews, of Step Aside Event Planning and Management Services, said most of what she sees with Millennial brides could be described as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,30,44],"tags":[158],"class_list":["post-1310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-moments","category-features","category-the-details","tag-wedding-traditions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/centralvirginiaweddings.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}