When Who What Wear spoke with leading wedding experts about the top bridal trends to know for 2023, many cited a return to classic style as well as a movement toward vintage design codes and unique touches of individuality—call it the Sofia Richie Grainge effect sprinkled with elements of nostalgia and personality. Beyond just the bridal day look, however, this year has signaled, above all, that bridal trends go far beyond the dress. As Richie’s stylist Liat Baruch explains, the style elements surrounding the wedding are just as important as the wedding day. “I think leading up to the wedding is where the looks actually hit hard,” she says. “And that requires a little more thought and intention.”
She’s on to something. Whether it comes down to the outfits for occasions before/after the wedding day or the menus and table settings, couples are increasingly prioritizing every style element of their wedding weekend. That may be a courthouse wedding on the sidewalks of New York followed by a dinner in a beloved local restaurant or a destination wedding in a far-flung corner of the globe outfitted with custom couture. Regardless of the setting, couples are making weddings all their own, infusing elements of individuality down to the fashion, food, and décor, and above all, they are focused on creating intimate, memorable experiences to share with their loved ones. There are many insights we learned from bridal industry insiders for any couples planning. Ahead, get a closer look at the wedding trends to know in 2023 from leading experts.
For brides considering their wardrobes, the wedding-day look is probably top of mind, and there are some standout designers and trends to consider. Among them are recognizable names that have been veterans of the industry for many years as well as rising stars that are injecting new energy and ideas into the bridal space. To decode the designers to know and the standout trends that are shaping the industry, we asked experts to weigh in on what the most in-the-know brides are planning for their weddings right now and what is on the horizon for the upcoming year. They didn’t hold back from sharing everything to know in the bridal-fashion space.
For the bride who is interested in the next big wedding fashion trends, bridal fashion experts told us what is on the horizon. One key theme? Classic silhouettes have returned. “Sofia Richie’s bridal look confirmed that bell-shaped minis are going to continue having a moment,” says Christy Baird, the owner of Los Angeles bridal boutique LOHO. “We also saw a lot of variations on the classic Chanel silhouette.” Baruch emphasizes the return to timeless silhouettes as well, explaining that her clients are looking for pieces deviating from voluminous “cupcake” silhouettes and are instead looking for more streamlined shapes.
Beyond timeless styles, corsetry is in full focus. “Corsetry is everything right now,” explains Baird. “Recently, we’ve been seeing designers aim to put their signature spin on this classic technique to make it feel new and fresh. Clean designs continue to dominate for the fashion bride, so any added texture or draping that brings interest to minimal silhouettes has been successful.” Lily Kaizer, owner of L.A.-based bridal vintage boutique Happy Isles agrees and names anything with corsetry among the biggest current trends in bridal style, from corset details to corset skirt sets.
When it comes to wedding designers, there are a handful of fashion-insider favorites that remain just as popular year after year. Kaizer shares that it’s “always Oscar de la Renta, Danielle Frankel” that take top billing. Baruch adds that brands such as Valentino, Chanel, Schiaparelli, and Emilia Wickstead are also in high demand for designer wedding looks.
Other up-and-coming brands are making an impact and reshaping what bridal fashion looks like. “Jackson Wiederhoeft’s collection is, by far, a signal that a new voice was needed in bridal fashion,” shares Baird. “His unapologetic designs answered our prayers for the cool and unexpected.” According to Anny Choi—a former Vogue editor, fashion and bridal stylist, and creative consultant—the brand is shaping where directional bridal style is headed. “Wiederhoeft is a brand pushing boundaries of what bridal should look like,” she says.
Ready-to-wear brands are becoming more common among brides, who are looking to designers such as Khaite and Saint Laurent as well as contemporary brands such as SIR for their wedding-day looks. The same can be said for vintage archival pieces, which are appearing more and more in the wedding space as brides aim to find unique designs that stand apart.
While wedding dress trends may shift from season to season, one element of bridal style that stays more consistent from year to year are the accessories. Drop earrings will be just as iconic now as they are in decades ahead, as will perfectly articulated white pumps. So what are the exact items fashion insiders recommend?
According to Choi, as far as jewelry, you can’t go wrong with pearls from iconic designers: “I love Mizuki for some more classic pearls for wedding day, and Mateo nails modern pearls every time.” Shoes earn as much focus as jewelry, and in this realm, the classics are to be trusted. “Manolo Blahnik’s Carolyn pumps are my go-to favorite bridal shoes,” Choi mentions of the timeless satin pumps. As for Baruch, the stylist makes the case for statement shoes. “When else are you able to wear a jeweled heel than when it’s your wedding day?” she says.
Perhaps the most defining element of wedding style in 2023 is the outfits that aren’t bridal looks. These looks add a degree of storytelling that extends beyond the wedding day. “That is when I would put color in,” Baruch shares. “I really like the ‘something blue’ element—I like a periwinkle or powder-blue element,” she says when explaining the choice to style Richie in a cornflower-blue Khaite dress in the days before her wedding. “It was her something blue.” In terms of color, Choi gravitates toward black and suggests incorporating hints of black for the outfits surrounding the wedding for a chic, minimal look.
For other wedding-weekend fashion, Baruch emphasizes having fun and making sure the bride feels distinct from other guests. “You don’t want to just look like everyone else,” she says. “That’s when you can put a fun pearl choker on to the pool because it’s your wedding—you can go off a little bit because it’s your wedding week.”
Though the bride is most certainly the star of the show at any wedding, they’re far from the only one to consider in the bridal space. You might only get married once, but you’ll likely be a bridesmaid on a handful of occasions and a wedding guest on dozens if not more. Gone are the days of bridesmaid dresses being strictly forced on you, with many couples choosing instead to provide a loose idea for their bridesmaids’ wedding wardrobes, leading to both more freedom and more confusion around what (jumpsuits, suits, etc.) to pick for the day of and beyond. The same goes for wedding guests, who are given even less guidance in the outfit department. Fortunately, our experts have a finger on the pulse of all things bridal and non-bridal, and they shared every last crumb of insight with us.
Finally, the outdated notion that every bridesmaid should have to wear the same, often unflattering dress in order to let the bride shine has been tossed out the window, with bridal parties now having far more autonomy to pick outfits that both the bride and they themselves feel good in. “Couples are eager to elevate their bridal parties with bold color choices, unique silhouettes chosen to suit each person’s figure, and styles they know their friends (not just they) love,” says Carrie Goldberg, a stylist and the founder of CLG, a styling firm and creative consultancy that focuses mainly on bridal and weddings as well as fashion.
According to Goldberg, most of the brides she works with have completely disregarded neutrals like champagne and blush pink in favor of vibrant shades on unexpected and unique silhouettes. The only one that defies this is black, a color that New York–based fashion editor Cortne Bonilla, who’s getting married later this year in Dumbo, has asked her small group of bridesmaids to wear. “They’ll all be wearing different designs, just in all black,” she says. “I’ll be the only one not wearing black, of course.” Happy Isles’s Kaizer has seen a major shift toward the classic color, adding that shades of green, as well as pastels like blue and lavender, are also becoming fan favorites in 2023. “Blush is definitely out,” she says.
Though Goldberg remarks that she rarely sees two bridesmaids wear the same designer in the same party, there are some tried-and-true labels in this genre. According to Choi, Reformation is the old reliable of bridesmaids’ dresses, especially given its semi-affordable price point. Between travel and parties, being a bridesmaid isn’t cheap, so saving a bit on a dress without having to sacrifice style goes a long way. “Alexis, Johanna Ortiz, Bernadette, and Agua by Agua Bendita are some contemporary brands that continue to do bridal party dresses really well,” she adds.
Outside of the bridal party, attire is even more lax, with most couples likely asking guests to stick to a color, theme, or general dress code. Goldberg’s advice is to give your guests as much freedom as possible regarding colors, textures, and attire. “The goal is for your guests to turn up when styling their looks for your wedding,” she says. “Better fashion makes for better photos.”
With less strict rules, Goldberg says that guests are using weddings to experiment with red carpet and ready-to-wear trends like full skirts, sharp tailoring, inventive colors, and even capes. “Wedding guest trends are fashion trends,” she says, adding that weddings are great opportunities for attendees to justify investments in evening and cocktail wardrobes. Knowing that, it should come as no surprise that Kaizer’s seen a spike in rare vintage pieces by the likes of John Galliano’s Dior, Tom Ford’s Gucci, and Roberto Cavalli on wedding guests. Choi has seen the same with dresses by current luxury designer brands like Khaite, Markarian, Carolina Herrera, and Attersee. Though quite pricey, having a few weddings on your summer calendar can make spending that extra bit on an amazing dress that you can wear multiple times feel worth it. Plus, it’s far more sustainable to buy one impeccably made dress than five fast-fashion pieces that’ll only get one wear.
A wedding’s location is oftentimes the first decision that a couple makes after deciding to tie the knot, especially since the pandemic caused so many nuptials to get delayed, making venues all the more sought after and hard to come by. The consequences of this are opposites: Either the couple decides to wait it out, planning their dream wedding at a lavish destination in Sicily, Marrakech, or the South of France, or they choose not to wait at all, making an appointment at their local city hall and planning an intimate dinner at their favorite restaurant to celebrate with only their closest friends and family members. One swipe through Instagram and you’ll probably see at least one of each route, both of which can be unbelievably chic and absolutely memorable.
According to Bonilla, before planning her wedding, she had no idea where she wanted to get married. “I have never been a wedding daydreamer,” she says. She and her husband decided after some brainstorming to hold their wedding in historic Dumbo: “I wanted to get married where we met and fell in love.” Jesse Tombs, a destination-wedding planner out of San Francisco and New York, says weddings held in big cities like New York, San Francisco, and Miami have never been so popular, with the same going for the Hamptons, which are only a few hours away from Manhattan. Lauren Rodriguez Hall, the designer and founder of the brand Lorod, married her husband, artist Chase Hall, at their downtown New York brownstone surrounded by friends. Afterward, they all celebrated at one of the city’s most beloved establishments, Balthazar in SoHo. Influencer Madelynn Hudson and her photographer husband Nick Hudson gathered alongside their loved ones in celebration at a much newer yet equally buzzy restaurant, The Nines, after their NYC nuptials, further proving that you don’t need to have a huge years-in-the-making wedding for it to be awe-worthy and special.
Outside of the major U.S. cities, Tombs says that Utah is one of the most asked-for locations for weddings in 2023, with the luxury hotel Amangiri being among the top-requested settings. “We will now have produced three productions there,” he tells us. “It continues to be a top choice as a luxury U.S. destination for intimate weddings and events for its beauty, amenities, extensive activities, incredible rooms, and world-class spa.”
All that’s to say that destination weddings in far-off locations have never been more desirable, with all the necessary proof coming from Sofia Richie Grainge’s Antibes wedding at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc to record executive Elliot Grainge, which many dubbed this year’s royal wedding. Of course, not every bride will be dressed in custom Chanel for an extravagant wedding in the South of France, but that doesn’t mean that a destination wedding is off the cards. “Internationally, we are seeing a growing interest in Portugal,” says Tombs. According to the planner, the country offers couples and their guests a charming, off-the-beaten-path option that hasn’t yet taken off on a major scale, therefore pricing out people who don’t have an extravagant budget. “There are incredible floral designers, rental companies, and venues in Portugal that are often offered at lower costs than other more regularly sought-after European destinations,” he explains. “We also see continued interest in Mexico, Morocco, France, and the UK.”
Travel editor Monica Mendal, whose job it is to find the coolest, most beautiful locations around the world before they became major tourist attractions, adds that Florence and Tuscany in Italy and Mallorca in Spain are both great options for couples to consider given how easily accessible they are compared to smaller, more quaint destinations. “It really depends where most people are traveling from because I do think it’s important to make it easy on everyone traveling and not overcomplicate things,” she says. She’s also expecting the Dolomites in Northern Italy to take off, with the luxurious resort Forestis Dolomites quickly becoming a hot spot for both weddings and honeymoons during the offseason for hikers and the high season for skiers. “The spa is insane,” she notes. Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, Bahia in Brazil, José Ignacio in Uruguay, and Liguria in Northwestern Italy were among the other destinations that rolled off her tongue when we asked her for the most impressive destinations stamped in her passport.
If you do plan to hold your wedding away from home, Tombs says there are some important details to consider. For starters, you need to remember that not everyone does things the same way that you’re used to, so it’s essential that you’re flexible with what you want and respectful of local customs. “Understand the sense of urgency and workflow will vary based on the location of your event,” he says. Also, be sure to select a location that offers accommodations at a variety of price points. “Guests should not have to go into debt to attend your wedding,” he notes. “So be mindful of the flight costs, hotel room costs, and other transportation costs.” He also suggests that you consider choosing a location that your guests can easily turn into a family or personal vacation in order to make the cost of getting there more worthwhile.
Much more nitty-gritty than the location of your wedding, the details make all the difference, from the floral arrangements to the food to the even tinier bits like place cards and stationery. Apart from the emotions of the exchanging of the vows, these are the pieces that guests really remember the most. “Overall, we want guests to feel taken care of and have everything they need and nothing they don’t,” says Tombs. “A real sense of wabi-sabi, embracing nature’s beauty—good food, great wine, and a great playlist or band.” The goal is to create an evening (or weekend) that both the newlyweds and their guests will remember fondly. “Our clients want to sit at dinner and break bread with their loved ones,” Tombs says. “There’s a real return to intimacy and spending time with people our clients love.”
According to Tombs, in order to put together an intimate and genuine-feeling wedding, his number one rule is for his clients to avoid social media. “You need to find your own unique inspiration and stay true to what feels authentic and meaningful to you,” he says. Some things that he is loving generally, however, are custom pieces that guests can take home afterward, in-depth travel guides, and hand-blown glass vases and glassware—one of his brides is a ceramist, so she made vases for her wedding and guests. Moreover, he’s seen many of his clients go for an underproduced design aesthetic for their weddings, wanting the décor to feel more restaurant-like and mellow instead of having every single detail being manicured and perfect. “Less ‘wedding’ [and] more like … they exist there always and we showed up and had a party,” he explains. “I’m into things looking like they belong—[like they] have patina and age and tell a story. I hate bling, sparkle, and ballrooms. Those are dirty words in my office.”
Table settings make up a majority of the décor at weddings, but they have a tendency to look copied and pasted from thousands of other post-wedding celebrations. To keep things fresh in 2023, Marisa Witkin, a creative consultant and designer, suggests creating centerpieces that are more dynamic than the ones most often featured at weddings with a mixture of flowers, fruits, and other interesting elements.
Another option for setting your wedding tables apart from the rest—according to Charlotte Forsyth Wastell and Sofie Thompson, food stylists and the creators behind Hands London—is to keep settings extremely minimal. Rely on clean, white linens; silver tableware, platters, and props; and, most importantly, beautiful, seasonal, and locally produced food to dress up the space. “Brightly colored, seasonal food is a must, as we like to incorporate food as sculpture,” the team says. “A mix of single-stem florals, chintzy doilies, candelabras, and a tiered, showstopping cake will make your table look really impactful.”
Handmade details make all the difference as well, whether the newlyweds created them themselves or hired an artist to produce something unique for them. Custom plates, place cards, matchbooks, and menus are just as impactful on the day of as they will be in 10 years when you stumble upon them in a scrapbook or photo album.
While giant floral arrangements aren’t as in vogue as they once were, gorgeous, natural moments are and will always be a part of the wedding world. “I’m leaning into single-flower arrangements with less greenery,” Tombs explains. For him, a ficus in a simple, less ingredient–heavy design is more impactful than any large mixed-floral display. “We are also planting flowers at our clients’ homes and farms for events to be used at weddings, [which feels] pretty special,” he says. This trend of going off what’s already in nature is gaining traction in the wedding space, says Witkin: “Keep it seasonal. If you love spring flowers, a spring wedding is ideal for you.” This premise also helps you keep prices down in an area of the wedding market that’s notoriously expensive. By sticking with local, fresh flowers that don’t have to be imported or grown out of season, you’ll save big. “Wedding prices are quite insane post-COVID lockdowns. Everyone is trying to make up for lost time,” Bonilla says. She’d know—she’s right in the midst of planning one. Going with a more minimal approach also allows you to avoid an abundance of throwaway flowers, which, for the bride-to-be, is paramount.
The same idea extends to food, with Forsyth Wastell and Thompson explaining that sourcing the best seasonal produce for events is extremely popular right now, leading to menus really being centered around whatever is local to the area and fresh at the time of your wedding. “This month, we’re seeing lots of soft serve, elderflower blossom, podded peas, strawberries, cherries, and lots of whipped cream,” the duo from the UK says. In other parts of the world, that would likely differ entirely. For example, a seaside menu might be heavily influenced by whatever the freshest catch is in the region. Even for Bonilla, who’s getting married in Brooklyn, all of the food and drinks served will be based on local favorites. “I felt the thrill to provide my guests with a food option I know they’ll all enjoy—something true to the city and unlike anything I’ve had at weddings that I’ve been to previously,” she explains.
Speaking of drinks, the Hands London team says that a champagne tower for a wedding is essential and simply must be placed on top of a round table with a skirted tablecloth. They also suggest the inclusion of a classic martini on the beverage menu as well as plenty of interesting garnishes like maraschino cherries, an ingredient that’s also become popular on top of vintage-inspired, tiered wedding cakes.
“The classic tiered cakes are always a go-to for us,” say Forsyth Wastell and Thompson. But they’re not all white. According to Witkin, “a quirky-cake renaissance is happening,” with beautiful and playful details becoming more and more popular. Pastry chefs like Aimee France of YungKombucha and Yip.Studio are among the pioneers in this design space. In addition to traditional tiered wedding cakes, the Hands team also loves to include takes like a croquembouche on their tablescapes for weddings and other events. Additionally, they say that huge, round, and flat cakes are being asked for more and more, with many of today’s most innovative couples opting for the style less taken historically. Similarly, spacious tarts are gaining traction in the food space, with the toppings often including fruit from surrounding areas.
Next: All of the “Cool Bride” Things to Know in 2023