037 - Happy New Year!! We are excited for 2026 and all to come!

We toast the new year by recapping what defined 2025 weddings and mapping the trends that will shape 2026. From candid storytelling and sustainability to sober-curious bars and classy disco, we share practical ideas you can lift for your day.

• personalization over perfection driving guest experience
• 2025 highlights including maximalist florals, statement aisles, champagne towers
• what’s out in 2026 such as oversized bridal parties, forced timelines, one-time decor, stiff posing
• what’s in for 2026 including micro luxe, elevated mocktails, destination weekenders, candid video
• tech-forward touches like QR photo drops, projection mapping, digital seating charts
• curated experiences with lounges, tastings, live artists, interactive table cards
• at-home private estate weddings and doing what feels right for you
• creative favors like mini cocktail kits, plants, signature candles
• reception ideas from choreographed entrances to silent disco and themed late-night bites
• New Year’s wedding tips with countdown moments, metallic accents, sparklers, champagne towers
• hosts’ 2026 goals and a preview of upcoming guests and resources

Be sure you guys to follow us on Instagram, TikTok, go subscribe to our YouTube channel. We have so much coming in store for you guys in 2026, and we'll see you next year.

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Transcript

New Year Vibes And Intentions

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Happy New Year! Welcome to another episode of the Wedding High Podcast. We are here to celebrate a new year, and that is 2026.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 0:14

But before then, we are going to reflect on all things 2025 weddings and also dive into what we think is going to happen in 2026.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

We have so much good for this episode. And congratulations because all of our 2026 bride, it is officially your year. It's your year. So soak it in because it's right around the corner.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

It sure is.

Yes Or No: NYE At Home

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Okay. So first thing we're going to hop in, we're going to do a little yes or no, and then we'll get into everything. So, yes or no for staying in or going out for New Year's Eve. What's your usual vibe?

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Um, we love to stay in for New Year's.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Um, yeah, we love to be home. We like to watch the ball drop, have fun, play games, drink, but going out scares me on New Year's. There's just a lot of drinking and driving. It's it's I don't want to bring in the New Year on a sour note.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

We don't need any of that.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Oh, I'm a homebody on New Year's. What about you?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Um, I feel like I'm like 50-50. Like some years I'm like, let's go, let's rage, let's go to parties. And then some years I'm just like, eh, I want to stay home. So I would say the last two years we've definitely gone out, but I feel like this year it might be a an at-home of our new house. And I feel like it'll be nice. And I feel bad for Dallas too, with the fireworks. Yeah. We didn't have him last year. So um it's a little bit different, but we'll see what happens. Yeah. So love it. Here for it. Um, okay.

What Defined 2025 Weddings

SPEAKER_01 1:41

So we're gonna first talk about what defined 2025 weddings. Um, couples really lean into personalization harder than ever, but um, party over perfection.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

How do we feel about that?

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Do I agree or disagree?

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Yeah, do you agree with what you've seen? Do you agree? Yes or no?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Oh, we're just gonna play a long day of yes or no. Just keep going.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Yes or no's for the year.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Um, I feel like I saw trends of, I felt like I had like a handful of weddings where people were very much so about perfectionism. And again, it's because of those social media trends. Everybody wants everything to look perfect on social media. Um, but yes, personalization and to really make the guests feel seen and um personalized things like, you know, around welcome tables or in the reception space, or even like cute quotes on cocktail tables, like those things, yes, I would agree.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Yeah, I feel like so too. Um, I feel like the personalization is just that little extra touch that, you know, goes a long way and also can help with the guest experience. So then also the party is, you know, over perfection still. So I would say yeah. Are we are am I going again too? Yeah.

2025 Highlights: Florals, Aisles, Towers

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Okay, period. We're gonna do 2025 highlights. Um, so maximalist florals, statement aisles, champagne towers, slow mornings, and bold guest uh dress codes.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

I know. I love um, I saw a few times the statement aisle, like a mirror. Have you seen that? Like the aisles, like a mirror.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

The floor?

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Yes, the floor. Sorry, yeah. So like I think that's so cool. I saw a lot of champagne towers, which I think is fun because it just like kicks off a lot of people do that to kick off the toast. Um, so I think it could be a fun moment to get everyone's attention again, and then that way the um the focus is on the toast. What else? Slow mornings. I like that.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Yeah, I love the slow mornings.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Yeah, I think there's a lot of hustle and bustle during the day. So, like to have those few hours like before the chaos ensues.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

And bold guest dress codes. I feel like I didn't see bold, but I feel like definitely saw dress codes, like wearing all black or their wedding colors were blue, so they asked people to wear shades of blue, which I thought was really cute. And yeah, I wouldn't say bold though. No, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

So I like it. Um, so what is out as we enter 2026?

What’s Out For 2026

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Um, overstuffed bridal parties. People are starting to go down on those numbers, keeping it intimate, close. Um, you don't need 12 people in your that's just I'm sorry, that will always be insane to me.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Yeah. And like 12, like, yes, I do think you can love 12 people that much that like you would want to be the a part of that special moment, but oh my god. Like when I just look about the aisle and there's like it's packed, I feel like then it takes like takes away from the couple because there's so many people out there.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Um, another thing that is exiting um is traditional timelines that feel forced. This I yes and no. I think that it's really important if you have a good timeline, you have a well-built-out timeline. There's been lots of thought that's gone into it with um your coordinator or planner and your photographer, videographer, all of the pieces. Um, I think you can have a really smooth timeline to make sure you're hitting on the pieces that you want. And then um, you're not feeling forced. There has been a handful of weddings where bride goes, Yep, I'm done. I don't want to take any more pictures. I'm over smiling. I want to go to the dance floor, I want to join cocktail hour, and it's your day. So go get them, Tiger. We are not judging it. Um another thing that is um out as we enter 2026 is one time use decor. So sustainability is coming into the wedding scene. Um, and we are seeing a lot of it. Yeah. Um, so instead of having one-time use decor, um, this might be repurposing florals or even donating them to a nonprofit after a wedding so they can go into like um different hospice homes or um hospital rooms. I've seen, um, but even reusing items for you know, purchasing off Facebook Marketplace and then reselling it afterwards because decor is expensive and we don't want it to all end up in a landfill.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Literally.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

So, and then the last thing that is out is ultra posed photography. Ooh, you could speak into this one more because you hang with photographers more often. Yes, but would you agree that you are seeing the the really formal posed photographies kind of out and you're seeing more of the flow with couples?

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Yeah, I feel like definitely I've seen that. Um, I feel like it's really gotten to like, okay, let's take the few, you know, posed ones so you can send them to grandma, you can like put them up, you know, send to your mom, whatever. And then it's really just like candid moments and not posed. People like the running photos, the spin, like holding her and spinning around. And um, I'm here for it. I think it looks cool. I think definitely get those posed ones so you can, you know. I definitely like those that I have up in my house and stuff, but I feel like people are getting into the more candid photo, and I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

And you can have 10 good posed photos.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Yeah, I think people think that they have to have like a million of these, and it's like you really don't. Like correct. You don't need to waste, you know, hours or your Mr. Cocktail or just to get posed photos. So I'm here for

What’s In For 2026

SPEAKER_01 7:30

that. But okay, now we're gonna talk about what's in for 2026 weddings. Um, so micro luxe moments, sober curious bar, and elevated mocktails, um, destination weekenders, candid video, um, and food that feels like the couple. Love all of those. Mm-hmm. I know we've talked about a lot this year. I feel like the switch from having mocktails at weddings. I feel like a few years ago that was like not even a thing. Correct. Um, I don't know. Obviously, you've been in the industry a little bit longer than me. So if I you think that, right? Like I feel like mocktails were never a thing.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

No, not no, besides like Shirley Temple's. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

But like making it.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Yeah. Like they're they're new and I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Yeah. No, I think that's awesome for guests um to have that option. Um, destination weekenders, I feel like people, I don't know, I feel like people are getting a little luxe too with that, like making the whole weekend uh situation, like, oh, we're leaving Thursday, and then we have Friday, and then Saturday, and then we're doing brunch. So I mean, honestly, if you got the money, I'm here for it. Yep. Do a whole weekend. I do like seeing the, you know, we get in, we have the welcome party, and then the hearsal, and then the wedding, and then people do like a brunch, and then it's like, all right, our weekend's done. So I really like that. Oh, and food that feels like you. I like that too. I feel like people are getting out of the like boring wedding food and doing what they actually would like to eat daily base on the daily basis or stuff that they actually like to incorporate that into the wedding.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yeah. Are you thinking about Chick-fil-A right now? Because I'm thinking about Chick-fil-A right now. Chick-fil-A, you're my Chick-fil-A.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

No, that was, yeah, we've had Chick-fil-A. We've had um a couple of the other, like a few weeks ago, did his and hers food trucks, um, which I loved kind of instead of the his and hers cocktails. So they had a pizza truck and then they had tacos. So I'm kind of here for going out of the box and doing fun wedding food.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

I love it. I'm obsessed.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Um, some other 2026 wedding predictions, um, tech enhanced

Tech And Curated Guest Experiences

SPEAKER_00 9:52

weddings. So think um QR codes for uh your photos. Have everybody dump um their the photos that they took with a QR code, and so you have all of them in one file. Uh projector mapped uh dance floor or projector mapped decor. Digital seating charts. So thinking very tech savvy, save the paper going into the sustainability that we're kind of seeing start to trend.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Um, another one, curated guest experiences, including outdoor lounge sets, wine tasting during cocktail hour, um, live artist or music performances, or um connected activities, um connection activities. So um, those are the things that sometimes we will see at their guest seating where there is not a word search, but I'm thinking through the one that I've seen recently. And it was like uh on one side was the menu, and on the other side was like an activity card. So and it was like answered by the couple, so like about the couple, and they were able to like fill it out, so there was like an interactive like something for them to do.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

I like that idea, so it was super fun.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

So yeah, those are some of the things we're we're getting ready to

Classy Disco And At-Home Weddings

SPEAKER_00 11:13

see. Oh, another one classy disco. So disco balls are coming back. Okay, I'm obsessed, but not super 70s, more of like a classy high-end disco. I'm kind of thinking what we saw in May when we went to that bridal. Do you remember there was a disco ball? It was like very high-end.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

There was literally, do you remember the ladies dressed up with the disco heads? Yep. Am I am I remembering this correctly? You are. Yeah, that was that was crazy.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

So those are coming in. Um, at home weddings are coming back. I love them. So private estate weddings are back, they're intimate, they're elegant, they're personalized. And the next one is couples doing what they want.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Period. So as they should have.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

You should have been doing what you want the entire time.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Well, you should have been doing. I like that. I love I love seeing um people who do at-home weddings, like their family like childhood house that they grew up in or something like that. I'm like, that's so cute.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

That totally gives me like 13 going on 30.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

That house.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Do you remember the house the guy like runs in as he's supposed to get married in his backyard? Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

That's a good one. Um, okay, so we're also gonna be talking about um the fun stuff, which is um wedding ideas that you can help to make your day unforgettable.

Unforgettable Favor And Reception Ideas

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Um, so for favor ideas, I thought this one was so cute. Mini signature cocktail kits. So, like, you know how they have a lot of couples have their signature drink, and then I don't know if you've seen at the store, they'll have like maybe a little mason jar and it'll be like all the ingredients to make the cocktail.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

I'm like, that's cute. Like, I feel like that's a good idea, and I don't feel like I've seen that um before. Um, I saw a friend do this, but it was like at a baby shower. But I think you could do it if you're into this for like potted plants, um, like little like mini succulents.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yep, I've seen that as a favor.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Yep, okay, love that. And then I saw like mini candles too. Like they're um, we had one couple do this, they were big candles, but like some people like to have the wedding scent. So like everyone gets to take that home. So every time they light it, then it smells like their wedding. I love it. I love it. Um, and then just some a few reception trends, choreographed grand entrances, which I feel like I don't see as much anymore. So I feel like that could be coming back. A lot of times people just go in and like dance around and you know, they just get hyped to the song, which is great too. Um, silent disco after parties.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

I've never been to one, but like I've low-key want to kind of go to one.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

They are so fun. Are they? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

I've heard, I've like seen them, obviously, and heard, but I want to experience it myself. Um, and then lastly, I feel like we've started to see this is like themed late night bites, which are getting like very popular, people doing the late night bites for their guests.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Okay. I love that. I love it. So let's talk about getting married on New Year's.

Pros And Cons Of New Year’s Weddings

SPEAKER_00 14:24

What are your thoughts about a New Year's wedding?

SPEAKER_01 14:29

Um, I actually had a friend who got married on New Year's, so I think it can be a vibe. I just, I don't know. I think it could be fun, but also I don't know, I'm torn. I'm gonna say no, actually.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

Well, and do you get married uh on the December 31st or do you get married on January 1st? Or do you get married in the middle of the night?

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Well, that's what I'm saying. Like the whole I think a no because I think the whole obviously the whole vibe of New Year's Eve is you wait till 12 o'clock and then it's the new year, but like no one, I'm assuming even if you get married on New Year's Eve, you're not waiting until 12 o'clock on the dot to get married. So I feel like um, I don't know, it could just be I mean, it could then be a good like after party vibe. Like, you know, like the wedding and then like, you know, like, oh, let's all go back to the house during the new year, blah, blah, blah. So I think it could be a vibe.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

Oh, I'm torn. I don't know. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Well, I would struggle with picking the date. Is it the 31st or the first?

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Yeah, like you would think.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

And do we sign our marriage license and say our vows at 1201? Yeah. I don't know. So if you are planning a New Year's wedding or you are wanting a New Year's wedding theme, um, you can do some fun countdowns if that's to the first look, to the ceremony processional. You can have things countdown themed, um, glittery dress change. So you can have like your bridal party in the glitter dresses, or you can do your dress change for the reception for a fun glittery dress. Um, confetti cannons would be fun because those scream New Year's.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Um, all black attire with metallic accents screams New Year's.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

And then a champagne tower. So fun. Yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

You would have to. I'm sorry. You have to. Yeah. If you're getting married on New Year's Eve, you have to do a champagne tower.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

And lots of lots of sparkler moments. So bring out the sparklers.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Yep, sparkler exits. That'd be really fun. Well, as we finish up, I think we should say, what

2026 Personal Goals And What’s Next

SPEAKER_01 16:39

is one of your 2026 goals for yourself?

SPEAKER_00 16:42

For me as a human.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Yeah, for you as a human, or whether that's like part of your family, or like what what what are you like one thing you want to do next year?

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Um, I would love to get in the habit of waking up earlier. Stop making fun of me. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

No, you don't sleep in that late, but I feel like you you're you have your kids and you're booked and busy, so you just want to start your day off.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

So I need to start my day off like an hour or two earlier. Okay. So I can get my things done so I can be successful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

And that way you can have time for yourself to like get the day going. Correct. I like that. That's a good goal. I feel like I could be good at that too. I can get better at that too.

unknown 17:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

I like I get up pretty early, but I usually like mosey around, make my coffee, which is like okay to have, I think the slow mornings, but some days I'm like, I really should be doing something right now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

So I think what's your 2026 goal? Um, I want to get pregnant. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Do you have an idea like when in 26 you want to get pregnant?

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Like August. Okay. So like where I think we're gonna enjoy the beginning of the year, the summer, and then get to it. Make a baby, and then get to it, baby.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

All right. So that's my goal. Yours is way cooler than mine.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

I know. But then I'm uh I know it's good, it'll help me because when I have a baby, I'll have to be up all night and be up early. So it'll it'll flow into that. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

So I love all of the goals that you have and that I have, but I'm also so excited for the wedding hive podcast. She got what is coming in 2026. Yes. So we have some incredible guests coming on. Um, we have some more helpful resources for those who are in the wedding planning process to hopefully ease your mind. Um, we also have some really good stuff in store for our couples that have already gotten married because marriage and wedding planning is just the beginning of the life uh process. So really excited for 2026 and what we have coming up for all of our listeners.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Yes, it's gonna be great. So be sure you guys to follow us on Instagram, TikTok, go subscribe to our YouTube channel. We have so much coming in store for you guys in 2026, and we'll see you next year. Bye.