Original Air Date: Thursday, May 31, 2012; 7:00PM EDT

Host: Debbie Quain

What are the brides in your local area asking for? Are you hearing some of the same requests, this year?

During this episode we discuss some of the hottest wedding planning trends in 2012, including:

• Games for the wedding cocktail hour
• Entertaining and feeding kids at weddings
• Homemade wedding favors
• Jeweled bouquets
• and much more.

Podcast: Play in new window

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Good Night Stations – This is a great way to end the wedding reception.  Sort of like the ‘Grand Finale’ for wedding guests. Popular ideas include an old-fashioned ice-cream truck parked outside serving Popsicles to guests as they leave a summer wedding reception , or a trendy food truck serving mini pizzas, or Krispy Kreme donuts packed inside the cutest, single-serve donut boxes. In some instances this could (and should, perhaps) replace wedding favors.

Knockout Kid’s Menus – This trend provides food for the youngest wedding guest and goes beyond chicken fingers and mac ‘n cheese. Instead, kids receive a scaled-down version of adult meals. Just be careful with this one–I still believe it’s a good idea to keep things simple

Wedding Sitters – child care provided by vendors who specialize in weddings. This is a great way to keep kids entertained while allowing their parents to enjoy the wedding reception festivities.

Cocktail Hour [Lawn] Games – So, how many of you are setting up activities and games during your client’s cocktail hour? Seems like a great way to pass the time while the bridal party is taking pictures. Just keep in mind that guests are likely to wearing their best outfits, so nothing too rambunctious, or as suggested by Kiki, too competitive.

Homemade Edible Favors – This type of favor makes sense for ‘foodie’ couples. Popular items include homemade beer, cake mix (with recipe attached), preserves or jam.

Candy & Dessert Buffet – Still popular, and now thankfully, there are several companies that provide rental candy jars and other candy supplies. The candy buffet seems to bring out the kid in just about everyone!

Cigar Bars – In some areas local cigar bars are very popular, so it’s no surprise to see this trend trickling over to weddings. With the right crowd, this could be a huge hit.

Jeweled Bouquets – These one-of-a-kind bouquets are made almost completely of jewels or brooches. This is a great way for a bride to showcase an heirloom item and create a wonderful keepsake at the same time. Just be sure to remind your clients that this blinged-out bouquet is not a lightweight option!

DIY Techie Brides – It’s no surprise that the internet is critical when planning a wedding for us planners and for brides. Pinterest, the popular virtual bulletin board, is HUGE right now and a great way to connect with others who share the same style. Don’t worry, there’s still room for you, the professional wedding planner. Your training and expertise is still no match for her online resource skills. There’s still tons of tasks that you can assist with.

Loveit.com – This resource shared by a listener (thanks, Toni!) is described as a visual, powerful platform for individuals & groups to discover, collect, organize and share the things they love.  Check it out!

Heard a lot of interesting wedding planning trends during this episode.  Thank you!  What are brides asking for in your area?