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rom Champagne Coupes and Pets in the Pictures to Best Women and Flower Boys…

Galgorm Collection’s Wedding Expert Beth Greenan shares her guide to what to expect in the world of weddings in 2025

As peak wedding season heads towards its close for 2024, wedding couples across the land are already making plans for their special days next year. Mood boards, wedding mags and a trawl of the biggest online stars’ social media accounts will be playing their part in creating some serious wedding inspiration.

But look no further, because here, Beth Greenan, Galgorm Collection’s resident wedding expert, who has been helping loved-up couples create their dream big days for 20 years, is on hand to share her insights into what the country’s coolest couples will be doing in 2025.

“What we’re seeing is that couples are more and more confident in making their own decisions,” she says. “They’re working within broader traditions but doing it their own way. Things are bigger, bolder and more creative than ever – and social media has played a huge part in that. Couples want a pictureperfect experience, and they’re making whatever adjustments they need to get it.”

Here’s what to expect in 2025.

Multi-day Events

“More and more couples are thinking of a full experience for their guests, rather than just the wedding day itself,” says Beth. “If guests are travelling, they want to spend quality time with them, not just grab a quick chat outside the church, so multi-day events are huge.

“There could be a rehearsal or welcome party the day before as the excitement builds and a brunch or more informal event the day after. For example, some of our guests would have the wedding at Galgorm then go to Parisien the next day for lunch. It’s all about the “experience”. This used to be the reserve of destination weddings abroad as guests made a holiday out of their trip, but now the multiday, “destination feel” event is something couples are doing closer to home.”

Social Media Generation

“We all remember the standard was to have a photographer, and maybe a videographer to capture the big day,” says Beth. “Now there’s a third to factor in, and that’s the social media content creator. We’re seeing them more and more across all our venues as couples want to capture every moment – often putting them out live on the day on the couple’s social media channels.

“And this isn’t just for the well-known, or for major social media influencers, this is just couples who have grown up with high-quality online content, and really value it. Not only are the content creators capturing the bridal party and guests in candid VTs, they’re also getting the photographer and videographer in the shots creating full, glossy content for socials to reflect the full magic of the day.”

Venues with Impact

“In the past, couples would pick a beautiful hotel, but one that wouldn’t necessarily reflect their style,” says Beth. “They would spend a lot of their budget dressing the room to transform it from what it was to how they wanted it to be. Now, couples are opting for venues that already look incredible, and suit their own style and tastes, so that need to splash money on décor just isn’t a factor anymore.

“From picture-perfect and quite quirky hotels like The Rabbit, to museums and venues with real impact, choosing somewhere slightly different that already works for your style and taste is becoming the way to do it – and crucially, it allows you to channel the budget into backdrops with impact or additional entertainment or catering for the day.”

Cakes and coupes

“The wedding cake, or perhaps a “cake tower” is still a big factor for most wedding days,” says Beth. “But not for all. Increasingly we’re seeing the “cut the cake” moment being swapped for a Coupe Champagne Tower, where the couple pour champagne down the tower of glasses, which makes for an incredible picture – and gorgeous footage for socials. The “back-drop” for the cake or coupe is also a must, making pictures really pop.

“There might also be a dessert table, packed full of opulent dessert options, which again looks amazing on camera – and tastes phenomenal too, of course. Food is being reimagined. It’s not just the big threecourse dinner, with a finger buffet in the evening. People are going for all sorts of cool options, like a Mexican fiesta in the evening, or anything at all. It’s really fun to get creative.”

Goodbye ‘Receiving

Line’

“I did this at my wedding, and lots of couples used to do it,” says Beth. “The couple and their immediate family would greet the guests one by one outside the church or at the hotel to make sure they spoke to everyone. But now, with the longer events, this fairly formal aspect really isn’t as common as it used to be as there’s more opportunity to spend time with everyone in a more laid-back way over a few days.”

Animals welcome!

“Years ago, it would have been really unusual for a couple to have a pet at a wedding,” says Beth. “But now, it’s 100% accepted and I’d say we’ve got a dog at a wedding nearly every week. To have a pet featuring in pictures, or even taking part in the ceremony itself in some way, is not a strange request for us at all anymore. We have even welcomed a horse!”

Gender fluid

“Wedding parties are really mixing it up at the minute in terms of who does what,” says Beth. “We’ve got flower boys coming down the aisle, we’ve got Best Women, men in the bridal party, brides and maidsof-honour doing fantastic speeches. As with most other things, the fundamentals are there in terms of traditions in that the same things are happening, but couples are doing it their own way and choosing precisely who they want for each role.”

Table Plans 2.0

“Back in the day, a table plan would consist of names listed out on a printed piece of paper,” says Beth. “Couples would often come up with quirky names for the table to give guests a giggle, but the ante has been well and truly upped here, like it has been everywhere else. Now, we’ve got table plans presented on photographs, on records, on vases of flowers. The more creative the better, as far as the couples are concerned. And of course, it all looks great for social media.”

The Walk In

“This was always a lovely part of the day, when the couple walked into the room to a tune they loved after the wedding,” says Beth. “But while it used to be a pretty small part of the day, now it’s a major moment of the day for lots of couples. Guests are encouraged to swing those napkins aloft while the turns are pumping. We’ve had one couple led in by their little son who was driving a remote-control car, we’ve had grooms dancing their way in, we’ve had big elaborate moments involving the full wedding party. It’s definitely as impactful and important as the walk out of the ceremony, which used to be the main moment.”

Multi-cultural celebrations

“Couples are getting more confident in incorporating different cultures into their celebrations,” says Beth. “We have lots of people who are getting married close to home, but their partners are from different backgrounds or parts of the world, and more and more those varied traditions are being embraced. At a recent wedding the bride was from Northern Ireland and the groom was from Nigeria, and we had this amazing moment when they did a full Nigerian walk in, where they danced into the room and did a traditional Nigerian ‘money spray’ where guests shower the couple with money. It made their wedding so special and personal to them, and that’s what we want to help couples create, whether it be through unique food offerings, entertainment or their own specific traditions. Whatever works for them makes their wedding – their event – one to remember for everyone involved, and we love to help them incorporate and celebrate their own cultures.”

Gorgeous groomsmen – and multiple dresses for the bride

“While women’s wedding dresses are still as incredible as ever, and really there’s a huge range of what people now choose, it’s the men we’re watching now,” says Beth. “Gone are the standard suits and one-colour ties for the groomsmen, now they’re really going for it with their fashion choices. It’s great to see because it’s a chance for the groom and his party to really have fun with fashion on such a huge day in their lives. They’ve got more confidence in going for something different, which often creates a talking point on the day. On the bridal front, it’s really not unusual for the bride to have another dress to change into in the evening. One wedding dress no more!”

Draping – and colour scape 2025

“Drapes are having a big moment,” says Beth. “And we expect that to continue into 2025. In terms of colours, trends come and go, but red is a big one for next year, as well as metallic colouring. Couples make their own choices depending on their tastes of course, but these fashions do have an impact on what we see.”

Music noon til night

“Again, it’s the full “experience” for guests that comes into play with music now,” says Beth. “No longer do couples just book a band to play for after dinner, now there’s very often music at every point in the day - from the ceremony, arrival and reception drinks, and surprise performances through dinner, to elevated band and DJ set-ups for the evening reception and even Day 2.

“Couples now have so much choice and they are definitely well-informed and discerning what they want. If they’re savvy, they may pull back on one aspect of the day to make something else really special and memorable to them. They’re a confident bunch – and it shows in their weddings.”

To find out more about weddings across Galgorm Collection visit https://www.galgorm. com/galgorm-collection-weddings.html