1. Inventive Seating
Ceremonies in the round and “caterpillar” reception-table waves are just two seating styles to make the day feel especially intimate.
2. Personalized Notes
Appreciative couples are including handwritten notes addressed to each guest—on their escort wall, at place settings, or in welcome boxes.
3. Texture
Luxe textiles—lush velvets, embroidered linens, jacquard fabrics, and more—are enhancing everything from seating vignettes to table designs to bridesmaid dresses.
4. Candlelight
Reception spaces filled with glowing candles—with or without accompanying flowers—are setting a romantic tone for dinner and dancing.
5. Bold Dance Floors
Black-and-white stripes, wood-and-white checks, gray herringbone: Dance floors are becoming the finishing touch to pull a room together and make that first twirl even more enchanting.
6. Draping
Venues from tents to ballrooms are getting a warm upgrade with rich drapery in hues that complement the design palette.
This article appears in the January 2024 issue of Washingtonian.
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
