2026 Wedding Trends Every Engaged Bride Needs to Hear: What’s In, What’s Out & What’s Next

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Dan DeWard 0:00
Welcome to the Wedding Planning Experts Podcast, hosted by Dan and Andrea DeWard, owners of Full Circle Weddings. After 25 years in the wedding industry, owning and operating multiple wedding venues, hosting hundreds of ceremonies and receptions, we provide tips to help brides and grooms plan their wedding stress-free and on budget. So let's dive in and talk about all things weddings. Welcome to the Wedding Planning Experts Podcast. Andrea and I just returned from Vegas. We attended the Wedding MBA and made a lot of connections and learned some great things.
Andrea DeWard 0:36
Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Got to attend a lot of seminars. One I was able to do was titled 2026 Wedding Trends. And this seminar probably had the highest number of attendees. I think everyone wanted to hear what all the projected trends are going to be. So that was a lot of fun and just wanted to share some of the information that I learned.
Dan DeWard 0:57
So let's go over some of those topics and let's start off with rings. What did they have to say about rings?
Andrea DeWard 1:01
Yeah, so with rings, hand-graved rings with special messages, I think you're already seeing that now. But one trend that you're going to be seeing more of is gemstones. Diamond Solitaire's I don't think will ever go out of style, but the trend will be just different, rich colored gemstones. And you'll see a lot more unique shapes and cuts with those. The rings are going to be a little more intricate with their designs.
Dan DeWard 1:29
So a little more personalized.
Andrea DeWard 1:31
Yeah, I think they're already kind of personalized now, but I see more of that up and coming. And the big thing is the different color gemstones, like your sapphires, your rubies, your emeralds, instead of just the diamond solitaire.
Dan DeWard 1:45
What do they have to say about destination weddings and locations?
Andrea DeWard 1:49
yeah that was really fun so italy is the number one wedding destination it has been that has not changed but there are a couple locations that are up and coming uh portugal and san miguel are uh the destinations that are up and coming for 2026. there's also a lot of talk about booking a destination wedding during the shoulder season which is considered the off season They're just saying it's a lot less expensive and just kind of have fun with it. Bring your umbrellas, expect the unexpected, and you're still going to have a wonderful wedding day, but you're going to save a lot of money.
Dan DeWard 2:25
Yeah, and on destination weddings, let's also talk about size of weddings. Pre-COVID, wedding averages in the United States were about 130 guests that attended the wedding. That was kind of an average pre-COVID. After COVID, those numbers reduced. We're at about 115 guests that attend weddings now. So that number's decreased a little bit. A lot of that has to do with micro weddings. Micro weddings have become very popular. you know, a little more intimate settings, maybe like 50 people roughly for micro weddings. That's another trend that's popular.
Andrea DeWard 2:58
Yes, it really is. There's a lot of venues offering micro wedding packages. Bride grooms are going to save a lot of money doing that also.
Dan DeWard 3:06
Yeah, let's talk now a little bit about fashion. What did they have to say about fashion and styles?
Andrea DeWard 3:10
Yeah, a couple things with wedding gowns. One trend that you'll be seeing is more pleating with the dresses. Capes and scarves are also in. They give your look a lot of movement and flow, but then you can also remove those at the reception and change your look a little bit. You'll see that. Block heels are making a comeback. And you're going to see a lot more gender fluid options. A lot of your salons are going to show more options for that. And also veiled hats are making a comeback, which is kind of fun. I haven't seen that for a long time, but it's coming back.
Dan DeWard 3:46
How about colors? What did they say about colors today?
Andrea DeWard 3:49
Yeah, so we're talking color schemes for the entire wedding. So green is the new black for next year. And this is a dark jewel tone green, not a sage green, but a very deep, rich green. You're going to see that color in fashion, floral, and linens.

What 2026 engagement ring styles and gemstone choices are trending?

Andrea DeWard 4:06
The other color they talked about is red.

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