Sinead Fortune, wedding manager at Newpark Hotel, has the following insights:
Conscious spending: With the rising cost of living, everyone is more spend conscious these days, so wedding planning couples are investing where it counts and cutting down on non-essential optional extras like light up dancefloors or backdrops. Instead, they are spending on venue, food, and drink. It’s ok to cut back on frivolous bits to ensure the most important parts of the day are memorable. I always say the one thing people will talk about after a wedding is great food, exceptional service and quality entertainment.
Flower Power: A greater emphasis on floral décor is another emerging trend. Photo ops and instagrammable moments are becoming increasingly important for our couples. Flowers are a chance to put your own style on the wedding. We’ve seen everything from floral artists to arches and stunning floral displays, to flower crowns, wildflowers and foliage that the couple gather for the wow without the price tag.
Planning Partners: Grooms are taking a more active role in planning the wedding and liaising with the venue, celebrant, and suppliers than ever before, with many really enjoying it. This is great to see as it’s the first big event in a lifelong partnership.
Personality on show: Without doubt modern couples are opting to have their wedding day be a celebration of who they are as people. This means we are seeing lots of personalisation, customised items like neon signs, monogrammed cufflinks, and decals on soles of shoes. There are little glimmers of individual personalities shining throughout the day, popping up in decor, table plans, invites and more. This is really lovely and a trend that we hope will continue as it gives the whole day a very intimate and personal touch, which makes everyone feel even more closely connected to the couple on their special day. We had a wedding during the summer, the brides Mam and Dad were married here in the 80’s. They recreated their wedding photo at the front of the hotel on the day.
Tech upgraded traditions: In the last few years we’ve also seen technology take more of a front seat from audio guest books to wedding photo social media apps.
Sustainability: Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for guests, with many wanting to stay local and wanting to know that food is locally sourced.
Favours out of favour: With people opting to be more sustainable and conscious of spend, it isn't a huge surprise that wedding favours are not as popular as they once were. While at one point they may have been a wedding essential, they are definitely now seen as a non-essential. Charity donations are a common alternative. God for the earth and good for others!
Fun Factor: Couples are putting more of an emphasis on fun on their big day, whether it's a flashmob style performance prepared by the bridal party, a guest performer during dinner, surprise singing waiters, or just ensuring the dancefloor is filled all night. A top tip for any bride or groom planning a wedding is to look for the fun. You really want to enjoy the day and have happy memories of how much everyone enjoyed themselves so keep that in mind and make sure to put fun on the agenda!
Family Friendly: Many couples getting married nowadays are either parents to their own children or have younger members such as nieces and nephews within their bridal party taking up roles as flower girls, page boys so they love seeing how family friendly Newpark is, with loads to do on site for younger guests and a kids club for 4-12 year olds at weekends and during school holidays.
Set amid 25 acres of parkland and private landscaped gardens, Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny provides an opulent backdrop for wedding days, with loads of photo ops. From intimate weddings to lavish celebrations, Newpark Hotel can cater for up to 320 guests. Wedding packages start at €60 per person for the classic package and go up to €85 per person depending on the time of year and menu options. Enquiries can be made with wedding manager Sinead by emailing weddings@newparkhotel.com or by calling +353 56 776 0593. For more details on wedding consultations and available dates see www.newparkhotelkilkenny.com/Wedding-Kilkenny.html
