From pared-back civil ceremonies and earthy, natural palettes to elaborate veils and dramatic vintage silhouettes, there’s set to be a polarisation of wedding trends this year. But whether couples opt for functional or fantastical, one thing is clear: for a growing number, weddings are no longer just about the big day.
In countries like India, it has long been the tradition to host multi-day wedding events that require multiple outfits and accessories. Now, this is becoming the norm across the board. In 2024, according to research from wedding planning platform The Knot, 81 per cent of Gen Z and 73 per cent of millennials globally had a rehearsal dinner the night before their wedding. A third of millennials and 15 per cent of Gen Zs had a welcome drinks gathering and 24 per cent of millennials and 17 per cent of Gen Z had a morning-after brunch.
“We have seen the spotlight shift to the entire wedding wardrobe — from the dinner the evening before, to the post-wedding recovery day and of course, the hen party,” says Kay Barron, fashion director at Net-a-Porter. “This allows for the bride to dress in a more varied way, whether it’s a mini dress, tailored suit, playful accessories or even some pops of colour.”
This all means more opportunities for brands, bridal or otherwise. As couples continue to build whole wedding wardrobes, new designers enter the bridal fray and wedding content continues to surge online, what will 2025 bring?
Vintage femme
“When it comes to weddings in 2025, one of the biggest trends we’re seeing is drama,” says US-based destination wedding planner Fallon Carter. “Think drapery, flowing fabrics, big entrances. Couples are really leaning into the movement and really theatrical touches that elevate basically every moment,” she says.
In this vein, we can expect a nostalgic mood from some brides in 2025, as they look to vintage, feminine silhouettes. Take podcaster Alex Cooper, who got married in Mexico last April wearing a Marie Antoinette-style Danielle Frankel dress. “That kind of style is something we’re definitely seeing become more popular,” says Pinterest UK head of fashion and luxury Heather Clark. (For the first time this year, Pinterest has broken out a wedding trends report for 2025 based on searches over the last year, and has created shoppable boards from brands including Ssense and Jimmy Choo.)
“Brides of 2025 are seeking more modern and structural wedding dresses, with dropped and basque waistlines growing in popularity thanks to their nostalgic yet contemporary feel,” says Venetia Rothwell, senior analyst at retail intelligence firm EDITED. Danielle Frankel is known for the trend and is leading the next generation of designers, she adds.
Danielle Frankel continues to be one of the strongest performing brands on Net-a-Porter for bridalwear, says Barron. Net-a-Porter has this year more than doubled the number of Danielle Frankel styles it carries online (to 21). Clio Peppiatt’s embellished designs are also popular.
Drop and basque-waist wedding dresses are having a moment. “If you look at [nutritionist mega-influencer] Emily English, she just did a civil ceremony and wedding in a [Halfpenny] drop-waist dress, which has become another popular style,” Clark says. Gen Z brides are into the V-shaped basque-waist dress in particular, with search up 36 per cent among young Pinterest users. The silhouette has gone viral on TikTok over the last year. “The basque waist is the new mason jar” has become a popular quip on the platform, underlining their ubiquity by comparing them to the noughties boom in mason jars as part of wedding tablescapes.
Carter also notes an uptick in lace and pearls. “There’s a softness that people are looking for and really gravitating towards. After the last few years, there’s this return, or maybe this desire to go back to romance, and classic is safe, and classic is undeniable,” she says. “People, I think, really want to lean into being as elegant as possible. Classic just hits, you can’t go wrong.”
Maximalist jewellery
Vintage aesthetics aren’t just reserved for the dress. Gen Z brides in particular are focusing on vintage ring silhouettes and coloured stones this year. Celebrities are leading the way: from Zendaya to Selena Gomez, some of pop culture’s biggest stars got engaged in 2024. And while neither of the megastars have publicly set a date, they’ve already set the trend cycle in motion with vintage-inspired rings.
Gomez’s marquise-cut diamond engagement ring is the same shape as vintage or retro rings received by Jackie Kennedy (1968), Victoria Beckham (1998) and Jennifer Lopez (2002). While Zendaya’s Jessica McCormack engagement ring features an art-deco, East-West setting popularised in the Georgian era. On Pinterest, searches are up for “East-West engagement rings” (+48 per cent), “vintage wedding rings 1920s” (+1,458 per cent), “vintage cushion-cut engagement ring” (+175 per cent) and “1950s engagement ring” (+76 per cent).
“As this generation defines a new era of weddings, they are embracing maximalism with stacks of mixed-metal rings, non-traditional shapes and pops of colour,” says Pinterest’s Clark. Colourful rings are trending on the platform, including “champagne diamond engagement ring” (+85 per cent), “brown diamond engagement ring” (+179 per cent), “chocolate diamond engagement ring” (+53 per cent), “sapphire engagement ring gold” (+328 per cent) and “pink diamond wedding rings” (+349 per cent). Stackable ring styles are also trending.
“The level of adornment has stepped up in line with customer demand, with earrings and necklaces continuing to lead the way — particularly in gold and pearl styles, which remain bridal favourites,” says Net-a-Porter’s Barron. “Jennifer Behr remains a strong performer in this space, known for its signature floral, feminine earrings featuring subtle blue accents, as well as hair accessories such as bows, headbands and barrettes.”
Veil revival
Before the pandemic, many brides eschewed a veil for a simpler, more modern aesthetic. But post-pandemic, veils offered extravagance to even the most simple bridal looks, and have become a staple once more, experts agree, particularly for Gen Z. Among Gen Z consumers on Pinterest, search is up for “drape veil” (+479 per cent), “drop veil” (+185 per cent) and “statement veil” (+32 per cent). Meanwhile, traditional styles like the long, lacy, Spanish “mantilla veil” (+640 per cent); the ultra-long “cathedral veil” (+218 per cent); and the 1940s-style “birdcage veil” (+64 per cent) have all seen search uplift over the last year.
Stackable, modular elements like veils, capes and sleeves are also crucial to the big day, to take the look from day to night or to add formality for the ceremony, bridal designer Kate Halfpenny told Vogue Business. “Separates are becoming increasingly popular, especially for London-based weddings as they allow brides to feel more like themselves while offering the versatility to re-wear the styles again,” Barron says.
Mocha mousse marriage
Pantone was right, it is the year of mocha mousse. Brown is emerging as a key wedding hue for 2025, as brides search for warm colour schemes. According to Pinterest, searches are up for “chocolate brown wedding” (+451 per cent), “brown bridal party” (+438 per cent) and “brown suit groom” (101 per cent). “It’s partly inspired by the Autumn/Winter 2024 collections, where brown was a key colour, from The Row to Prada and Miu Miu,” says Clark.
And it’s not just the fashion, search is also up for “brown diamond engagement ring” (+179 per cent), “brown wedding invitations” (+69 per cent), “brown wedding flowers” (+38 per cent) and “brown wedding decor” (+41 per cent).
The colour is trending more broadly across dresses, EDITED’s Rothwell adds, with arrivals increasing in the UK by 70 per cent over the last 12 months. This is particularly true for wedding/occasion styles, with brown dress arrivals rocketing 262 per cent year-on-year.
“Brown is definitely having the moment, also taupe. It’s natural, it’s timeless and it is ultimately chic,” says Carter. “It also really plays well with other colours, so you can enhance it with other neutrals, vibrant accents and greenery [within the wedding].”
Shifting aesthetics
“While mocha mousse is extremely trending and we’re seeing lots of brown, I’m also still seeing lots of bold and energetic colour palettes,” Carter says. “My couples are still going into vibrant yellows, deep greens, pops of coral and even cobalt.”
“Butter yellow is shaping up to be the colour of 2025, and we’ve witnessed its rise in bridesmaid dresses,” Rothwell says. “Although greens, pinks and blues are still the dominant colours, yellow grew 6 per cent in the bridesmaid colour mix this season in the UK, the most of any shade.” After seeing rapid sell-outs, bridesmaid labels Six Stories and Rewritten have also restocked their yellow styles.
Often, bridal trends are birthed by disruptors like Danielle Frankel, or non-bridal designers entering the space and bringing a fresh aesthetic, experts agree. So as the bridal market grows, and more and more non-endemic bridal labels — such as Cult Gaia and Aligne — enter the space, we can expect further aesthetic shifts. “Ssense’s latest bridal collection features more directional puffball silhouettes, bows and separates by brands like Issey Miyake, Simone Rocha and Sandy Liang,” says Rothwell. “Twenty per cent of the bridal apparel styles have sold out entirely, or have sold out of the majority of sizes.”
For brands, bridal should be a year-long focus, Clark says. “Spring used to be the big moment. But if you look at Pinterest search data, it’s pretty much always on. There’s not so many clear peaks in terms of seasons,” she says. Brands should therefore be ever-present, Clark adds, since people are always searching. “You need to have your full product range available early, to intercept people as they’re actually planning and then willing to shop.”
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