9 Wedding Decor Trends That Are on the Way Out, According to Experts

Ask any engaged couple, and they’ll probably say the same thing: Half the fun of getting married is planning the wedding. But before you go crazy on Pinterest, it’s important take a minute to think about which trends are actually worth including in your big day. While some ideas might offer initial appeal, in reality, a lot of wedding fads are fleeting.

Luckily, we have wedding planner friends Ashley Douglass, owner of Ashley Douglass Events, and Jove Meyer, of Jove Meyer Events, to call upon for help. We asked these party-throwing aficionados what wedding trends are on their way out, and they had lots to share. From flower crowns to table linens, read ahead for played-out wedding fads the experts say it’s time to bid farewell to.

Note: Your wedding is your wedding! If flower crowns, burlap, and other “soon-to-be outdated” trends that you love are on here, don’t be discouraged or feel ashamed! Incorporate what you love into your day however you want.

If you ask Douglass, rustic-slash-farmhouse chic wedding decor is officially passé. “Mason jars, distressed wooden boxes, and anything else overly rustic will make your wedding look dated,” she says. Meyer says the same goes for burlap. Douglass adds: “Savvy couples are learning to pivot from ‘rustic’ to more sophisticated ‘organic’ decor if they prefer a more natural look.”

This fluffy grass has been all over Instagram wedding feeds—in ceremony installations, bouquets, centerpieces, you name it. “While we love it, it has been widely used and needs to go or be updated by applying color to them!” Meyer says.

As adorable as flower crowns can look on the wedding party, Meyer believes this is a wedding trend best kept in the past: “I think the simple elegance of flower crowns was a refreshing change from a bouquet or corsage,” he explains, “but fewer and fewer couples are electing to have them at their weddings.” Instead, Meyer suggests thinking about other ways to incorporate flowers into hairstyles, like “a single stem in place of a big, flashy crown.”

“These are super popular for staged ‘getting ready’ photos,” says Douglass of overly coordinated robes, “and we have seen more than enough of these at weddings and on social media.” Instead of the predictable robes, Douglass suggests pajama sets and yoga clothes, “which are easy to wiggle in and out of and won’t mess up your hair.”

While white will always be the natural draw for many couples getting married, Meyer says a lot of people are deciding to embrace brighter colors for a bolder wedding palette. “A wedding should reflect a couple’s unique style, personality, and relationship,” Meyer explains. “So if they love color, I always encourage them to use it!”

Meyer is also ready to move beyond gold wedding details: “From gold chargers to candlesticks to flatware, gold has got to go to make room for more contemporary materials, such as bronze, iridescent, silver, and copper!”

According to Meyer, more and more couples are opting for linen-less dinner tables and embracing the clean lines of bare wood, acrylic, or stone tables instead. “Gone are the days of assuming every couple will select a table linen color to match their chair cushion,” Meyer says. “We’re now seeing couples drawn to the more casual and visually stimulating design of linen-less tables. Natural elements like wood or stone can play a large role in the design and vibe of the wedding, while also making it feel less formal!”

Douglass say sparkler send-offs at the end of the wedding night are becoming a thing of the past. “Many venues and cities no longer permit sparklers at receptions for safety reasons,” Douglass explains. “So wedding guests are sending couples off with a fun drunken sing-a-long, like ‘They’re a jolly good couple,’ instead.”

This wedding trend comes courtesy of 2020 necessity: “Goodbye, ballrooms with ugly carpet, and hello, outdoor tented weddings!” Meyer says. “Being indoors with no fresh air flow is not something couples are running toward, especially in the midst of a global pandemic, so they are leaning into outdoor celebrations with stunning tents!”