Popular consensus would say that 2020 has been a difficult year for the entire wedding industry.  From postponed ceremonies to all together canceled wedding celebrations all over the world. It has been a year that has brought about many forced changes especially to the bridal industry and to the modern bride's event planning.  A year that has changed the wedding traditions and brought about new wedding trends that look like they might be here to stay. 

More Meaningful Celebrations

The pandemic has caused many brides to be to reevaluate the important things in life. The biggest realization is perhaps that the thing that matters most is not the lavish party with hundreds of friends, co-workers, and distant family members you see once every time someone gets married. The meaning of the ceremony itself is what is important.  Everything else is literally table dressing and not necessary. Perhaps the sentiment of the auspicious occasion has been getting lost among the planning and the ability to keep up with the Jones in recent years. Maybe the one good thing the virus has done is made every bride and groom more aware of the fact that the only thing that really matters is their commitment to each other. And so long as the folks you love the most are near it does not matter any longer if it is a small backyard celebration or an intimate dinner with a few friends.

The Return of the Nostalgic Back-Yard Wedding or Mini Wedding.

Couples are now opting for smaller more intimate outdoor spaces. They are focusing less on decor end more on natural picturesque outdoor landscapes.  Couples are looking for a simplified setting and smaller spaces for a celebration of 40-60 verses 200 plus people. With many venues unable to accommodate parties of any size due to covid restrictions many couples have started embracing the nostalgia of the once scorned "Football Weddings".   Popularized in the 40's and 50's, the football wedding or Italian football wedding  was a celebration usually held in the yard with sandwiches, cakes and trays of cookies  and all sorts of food prepared by the entire family as an affordable and fun way to celebrate with extended family and friends. The regained popularity of the backyard wedding has really reduced the stress on the wedding couple and allowed them to genuinely enjoy the party with family and friends. Maybe they have incorporated some new features like a fun food truck for dessert or tacos. But all in all, it's a low-key, laid-back budget-friendly event.

Affordability and Budget Conscience

With the shutdowns and job losses and what is likely an uncertain future, couples are less apt to go into debt for the party or to spend big bucks on things like bridal jewelry. Instead, couples are choosing to go with more meaningful sentimental and affordable options like using Claddagh rings as their wedding rings of choice.   The Claddagh ring tradition has seen a significant resurgence. The Irish ring gives couples that meaningful sentimental feature to mark the more than unusual circumstance of the occasion. A ring that does not necessarily break the bank and is something they can happily wear forever.

The Claddagh ringis really a fede rings and has a long history dating back to Roman times. The name "fede" derives from the Italian phrase mani in fede meaning loosely "hands joined in faith" or "hands joined in loyalty". The clasped hands were viewed as promise ring used as an engagement ring or wedding rings in medieval and Renaissance Europe. The Irish Claddagh ringis a version of the fede ring that has roots deeply seeded in long-standing Irish tradition

Claddagh Rings are world-renowned, and are worn by both men and women, single or taken. Irish Claddagh rings are named for the ancient fishing village of Claddagh, near Galway, Ireland, dating back to the 17th century. The Claddagh ring in Irish is fáinne Chladaigh and is a traditional Irish ring that represents love, loyalty, and friendship. The hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and the crown represents loyalty. The Irish Cladddagh ring, as currently known, was first produced in the 17th century.