As a wedding photographer, I have seen a lot of traditions as well as a lot of trends, and I of course have my favorites that I want to share with you. Here are a few trends I’m excited to see more of in 2024 as well as for years to come, these are trends that I think could easily become traditions.

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Adventure Elopements

I think adventure elopements are about to have a really big moment and personally, I cannot wait to see more of them and photograph these unique elopements. Traveling has always been a passion of mine and my husbands, so I’m a little biased but I wish I had opted for an adventure elopement myself. I’m a firm believer as a wedding photographer, that you should make your wedding day all about your love story and make it unique to you and for some couples that means opting out of a big venue wedding.

There’s a lot of pressure surrounding your wedding day, especially if you’re trying to accommodate for a large family. Not to mention that sometimes a huge wedding day just doesn’t speak to you or your partner, that is when I recommend to take a step back and think about what you truly want for your wedding day. For you, your love story might revolve around traveling and going on adventures with your partner, or you might have just always dreamed of a low key wedding at a National Park you’ve never visited.

Colorful and Bold Florals

Whether you choose to have a traditional wedding, a courthouse elopement, a micro wedding or an adventure elopement, you can always have florals. I’m always so excited on wedding day to see what your incredible florist has created and to document your vision come to life regardless of the colors you chose but I do have to admit, I absolutely love to capture photos of bold and colorful flowers.

Understated florals definitely are beautiful and have their moments, but there is something special about the unique color combinations and bold choices I have seen lately. Having colorful and unique to you florals makes your wedding dress pop and provides a little extra of your character and personality to your wedding gallery.

Micro Weddings

So, we talked earlier about adventure elopements and even a little bit about how traditional weddings could be considered overwhelming. What if I told you, you could have a lowkey wedding while still having a “traditional” wedding?

I’ve photographed more and more micro weddings and I have to say, I truly love it. A micro wedding will typically have a short ceremony, followed by a relaxed and casual reception with a smaller number of guests. In my experience, my bride and grooms who choose to have a micro wedding are typically less stressed on their wedding day, there are less formal family and guests portraits and more time for candid moments which means you are more able to enjoy the day. Since you are typically inviting only immediate family or friends, it opens the door for more unique wedding ceremony locations, think back to those adventure elopement locations that were on your list. A lot of State or National Parks can accommodate for a small group, recently my husband and I traveled to Cave Without A Name in Boerne, Texas and I found out they host weddings in the cave! Another plus is that a lot of wedding venues have micro wedding/elopement packages at a discounted rate.

Unique Wedding Exits

Hear me out, I love sparkler exits but I’m also ready to see different types exits, not to mention the amount of times I’ve almost been caught on fire by someone’s groomsmen waving around sparklers has jaded me a little. Recently, I’ve seen more and more post-ceremony exits and I love it for more than a few reasons. If you do a “sendoff” on your way back down the aisle or even before entering your reception, you will be able to get a sendoff with all of your guests before guest have to start leaving so your photos will be full of your loved ones; you’ll also have beautiful daylight to capture every little detail.

Let me give you a little inspiration for both daytime and nighttime exits, if you choose to do any of these immediately following your ceremony, put these on your guests seats and have your officiant announce to your guests when they should use them, please also make sure your photographer is aware:

• Confetti packets or cannons (make sure someone is prepared to sweep)
• Rose petals (if you use red and then it rains, it could stain the sidewalk so doublecheck with your venue)
• Bubbles (these are pretty both in the daylight and the dark)
• Ribbons
• Lavender or other dried florals
• Streamers (again, someone will have to sweep)
• Biodegradable snow (my husband and I had this type of sendoff at our wedding and I love how it turned out!)
• Birdseed (like the traditional rice sendoff but more ecofriendly for the birds)
• Smokebombs
• Glowsticks
• LED fiberoptic light wands

Of course, double check with your venue or wedding planner to make sure what you chose is allowed, the last thing you want is to spend money on something you can’t use.

Less Formal Portraits Immediately Post Ceremony

One of the most stressful things on your wedding day will inevitably be formal family portraits, no matter how much planning we do. One of the things I enjoy so much about micro weddings and elopements is that my bride and groom get to take two or three formal family portraits and then get straight to their couples portraits and be able to enjoy their wedding party with their favorite people. I think there’s a growing trend of taking one or two big group shots and then dismissing everyone to cocktail hour. This isn’t to say you don’t take those photos later on after everyone has eaten and gotten a chance to relax. In my experience, even when we take the formal photos, I will usually retake more photos of family combinations and friends combinations later on during the reception. Saving those photos for later makes for more candid photos and more genuine moments for me to capture those connections with the people special to you.