Tater tots, bright flowers amid new wedding trends

Traditional tiered cakes and classic bouquets not making the cut for modern nuptials

Rahmie Santoso and Zack Baumel wanted a wedding that showcased their personality. That meant incorporating their love of gemstones and rocks.

Their September wedding reception featured tables where guests could paint rocks and create necklaces made from gemstones. Their cake was decorated with edible crystals and a gigantic candy amethyst.

Including natural, outdoor elements such as stones, foliage and fresh-picked flowers are just some of the fun, new wedding trends. Couples are ditching traditional elements while incorporating new aspects such as having indoor fireworks; carrying a wreath instead of bouquet or serving doughnuts as opposed to a traditional tiered cake.

Couples are taking a less traditional approach to weddings and receptions — even when it comes to bigger-budget nuptials, according to Elizabeth Bailey, owner of the Cockeysville, Md.-based Elizabeth Bailey Weddings.

The next wedding you attend will likely feature at least one of these trending options. 360 photos Genevieve Grossmann wanted a wow factor for her wedding last October in Philadelphia.

She knew a 360 photo booth would accomplish that.

“I’m pretty sure I saw it on the Oscars, and there were probably some celebrities doing this technology,” she recalled.

A camera is set up on a long metal arm — think a selfie stick that you don’t have to hold — that spins around a foot-high platform where the photo subjects stand. The camera, pointing inward, takes a series of photos that creates a slowed-image finished product that shows every angle of the subject. Tater tot bars Christina Eichenmuller, owner of Annapolis, Md.-based Creative Cui- sine Catering, has been offering a popular mashed potato bar for seven years. But she’s upped the ante with tater tot bars.

“I think it’s one of those things that as an adult — you may or may not want to admit you want it,” she said.

Eichenmuller serves up an array of toppings including cheese sauces, gravy, chives, bacon crumbles and sour cream for about $6 (U.S.) a person. More elaborate toppings, including sautéed crab or shrimp, can range up to $10. Indoor fireworks Indoor fireworks mimic the look of a sparkler, are noncombustible and produce no odour and little smoke.

“This is groundbreaking in the industry,” said Nick Pignetti, founder and president of EventPro, a design, production and entertainment company in Glen Burnie, Md. “They don’t fall under the pyrotechnic law because they are not combustible.”

This product allows you to control the height of the burst — max 4.5 metres — and the length of time — each stream can last for 90 seconds. Doughnuts First cupcakes, then macaroons. Now doughnuts are the latest dessert to dethrone the classic wedding cake.

In addition to doughnut walls, where doughnuts are hung on hooks, hot doughnut stations are a new craze, according to Bailey. When Ada Mahoney got married at the Annapolis Maritime Museum in August, “We didn’t want a fancy cake — we’re just not big on cake,” she said.

Instead, she sent out her groom to pick up 14 dozen assorted doughnuts in “all of the fun flavours.”

“The guests loved it,” Mahoney said. Bold pops of colour in flowers Floral ideas haven’t changed much over the past years, which makes bold colour choices unique, according to April Lichtenberg, director of business development for Owings Mills, Md.-based Flowers & Fancies.

Go-to colours are now hot pink, yellows, orange and lime green.

“It’s more tropical,” she said. “It’s very bohemian. You still have that feeling of the wedding, but you still get that pop of colour in there.”