From rustic wedding cakes to bridesmaid-free bashes, wedding trends from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding are already being reflected in Irish weddings, and they haven’t even tied the knot yet!
Of course, Meghan's wedding day style is set to inspire brides for years to come, but there are some ideas that couples getting married this summer can steal from the royals right now. While we had to wait for the big day to find out about a lot of William and Kate's choices, Harry and Meghan have already let us in on the small details of their day, from the flavour of the wedding cake to the exact flowers being used.
So as Harry and Meghan make the final preparations, have tea with the Queen, and no doubt stick out their Child of Prague ahead of tomorrow's festivities, we're taking a look at how this royal wedding will influence the Irish weddings you're going to this summer...
1. The Cake
Meghan and Harry's Lemon and Elderflower Wedding Cake with Buttercream Icing will inspire lots of copycats, both in terms of the flavour and the decoration - the couple are having fresh flowers on their cake, which is extremely rustic and minimal by royal wedding standards.
Perhaps one of the most accessible details from the royal wedding - while semi-naked and buttercream wedding cakes have been trendy for a while now, we have a feeling they're about to hit the mainstream!
2. The Flowers
We know that St. George's Chapel will be decorated using branches of beech, birch and hornbeam, and white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves.
Roses and peonies are already very popular, but foxgloves are relatively rare in wedding arrangements but we're predicting a huge upsurge in demand. All-white bouquets is another growing trend among Irish brides that we expect to see take a surge after the royal wedding.
Read more about the wedding decor and Harry and Meghan's evening reception here.
3. The Speeches
It's highly likely that Meghan Markle will bring the American tradition of the bride giving a speech to the UK for her own wedding, especially as she has so much experience as an actress and public speaker.
We are seeing more and more Irish brides giving speeches at their own wedding these days, and we're expecting this to really soar in 2019. A bona fide feminist, we'd love to see more brides (and mothers and bridesmaids!) follow Meghan's lead and take control of the mic on their big day.
4. Gifts and Favours
Given Meghan and Harry's charity work and the fact that they have asked for charitable donations instead of gifts, it's almost certain that they will give charitable donations to their guests instead of wedding favours.
Irish couples are especially generous and were early adopters of the charitable wedding favours trend, but with more and more couples seeing traditional favours as something of a non-essential, we’re about to see this one take off even more!
5. The Engagement Ring
Harry's ring, which he designed himself and incorporates a diamond from Botswana, where the couple went on their first trip, and two diamonds from his late mother, Princess Diana's own collection, set many a heart aflutter, because of its beauty but also because of the thought and effort that went into it.
We're expecting to see a lot more custom-made engagement rings and heirloom rings reworked to a modern design. Get our tips for buying an engagement ring here.
6. The Bridal Party
We now know that Meghan has decided to forgo the traditional bridal party and have no bridesmaids - she said she simply couldn't choose favourites among her friends. She will have an army of 10 little ones by her side. This is something we've seen creeping into Irish weddings for a while now, generally as a way of making a wedding less formal.
But with Meghan choosing not to have bridesmaids for such high profile wedding, we think more brides will take license to opt out of a big bridal party too!
Can't Get Enough of the Royal Wedding?
