Happy New Year everyone! Hope you're all well-recovered from Saturday night's festivities and the heads are whole again. So having spent last week reviewing the year of wedding gorgeousness that was 2011, we thought it was time now to look forward to the year before us and try and predict what the must-haves for brides in 2012 will be.

So we've had a good hard think, reviewed the latest fashions and ideas we've been seeing and come up with our own list of what we think will be 10 Hot Wedding Trends 2012.

First up are metallic cakes, not something we've seen at an Irish wedding yet, they've started to appear in shoots across the pond in the US and given brides are like magpies -they love something shiny and sparkly - we're thinking these glittering wonders could be on many's a wishlist this year.

Images: Missy Photography via Style Me Pretty| Yummy Cupcakes

While lace sleeves have been making an appearance in bridal boutiques, strapless gowns still remain the overwhelming choice for Irish brides, and until now most have opted for simple jewellery. Missed opportunity we think. So we think a hot wedding trend 2012 will be to go big and bold and choose a statement necklace. Aside from being ultra-stylish, it is practical too - balancing out the skirt of the dress. A princess/aline or fishtail that is heavily detailed will draw the eye. A strong, large statement necklace will bring the focus back to the face. It's been big in the US for the last few months, so we think Irish brides will be thinking bigger when it comes to summer 2012.

Images: Aruna B. Photography via Style Me Pretty |  Troy Grover via Style Me Pretty

Dahlias, long the flower of fourcourt bouquets, funerals and herbaceous borders, are having a bit of a renaissance in the floral world and have been popping up in bouquets and table centres all over the place. It's a little under the radar at the moment, but see how many you spot in 2012 as florists include the blowsy blooms in summer arrangements. Taking the mantle from ranunculus and peonies, they add that soft summer feel and a hint of a vintage vibe. Expect them to outshine the baby's breath and hydrangeas that dominated 2011.

Design Sponge |  Tec Petaja via Style Me Pretty

Irish wedding guests have long been used betting games during the speeches, but as couples seek out new ways to entertain their guests, we predict a rise in cool and unusual wedding games - everything from reception games like our own wedding speech bingo  or this i-spy photo treasure hunt for child guests, to outdoor games like giant jenga, croquet and horseshoe toss to keep the spirits high during the pre-dinner drinks.

Images: Martha Stewart Weddings | Martha Stewart Weddings

Over the last couple of years we've seen budgets tighten, couples become more savvy about their spend, embrace DIY elements for their day and move in a more eco-friendly direction. Therefore it is no surprise that herbs have started to have a bit of a moment in wedding planning - a cheap and easy decorative idea - herbs like rosemary, thyme, mint and sage make lovely table decor, smell sweet and can even double as favours. We think herbs will definitely be one of the hot wedding trends of 2012.

Something I've wanted since I was about 5, the champagne tower has definitely come back into vogue, (in one sense literally, as there was one in the September issue in the feature on Kate Moss' wedding). Formerly a stalwart of upper crust weddings, the combination of olde worlde influences on style in the form of Downton Abbey and the Royal Wedding, have brought these very grand celebrations back onto the wedding hot list for 2012. I'm laying down my marker now - I will be having one.

Images: Bayly & Moore  via The Boho Wedding Blog| Magda Lukas

Mercury Glass, that mottled metallic finish on small items of decorative glassware, has been haunting home decor departments for the last 6 months. 2012 should see mercury glass become huge on wedding tables as it fits perfectly with soft vintage-inspired feeling that has brides in thrall at the moment.

A common factor among the One Fab Day readership is that each of our brides wants her wedding to be special and a little different. As budgets have reduced, couples are looking at less guests and alternative venues, in particular private country houses are becoming more and more popular, as they cater for smaller numbers but afford a flexibility and exclusivity not offered by larger venues. This growing trend is only set to become more popular and mainstream in 2012, and we are also excited by the opening of a couple of new venues too!

Image: Magda Lukas

Illusion necklines are when a sheer panel of fabric creates the illusion of a strapless or low-cut gown, but in fact the bride's modesty is well preserved. Big on the catwalks of the 2012 bridal collections, they were seen so expect. Again it will be interesting to see how this twist on the strapless gown goes down with Irish brides - we think it could be the super hot 2012 wedding trend in bridal gowns.

Storyboard wedding invitations are invitations which comes in a variety of layouts, like magazines, flyers, books, giving the details of the celebration in a cute and quirky way, interspersed with the love story of the couple. These have been popular in the US for about a year, but hadn't really been seen in Ireland, until the recent wedding of  Sally and Ian in Ballybeg House, and immediately provoked a flurry of emails asking where to get them. Sally and Ian designed these themselves, but I think Irish couples will be putting in many orders for these over 2012.

Images:Two Paper Dolls |  Savo Photography