(Photo by Amy Golding)

‘Tis the season to recollect on a year’s worth of wedding trends and what’s to come after the calendar year ends. To a “12 Days of Christmas” tune, we’re revisiting what big day details we saw in 2019 and what’s sure to appear in 2020. (Spoiler alert: No partridges in pear trees… but a pheasant or peacock, maybe.)

By Becca Jones

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something… lettered.  Something Lettered Designs that is. Here, Denise Chandler, calligrapher at Something Lettered Designs, dishes on how wedding guests went from standing to sitting in style in 2019 and how escort cards (aka, your seating chart display) will evolve in 2020.

2019 was bursting at the seams with wine country weddings. Blush-colored weddings incorporated soft florals, skewing rustic and romantic, Chandler says. Acrylics, funky escort card “walls,” and fun meal indicators with different colors and designs also shined this year. 2020 will be no different.

Chandler predicts seeing more escort card “walls” in the upcoming year. “You can rent shelving to display drinks or hang acrylic pieces from a fun arch display,” she says. “The possibilities are endless!”

While wood and paper are usually the go-to materials, Chandler favors acrylics for being modern and clean. Plus, the acrylic escort cards make great keepsakes when paired with modern fonts. (Think less serif, more sans serif, she says.)

And Chandler anticipates escort card walls will be used more to house wedding favors. “For example, if you plan to give your guests copper mugs as favors, create a peg board wood wall and hang each one from the wall!” Then, fashion each mug with a hand lettered name tag. It’s something fun for guests to bring home and eliminates the waste of throwing away a simple slip of paper.

As for what we’ll see being left behind in 2019? That would be conventional mirrors, windows, and chalkboards. “Let’s think outside the box!” urges Chandler, who’s also crossing fingers for brides and grooms to request more unconventional materials. Consider: leaves, fruit, and even agate gemstones as canvases.

Another display she sees as trending up, is “sip and be seated” escort walls. Hey, flooding every nook and cranny of Pinterest are fun drinks that guide guests to their tables. “I would love to see a fun drink presented (like a margarita or sangria!) with tags or customized straws for each guest,” she says. We’ll drink to that!