2008 Wedding and Catering Trends Forecast, Dianna K. Shitanishi
Hawaii Weddings and Events keeps abreast of the latest in catering and event trends by attending the annual National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) Educational Conferences which has featured top event professionals Colin Cowie, Preston Bailey, David Tutera, Steve Kimball, Scott Corridan and Sylvia Weinstock.
2008 Wedding and Catering Trends:
Bridal Attire: In lieu of the bridal party wearing the same dress, many brides are now letting them choose the look that best suits their personal style and body type all in the same colors or hues.
Cakes: Unique specialty cakes incorporating their theme continues to be a hit as clients lean away from traditional white cake. Alternatively, mini cake displays, pastries and cupcakes are becoming increasingly popular.
Catering: Today’s savvy bride wants to explore non-traditional items, non-skirted buffet stations, unique table tops, healthy conscious food selections, action stations which provide interaction between the chef and the guests, signature cocktails, lighting effects and lounge areas.
Colors: Ultimately, the colors you select for your wedding should be comfortable for you, one that you will enjoy in your pictures for years to come.
Tell tale signs show that chocolate brown will continue to be a popular accent color, with vibrant colors such as yellow, a symbol of new life and energy, and orange, the color of joy, enthusiasm and creativity, continuing through 2008. Brilliant pinks, bright greens and oceanic hues like azure or vibrant turquoise are sure to make an appearance as well.
Destination Weddings: The destination wedding market continues to be one of the hottest trends as couples fulfill their dreams of a wedding in an exotic location often making it a 3-day celebration with their family and friends.
Fusion of Cultures: In addition to the fusion of different foods, multi-ethnic couples are often fusing elements from their own cultures as well as incorporating Hawaiian touches into their weddings. Special include, but are not limited to décor, entertainment, and other ceremonial traditions.
In addition to tea cups with individual tea bags in a traditional Korean silk pouch, an Asian inspired wedding featured a conch shell blower, Korean performers playing the Changgo (hour glass shaped drum) a Hawaiian duo and he traditional Chinese Lion Dance.
Green Weddings: Green is the basic color of healing and symbolizes our planet’s ability to reproduce and regenerate. Using local farms, donating leftover food to homeless, making a donation to a charity in lieu of favors and group transportation are just a few ways that “green” wedding elements may be incorporated for our environmentally conscious couples.
Live Internet Weddings: Although the live webcast service actually started several years ago it is just now really starting to catch on as couples want to include family and friends that may not be able to make the trip for a variety of reasons. In September, Hawaii Weddings and Events coordinated a destination wedding for a couple living in Dallas, Texas.
The bride is originally from Poland and the groom was originally from Louisiana. The couple met on MySpace (another trend is more couples are finding each other on-line) and had a 10am oceanfront ceremony so that their family and friends share in their celebration of love. For more details see Liveinterneteeddings.com
Non-Traditional Elements: Couples are putting a twist on wedding traditions such as the bouquet and garter toss and incorporating elements that are special to them. For a couple that loved basketball and didn’t like to draw attention to themselves, the bride presented the bouquet in an expression of love to her sister and the men had to shoot a small basketball that had the garter wrapped around it into a miniature basketball hoop. This combined with the “stats” of the players (bridal party) as they walked into the sound Chicago Bulls “Sirius” was announced by the emcee who put on a basketball jersey used his “announcer” voice created an “unexpected” excitement for guests and made the wedding unique and memorable for everyone.
Dianna K. Shitanishi, CPCE, CMP, of Hawaii Weddings and Events has coordinated over 800 weddings, countless special events, theme parties, graduation celebrations, fundraisers and galas during her 20-plus years in the hospitality industry.
Among the events coordinated by Shitanishi have been President George W. Bush's Honolulu layover visit, a press conference for Michelle Wie, the AAA Five Diamonds Award Dinner (awarded NACE 2005 Best Themed Food and Beverage Presentation), Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner, and numerous off-premise events for Hawaii¹s top business professionals
Hawaii Weddings and Events
Dianna K. Shitanishi, CPCE, CMP
587 Pakala Street
Honolulu, HI 96825
808-782-4514
www.hawaiiweddingsandevents.com
info@hawaiiweddingsandevents.com
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