Sebastien & Sheila Centner, Canada’s leading entertaining power couple, provide their insight for 2021 wedding trends.
For us, weddings represent the ultimate reason for gathering friends and family to celebrate together. Many brides have dreamt of their wedding day since they were little, and every couple has a unique vision as to how their wedding will look.
Although this year weddings in their normal format have not been possible, we have still seen couples celebrate their special day with scaled-back versions of their initial plan. While it might not feel like it right now, weddings of all sizes and scales will come back eventually, and many of our larger weddings planned for 2020 have simply decided to hold off until 2021.
Whether it’s earlier 2021 or late 2021, we believe (being the eternal optimists) that people will come together to celebrate again soon, in groups, and with music and dancing, because to celebrate is human-nature and nothing can keep human-nature down.
For 2021 we look back at five of our favourite Eatertainment weddings from the past couple of years that demonstrate very differing looks, each of which we feel was ahead of its time and will make up the most popular décor trends for weddings in the coming years.
So for all our brides and grooms out there dreaming of their perfect day, here’s to you and to your dream wedding.
CONTEMPORARY CHIC
A modern look is not for everyone. While we love a minimalist and stark look ourselves, for many wedding clients modern may feel too cold. When our friends Brendan & Duane decided to tie the knot they wanted their personal modern aesthetic showcased but also wanted to create a warm environment for their closest friends and family to celebrate with them.
This wedding had a very special twist as the grooms wanted to host the actual ceremony in the backyard of their home, but then also needed to find a suitably similar setting for the 200-plus guests to enjoy dinner and dancing afterwards. This was a dual-location wedding where bringing together a modern foundation with some richer more organic elements would create a contemporary setting as chic as the couple themselves.
Invitations designed by the groom’s brother featured their first initials intertwined, representing their connection and their shared future, a touching element that truly captured this amazing union.
The ceremony featured traditional bamboo chivari chairs but with a more unique silver colour tone, and a non-traditional layout where guests surrounded the couple as they exchanged vows.
The dinner was held in an empty warehouse, converted for the night into a stunning dining room featuring mirrored tables, modern black acrylic chairs, and an abundance of greenery and florals (one of the grooms is the owner of Brendan O’Brien Landscapes and including his passion for plants and florals was a key must-have).
The grooms’ head table sat directly in the centre of their friends and family with a wall mural behind them featuring – fittingly – the intertwined initials B & D.
Contemporary Chic – where modern and warmth combine for a truly unique setting.
OVER THE TOP ELEGANCE
Of all the weddings we’ve hosted, Stephanie and Matt’s must have been the most over-the-top ever. With a ceremony held overlooking the lake, guests would never know they were sitting above what was normally the swimming pool – covered with a structure that took almost 3 weeks to build. And that was only the beginning…
It was the bride’s parents’ wish for their daughter to get married in their backyard and, while backyard weddings are not uncommon for us, when the bride also wants the room to be as elegant as a grand ballroom our creativity was pushed farther than ever before!
Silver-grey fabric was used to line the interior of the tent ceiling and walls while engineered flooring was installed to offer one of the most luxurious temporary environments guests would ever experience. A classic black-and-white dance floor centred the room with greenery walls and topiaries providing a lush backdrop, and the entire space was lit to perfection with a combination of traditional chandeliers and theatrical lighting.
From the first dance through the wee hours guests were transported to a world of elegance, opulence and glamour, proving once more that with a vision (and of course at Eatertainment) anything is possible, even creating the most elegant ballroom ever… in a backyard tent.
ULTRA GLAM
Opulence comes in many forms and when we first met Brittany and Ansel we were struck with how clear their vision was for their special day. While many of our clients have an idea of what they are looking for, Brittany had been building a ‘look-book’ of ideas for her perfect wedding for years.
While intimate in size, this wedding was anything but simple. Gold – Brittany’s favourite colour – can be challenging to incorporate without feeling traditional so we accented our gold chairs and tableware with more muted tones of linens and then balanced the look with bold tropical florals that would pop at the centre of each table.
The bride and groom were as passionate about their food styling as they were about their décor vision which led us to creating a menu that was as much a feast to the eyes as to the palette.
Brittany and Ansel wanted a wedding that would reflect classic glamour but not feel traditional in any way. With the ‘Ultra Glam’ look, their vision came to life and brought the elegance of a ‘Gatsby’ style into the lives of a young bride, groom and their friends.
RUSTIC CHIC
So far the weddings we’ve featured have all had their own looks but each has been elegant in a way that cannot be missed. What we loved about Arlee and Jeff’s wedding was their insistence on not making their day about them necessarily but instead about their guests.
“Our favourite memories are made while enjoying a great meal with good friends” one of them said in our first meeting, and from there the ‘Rustic Chic’ wedding theme really took on new meaning.
Less important were the florals, the cutlery, the glassware and even the linens (we didn’t use any) and instead we focused on creating a warm and comfortable setting that reflected what this amazing couple were all about.
Long tables (we call them burgundean style) filled with friends and family created an evening of great food and fantastic company that would be long remembered.
While the more casual feel is not necessarily difficult to achieve, we had to constantly remind ourselves that this was after all a wedding. Guests would arrive all dressed up and expect an evening of elegance, and while it might not be elegant in a traditional manner, this wedding still be a grand affair
Rustic weddings have recently become more and more popular both for their simplicity and sometimes because they can be executed with smaller budgets since there are less elements. Most of our clients, however, who choose a rustic theme do so because it speaks to their aesthetic and their personality. It is their special day after all and our job is to always have the wedding reflect the two most important people in the room.
MODERN ELEGANCE
We end with a wedding that brought together elements from all four of the themes featured so far, with Miyoshi and Chris’ wedding in Toronto at The One Eighty.
Often our wedding clients might not have a specific look or feel but rather lots of elements they love. It becomes our job to take all these ideas and build a cohesive décor plan that works as an overall environment.
Fortunately eclectic works in décor, meaning that it is far less important for things to match than for things to suit each other. We see this in interior design, fashion, photography and now weddings.
Combining more traditional, less formal items like etched glasses and linen tablecloths, with modern elegant elements like acrylic chairs and gold rimmed china and cutlery brought a unique feel to this wedding.
Florals in light hues of pink and blue were offset with white and green to balance the florals and then accented with unique elements like personalized individual place setting champagne bottles.
The bride and groom wanted their wedding to bring together the people they love most with all the things they love most and this wedding certainly did that.
Weddings come in all different sizes and budgets. Each is the most special day for the bride, groom, their family and friends. Whatever your choice of décor, Sheila and I always offer brides and grooms the same advice…
Enjoy the day. Celebrate. Don’t sweat the little things, because before you know it the day will be over, and the day is the first of the rest of your lives together, so make it matter. Oh… and make sure you hire the right event company.
Sebastien & Sheila, Eatertainment Events & Catering
@sebandsheila | @sebcentner | @sheilacentner | @eatertainment
www.eatertainment.com