Pinterest drops its annual wedding report every spring, and this year’s felt almost predictable in the best way. The directions couples are already gravitating toward, the palettes showing up on mood boards, the details our team has been noticing at real weddings: the data confirmed most of it. The platform analyzed over 7 billion wedding-related searches and 16.7 billion saved ideas from 2025 — and the picture that emerges is clear: couples are done following a script. Whether that means swapping the ballroom for a jazz club, carrying a bouquet purse down the aisle, or serving a flower pot cake instead of a traditional tiered layer, the common thread is personality.
We picked nine trends from the report that caught our attention — the ones we think will actually show up at real weddings this year, not just on mood boards.
Photo: The Heartbaker, Gui Galembeck
Rooted Romance
Rich, moody palettes are having a real moment. Searches for plum and olive wedding combinations are up over 1,000%, and muted terracotta is climbing fast alongside them. The overall direction leans earthy and saturated: merlot wedding tones, raspberry wedding accents, deep fig wedding hues woven through florals, linens, and bridesmaids’ looks. It reads warm and intimate. Not bold for boldness’s sake.
These colors photograph beautifully in natural light and suit garden ceremonies, candlelit dinners, and late-autumn celebrations especially well. Our team has a soft spot for this palette — we shot an editorial in Tuscany using exactly these tones, and the landscape did the rest. For couples who want something with real depth, this is the direction.
Photo: Courtesy of LXE Moments, Syllable Calligraphy, Lilly Red, Puni Petals, Vow Haus, Hannah Kleeberg
Ethereal Shimmer
On the opposite end of the spectrum, opalescent and iridescent finishes are surging. The opalite aesthetic is one of the fastest-growing searches in the report. It’s showing up across stationery, fabrics, nails, and bridal beauty, and the opalescent aesthetic translates just as naturally into decor.
Chrome wedding details like mirrored chargers, metallic tabletop accents, and foil invitations are climbing alongside it. The palette running through all of it — purple opal, midnight teal, muted mauve, pastel pink, Bridgerton blue — gives couples a lot to work with. Together, these directions create a look that feels quietly futuristic: cool, polished, and genuinely photogenic.
Photo: Anastasia Drigo, Courtesy of We Are Ona, Queremos Pastel, Masha Sakhno, Ra&Co Design, Pinterest
Unexpected Venues
The banquet hall is losing ground. Searches for jazz club weddings jumped over 1,000% in the past year. Couples are also looking at enchanted palace settings, rocky mountain wedding backdrops, and movie theater weddings — anything that feels cinematic before a single decoration goes up. The common thread is atmosphere. These are spaces where the setting itself does some of the storytelling. We’ve covered this shift in depth — mapping out seven distinct venue directions, from experimental architecture to open natural terrains. For photographers, they make for much more interesting work. For guests, they make for a much more memorable evening.
Messy Сoquette Decor
Maximalism is back, and it’s tactile. Searches for drapery backdrops have jumped dramatically — draped fabric installations are now one of the most-searched ceremony elements. Lace napkins, velvet ribbons, and layered textiles add softness and dimension to the table. The overall aesthetic leans deliberately undone: slightly chaotic, very intentional, and more interesting to photograph than anything too polished.
Photo: Papier Drose, Pinterest, Andrea Sham, Araik & Valeria, Pinterest, Pinterest
Sensory Styling
The reception is becoming something guests can smell, touch, and taste. Vegetable centerpieces are up sharply, mixing herbs, citrus, and unexpected botanicals into arrangements for an organic, almost wild quality. Moss tablescapes bring texture and depth to the table in a way flowers alone rarely do. Flower bars and perfume stations are both climbing fast, giving guests something to do and something to take in. Weddings that engage all the senses tend to be the ones people remember.
Photo: Mira Wickman, Chloe Szukiłojć, Anni Graham, Absuna, Puttonen Ruska, Pinterest
Quirky Cakes
Wedding cakes in 2026 are getting weird, and it suits them. The kitsch cake is one of the breakout searches of the report — maximalist and irreverent, a clear break from the clean-lined fondant era. Flower pot cake ideas have spiked sharply, with terracotta pot presentations complete with edible soil and sugar blooms. Polka dot cake designs bring a playful retro energy. The oil pastel cake trend goes softer, with hand-painted finishes that look more like art than pastry. Tiramisu wedding cakes deserve a mention too — not as a newcomer, but as a direction that keeps gaining ground, with search interest climbing steadily.
Photo: The Heartbaker, Pinterest, H3N, The Heartbaker, Rustcakes, Rafy Cakery
Analog Activities & Keepsakes
Couples want guests off their phones, and they’re getting creative about it. Unique wedding activities are rising fast as a search category. Hands-on moments — cornhole boards, wedding coloring books, button pictures, written songs — are being built into the reception rather than left to chance. Playing cards as wedding favors and matchbox keepsakes bring a tactile, old-fashioned quality to the guest experience. It fits into something bigger, too. There’s a growing global conversation around wellness and presence, and weddings are responding.
Nostalgic Tech Touches
There’s a meaningful difference between analog and nostalgic tech, and Pinterest is tracking both. The wedding projector is one of the bigger search trends, used for first-look reveals, reception slideshows, and streaming live footage for remote guests. Vinyl record references are up significantly, whether as decor, as a guestbook activity, or as the actual soundtrack for the evening. The analog photobooth is evolving too — newspaper-format strip printers and old-school photo strips replacing the sleek digital setups of recent years. Warm, imperfect, and a little nostalgic. Exactly the point.
Photo: Pinterest, Courtesy of Frolova Event, Bushwhacked, Gui Galembeck, Sasori Studio, Nous Nous
Alt Bouquets
The traditional round bridal bouquet has some real competition this year. Fuzzy wire bouquets are among the fastest-growing searches in this category. Sculptural and textural, they’re made from colorful craft wire and carry a distinctly artistic quality. The bouquet purse takes the concept further, replacing flowers entirely with an embellished clutch that doubles as a bridal accessory. For something in between, bedazzled flowers bring rhinestones, pearls, and crystal pins into classic arrangements for a maximalist finish. These work especially well for brides with a strong personal style who want the bouquet to feel like part of the look, not just a default addition.
