Wedding Tablescapes, As Told By Your Favourite Trends
The easiest ‘yes’ of your life, followed by a series of more complicated decisions involving table linen, colour schemes, flower choices and room layouts. Your wedding table is an opportunity for creativity and flair, to express the things you and your partner love in visual form.
Whether your wedding breakfast looks like a pub lunch with flowers from the local market, or a marquee dinner adorned with mismatched tableware, the main focus of the day should be setting the scene for your loved ones to connect over some very good food. However your perfect day looks, the memories made around your chosen table are likely to be some of the most poignant from your celebration as a whole. Rather than an overwhelming list of decisions to make, consider this an opportunity to bring to life your ultimate dining dreams.
Whilst planning a wedding may feel accompanied by a sense of pressure in creating a day that is visually beautiful, it is always worth returning to how you hope to feel throughout your celebration. From incorporating the cuisine you and your partner enjoyed on your first date together, or elevating the comfort dish that has seen you through rainy weekends aplenty, try to pause amongst the planning process and observe what feels most authentic in bringing your dream wedding meal to life.
Here’s how we would approach creating a beautiful yet functional wedding tablescape that nods to some of 2023s most notable trends…
Photo credit: Wedding of Sophie (Glassette Marketing Director) & Taymoor (Papier Founder) by @anneschwarzphoto, flowers by @milliproust
ITALIAN NONNA CHIC
Sun drenched days, home comforts, family traditions and delicious, decadent dinners- characteristics that resonate both with the Italian Nonna aesthetic, and joyful summer wedding days. This trend is basically the sun-soaked, romantic lunches and breakfasts the Perlman family have together in the garden in Call Me By Your Name.
Whilst defining this lifestyle in aesthetic terms may be newly coined, the origins of its identity are long rooted in family history and tradition. At its core, Italian Nonna Chic represents warmth and time well spent at home.
When translating this into a tablescape, think bud vases, ceramic jugs, sharing platters, vibrant painted plates grounded by classic delicate tablecloths The trend is about the ease of a summer lifestyle, it gives the feeling of an inpromptu garden meal with loved ones where age-old favourite ceramics sit alongside recent flea market finds.When embracing this aesthetic, nothing needs to match or feel overly considered.
To bring an Italian Nonna tablescape to life, look no further than female-founded brand Wicklewood and their beautiful painted ceramics which are designed in their London studio before being crafted by artisans in Vietri, Italy. Mix and match with Casa Celva bud vases and fill with an array of complementary flower stems for a table that feels like a true celebration of summer.
Inspiration: Hoste London via T Magazine, our Frenchettes dining table & Naomi Smart via Paul Smith
SHOP THE ITALIAN NONNA CHIC TREND
BLOOMCORE (MEADOWCORE)
Flowers can play a big part in many wedding tablescapes, but Bloomcore takes this to a whole new level. It's about flowers blooming in abundance. The Bloomcore (also referred to as Meadowcore or Petalcore) aesthetic brings a feeling of whimsical greenery, the glow of golden hour, expansive grassy fields, and the romance of bringing the outdoors in.
A Bloomcore inspired tablescape begins with a floral backdrop in the form of a beautifully printed tablecloth, many bud vases, taper candles and most importantly flowers and greenery aplenty. When in doubt, more is more. The wildness of nature creates an effortlessly undone finish. Opt for wildflowers in different sizes and heights to give a feeling of drama and expansiveness. Gypsophila and greenery such as Bells of Ireland, Huck, Myrtle, and Queen Anne’s Lace offer the perfect contrast foliage to help your centrepiece flowers really stand out.
Soft edges, textures and ambient lighting complement the ethereal nature of a Bloomcore table most organically, meaning both a mixture of taper candles at eye level and shorter candles across the table itself create an inviting glow that’s perfect for balmy days of outdoor dining.
Opt for a tablecloth made By Hope Home to give you an instant feeling of being in nature. Lean into a complete celebration of floral magic with hand painted platters by Minnie-Mae Stott, designed to evoke nostalgia and story, whilst focusing on classical crafting techniques.
Inspiration: Via @tablescapeluvr, By Hope Home and à Table by Blanca Miro
BARBIECORE
With Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ due to be released this summer, pink is the word. Valentino's fall/winter 2022 show dedicated an entire collection to hot pink, and from Zendaya to Lizzo and Sebastian Stan, pinks of every hue have taken over the world of fashion.
The strikingness of this trend is one that makes for a beautiful tablescape theme (see Luke Edward Hall's wedding), offering a ready-made colour scheme and chance to lean into boldness in a way that still feels timeless. From pink only florals to accents of the colour that create a cohesive feeling across the table as a whole, a pink tablescape epitomises romance in a way that creates the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable wedding breakfast.
When choosing flowers, consdier Hydrangeas, Ranunculus, Dendrobium and Pink gypsophila for a beautiful variety of shapes, textures and stems that create the diversity needed in a solo colour palette design. Opt for plates, tablecloths and glassware in similar hues of pink for a colour blocked tablescape that expresses the playfulness of this trend, or dress with more neutral shades of cream and oatmeal to allow the pink accents to sing.
The ultimate pink tablecloth exists in this candyfloss double piped linen design by Issy Granger. For serving up pre-dinner canapés or mid-dancing cakes, we love these blossom trimmed platters by Late Afternoon. If you're dining outdoors, create an opportunity for pink light to dance across your table with a selection of Buto Glass candle holders by Issy Granger.
Inspiration: Via Casa Balandra, À Table by Blanca Miro
Photo credit: Sophie Davidson photographs Luke Edward Hall's wedding for British Vogue