As an event planner, it is imperative to keep an eye on what is hot in the industry so you can better meet your customers’ needs. For me, I have no crystal ball, but I have a pulse for what’s new in the world of wedding.

Here are wedding trends in Event Management for 2016 (at least within the Malaysian context):

The use of vertical space
Most often than not, couples will get creative with all the available space in their venue. From elaborate photo backdrops to hanging installation of lights, vertical space has never been more in demand. So, if you have a wedding to attend this weekend, do not forget to look up!

The emergence of a smaller guest list
Don’t get me wrong, some couples can’t avoid a guest list that is potential rivals to most people’s Instagram followers. However, today’s couples are more focused on delivering a quality event to a select group of friends and family than a large-scale celebration with more budget details. For some couples, this means a city hall ceremony, subsequently followed by a sit-down dinner. For others, it is a destination wedding weekend. Whichever way you choose to look at it, it is reflective of a more intimate affair.

A Weekend Away
Expect to see so many of them this year, especially when a large number of guests are scheduled to travel to the event. In Event management, a lot of planning is carried out to ensure the overall success of the wedding in this particular circumstance. If you think weekends away are fancy, then you thought wrong; they are exclusive for the elites that can afford them.

The Prints say it all
It gives an exciting feeling to see floral print wedding dresses on the runways. For so many seasons, we have totally gone over-the-top with patterned bridesmaid dresses, while the bride is grabbing all the fun she could get! But the print won’t grind to a halt on fashion runways this year—event planners are not oblivious to that fact. You are sure to see dominated pattern detail throughout place settings, centerpieces, and paper goods.

The Cake speak volumes
The most recent in wedding cake center on expressing your love story. Whether your cake has one of your favorite romantic chronicles or quotes, these cakes are more than just towers of delicious buttercream.

Diverse range of menus
Although you would not see much well-organized food stations this year, there will still be an array of food served at weddings. The average wedding serving has deviated from the usual routine–serving a banquet of chicken and fish. Rather, couples are selecting foods they love and eat every day. They want to reflect their personal sense of taste—from the antipasto plates that are an excellent reminder of their trip to Italy, to hamburgers just at the fave food truck. With all these on the bill, event management can get more intricate to suit the couple’s taste and style.

The list is particularly not exhaustive by any means but goes a long way to paint that perfect picture of what’s hot and trendy in the wedding world for 2016, much to the admiration of event planners.