I'm a wedding planner. Here are 4 trends that will start to disappear in 2024, and 4 you'll see everywhere.

• As a professional wedding planner, I regularly see trends come and go with each new year.
• Trends like wedding websites, hotel blocks, and hashtags are fading into the past.

I've been a professional wedding planner for seven years.

Here are four trends that will start to disappear in 2024 and four that will be more popular.

Wedding websites are becoming less popular

Although I wouldn't go so far as to say that nobody is doing wedding websites anymore, I'm seeing a decreased appetite for creating and maintaining them.

When couples do create a website, they often opt for pre-designed options with fewer tabs.

For example, fewer folks are including individual bios for every member of the wedding party.

I'm also seeing fewer sites that include a tab with things to do in the city where the wedding is taking place. Clients no longer feel compelled to create an entire itinerary for their guests.

'Traditional' first dances are being replaced

Sure, plenty of people still take dance lessons or coordinate a flash mob with their friends.

But more and more, my clients are opting for shorter or joint first dances. Sometimes, they choose to eliminate first dances.

If you're interested in a shorter first dance, ask the person playing the music to fade out after 45 to 60 seconds instead of playing the full song.

For a joint dance, you can dance with your parent or VIP while the person you married dances with theirs.

Shorter and joint dances are nice ways to lower the temperature on one of the most nerve-racking moments of a wedding.

Hashtags are a thing of the past

Of all the weddings I did in 2023, I can only think of one that used a custom social-media hashtag as a way to create a collection of guests' photos and videos online.

This comes from the realization that guests don't really use them, and there are other more efficient ways to work photo-and-video-sharing technology into your wedding.

Instead of using a hashtag, several of my 2023 clients displayed a QR code where their guests could upload photos and videos they took to a shared Google Drive.

Hotel blocks are less common than they used to be

Only about a quarter of my clients typically arrange a hotel room block, which offers a discounted group rate to guests staying at the same hotel.

If they do, it's nearly always for a small percentage of guests who are uncomfortable arranging their accommodations online.

I predict this trend will continue to wane in 2024 as clients get savvier about where to put their time and energy.

On the other hand, downtime will be a priority

Multiple 2023 clients requested spaces where they and their guests could take a moment to relax.

These spaces have different names — cozy corners, low-stimulation areas, lounges — but the point is the same.

Weddings are high-interaction events, and after years of limited-to-no social interaction, sometimes, we just need a break.

Silliness is on the rise

This year, I had clients who cut their cake with a sword they bought at a Renaissance fair. Another client had a rather suggestive inflatable of two skeletons at a Halloween-adjacent wedding.

In 2024, one of my clients is hiring a magician and renting a ball pit for their wedding.

The point? People want opportunities to be silly.

Consider why you're having a wedding, and then start riffing on what makes you and the person you're marrying happy.

Personalized food options will be popular

In a world where catering costs average at least $75 per person, it makes sense that clients want to spend their money on food they enjoy.

What does this mean for a wedding? Clients are ordering Thai food, hiring pizza trucks, and requesting deviled-egg towers.

Guests are sending gifts ahead of time

In previous years, there's always been one rogue guest who insists on bringing the KitchenAid mixer to the wedding. Although the spirit of this is lovely, it's a logistical nightmare.

The client has to take that heavy box home at the end of the wedding — and sometimes, home is on the other side of the country.

Increasingly, I'm noticing fewer physical gifts weddings, with guests instead sending presents ahead of time and bringing a card the day of the event.