Gone are the days when one might flip through Brides magazine for bridal fashion inspo, tear out a dress and head to their local bridal shop to try on a similar style (or, in Friends style, tackle fellow prospective brides at a sample sale). Today's chronically online brides are searching for the dress they'll say yes to in the same place they look for vegetarian recipes and makeup hacks: Instagram.
But how has having limitless access to wedding inspiration changed bridal fashion? And how have brands adapted to the new demands?
For one thing, the dress, according to bridal designer Galia Lahav, is only a part of the vision.
“Brides now plan their look with the full visual story in mind," says Galia, whose eponymous label has created iconic wedding dresses for the last three decades. Millie Bobby Brown was the latest celebrity to get married in Galia Lahav, making headlines for her lace corseted gown. "It's not just about the ceremony, it's about how the dress photographs, how it complements the location, how it connects to the other looks from the wedding weekend. The focus is on style and individuality as well as creating moments that feel both authentic and shareable.”
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Indeed, the “shareability" of the wedding is what a lot of these emerging trends hinge on. A beautifully produced wedding could potentially go viral, or get picked up by one of the many popular wedding accounts like @thebridaljourney or @thewed that could pluck someone from obscurity and turn them into fashion sensations overnight. Searches for wedding content creators that can create instant, social-ready content, surged by a staggering 586% in the last 12 months, according to Zoe Burke, wedding expert at Hitched. Photographers whose work has been in Vogue have been approached by brides hoping their wedding might similarly be featured.
“There’s a sense of pride that comes with seeing your wedding gushed over and pinned across various platforms as inspiration for future brides," says wedding planner Magdalena Zywicka, founder of All Things Beautiful. "I do see brides be more open and daring in their choices and seeing the payoff that taking an occasional risk can have, be that in decor or fashion.” It's arguably the same driver behind the quirky touches we've seen across wedding catering and design trends too, from couples eschewing cakes for giant mounds of burrata, to handing out cigarettes on trays—all in a bid to create unique, personalised, and potentially viral moments.
And in this race to virality, the pressure is on to find a unique wedding dress that stands out from the crowd. “If the dress they absolutely love has been seen lots on Instagram, they would not wear it, they want something unique," says Majo Bloom, one half of celebrated wedding photographer duo La Dichosa. Majo has even cited the rise in fashion stylists being employed to help their brides find the perfect 'fit.
In an iconic scene from cult '00s romcom Bride Wars, Kate Hudson, while struggling to fit into her Vera Wang dress famously uttered: “You do not alter a Vera to fit you, you alter yourself to fit Vera.” Oh, how the tables have turned.
“We’ve worked on a record number of bespoke commissions this year," says Jess Kaye, founder of bridal label The Own Studio, known for their accessible bespoke service. "As weddings become more individual, more of our clients are looking for a custom look, a one-of-one, something nobody else has ever had before, or will again. A bespoke dress is like a fingerprint, every cut, stitch and fold has been made especially for you, crafted and fitted to your body, it can never be replicated. There’s something magical about that!”
Crafting a wedding narrative, often across multiple days, has also meant the need for a change of wardrobe. It's an unspoken rule of bridehood that there will be more than one dress, even if the event is only one day. “Over the past few years we went from simply bustling the dress before the first dance, to a complete change of the look, most often including hair and makeup change too," says Magadelana. “I no longer ask the bride if she’s planning on a second look, but how many outfit changes is she planning on having.”
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This trend has given rise to the afterparty dress, and in some cases the bridal beach party dress, as a whole bridal categories in their own right. According to Net-A-Porter fashion director Kay Barron, Clio Peppiatt, a French label best known for her heavily-embellished mini dresses, is one of their best-performing bridal brands. Indie brands like Clio Peppiatt have been one of the main beneficiaries of the “contentification” of weddings. “Social media has allowed independent brands like ours to be discovered and for brides to start envisioning their dream wedding looks long before they’re even engaged!" says Clio. "We often get messages from women saying they’ve bookmarked a dress or saved a look for “one day,” which is so lovely.”
You need only look at the plethora of contemporary brands launching bridal this year to see the growing demand—Rat and Boa, Aligne, Cult Gaia and La Pointe are only a few of the cult fashion labels joining the fray, expanding their ready-to-wear offering into white, wedding-friendly pieces that existing customers can wear during their wedding weekend. “Brides don’t want to wear something that doesn’t represent them and how they normally dress," says Rat and Boa founders Valentina Muntoni and Stephanie Bennett. "It was important that our collection offered variety in styles and accessories, as we’re seeing people wanting options for different elements of the wedding and the flexibility to style things to reflect their personal style.”
Some brides, having spent so much time and money on the ceremony dress, opt to stay in the look but still want a slight transformation for the afterparty, which has led designers to make the ceremony dresses themselves work harder. It's not uncommon now to find dresses offered with detachable trains or sleeves, interchangeable add-ons that allow the bride to have multiple looks in one. Millie Bobby Brown's, for instance, featured a clip-on overskirt which she removed at the end of the evening.
“Brides are more conscious of purchasing a second evening look, so our interchangeable pieces where you could remove a cape, skirt or sleeves become a really exciting alternative," says Kate Halfpenny, founder and designer of one of London's most popular bridal labels Halfpenny. Adds Galia: “Ten years ago, most brides came in asking for one major look—the ceremony gown—but today’s brides are asking for transformative elements like detachable sleeves, overskirts and capes."
The search for more unique yet timeless outfits has sent some brides mining vintage styles for inspiration. Much like the way vintage and archival pieces have found their way onto the red carpet, offering an added layer of storytelling to the fashion, brides have recently been looking to glean inspiration from vintage styles. As we know, the deeper the storytelling, the better the engagement.
“Our brides are drawn to '70s-inspired lace again and a return to craftsmanship, with more artisanal lacework, textured embroidery, and 3D floral lace, often reminiscent of vintage eras like the 1920s and 1970s, but reimagined, with a modern twist, of course," says Galia.
Accessories have also become more prominent in recent years as ways to personalise a look. Think custom veils like Hailey Bieber's and her custom Off-White veil, which read “Till death do us part." According to Pinterest's 2025 wedding report, 90s nostalgic wedding looks, vintage designers and detailed veils are all coming back in style.
“Lately I've seen a huge demand in veils and detachable bows, after a brief hiatus of brides feeling they were too traditional, they are really embracing them again,” says Kate. The same Pinterest report shows a 640% increase in demand for grand, Spanish-style Mantilla veils driven by Gen Z brides. And if you've been seeing the resurgence of gloves lately, another 1940s relic, you're not alone. “Over the past year, there has also been a trend of more brides opting for gloves and scarves to add a refined touch to more minimalist looks," says Kay.
But whatever designer, silhouette, accessories you choose for your aisle style, the biggest trend in 2025 is to be unapologetically yourself, and that will never go out of fashion.
Attending a wedding this year? Shop for the best summer wedding guest dresses, best autumn wedding guest dresses, and best winter wedding guest dresses here.
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