2012 is just around the corner, and that means that the experts are lining up to tell us what’s hot and what’s not for the coming year. I’ve browsed a few of these lists. Some of them contradict one another, but after looking over dozens of guesses, I’m seeing some pretty clear clues to what’s coming in the next few months. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Dessert tables are expected to continue to be a big deal in weddings. Variety is the spice of life, and a wonderful way to end a reception meal.

A further wrinkle on this trend that’s on the rise for parties that last late into the night is a second spread of snacks offered to guests on their way out. Doughnuts, cookies, sliders, coffee and cocoa… this is the chance to offer up a tasty final gift to your guests.
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Every once in a while, someone comes along here and tries to sell me on the idea that weddings can only be nicely done with professional planning. While some may find a planner useful, and I’d be the first one to advise they use one, it’s hardly the only way to go. I like to encourage couples to think outside the box and find their own way of making a statement.

Well, I found a perfect example of how beautiful a handmade, very personal wedding can be.

This lovely Canadian couple used furniture from their parents’ homes, leftover wood from the groom’s father’s lumber mill, volunteers, elbow grease, and a little forethought to create an elegant, unique, and utterly charming wedding on their own. Read the whole story and see more pictures at Ruffled.

Oh, and David Tutera? Eat your heart out.
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When it comes time to pick your wedding/reception venue, we all know the choices, right? Church, hotel, charming country inn, someone’s backyard, the beach at Aruba, the local VFW hall… yeah, same old, same old. But have you ever considered your local zoo?

On a recent episode of Four Brides, one of the couples in the competition held their wedding and reception at the zoo. I was struck immediately by how charming a spot it was for celebrating. When guests arrived, they got to play at the zoo for a while before heading to the ceremony location. Once the couple had been pronounced legally spliced, the guests took a scenic tram ride to the reception area, where a giraffe peered over the wall into the festivities as if to request its own slice of wedding cake. All in all, it looked like a fun time. In fact, that’s the couple that won the honeymoon prize. I feel sure it was in significant part because of their fabulous location.
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(via Pink Frosting)
Chances are your wedding plans don’t include stormy weather. But sometimes your plans don’t really matter to the universe. It rains when it will rain, and snows when it will snow.

The best way to look at an unexpected bit of precipitation on your wedding day is as a great opportunity to get some truly spectacular photos that will stand out from other wedding albums.
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In Nevada, where The Beard grew up, they called them cootie catchers. In New York, they were fortune tellers. In either case, these simple, folded paper sheets make easy DIY wedding programs – or seating cards or recyclable wedding favors or reception menus, for that matter. I’ve even read about some couples putting them at reception tables to help break the ice.

But I still think simple paper fortune tellers make the best wedding programs, especially when done a bit cleverly, since they give wedding guests something not only to read, but also to do. (Even if it is just flipping paper.) Which really comes in handy during that inevitable pre-ceremony delay! Here are some from around the net:

Cute cut-outs on this one - simple paper can get pretty fancy!

Beautiful fortune teller wedding programs spotted on Delightfully Engaged

No time to DIY? Get custom cootie catchers from katskrafts on Etsy

For the DIY set, Ruffled has a fortune teller wedding program template that brides and grooms can download and customize with everything from details about the couple and ceremony to actual fortunes or other conversation starts, though I think it would be sweet to see hand-drawn wedding program cootie catchers. Er, for those who either are having smaller weddings or feel inclined to practice their pretty script on 150 of the things, that is.

Wordsmiths and word lovers planning wordy weddings, heads up! Scrabble can play a role in your nuptials if you, like me, love this particular game. Seriously, game themed weddings? Yes, please! What you’ll find below is by no means a full collection of all the scrabble theme weddings ideas out there, but my goal is to get you started. Your imagination – and your wedding budget, I guess – can fill in the blanks as you put together theme wedding based around this classic game. You can even DIY this one with bags of Scrabble tiles!

Scrabble wedding portrait via CapClassique.wordpress.com

Scrabble save-the-dates from MagnetStreet Weddings

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I love love love silhouettes, and being a custom item much of the time, silhouettes really look beautiful on everything from wedding invitations to wedding cake toppers. There are even DIY silhouette kits, so if you’re feeling brave and want to make, for example, silhouette wedding favor tags for your favors, there’s nothing stopping you.

Of course, there’s also nothing stopping you from finding vintage silhouettes and using those in your wedding decor. After all, who says the framed silhouettes on your reception tables or on your place cards actually have to be you? And you don’t have to necessarily go tradition, either. There are some really cool artists out there creating totally modern takes on the classic silhouette for brides and grooms!

Here’s some wedding silhouette inspiration from me to you for what may just be a dreary Monday full of blahs (for both of us):

A silhouette wedding cake by K. Rose Cakes: http://krosecakes.com

Custom silhouette weddng favor tags from ForeverWed Store

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