The Rise Of The Low-Key Bride: Sophie Turner Posts A Flashback Of Her Micro Wedding

There's light at the end of the tunnel for big weddings, with restrictions lifting (if all goes to plan, of course) on 21 June. This is excellent news if you've postponed your ceremonyonce, twice, three times as we've gone in and out of lockdown, but what if, actually, you've kind of fallen in love with idea of a micro wedding, as it's been dubbed? If 2020's nuptials were anything to go by, clearly not even a pandemic can cancel love, as the restrictions that were in place around 30 people, then 15 people, resulted in the rise of the low-key wedding.

With no way of knowing when restrictions would be lifted, many couples found that even their postponed wedding date couldn't go ahead in the way they had originally planned. So, they decided to get married as soon as possible, opting for simple, low-key celebrations that may or may not be followed by a bigger event at a later date.

Although several celebrities 'made do' with a pocket-sized ceremony (Princess Beatrice and Lily Allen spring to mind), we've just realised that the originator of the mini wedding brigade, at least in the world of the A-list, might be Sophie Turner. She tied the knot in 2019 and although she and her now-husband, Joe Jonas, had a lavish ceremony in Italy, they first got hitched in Las Vegas. This weekend, to celebrate their second wedding anniversary, Sophie posted a whole load of pictures from the night in question, where the pair, along with Diplo, their DJ, Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas and Kevin Jonas, arrived after the Billboard Music Awards. As well as rose-tinted aviators, the bride chose an elegant silk jumpsuit from Bevza, and bow-embellished gold mules by Loeffler Randall.

And it looks like they were early adopters of what is now, thanks to Covid-19, a fully-fledged trend that gathered major speed in 2020. As Hamish Shephard, founder of Bridebook.co.uk, a wedding planning app, explained last year: 'A significant number of couples are planning to do lower key weddings this year, with a second, bigger extravaganza as soon as they are able to. Clearly, some people are cutting back while others are making use of the enforced savings of lockdown to throw a big party when the restrictions are lifted.'

Natasha Heasman-Langley, a fashion stylist based in Essex, was due to marry her boyfriend Benjamin at a big country estate at the end of July in 2020. 'We postponed absolutely everything apart from our registry office booking. It wasn’t until the beginning of July that we thought it might go ahead and only the week before we were given telephone confirmation that it would (I actually only received written confirmation on the morning of the wedding that it would be),' she says.

Thus followed some fairly frantic shopping trips, with Natasha ultimately choosing a simple dress from Goen J, a world away from the Halfpenny dress she is due to wear for her bigger wedding this year (hopefully). But she has no regrets. 'I honestly can’t describe just how perfect the day was, from standing on the steps where my parents and one of my best friends were married to going for a swim in the sea on my wedding day. It meant so much to us that our friends and family changed and altered plans last minute to come and celebrate with us. Our ceremony was extremely short and to the point, but that didn't matter.'

This new approach to getting married may spell good news for designers as brides are ultimately choosing another outfit to wear for their 'simple' ceremony'. And many are being far more experimental than they might have been previously, as Kate Halfpenny explains: 'We're seeing brides experiment with styling options and my separates and layering options are perfect for that. For example, they'll wear their simple, slinky base dress for both events and maybe add a mega overskirt for the party or wear their corset but pair it with a pair of our cigarette pants and a blazer.'

This shift has even led to designers producing new collections tailored specifically to the new, low-key approach. Jane Taylor, the London-based milliner, says she has received many exciting new briefs from customers. 'Mothers of the Brides and Groom want to feel just as special because it’s still a big day and it’s important for them to feel really confident and have a piece that will work for different kind of outfits too,' Taylor says.

'We’ve also been designing different pieces for brides, styles that can be worn from day to evening. Some brides are opting for two headpieces – something chic for the ceremony and something more fashion-forward and fun for the party afterwards. With this in mind we have designed a new bridal collection, which includes lots of hairbands and new styles.'

In fact, when it comes to accessories, it seems that this is where brides are still going all-out. Manolo Blahnik reports that rather than opt for more casual styles, brides are actually choosing alternative colours. The Hangisi shoeis a perennial best-seller for the brand, only now it's being purchased in a broad colour spectrum, from green and blue to pink, as well as more traditional ivory satin. It seems that the trend of brides looking for pieces they can wear beyond their wedding day has only been amplified in recent months.

As some couples choose to wait until they're able to celebrate properly, others feel that lockdown only enhanced their desire to be married. Anna Olszewski-Lewis, a communications consultant in London, had planned a 200-person wedding in Lisbon to marry her boyfriend Matt. While they have obviously had to postpone that plan, she says they weren't going to let anything stand in the way of being legally bound to one another as soon as possible. 'We were adamant that love would prevail,' she says. 'When the big wedding was still up in the air we had a Zoom call with our parents to discuss our options. I said on the call that I didn't care what happened, I was going to marry Matt in 2020 whatever it took, and that's when we made the decision to postpone the big wedding until June 2021 and focus on an intimate London wedding for 2020.'

Anna and Matt organised a wedding at Chelsea Town Hall, followed by an intimate reception in their garden with their closest family and friends. In many ways, the pandemic gave even more meaning to the day, as Anna explains: 'I wore my mother's wedding suit for the registry office part of the day. 'Without Covid, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to wear my mother's outfit and now, the incredible emotion of putting that outfit on and my mum seeing me for the first time in the morning is a moment I will cherish forever! We ended up spending lots of time together making the alternations it needed and the whole process meant I got time with my mum that I will never forget.'

It doesn't just apply to the bride's outfit, either. Lauren Stuckes, brand content manager at Prezola, says that 'A rise in low key weddings has led to a rise in ‘social gifts’ being added to couples' lists, as more and more people are looking for ways to give back. Guests are now choosing to commit to acts of kindness or fundraise on behalf of the couple. New popular ’social gifts’ on Prezola include making NHS and hospitality charity donations.'

Whether or not this will be the future of weddings remains to be seen. In many ways it is just an extension of trends already established, as second weddings had become increasingly popularin recent years. As many couples may be left disappointed by cancelled plans and postponed dates, many brides are proving that there is a way around it if you're willing to embrace a more low-key celebration.

SEE MORE: Why Is It Still So Hard To Find A Colourful Wedding Dress? One Bride Has The Answers