Nostalgia feels good, so it’s no surprise it keeps finding its way back into weddings. What we loved in our younger days always resurfaces. Lately, there’s also been a clear move away from everything living online. An analogue response to a hyper-digital world where every moment is documented, filtered and uploaded before it’s even finished happening.
Couples are choosing tactile, sensory details for their weddings that feel slower and more personal. Things you can touch, hold, keep, or listen back to later. Not everything needs an app or a QR code. Some things are just better when they exist in the real world.
Here are a few analogue throwbacks we’ve noticed creeping back into weddings again:
Cigarette trays on tables or at the bar, left out for guests to help themselves. There’s nothing cool about sucking on a strawberry shortcake flavoured air. Health implications aside, the aesthetic callback of real cigs is very much part of the appeal.
Disposable film cameras dotted around tables for guests to use. Grainy, imperfect, unpredictable photos that won’t be seen for weeks. Yes there’s apps that can sort of recreate the aesthetic, but there’s nothing like the real thing.
Photographers offering film alongside digital, or instant shots worked into their galleries. Not as a gimmick, but as a way of capturing moments that feel different in tone and texture to the rest of the day.
Rotary phones used as guestbooks. Guests pick up the receiver and leave recorded messages instead of signing a book that rarely gets opened again.
Retro cocktails making a return. Manhattans, Old Fashioneds and Negronis served instead of prosecco. Maraschino cherries, paper umbrellas and all. What’s next, cider in plastic bottles or Budvar behind the bar? Absolutely here for it.
Cassette tapes and vinyl everywhere. Custom mixtapes as favours. Vinyl records repurposed as table markers or place names. DJs spinning actual records rather than playlists.
Retro entertainment that leans properly old-school. Arcade machines. Proper film photo booths that print real strips you can take home. Forget the slick digital versions with no soul. The real, bulky mid-century booths are where it’s at.
Printed newspapers and zines instead of wedding websites. Ceremony programmes laid out like mini publications, complete with interviews, timelines, in-jokes and quizzes. Yes, a website can give guests all the information they need but this is just so much cooler.
