THE YEAR OF KITSCH

Picture this: you are in high school, trying to figure out your own sense of style. You wear the same white shoes as everyone else and grow your hair long and straight—or big and fluffy, depending on the decade—because that is what fills your feed and magazines. Being “different” feels risky, so same is safe. Same is in. Every day becomes a rinse-and-repeat version of someone else’s idea of style.

Then one morning, your white shoes need a wash. With hesitation, you reach for the dusty Converse in the corner. Yellow polka dots. Orange laces. A gift from Grandma Jill, who called them “unique and kitschy.” You check the mirror, bracing yourself for regret—but instead, a warm, fuzzy feeling sets in. For the first time, you have chosen something for yourself. And suddenly, it becomes clear that it does not matter what Jake—the varsity football captain—thinks of your shoes. Lost in the noise of trends, you had forgotten what it felt like to like something simply because you liked it. That moment changes everything.

It is this kind of self-directed choice—equal parts sentiment and excess—that we believe will define wedding trends in 2026. Kitschy is in, and frankly, it deserves to stay.

So what does it mean to be kitschy, and how does that translate to a wedding day? The answer is refreshingly simple: kitsch is personal. It is about identifying the things that make you weird, nostalgic, or slightly over-the-top—and letting them exist without apology. Imagine that same high schooler fifteen years later, now planning a wedding (to Jake, obviously). When a planner asks, “Is there anything you stylistically love?” there is a pause. The urge to name whatever is trending is strong. But then comes the memory of those polka-dot shoes and that mirror moment. “I used to really love yellow polka dots,” you admit. And just like that, you have handed your creative team a thread worth pulling. That is kitsch at work.

Nontraditional weddings are having a well-earned moment, and there has never been a better time to lean into the unexpected. Vogue, in its recent piece How to Throw a Wedding in 2026, reports that leading planners—including Mindy Weiss, Pearl van den Ende, and Mark Niemierko—are intentionally moving away from repetitive, Instagram-driven aesthetics. Instead, they focus on uncovering a couple’s personal rhythm, drawing inspiration from details like favorite restaurants, go-to cocktails, and shared rituals. The result is not chaos, but something far more compelling: an orchestrated moment that actually feels lived-in.

Other publications echo this shift. WedVibes predicts that 2026 weddings will embrace originality over tradition, favoring bold themes and unexpected color stories that may not immediately make sense to a conventional eye—but resonate deeply with the people they are meant for. A separate Vogue article released on January 7 reinforces this perspective, noting that customization and a departure from cookie-cutter design are now essential, with planners being encouraged to push boundaries while weaving in nostalgic, meaningful touches.

To our clients: your version of kitsch will not look like anyone else’s—and that is the point. Years from now, you will not regret choosing authenticity over approval. Love is personal. Why shouldn’t the day that celebrates it be the same?

And to our vendor family: help your clients go there. No idea is too far-fetched when a creative team is willing to collaborate and trust the process. As we move into the year ahead, we hope to see more risk-taking, more personality, and more joyful excess. After all, as T. S. Eliot reminds us, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

Works Cited 

Eliot, T. S. Collected Poems. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1963.

“How to Throw a Wedding in 2026.” Vogue, Condé Nast, 2026. 

“The 2026 Wedding Trends That Are In -and Out- for the Year.”  Vogue, Shelby Wax, 2026.

“Wedding Trends 2026.” WedVibes, 2026.