The hottest destination wedding trends in UAE

Dubai - UAE offers luxury at its finest and you are spoilt for choice in this dazzling city.

In recent times, international luxury wedding experts nominate the destination as a wedding hotspot for multi-cultural weddings. On the lookout for some destination wedding planning inspiration? Here are some of the hottest destination wedding trends that are taking the Gulf region by storm.
Experiences and accessibility continue to top the list as the hottest destination wedding trend. Destination weddings provide an opportunity for guests to embrace a new place, experience a different culture and most importantly create memories of their own along with the couple. Couples are increasingly looking for destinations that provide an immersive, culturally-rich experience, and essentially, an opportunity to check something off their bucket list.
The UAE offers unforgettable experiences with its beautiful blend of new-and-old heritage. Dubai, the city of superlatives sits at the crossroads of both the East and the West, has excellent connectivity and is a melting pot of cultures. One can host a religious marital ceremony reflecting on the authentic traditions of over 200 nationalities that the city proudly boasts of or engage in a breathtaking wedding with the stunning backdrop of Atlantis, The Palm or the Burj Khalifa, or make a couple's dream come true with a beautiful beachside wedding or a desert wedding affair. For those who like to go the unconventional way, the city also offers venues such as the Dubai Opera or the Meydan racecourse that can offer a twist to the celebrations.
The UAE offers luxury at its finest and you are spoilt for choice in this dazzling city. For the ones seeking a luxurious affair, the city offers glitzy and glamourous wedding venues alongside towering confectionary delights, world-class entertainment and magical fireworks displays. Right from gigantic ballrooms with intricate ceiling patterns to pristine beachside options, from underwater proposals in the largest aquarium to professing your love at the top of the highest standing structure in the world, the UAE never ceases to amaze.
Some of the other notable destination wedding trends for the UAE include the need for venues to become more social media-friendly, the trending hashtags taking the industry by storm along with the demand for professional photographers and videographers, which is seeing an unprecedented growth to match up to social media inspirations - and it only means that we will see venues gearing up their reviews, promotions and social media presence to target couples.
In the wedding business, it's all about details. Personalisation has never gone out of style for weddings, but destination weddings take personalisation to a whole new level. This year will see venues and suppliers working closely with couples and planners on giving the ultimate personalised experience to the guests and the couples - whether it is personalised destination souvenirs or the logo of the couple embedded within the décor elements to the culinary delicacies, the visual effects with state-of-the-art video mapping and entertainment, UAE venues and suppliers have done it all.
When it comes to colour, many wedding experts agreed that 2019 will be a year for bold, bright and vibrant colours replacing classic tones. Ceiling decorations, ornamentations and interactive floral displays are leading the way for 2019 destination weddings. The UAE, with some of the biggest creative designers curating designs that are inspiring the wedding industry worldwide, has positioned itself as the perfect hotspot for destination weddings.
The writer is director of conference production at QnA International. Views expressed are her own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy.