Clients will from time to time ask me about trends. What’s new in the marketplace that might be exciting for their event and a fit for their style. Trends are an interesting topic. While I love to see new and innovative ideas flow year after year, most of them come and go. Most trends are not timeless and not necessarily something I encourage my clients to pay attention to.

If it’s a wedding you’re planning, you want to look back at the photos in two years, ten years or forty years and still love what you see.

To achieve that, I suggest avoiding some trends that don’t add value to your experience or have personal significance to you. Vogue recently interviewed me about what wedding trend mistakes not to make. I focused more on what current ideas take away from the fun. I wanted to share with you my thoughts on what wedding trend mistakes to avoid. My hope is you will have an even happier day when you follow these simple rules!

You don’t have to change your wedding dress look throughout the day. Multiple Dress Changes are becoming a thing of the past. Brides have been buying two, even three wedding dresses in recent years. But this impacts the quality of experience for the bride on her wedding day. It takes a minimum of fifteen minutes to change but almost always longer—especially if hair and makeup is being adjusted. Two dresses should be the absolute maximum, so that you don’t miss out on all the fun. And it’s okay to only wear one dress too! If you fall in love with a look, enjoy it all day and never have to leave for a wardrobe change.

Downplaying the significance and formality of a wedding is never a good idea. Too much minimalism is out. Ever since Meghan Markle wore her minimalist Givenchy dress, many designers are presenting simple looks. Never opt in because it’s hot this season. Wear what fits your style and personality. After all, staying true to who you are is always in fashion. And if that happens to be a minimalistic dress, then elevate the event in other areas.

It’s important to pay attention to the season. Jumping on a theme or style idea simply because it’s trending, can look out of place at your event. Although using trees and foliage in floral designs is increasingly popular this year, it does not fit every season or venue. In other words, always consider your location and date before incorporating a trend.

Technology is wonderful for a wedding, but not everywhere. Video mapping on wedding cakes has become a recent trend, but not something I encourage. I’m all for using this dramatic technology on building façades as guests enter or to set the stage for fireworks, but not when it comes to something as small and as special as a wedding cake. Keep a few traditional elements in your event and when you look back, you’ll be happy you did.

When it comes to programming dinner, don’t go overboard. Right now, it’s popular to have bridal parties prepare skits and short shows to perform during dinner. But I think it is a big mistake to have overly long or unprofessional components such as this. If this is a trend you really want at your wedding, ask your wedding planner or family members to get involved in the prep work to ensure that any such act is tasteful, executed properly, and of an appropriate length. Don’t just do it because you’ve heard of others doing this too!

Hopefully skipping a few of these trends will create a more authentic and enriched wedding experience for you and your guests. Remember, if you make decisions for personal reasons and not for the marketplace, you can’t go wrong. To read the full Vogue.com article, click here.