Given the changing restrictions, couples have learned to adopt a creative and agile mindset during the wedding planning process, says Jacqueline Au, founder of bridal boutique The Loft.

“Brides are investing in looks that can be considered for different events, [from] small celebrations at home to bigger ones that are down the line, and eventually looking for something that could turn into something they could really wear again,” she says.

As a result, Au has seen versatile styles rise in popularity as brides are appreciating the use of add-on tops and sleeves to dress up or dress down their looks. Bridal designer Vivian Luk has also seen a similar pattern with her clients; the former Vera Wang protégé has designed a number of separates for her clients’ big days, among them being bodysuits and skirts that can be restyled and worn again in the future.

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“I get a sense that people like that variety as well,” Luk says. “I think [brides] want to show people that they’re versatile, and with some of the pieces that are more casual, it sort of shows people that [they’re] relaxed and confident to not always be so done up.”

It is true that smaller celebrations have led brides to opt for slightly more pared-down looks that are still able to impress. “I feel like people are also respectful as well, in terms of not going over the top,” Luk says.

“They just want something quite simple, but still sort of tell people who they are. They want to find something different, [but] I think they still want to dress up.

“It’s almost like they haven’t worn anything nice for a while, and so they want to have that opportunity to create that wow factor.”

Au has also seen an influx of brides into her boutique – one of only six in the world to stock Vivienne Westwood wedding gowns – who previously would have considered rental dresses for their cost and convenience. “Because of Covid, they felt that they might do a lot more celebrations, which are smaller in scale instead of that one day,” she says. “They will instead want to invest in a gown that they truly love and in a piece that is perfectly tailored to their body, something that she can call hers.”

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Intimate nuptials also often correspond with lowered costs for other wedding necessities, freeing up more resources for the bride to purchase her picture-perfect gown. Buying the gown instead of renting also leaves room for adjustments down the line, which is especially useful when, say, an unexpected surprise arrives before the bride and groom are wed.

“[Some of] my tailor-made clients become mums before they become brides,” says bridal designer Noel Chu. “So being a tailor-made designer, I have to fine-tune the dress sometimes.”

With a shorter guest list and fewer expectations overall, there’s also been a refocus on personal style, and clients are willing to be bolder and more daring. “Instead of subscribing to the conventional wisdom of [how] a dress has to be lace-driven, or it has to look a certain way,” Au says, “I think brides at the moment are really looking for something that speaks to them, and pieces that are packed with personality. I think they’re more open to reinterpretation of what bridal looks like and are unafraid of straying from tradition.”

Luk agrees: “It’s not like a wedding gown needs to be a certain type of shape that they’ve never worn before. I feel like now, brides are more articulate in terms of knowing the different silhouettes and thinking outside the box.” One of her clients, for example, loves to wear shirts in her daily life, so Luk made a wedding dress for her that featured a shirt component.

Luk also enjoys incorporating special touches to her gowns that are meaningful to her brides, as many of them come back to her atelier for maternity gowns and matching mother-daughter outfits.

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“It’s kind of like a journey that I walk with them,” she says. “Let’s say, I know that this [bride], she loves bows. Later on, I know I can design another ready-to-wear dress that has a bow, and then her daughter can have a dress with a bow. So then it becomes very symbolic of who she is.”

Meanwhile, Chu has created hand-painted veils and dresses for clients, and she even worked with one of her brides to create a printed dress that showed an illustrated love story drawn by the client herself.

Michele Li, founder of Hong Kong’s The Wedding Company, has also seen brides wearing gowns adorned with hand-embroidery, 3D flowers, diamantes and voluminous ruffles (anything goes when you’re the bride, really).

Going into 2022, it is likely that wedding dress trends dictated by Covid-19 are not going to completely disappear. That said, Li expects brides to be even more audacious than before.

“I foresee that brides will probably want to go for a little bit [of a] more glamorous look, a little more bling, or a little bit more of a statement dress,” she says. “Purely because no one’s been able to dress up for a year and a half.”