I always planned on having a long engagement. Calling each other 'fiancé', showing off the ring and enjoying the love bubble before the chaos of planning a wedding.

But I got engaged last month, and that went out the window. Immediately.

My fiancé and I plan on getting married 12 months post-engagement. I assumed that would give us plenty of time to enjoy it over Christmas and start planning the wedding in the New Year.

Was I delusional? It seems so.

Having already been together for six years, we had a good idea of which venue we wanted the wedding to be at, so to be on the safe side, I checked it would be available for our chosen date.

Nope, it wasn't, and there was only one Saturday still available next spring. We jumped on it.

The wedding backlog of COVID-19 and recent boom in engagements has meant that planning a wedding requires earlier preparation than usual. And you bet, I've done more research and planning than I thought I would have this soon in.

One of the positive side effects of this mayhem is that I've ended up with my finger firmly on the pulse of what weddings are going to be looking like next year. So, from one bride to another, here are the trends I'm predicting will be everywhere in 2023.

1. Multi-stone rings.

(This first one is for those who haven't gotten engaged just yet.)

If you've had your eye on one style of engagement ring forever, don't fret – it will not go out of fashion just because trends suggest something else is popular.

But if you are curious what'll be in next year, look to multi-stone rings.

There's the two-stone ring which Em Rata and now Megan Fox made popular, stone clusters, and infinity bands.