Autumn & winter weddings
This one goes out especially to all of you brave souls, who have reluctantly moved your spring and summer weddings to your previously unchartered territory of the autumn and winter months. Not forgetting of course, those of you who always planned to have an autumn or winter wedding!
As someone who had an autumn wedding themselves (October 2013), I am well-placed to highlight the many virtues of a wedding day that isn’t held in the sweltering heat, or the soul-crushing disappointment of a rainy summer’s day. Once you get your head around it, you’ll come to realise it’s actually quite a special time of year.
Autumn – September 1st to November 30th.
What can you expect? As we go into September, it will begin to turn a little chilly, particularly at the end of the month and in the evenings. There’ll be a few rainy days, and into October the days will shorten, meaning it gets dark quicker. See what these autumn weddings looked like for comparison:
Winter – December 1st to February 28th
Christmas! Christmas-themed weddings! It would be a nice change to *not* have a Christmas themed wedding actually, but that’s a big ask when people specifically book December weddings. It’s a cold time of year, especially in late January and February, with the shortest days of the year, which means it gets dark very early. Consider your ceremony times; a ceremony at 2.30pm will mean you’ll have one hour of sunlight in late December to get all your photos done. Winter weddings should have earlyish ceremony times so you have a decent window of opportunity for daylight, and it’s important to over-estimate timings anyway.
There are exceptions to the rule however, when the sun shines all day long in the winter months! Check out Chanelle and Shaun’s sunny February wedding:
Top tips:
The biggest difference between summer and autumn weddings, is the change in light/weather. As we go past summer and further into the calendar year, our days become shorter and the sun goes down earlier. Therefore your window of opportunity for light decreases. Consider having earlier ceremony times nearer the end of the year, to maximise your chances for sunlight and being outdoors.
Also bear in mind that from October onwards, it may be a bit damp at times, particularly if it’s been a rainy day before or on the morning of your wedding. As tough as it sounds, try to be at peace with the fact that when we venture outdoors, to make the most of that lovely natural light, a bride’s wedding dress may get a little dirty. Don’t let this become an issue – there are bigger fish to fry. It’s a small price to pay if you want some fab photos outdoors at your venue.
On the other side of the coin, is the interior space of your wedding venue. If you were planning a summer wedding, you’ll probably have been envisaging spending all day outside under the warmth of the summer sun. During the autumn months, if there is a little bit of dicey weather, you’ll want your venue to look as fantastic on the inside as it is on the outside. This is where you’ll want to consider giving a little bit more attention to dressing your venue; maybe with some extra flowers (real or fake, good faux flowers can often be supplied by your florist and look incredibly real), some more lights such as fairy lights or festoon lights, or even some extra candles to make things look extra romantic. Don’t discount these measures, a well-dressed venue looks a-maaazing and if we’re confined to indoors for the duration of the day, this will go down a storm with your guests.
Colours
If there was a season where we can easily visualise a palette of colours, it’s autumn. They can be rich, bold, vibrant or fresh. Greens, golds, purples, oranges, yellows, all seasonal and a good opportunity to inject some colour into your day where you may have been afraid to before. Your florist will love you for it!
What was my day like, all the way back in October 2013? Well, it rained in the morning and I thought the world was going to end, but then it stayed dry for the rest of the day, even with some sunshine, and we got all our photos done with our guests enjoying drinks outside, before we went in and had a big ol’ party. I always count it as a success by the number of people who slid on their knees on the dancefloor and the number of people who drunkenly threw up on the way home.
Y’see, no-one gives a stuff about when or where your wedding is, just that they can celebrate with you, party with you, and relive the piss-your-pants moments the next day with a monster hangover and McDs breakfast.