Many couples getting married dream of a fall wedding when autumn is at the peak of its colorful spectrum. There are many advantages to having a wedding in autumn. For one thing, you don’t have to schedule around your friends’ and families’ vacations. An autumn wedding provides a chance to employ an array of fabulous ideas for décor, food, fashion and more.
Here are just a few to consider as you plan your upcoming nuptials. You can work with your wedding planner and event venue to find the right ones for you.
Location
Unique wedding venues can be the perfect backdrop for a fall wedding. Explore the endless options and you’ll find a variety of legendary locations. Your guests can enjoy the colorful foliage and flowers, and you can throw in some strategically-placed hay bales and pumpkins for extra ambiance. The flower girls can even make their entrance down the aisle on a hay wagon if the couple chooses. Fall foliage also makes the perfect backdrop for wedding photos. An autumn wedding provides a great opportunity to look beyond the usual event spaces.
If the reception is outdoors, make sure that you have a cozy place for guests to stay warm, filled with lanterns, fireplaces, and blankets. If you are having a tented reception, you may want to consider space heaters to keep everyone warm. Just be careful of the fire and safety hazards associated with all of these things, and ensure that the event venue allows them, and has appropriate safety precautions. An inexpensive but stylish blanket for each guest or couple to use during the reception would make a unique and useful wedding favor.
Invitations
Begin the autumn theme with the invitations. Use seasonal stationery for invitations and reply cards – perhaps something laser-cut with a pinecone, tree or leaf motif. Martha Stewart Weddings suggests enclosing a paper leaf with the invitation for guests to write well-wishes to the couple, which can then be displayed festively at the reception.
You can carry your invitation theme through to the wedding programs, place cards, and escort cards, perhaps adding touches like mini-pumpkins and apples to hold them. Cedar wedding programs and place cards also add a lovely rustic touch.
Fashion
Warm colors like chocolate and wine are popular colors for fall bridesmaids’ dresses. Some brides choose subtle orange or other rich fall colors. Why not get some light wraps as a gift for your bridesmaids in case it gets chilly as the day turns into evening? A pop of color can transform a dress that will be appreciated by all.
Grey or brown suits are popular fall colors for the groomsmen and ring bearers’ tuxes, with colorful cummerbunds and ties. Why not have boutonnieres of acorns and oak leaves with colorful bows?
Décor
Many autumn weddings make use of pumpkins as baskets and centerpieces. Some people even paint them to match their color scheme or use seasonal fruit for place card holders. Pinecones are also popular decorations, as are wreaths. Lanterns make a nice addition to the décor, and help provide heat as well. Decorate with lanterns, candles, pumpkins, leaves, and gourds for a perfect fall look. Why not have a grapevine arbor, or one made of flowers, vines and berries in autumn tones?
If you are having an October wedding, you may choose to go with an orange and a black color scheme. Just be careful to keep it subtle and elegant-unless you really want to make it a Halloween-themed wedding.
Flowers/Centerpieces
The bride and her bridesmaids can carry bouquets accented with greenery, and flowers with rich colors like orange, yellow, and red that accentuate their dresses. Instead of traditional baskets, flower girls can carry small decorated pumpkins down the aisle.
Fall flowers, foliage and vegetables provide an infinite variety of options for centerpieces. A centerpiece of branches, suspended candles, and seasonal flowers can be stunning. Woodsy centerpieces with branches in tall vases add a natural feel.
Food
This is where you can really take advantage of the season, both in the dinner menu and the desserts. Pumpkin or squash soup can be an excellent first course. Hot cocoa, apple cider, s’mores, and candied pecans all make delicious and warm treats. If there will be children there, you may decide to have a trick-or-treat candy buffet.
Wedding Cake
There is no end to the ideas for decorating your wedding cake to match your autumn theme. You can use real or chocolate mini-pumpkins, or decorative leaves which are elegant, pine cones, and berries. Just Google “autumn wedding cakes” and you’ll see that the ideas are boundless.
Favors
You can provide your guests with mini-maple syrups, apple cider mix, packets of seedlings, bottles of apple butter, or jellies or jams to remember the day. Pumpkin-spiced soaps are also a festive favor. How about a table with wrapped caramel apples for guests to take home?
These are just a few ideas. Autumn weddings can be as unique as the bride and groom. Go online and get more ideas, and then work with your event planner, venue, and caterers, all of whom probably have even more ideas. Autumn can be a dreary season for some people. There’s nothing like a beautiful, warm autumn wedding to brighten up the season!
