You’re engaged — congratulations!
Now begins your however long journey of planning your dream wedding. If you’re one of the people smart enough to hire a professional wedding planner, then sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride until your big day. If you thought you could do the planning yourself, well then you’ve got some work to do. Obviously you’ll be looking for an amazing venue for your special day, but there are so many other little details that you will have to ensure are ready for the biggest day of your life.
Not saying that it can’t be an enjoyable time, but there’s a lot that goes into planning a wedding and the more unconventional the wedding, the harder planning can be. Luckily, this blog post is dedicated to helping those who want a winter wedding. Use these tips (or don’t, it might just be food for thought) to plan and execute your special day.
The Attire
No duh, right? Well, many people think that since they’ll be in a nice warm church or cabin somewhere and not actually outside, that they can get away with summer attire. Which isn’t a good move. Yes, the ceremony might be indoors, and it might be warm enough in there for you not to get cold, but that isn’t the extent of your wedding. You’ll be taking pictures throughout the whole day (before and after), going to and from places, and so on and so forth. So if you want to wear a dress meant for a June wedding, then by all means, but invest in some warm accessories. Buy winter boots that can be worn with your dress (yes, they exist), throw on some thick tights under your dress, and maybe get a fur coat. Same for the guys. Velvet suits? Both warm and stylish.
The Transportation
While that limo seems like a great idea, unless that elongated Crown Vic is rocking some off-road winter tires, it might not be the best one. That isn’t to say some limos can’t get the job done, but if bad weather hits, those things aren’t easy to drive. So rent large SUVs if possible, or even snowmobiles. There are over 1.2 million registered snowmobiles in the United States and half that many in Canada, so they aren’t that hard to acquire. Caution: only take the sleds if your venue is close, and dress extremely warm.
The Venue
Winter weddings come with a different set of guidelines. For starters, you should allow allot yourself extra travel time to the venue, in case the weather turns for the worse. You should also stick to one venue, two means addition in between travel, which means more time in the cold as well as a higher chance of poor weather. If you can’t do the ceremony and reception at the same place, try to find two venues that are pretty close to each other. You’re going to want to find a place big enough to host all of your guests, but remember that the bigger the venue the harder it is to heat. The average number of wedding guests is 136 people, according to the Knot’s 2014 Real Weddings Study, so plan accordingly. You can also add lots of candles (if the venue permits it) to add warmth to the occasion. Finally, consider a coat check so that your guests don’t have to sit with their large winter coats throughout the entire ceremony/reception. This reminds me of some wedding photography Charlottesville, I am told they put on a great winter wedding with some elegant images produced as a result.
If you’re unsure of where you could have your special day, there are multiple places in the U.S. that have beautiful cabins and would be perfect for a wedding.
Winter weddings can be absolutely breathtaking, especially if you use nature to your advantage. So enjoy your special day with your special someone, and stay warm.
