Darlings, how are you today? Is the sun shining? We hope it is and we hope that your little corner of the world is a safe and secure place right now. We send love, strength and all the good wishes to you today, and always.
We know that lots of our readers have had to postpone their weddings and are now planning to celebrate in a completely different season. Moving your wedding from spring or summer to winter is a definite change from a planning perspective and there are things that you might now need to consider that weren’t even on your radar before.
To make this process of readjustment that bit easier, it’s a huge pleasure to be joined by multi-award winning wedding planner, Love My Dress regular and our Little Book member, Katrina Otter, so that she can take you through the areas of your plans that you might need to revisit.
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As always, Kat’s advice is clear and incredibly helpful so we can’t thank her enough for sharing her experience and wisdom with us today.
Over to you Kat…
Practical Planning Tips for Winter Weddings
If you’ve had to move your wedding from a spring or summer date to winter, there’s nothing to worry about and lots to look forward to as winter is such a special season for weddings. Here’s my guide to things to think about – just work your way through these points and your winter wedding will be absolute perfection”
- Revisit your on-the-day timings, especially if you want to make the most of the natural daylight. It may be that you need to bring forward the start time of your ceremony or even have a first look pre ceremony to ensure that your photographer has enough time to capture daylight portrait shots.
- Whilst we’re on the subject of photography, you’ll also need to liaise with your photographer and venue regarding suitable indoor locations for couple and group photos.
- If you were planning on having an outdoor ceremony or drinks reception, it may be that neither of these will now be possible and definitely not in the form that you originally imagined them. Talk to your venue about alternative locations and Plan Bs and remember to check licenses and room capacities too. Then, if you need to now double-up on the use of rooms, for example using the same room for your ceremony and wedding breakfast, notify your suppliers (i.e. your caterer, florist etc.) about the change of plan so that they can factor this into their logistics, costings and staffing, especially as they’ll need people to assist with any room changes and turnarounds.
- Don’t assume that your guests will come prepared for the weather so talk to your venue about heating, your caterer and bar staff about warming food and drinks, and add additional elements to ensure that your guests are comfortable and happy throughout the day (i.e. providing blankets, throws and hand warmers), especially if you and your guests will be venturing outdoors.
- Add winter must-haves to your emergency kit and toiletry baskets, including tissues and lip salve.
- Consider the possibility of severe inclement weather from snow to rain, including your own Plan Bs and contingency plans from a venue, supplier and guest perspective. For example, from a venue point of view, what are their back-up plans in case of heavy snow? The same applies to suppliers and how this might affect their ability to travel. Also, think about you and your guests and have back-up plans in place for all extreme weather eventualities. If you can, then also try to allow a little more time and flex in your wedding day schedule as well.
- If you plan on venturing outdoors for part of the day, whether that’s to travel between locations or for group and couple photos, ensure that you pack, or have to hand, additional accessories, such as an extra pair of outdoor shoes or boots, a cape/shawl/coat and gloves.
- Lighting will now be one of the most important décor elements of your wedding and you may need to increase or tweak your budget to accommodate it – from practical production lighting (to ensure that there’s enough light for you and your guests to see whilst you dine and during speeches), to lighting to enhance and elevate your venue. Candlelight is also a must to really enhance a tablescape and set the scene for a dramatic, yet enchanting affair – just make sure that you check with your venue regarding any policies that they may have.
- Check with your venue what additional décor they have in place in the winter months, especially around Christmas. If it’s not to your taste, then now’s the time to ask whether anything can be taken down or replaced.
- From a facilities perspective, you’ll need to ensure that you’ve made a provision for hanging coats, and ideally there will be a coat and bag checking system, which may involve additional staff or allocating roles to your wedding party.
- Talk to your suppliers about seasonality and whether or not this will affect your wedding – from the overall vibe and vision, colour palette and choice of flowers, to what food and drink you serve your guests (the more substantial, warming and filling the better). It may be that you need to completely revisit your design concept and attend another food tasting to ensure your day ticks those seasonal boxes.
- Warm attire is a must and if you’ve already purchased your dress then talk to your designer or bridal boutique about potential alterations or accessories that you can add to keep those winter chills at bay.
Explore all the winter weddings on Love My Dress
Explore all our winter weddings here.
Credits & Thanks
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
