With winter upon us, it’s time to begin looking ahead to the springtime, especially if you’re planning a wedding. The spring is a popular season for weddings as it’s the time of new life, budding flowers, new leaves and a refreshed energy in the world around us.
If you’re planning a spring wedding, the outdoors is potentially a great place to have it. There’s nothing quite like sitting in landscaped grounds or by the sea and enjoying the first spells of good weather after a long, grey winter. What better time to tie the knot?
If you’re thinking of a spring wedding, we have some great ideas for you.
Location, location, location
Choosing the venue of your wedding can be tough whatever time of year you’re doing it. Spring adds another layer of complexity, especially if you’re visiting it in autumn or winter.
The gardens will be bare, trees will look skeletal and while this time of year has a beauty of its own, it’s a shadow of its spring self. It can be difficult to imagine some venues looking green and rich with life. Ask to see photos of weddings there if you can’t envision the place. It’s the only way to get a sense of what the venue looks like.
Spring outdoor weddings benefit from large gardens, or seaside locations. It isn’t quite warm, but it’s no longer cold. The landscape is changing, but so is the coast. Try both if your location allows it, instinct will tell you which is right.
Have a Plan B
Wherever you choose, make sure to have a Plan B. As lovely as spring is, the weather doesn’t always have our best interests at heart. If you have a favourite venue, make sure they have indoor space as backup, or book a marquee that people can use during the day or take refuge in if it rains.
Marquees work well as many people like them in good weather too. They protect you from the rain, sun and wind, so can be a good idea anyway. They could be used to house a bar, outdoor lounge, buffet or whatever you like. As long as they have the free space to accept all your guests!
Inside Out
One of the hot wedding styles to come out of London has been using indoor furniture outside. Creating a living room space with sofas, armchairs, coffee tables, lamps and such on the lawn or deck is a very creative way of bringing the inside out. It also offers a conversation piece and places for guests to sit or rest during the day.
If you’re eating outside, then an indoor dining setup works exceptionally well outside. Well-laid tables, candelabras and posh chairs work just as well in the open air as they do indoors. Add a lovely view to the proceedings and you really have a wedding to remember!
Shabby Chic
The inside out thing really works well with shabby chic weddings. Mismatched furniture, old crockery, a mix of contemporary and vintage pieces, home-made centrepieces, mason jars with candles and so much more. Shabby chic is a great wedding theme as it gives you the freedom to do pretty much whatever you like.
Add in the outside element to this and new spring flowers and you have a huge range of elements to play with. It’s a great theme that allows a massive amount of personalisation and fun, two essential ingredients in any wedding!
Fresh Flowers
Once spring is fully under way, the fields and hedgerows are full of life. Bouquets of fresh wild flowers, either picked yourself or prepared by your florist full your hands with life and colour and work with any kind of wedding theme. Add spring flower buttonholes, fresh flower centrepieces and you have a riot of life and colour to complement your wedding day.
There is something primeval about fresh flowers. They talk of life, opportunity, potential and beauty, all things we attribute to weddings. They also look lovely and smell great too!
Use mason jars, polished buckets, or crystal vases. Whatever your wedding theme allows. Just use flowers wherever you can. Not only do they look fresh and beautiful, they add more than any other element to a wedding.
Dresses
Spring weddings allow a lot of freedom when it comes to selecting a wedding dress. You can still get away with a large dress, or even a winter one. You can also get away with a slimline, or short sleeved dress that’s ready for the summer.
Colours are also flexible in spring as the world is full of colour. Stick to traditional white, or use a little spring in your dress with tones of green, pink or champagne, in your or your bridesmaids outfits.
Nostalgia plays a big part in many spring weddings as it’s part of the renewal process. It won’t be unusual to see vintage style weddings, or 40s, 50s and 60s style dresses in the springtime. It’s all part of the fun and freedom the new seasons offers.
Spring weddings can be amazing with the right amount of planning, work and imagination. If you can add all three ingredients into yours, it should really be a day to remember!