Planning Your Wedding

Winter Weddings Cornwall

Winter Weddings Cornwall

Winter weddings: all you need to know

Colourful wellingtons and umbrellas should it rain or snow; roaring fires; and a festive spirit you won't find at any other time of the year...



...a winter wedding adds up to a big day full of warmth and cheer. Hurrah to that!

Cosy venues, twinkling lights, festive family spirit - we love a winter wedding here at Wed. With everyone's minds locked in Christmas mode, the outpouring of emotion and warmth can add even more love to your day. But, for those of you who grow up dreaming of ceremonies overlooking sun-kissed seas and sipping Pimm's in the blazing sunshine, it might be difficult to get your head around the idea of saying 'I do' in the dark winter months.

Winter Wedding Cornwall12
Ben Selway

"A few of our guests thought it was a bit strange to get married at the end of November, but on the actual day everybody loved it," explains recent bride Lyndsey Christopher. "They all said it gave them something to look forward to, and we also found people didn't have the same expectations for the weather." Ah yes, the great weather gods. Let's address this right now. The weather in winter will probably be bleak. And herein lies the positive! Because now you can stop worrying about it, there's no weather pressure (excuse the pun!). "Unlike a summer wedding, when you will be checking the forecast every day for months in advance, with a winter wedding you can concentrate on making your venue all warm and cosy inside," says Jenny Phipps of Jenny Wren Weddings and Events (jennywrenweddingsandevents.co.uk).

Winter Wedding Cornwall11
Ben Selway

There's also the small matter of being pleasantly surprised: a smattering of snow against a bright blue sky, rain clouds parting to reveal gorgeous sunbursts across frosty fields, or amazing burnt orange winter sunsets in the mid-afternoon. As your big day is out of peak season too, you also avoid the risk of clashing with anyone else's wedding, your guests experiencing wedding fatigue or your wedding being compared to one the previous week!

Winter Wedding Cornwall1
GRW Photography

Light fantastic
The key to an atmospheric winter wedding is making it cosy and intimate, and lighting is the best way of achieving this. Artificial strip lighting is a big no-no, so stick to softer lights: think orangey glows from lanterns and the twinkling whites of pea lights and fairy lights, roaring fires, hurricane lanterns and as many candles as your local fire station will allow. Ryan Leworthy married his partner Georgia in December 2015 and they had a very clear seasonal vision from the beginning. "We started by creating a canopy of fairy lights which were draped across the exposed beams in the ceiling. We then created a fireplace and mantelpiece which doubled up as our table plan where we hung Christmas stockings," he explains. Walk around your venue with the wedding planner and talk about how it will already be decorated for the holidays - then start planning how you can supplement it. To fill bigger spaces, make realistic estimates on candles and decorations, and take measurements to see how many millions of fairy lights you'll need!

Winter Wedding Cornwall2
GRW Photography

Festive spirit
Of course, if you're marrying in December, Christmas is likely to play a significant part in your overall theme. As wedding days are all about love and emotion, it makes sense to piggyback that alongside the natural feeling of yuletide joy and togetherness. Ryan's plan was to embrace the spirit of Christmas, but without it feeling too tinsel-and-turkey, so instead they focused on a rustic style with lots of woodland-inspired decorations. "We used a lot of logs, pine cones and candles, especially for our centrepieces, and our table names were named after reindeer. We also created blackboard signs with a mash-up of Christmas and wedding sayings, and had homemade hessian table runners and bunting. We even created a large cake stand made from logs that held stacks of mince pies!"

Winter Wedding Cornwall13
Albert Palmer

And while it might be a little hopeful to wish for a white wedding on the day, you can always create your own with just a little trickery; no, we're not talking a full-blown tundra on a billionaire's budget here, but hiring a snow machine could provide enough white stuff for some incredible and unique photographs, not to mention fun for the little (and older) ones!

Winter Wedding Cornwall3
GRW Photography

Image makers
The weather can sometimes be a little too good for photographs during peak summer weddings, as blazing sunshine can cause squinting, harsh shadows and bright red faces in the after-party shots; cloud cover can, however, give a nice soft light, and cool sunset colours can look incredibly magical. In technical terms, there are skills your photographer or videographer can use in order to make the most of a downpour, too. Video can use a mixture of fast shutter speed and high frame rate to capture everything in slow motion which, as well as looking quite cinematic, is fun to see all the details on people's faces as they dance in the rain. Likewise with stills, you can set up a flash to 'light the rain' while you're both in silhouette - the effect can be breathtakingly beautiful.

Winter Wedding Cornwall4
Ben Selway

Charlotte Willis, who was married in December 2015, had actually hoped against having sunshine on her day right from the beginning. "I love the tempestuous Cornish weather and felt that for our photos we could use the season to harness the beauty and drama in the skies, rather than just a standard sunny meadow." Charlotte's wish was granted: her day coincided with the arrival of an Atlantic storm, which created a backdrop of rolling clouds over the water - and her guests loved every minute of it. "People are a bit more animated and prone to spontaneous gestures in the midst of a rain shower and blustering gale!"

Winter Wedding Cornwall5
Ben Selway

Budget busters

For those seeking to be festive and frugal, a winter wedding might ease some pressure on the budget (and stress levels) too, explains Lyndsey. "The added bonus of a winter wedding is that a lot of venues are cheaper in the winter months than in peak summer season." (Although the weekends directly surrounding Christmas might be more expensive.) And most venues will already have decorations up, too. "Plus, we had no problem finding suppliers and the run-up to our day was more relaxed because those suppliers weren't super busy with other weddings!" says Lyndsey.

Winter Wedding Cornwall6
Albert Palmer


WINTER WINNERS
Top tips for winter weddings by those-in-the-know

Charlotte: Personalise, personalise, personalise
"As soon as I knew we were going for a December wedding I was adamant I was going to have a bespoke gold lace dress!"

Elle Winsor Grime of Inspire Hire: When it comes to sparkle, more is more
There's always room for sparkle and glitter at a wedding, but you can get away with more in the winter; think mercury glass, sequins, glitter and oodles of sparkle.

Winter Wedding Cornwall7
Ben Selway

Ryan: Add your own style and branding to a festive theme
"We put our own stamp on everything we did and carried the theme right from the invitations through the day itself. We had a logo designed and used it on all our stationery and some of the decorations, too. Nearly everything was designed by us, rather than off-the-shelf products."

Elle: Light up the winter's night with sparklers
Use sparklers as an unusual escort card table with a note asking guests to save them till later. Maybe ask your guests to create a magical walkway when you enter or exit your evening reception.

Winter Wedding Cornwall8
Ben Selway

Charlotte: Let your day be your gift
"After we got married in December, we managed to get a few pictures printed as Christmas presents for relatives, and over the Christmas period we all got together to look through our album and reminisce."

Jenny: Don't forget the wedding favours
"How about Christmas tree decorations as favours? These can double up as name place card holders, too. Then your guests can take them home for their own Christmas tree and they will hopefully utilise them every year - unlike many that get forgotten and left behind once the day is over!"

Winter Wedding Cornwall9
Ben Selway

Elle: Indulge your guests with delicious wintery drinks
Serve winter warmers such as mulled wine, winter Pimm's, rum punch or hot chocolate with a dash of Bailey's.

Winter Wedding Cornwall10
Albert Palmer

words Christopher Wasey

Copyright Wed magazine 2016


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