Artisan Images - Leicestershire

Winter weddings;

Winter weddings are great! I may be a little bias as my wife and I married in December but I can’t think of another time of year that I would rather have gotten married. Our local church was having a Christmas tree festival at the time so the church was full of Christmas trees decorated by the local children which gave a magical feel to the church. I realize that not all churches have this type of festival every year but the colours that surround winter and in particular Christmas are vibrant and cannot be matched, with a winter wedding you can get away with much more extravagant themes than in the delicate colourings of summer.

The dress can be a little more theatrical and the colour a little more daring (blacks, reds and gold’s) which for some reason appears to be more acceptable in winter. If a coloured dress is not for you, you could try the full lion, witch and the wardrobe ice queen look in pure white satin and fur.

Don’t forget that it is likely to quite chilly so you could change you footwear from delicate high heels to satin boots you could also incorporate fur shrugs or velvet cloaks (like the Scottish widow), and don’t forget your bridesmaids as they won’t thank you for being cold!

If you are allowed to choose your partners wedding attire (I had no choice in the matter) then contrasting colour can be brought in with the ties, cravats, waistcoats or cumber bunds, if your daring maybe even the suit itself (make sure you don’t clash).

You could choose a venue that has working open fires, and ask for them to be lit, there’s nothing quite like a raging fire to warm the cockles, if your venue of choice doesn’t have them you can make a beautiful effect with masses of church candles in glass hurricane lamps.

You may face opposition over having a winter wedding due to the cold weather, but at least you know it is going to be cold and have time to prepare (and so do your guests). If you have a summer wedding the weather can spoil your day (if you let it) as you are hoping for a glorious sunny day so any cold, rainy days are a disappointment (although it is meant to be lucky if it rains on your wedding day).

With a winter wedding you have fully prepared yourself for these eventualities which means they can be a feature of your day instead, so make sure you will be warm enough, treat your guests to a warm glass of mulled wine instead of bucks fizz, have warm canapés instead of cold ones and ensure all the groomsmen have umbrellas to keep guests dry (they also come in handy for keeping the bride and groom dry whilst having outdoor wedding photography). And if you’re lucky you could have a gloriously sunny but chilly wedding day and if you don’t you won’t mind!