Getting married in the winter isn’t usually the go-to to for couples. A Summer or even a Spring wedding is the preferred option, but that doesn’t mean your Winter wedding can’t be the stuff of your dreams. There are tonnes of different ways you can make it perfect. Getting married in the Winter comes with some pro’s too. For a start, most of your friends and family will be available. People don’t usually holiday in the Winter. One of the problems you’re going to have is regarding all of the advice out there. People like different things, so the key is to let your imagination run wild.
Accessorize Winter Style
Having your wedding in Winter means you get to do things a little differently. Think of the colours. Pale wintery colours instead of the same old usual stuff you see at every wedding means your day will be memorable, and the pictures and videos entirely unique. Whether you’re designing wedding invitations yourself or making little bridal favours you can put a unique, even festive, twist on everything. If you don’t want to go with a winter style, you might be able to get a good deal on wedding back stock, especially as you’ll be buying things in the off season. Remember, usually you don’t have much room for negotiation, but the winter season means you will have more wiggle room.
Less Time To Save
Time might not necessarily be of the essence. But if you decide to get married in the Winter the best part is it’ll take you a lot less time to save up your money. Saving for something like this isn’t always easy. There will be a lot of sacrifices made, depending on how fast you want to do it. You need to be proactive. Work out all of your outgoings and income, and calculate exactly how much you can save and how long it will take, but do push yourself. Otherwise it’ll feel like it’s never going to happen. Try not to rely too much on credit cards and purchasing items on finance. If you do, look out for the interest rates. They can really sting if you’re not prepared.
However, that’s not to say you should never consider reaching out for financial assistance with your wedding when you’re tight on time and money. There are loans available that are affordable and offer you the ability to spread your upfront costs over monthly installments. A wedding loan can truly be a lifesaver when you know you want to marry the person you love in the winter and that you don’t have much time to plan and save up. All you have to do is to plan ahead and prepare for the costs and commit to making the payments on time. Once this type of financial decision is made, you can then move on to the more fun aspects of wedding planning.
More Venue Availability
No more jam packed venues and tight time frames. If you go for a Winter wedding you can be sure your favourite venue will be up for grabs and likely at a lower price. Some places don’t offer Winter weddings, but that’s because people don’t usually go for them, not because of the venues preference, so if they don’t make mention of it in a brochure or their website it’s worth picking up the phone and calling the manager to see what they can do. You might be surprised.
Be Careful With The Venue
You need to be careful when going for a Winter wedding. Don’t book anything based on a wedding you’ve been to before if it was in the summer. Venues might take your money, but as it is not summer you need to remember none of the outdoor areas will be open. You need to pick somewhere with a lot of internal space. You might be lucky and get some external space which is heated, but again, you need to be careful here. Always go for the internal space. You don’t want your guests freezing, or all crammed into one tight space. Spending time doing extra research can really pay off. One of the best tips you can take away is to go and see your revenue at night. You’ll have a much smaller window for sunlight if you’re getting married in the winter, so you need to see what the venue will look like in the dark. It’ll probably be fine, but it’s certainly worth doing to see how their lighting situation works. Might even be worth seeing how they handle a wedding in general.
Haggle
Due to the time of year, you’ll be in a prime position to get things for a knocked down rate. People like videographers, photographers and florists might be looking for some work due to the off season. They’d be more willing to give you a discount since they won’t be booked out like they would in the Summer or even Spring months. All extra money can be funneled to another part of your day, or saved toward the honeymoon. A lot of people are too scared to haggle, or they don’t go about it in the right way. Get it right and you’ll get a discount most of the time. Even if you’ve got one person in mind for one job and don’t want anyone else, you’ll be surprised. There’s some great haggling tips here if you don’t feel too confident. If it really isn’t something you want to do have a think, there might be someone in your family or friendship group who’s good at it and can save you some money.
Winter Wonderland
A key benefit of getting married in the winter is the ability to create a winter wonderland. You can give it a bit of festive sparkle if you’d like, but it’s not needed to give it that wintery feel. Creating a winter wonderland is fairly easy too, and doesn’t have to cost that much money if you’re willing to do it all yourself. Think about a nice roaring fire in the lounge of whatever venue you’re thinking of using. These little aspects offer that detail which will make it all unique. Remember, the venue might already have Christmas decorations up that tie into this theme, thus saving you money. Make sure you check this out before you purchase any decorations. At the same time, don’t think like you have to go with the wonderland theme. It might be your natural inclination due to the time of year but it really is your day, do what makes you happy. As long as you do it right you won’t regret it.
Incorporate The Snow
Sticking with the above theme, if you want to go for a winter wonderland feel you can incorporate the weather. Using it for photos or even to light up your walk into the church/venue. This is of course weather dependent, but if you live somewhere where it’s pretty much guaranteed to snow, using it to enhance your day is a must. You’ll have unique photos and a feel to the day that sets it apart from all others. The aesthetic is hand in hand with any bride’s white dress too. Real snow will always be better than anything that looks fake, especially if you’re going for a bit of a wonderland theme.
Watch Your Dress
You want to make sure that your dress is appropriate for the day. You don’t want to be sat there miserable and cold. Either get a thicker dress, or keep a small cardigan or jacket around to make sure you’re warm. The same for the bridesmaids. You don’t want to be responsible for them being freezing cold all day, they certainly won’t thank you for it. They’ll likely bring their own jackets, so if you want them to all look the same you’ll want to provide these for them. On the subject of a dress, you might get a seasonal deal, but it’s not as easy as getting deals on everything else because brides buy dresses all year round in preparation. Can’t hurt to ask though.
Go Abroad
It might be winter at home but it won’t be in other places around the world. Doing this means you get to have the benefit of ensuring most people will make it while still getting decent weather. Depending on where you go you’ll certainly get a decent deal at a cheaper rate. If you’re willing to do all the work yourself it’ll be even cheaper. Just make sure you’ve got the time because it can turn into a full time project management role. With things being abroad, make sure everything is vetted before hand and if you do have a credit card it might be worth making the payment using that, so at least you know the money is protected (just make sure to pay it off right away).
The Weather Can Change
It can play havoc with other parts of your day too. Think about traveling from your church to the venue, or even your home. If the snow hits hard it might interfere with your travel plans. This is the same for all of your guests too. One way around this is to allow for extra travel time or hire a limo service to take it out of your hands. This means people have time to take alternative routes or find other means of transportation. Just bear this in mind when you’re looking at booking your dates.
