When envisioning their wedding day, many automatically think of a summer wedding. However, a winter wedding can offer you an incredible opportunity to stand out from the crowd and create a wedding to remember.
Winter is associated with evergreen trees, bare branches and frost which can create stunning and unique pictures. Winter is a fantastic season, with a lot of seasonal menu items and décor that you can include in your wedding preparations. One of the greatest benefits of a winter wedding is the Christmas festivities that are going to be in full swing.
Pros
- There will be less competition for booking venues, photographers and florists. This will allow you to be discerning while choosing which suppliers you need.
- When planning a winter wedding there will be interesting options for outdoors photographs. With the Christmas decorations and incredible winter landscapes, you can find places for pictures that will be gorgeous even without snow.
- Winter seasonal food is delicious with plenty of hearty stews and roasts on offer. You can also spice up the evening by serving interesting drinks, such as hot cider and mulled wine to guests.
- Off peak prices can make planning your wedding easier on your budget, as many suppliers will charge significantly less when it isn’t peak wedding season.
Cons
- Poor weather can be counted on throughout the winter and that makes any outdoor plans far more difficult to arrange.
- Guests will have to wear coats or other winter weather clothing before their arrival, which necessitates a room to keep them all in until the wedding is finished.
- Any honeymoon plans may not be as sunny as you may have hoped, unless you are headed to the other side of the world.
Venues
Finding your venue is perhaps the most important part of your wedding planning, as the venue you choose will mostly likely be responsible for hosting, catering and decorating both your wedding and reception. Many wedding venues will have hosted multiple weddings before and will have procedures in place as well as recommendations for what has done well in previous events. As winter is considered an ‘off’ season for wedding events and many venues will charge a lower price for your booking. Many venues (especially hotels) have a lot less going on over the winter season, with Christmas and The New Year being an exception. Depending on the venue, there are a variety of different options for you to make to ensure your winter wedding is as beautiful as you envisioned. Most venues, including One Warwick Park Hotel have a selection of function rooms as options to consider before making your final choice. If you are considering a venue as a final option, asking for a tour of the function rooms and a tasting for the menu before you book will help ensure everything goes smoothly. Many wedding venues will offer each couple a liaison to help them organise the wedding. They will be in charge of setting up before the event and coordinating with suppliers to ensure everything arrives on time. Venues can also offer a list of local suppliers that you can consider if they are needed. While your wedding should be customised to suit you, many venues will have recommendations for extra staff required by the wedding such as photographers, florists and live bands. These will have worked with the hotel staff before and will have produced quality work.Décor
Winter decorations can be wonderful, with evergreen branches and feathers tied into a bouquet for the bride and tables decorated with centrepieces created out of pinecones and dried orange slices. While you will probably need to find a supplier to decorate your venue, if you are using a hotel for your wedding, many of the rooms will have Christmas decorations already in place when you arrive adding to the festive tone. If you have booked your wedding for after the Christmas festivities, you can always ask the venue staff if any of their decorations can be recycled or reused as part of your wedding to save on decorating costs.Guest Availability
Unless you are planning a wedding that is very close to Christmas or the New Year your guests are far more likely to be available to come to your wedding. Summer and the Easter holidays are very popular times for people to hold a wedding, but many of the guests may have holidays planned during those times and be unavailable for your wedding celebration. Ensuring your plans don’t conflict with any pre-booked events for your guests, such as birthdays or anniversaries is also a courtesy that will help keep your guests happy. Many of your friends and relatives may have to travel quite a long way to attend your wedding and may need to take time off work. Making sure you send out invitations well ahead of the celebration will ensure they have it booked in the diary well ahead of any other plans. Creating a group chat keep your guests in the loop with any schedule changes will help with any accommodation or transportation woes they may have.Menu
The winter season gives you the option of serving some wonderful winter dinners for your guests. There are some incredible flavours that are associated with winter and selecting a menu filled with nostalgic flavours will be sure to please the crowd. Here is a selection of delicious menu items you may want to try:- A winter menu allows you to borrow flavours from Christmas dinners, pigs in blankets, mince pies and baked apples are all fantastic dishes to try during winter celebrations.
- For any vegan or vegetarian guests, a nut roast can be included to ensure there is a meat free option on the menu.
- New flavour profiles can be included in drinks as well, offering winter themed cocktails, such as peppermint martinis or cranberry mojitos will be sure to please the crowd.
- Consider adding game to the menu. Pheasant, pigeon and venison are all traditional winter fare that can put an interesting country spin on your wedding dining.
- There are a wide variety of winter themed desserts to try, such as a boozy fruitcake or a chocolate yule log that can add some variety to the dessert options.
