Not everyone wants to be a spring or summer bride. And according to statistics, a lot of people really do prefer being fall brides. More than 40% of weddings take place between September and November, and October is getting increasingly popular over the last few years. So we’re here with some fall wedding inspiration.
Who doesn’t love the fall?! I mean, summer is great. Especially in a Great Lake city like Erie. And fall can be a reminder that winter is coming. (Who just heard the Game of Thrones theme in their head? Just me?) But overall… the leaves, the crisp air, the apples and pumpkins, and sweater weather!
Mother nature does a good job of providing a lot of decorations for your wedding for cheap or even free. Let’s look at why fall weddings are awesome and then we’ll list some fall wedding inspiration once we have you convinced.
Fall wedding inspiration: why fall weddings rock
The weather
BIG DUH, right? Seriously, the weather. There’s so much to this. How many summer weddings have you been to that you feel sweat running down your back and your dress or outfit is sticking to you in uncomfortable and unflattering ways and then you’re expected to dance!?
As a bride, that heat can be even worse. It’s not a friend to your hair or to your makeup.
More attire options
And further, as a bride, fall means more choices with your dress. You’re not trying on dresses wondering if they’re light enough. Fall can even mean cozy wraps and scarves — pretty wedding layers in general.
You can also select from a wider array of different fabrics than you can in the summer. Suddenly long sleeves look great and make sense.
And your groom is going to be much more comfortable in his suit and tie.
If you need more fall wedding inspiration, there’s…
Less calendar conflict
Summer is so busy for most people. There are vacations to take. And there might be summer camp for the kids. Family reunions and picnics are prolific. Every weekend is practically full before the end of the school year.
And that means for venues too. It can be hard to book a summer wedding; you’re competing with a lot more couples at that time of year. It becomes necessary to plan way ahead for that season.
(And so many of the venues we love in and around Erie would make for a gorgeous fall wedding.)
Comfort food
Summer food is yummy and light, but fall food is all about comfort. And who doesn’t love that? Imagine having pumpkin pie at your wedding! Or a hot chocolate bar? Or hot and spicy apple cider? How fun. And different and somewhat unexpected. If that’s not fall wedding inspiration, we don’t know what is.
Less expensive
Fall, though pretty popular, is still considered “off season” for weddings, and so everything from your venue to your food choices to your flowers is going to be cheaper. It will also be a cheaper travel and hotel accommodation time for your out of town guests.
The lighting and all the colors
This is great for a couple of reasons. The early sunset in Fall makes for a romantic wedding and party. The sooner it gets dark, the sooner you can light all the candles and twinkle lights. This makes for great ambiance.
And for your photographer, that evening light makes for gorgeous shots. And again, we don’t have to wait so long for it.
Onward to…
Fall wedding inspiration: themes
If you want to just about drown in fall wedding inspiration, go to your Pinterest account and simply search that phrase. Or go right here. That will get you started… or you know, help you to make the biggest dream board ever.
Fall is ripe for a lot of fun and beautiful wedding themes:
Harvest season
This one is probably the most obvious for fall wedding inspiration, but it’s perfect for somewhere like Erie. There are a lot of small farms outside the city. You could decorate your whole wedding with a trip to those farm stands along the lake out in North East. And you could take inspiration from how they set up those stands.
Halloween
This is the other one that’s super obvious. Have you ever been to a Halloween themed wedding? They’re pretty freaking fun. And there are numerous ways you can approach this but who wouldn’t love a dress up wedding where all the guests come in costume? You could model it after the Halloween parties we all had as kids — with games and cider and bowls of candy on all the tables.
You could also go a more serious route. This is especially appropriate for any of you who are into Wiccan and pagan sorts of spiritualities.
Bohemian
What better time than fall for a romantic bohemian wedding? All the colors are perfect fall wedding inspiration for a slightly 70s retro approach to decor and attire. You could wear a flower crown! You could use dried fall flowers for your bouquet (already taken care of then for preservation) and for center pieces.
And on to some simple decor ideas overall…
Fall wedding inspiration: little bits of fall everywhere
There’s so much that you can do with the stuff of fall to decorate your wedding. Here are some quick, easy, and inexpensive ideas:
- Use apples and mini gourds as table and seat markers. Just cut a little slit at the top and slide in heavy stock paper with your guests’ names. Or tie the name tags to the gourds’ stems.
- You could almost exclusively forage a wedding arch for the ceremony. (Though only do this if you don’t have serious seasonal allergies.)
- Use dried herb pouches as wedding favors. Fun, different, and practical as they smell so good in people’s drawers or even just sitting out.
- Use fall leaves to toss at the newlyweds as they leave the reception. All you need to do is rake one yard in Frontier park and you’d have plenty! ((ha))
- Instead of a white wedding gown, you could save a lot by going with a seasonally colored dress (full length or otherwise).
- Candles, candles, candles everywhere.
- Individually sized tiny pies instead of cake.
If fall is your favorite season, I’m guessing that planning a fall wedding will be pretty much a no-brainer for you. Just think about everything you love about fall and integrate all of that into your big day.
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