Getting married in Winter is now a great idea, more than ever! Discover 10 great reasons to say yes to the Winter Wedding!
Getting married in winter in the past was regarded as a highly unpopular choice and perhaps the bride and groom themselves felt it would have been a second-best option. No outdoor dinner, goodbye to pictures taken at dusk, dresses hidden under coats. These are the thoughts and images around the idea of a winter wedding.
Recently, however, many married couples are rediscovering the charm of getting married in winter, because there is no deeper and “slower” season.
Winter is the season that more than anything else recalls intimacy, to slow down the rhythm of activities to get in direct contact with ourselves. It is in winter that human beings sow within themselves the seeds of growth and renewal that will sprout in spring. In winter one opens oneself with delicacy and trust to all the senses, even the most subtle and intimate ones.
So what could be more authentic and intense than choosing winter as the season to sow the seeds of a new life? Marriage is a starting point, not an ending goal. It is the moment when two souls decide to get so close that together they can generate something truly great.
Perhaps this is the first true reason, not always explicit, that makes winter marriages passionate, and I would say ancestral. You know that as a psychologist I always like to explore within each of us the reasons and the most hidden meanings, and this is a great example.
As a planner, however, it is my duty to tell you that there are many other more tangible and concrete reasons for the charm of winter weddings. I have put together 10 of them that will convince you that getting married in winter can really be a good idea and today more than ever a precious alternative to spring weddings.
Christmas atmosphere
Winter is frequently associated with Christmas. “No Tania, I don’t think the idea of getting married next to the fir tree set up is really good for my wedding.” Though the Christmas tree display can be a fascinating possibility for your wedding (please don’t just think about the Christmas tree! I promise you, in due time, that I will write an article dedicated to the “Christmas wedding”) don’t just picture a Christmas-themed wedding.
Instead, think about the atmosphere and the feelings that Christmas evokes, that desire for warmth and family that we all look forward to every year with anxiety. These feelings, this atmosphere is certainly what makes the Winter wedding unique and inimitable.
Low stress wedding
In winter you will certainly not experience the stress caused by the weather! Whether it’s raining, snowing or sunny your ceremony will be held in an indoor space, more welcoming and suited to the season. No matter what the weather forecast, you’ll never get on the exhausting “indoors or outdoors?” swing.
Your plan B will not be tied to the reception spaces but rather to the logical aspects that will have to be taken into account by suppliers in case of adverse weather conditions. However, that’s the beauty of it, you won’t have to worry because your Wedding Planner (or the team you have chosen) will take care of everything. You just have to think that a sudden snowfall would make the most important day of your life even more impressive!
The delight of dining
During the cold seasons, you know, you enjoy good food even more. If the heat makes you feel sated, the cold increases your hunger! That’s why studying an ad-hoc menu becomes essential not only to offer high quality food by choosing seasonal ingredients.
A winter menu can be bold choosing strong and decisive flavors and for this reason it will magically warm not only the palate but also the atmosphere. It will certainly be appreciated without hesitation by your guests, who will be treated to the warmth of the meals in a real taste experience. You could also treat yourself to full-bodied wines and hot drinks of all kinds, from the finest mulled wine to tea and herbal teas for every need, soups and broths instead of the classic appetizer!
Complete sensory experiences
Speaking of sensory experience, think of the delight of delicately scenting the spaces of your event with perfumes that in other seasons would perhaps be disturbing elements. Cinnamon, anise, various spices, chocolate, are all scents that can be a background note to your wedding.
In a winter wedding the sight could be less stressed by the lack of landscapes and horizons to admire throughout the event. So in a winter wedding you can indulge yourself by activating all the other senses, and in addition to the taste we have already mentioned, also the sense of smell. This is how you gradually build an experience of interiority and interiorization of your and your guests’ experiences, typical of winter.
Cozy Corner
What could be warmer and more welcoming than a cuddle? In a winter wedding you can treat yourself to a variety of themed corners to allow guests to relax and at the same time feel “cuddled” by you. From the corner recreated around the fireplace fitted with sofas and different seats to promote conversation, to the “soft” areas recreated with lots of pillows and blankets to wrap!
You can also warm your guests with spirits and liqueurs of all kinds, teas and herbal infusions that the ladies like so much. Plus hot chocolates, and sweet corners with candies, sweets, chocolate and pastries that, in addition to satisfying the taste, are a perfect decorative element.
Flowers that are always fresh
“I love winter weddings because flowers last for so long. The cold allows you to be bold with floral arrangements that don’t fear to get wasted. Just think of the compositions that can be made with seasonal flowers: tulips, anemones, carnations, buttercups, hellebores, daffodils, callas!” says Silvia Rubino, wedding designer.
“If in summer the protagonists of the decorations are the gardens, in winter you can be bold with foliage. I also recommend not to underestimate seasonal fruits such as berries, pine cones, branches, bark, acorns, pieces of wood. These elements can be integrated everywhere, even the bouquet, are ideal for any type of decoration. They can be placed on the chairs of the ceremony and reception, used as a table centrepiece, or to decorate larger and more important architectural elements. Fireplaces, ceilings, pergolas, are to be observed carefully when working on a winter wedding project.”
Expanses of candles
If the lighting design is important in every season, in winter it becomes the absolute protagonist of the setting. Lighting can be used to enhance parts of the location by giving three-dimensionality to the flat surfaces, or to highlight the fittings. You can choose warm lights, with shades such as yellow and orange or cold lights to be diffused in the rooms. Everything obviously in harmony with the context and in line with the general project.
The thing you can (and must) absolutely have plenty of are candles!
Candles, candelabra, lanterns. Hanging from the ceiling, placed on tables with different shapes and heights to create surprising movements but also in different corners for a warm, intimate, stylish and evocative atmosphere. Candles and t-light also for tableaux de mariage, sugared almonds, cutting of the cake… in short, lighting in winter weddings is the joy of the romantic ones!
Enveloping design
The winter fittings can range from a combination with a sophisticated effect such as white and silver with crystal details, to the use of white and porcelain for a more classic and refined style.
The colour palettes are more neutral with colors such as grey, white, powder blue or intense and dense with the use of burgundy, blue, dark green (have you already seen our latest inspiration for winter?). Ranging from Scandinavian inspirations, very fashionable this year, to more classic Christmas-alike settings.
The colors for the perfect palette are certainly not missing, but what makes the design of winter weddings really enveloping and unique are all the furnishing accessories that can be added to it.
In addition to the already mentioned highlights, warm fabrics such as velvet or wool, or thick damask fabrics, add that familiar touch so special in winter. Curtains, blankets, drapes, everything contributes to making the atmosphere magical, as long as it is obviously carefully chosen and set up.
Ph: Agnese Spina Imagery
Flower & Concept: Silvia Rubino Studio
Feast of accessories
We can say that the wedding dress is a 4-season dress. There are certainly fabrics more suitable for winter weddings, such as the Mikado, but any dress can be suitable for the colder months, obviously with the proper tricks. Just like in every season what really matters in the choice of the dress is that it is suitable for the body and personality of the bride, the mood and the location of the wedding.
What makes the winter different from other seasons is the possibility to space with the choice of accessories, and not only for the bride. Bridesmaids and invited guests can choose from eco-furs, cloaks and capes, coats and jackets made from heavy fabrics, wool and cashmere. Plus, three-quarter sleeves that are very trendy, hats and gloves that, according to etiquette, would be a must for the bride in any season.
The joy of romantics
To recap, in a winter wedding the poetic atmosphere given by the lighted fireplaces, the lights and candles, the fabrics, the cuddle corners can be nothing but the dream of every romantic. But there’s more to romance than that.
As we know, the common characteristics of the artistic and cultural current of Romanticism are the discovery and absolute attention to the ego, that is, to the inner self and the most intimate individuality. No wonder that the subjects preferred by art and romantic literature are the darkest natural landscapes, cliffs, stormy seas, deep woods, lonely hills. All of them are characteristic winter landscapes.
So imagine the “winter journey” deep inside yourself, your 5 senses wedding, a warm and cosy indoor environment and a cold and fairy-tale outdoors. This is the very soul of the romance of winter weddings.
Tania Costantino – Full Service Wedding Planner in Sicily
Moodboard Credits: Atelier Emè – le_petit_moi_ – Idedesign_lagom – erica.meregalli