Thanksgiving is a time to gather together with family and friends and celebrate the things we are most thankful for. Oh, and, of course, stuff ourselves silly with delicious food! It makes complete sense then that so many couples are deciding to get married around Thanksgiving. These top seven tips will ensure that your wedding day is classy and beautiful, and not something that resembles an elementary Thanksgiving Day pageant parade. No Pilgrim hats and feathered headbands, please!

Invites and Save the Dates

One of the most important things to keep in mind when planning a holiday-centric wedding is that many friends will want to spend the holiday with their own families. The way to overcome this is to send our your Save the Dates as soon as you possibly can! Thanksgiving weddings, though, do offer the additional bonus of most of your guests already having time off of work for the holiday.

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Location

Thanksgiving is the epitome of autumnal beauty, so choosing either an outside venue—or a venue that can give you plenty of gorgeous fall landscapes—is the way to go. The rich fall colors, the bounty of fallen leaves, and the forgiving temperatures of fall, all make for a perfect outdoor wedding.

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Décor

Let nature dictate the décor for your ceremony and reception! Think of woodsy and rustic themes, allowing yourself to be inspired by trees, feathers, bird’s nests, and fallen leaves. Stay away from cheap Thanksgiving decorations: no miniature cornucopias or turkey designs cut out of construction paper. Evoke the meaning of the season by placing decorative and rustic chalkboards around the venue, allowing people to write down what they are most thankful for. If you are opting for an outdoor wedding, have the chalkboards perched in the middle of the tables. You want your ceremony and reception to look easeful and natural, almost as if it’s an enchanted autumnal forest. Having an elaborately decorated and stuffy reception just doesn’t suit the meaning of Thanksgiving.

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Food

Food is the highlight of Thanksgiving, so make sure that your food is the highlight of your reception! You can always choose a more traditional Thanksgiving meal to serve your guests, or, if you’re concerned that your guests will already have had their fill of turkey from their own Thanksgiving celebrations, you can always serve traditional family dishes with a twist—Gruyere mac and cheese with bacon, apple stuffed pork chops, bourbon chocolate pecan pie, etc. Garnish your wedding cake with a few autumnal touches, and place it atop a tree stump cake stand.

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Flowers

Don’t be afraid to branch out (pun intended) from using exclusively flowers in your bouquet or centerpieces. Acorns, branches, and fall leaves can all make gorgeous additions to any flower arrangement.

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Dress

Keep your dress classic and easeful. Thanksgiving is about the comfort of being with family, friends, and food! An overly embroidered and corseted gown will clash with your themes of nature and ease.

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Favors

Favors should always be edible or useful, and since it is Thanksgiving, edible is the way to go! Miniature pies, bottles of maple syrup, maple candy, and miniature bottles of pumpkin ale all make for festive favors that your guests will surely appreciate.

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