Top Seven Unique Thanksgiving Wedding Ideas

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.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nmiphotocreations

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nmiphotocreations

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.

http://www.weddingomania.com/

http://www.weddingomania.com/

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.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RoxyHeartVintage?ref=exp_listing

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RoxyHeartVintage?ref=exp_listing

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.

 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69857611/medium-8-inch-rustic-wood-cake-stand

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69857611/medium-8-inch-rustic-wood-cake-stand

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.

 

http://www.weddingomania.com/

http://www.weddingomania.com/

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.

jcrew.com

jcrew.com

 

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.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/VanillaRetro?ref=l2-shopheader-name

https://www.etsy.com/shop/VanillaRetro?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Top Seven Unique Wedding Halloween Ideas

Boo! Halloween is nigh, bringing a season of candy, costumes, and creepy crawly horrors that send chills up your spine. Nothing though, might seem as scary or as daunting as incorporating Halloween themes into your wedding or reception. But have no fear! We have the top seven unique ways you can add some spooky flair to your special day, whether you choose to go all-out with a costume themed wedding or low key with a few Halloween touches here and there.

Invites

Immediately let your guests know the theme and style of the wedding by choosing an eerie, yet classy, invitation design. Something as simple as writing “Till Death Do Us Part” is a spooky spin on a classic wedding line. Allow your invites to reflect the type of Halloween wedding you are having—Quirky? Modern? Victorian?

Cary Pennington Photography

Cary Pennington Photography

Location

Location can prove to be very important when planning a themed wedding and can quickly and easily establish the atmosphere you are looking for—think: gothic churches, creepy mansions, or rustic and autumnal outdoor settings. Choosing a traditional setting and trying to coat it with cobwebs crosses the line into cheesiness, so picking an inherently spooky location can save you a lot of decorating heartache.

Attire

No one in your wedding party will speak to you again if you force them wear black and orange outfits that make them resemble pumpkins and gourds. However, where you can add some Halloween excitement is with the youngest members of your party; outfit your flower girls and ring bearers in costumes that illicit oohs and ahhs, instead of screams of fear. If you want to add some spooky touches to your wedding dresses, go for an eerie Victorian look, with plenty of lace and vintage touches. Skull cufflinks give a traditional male tuxedo some festive flair.

Ace Photography

Ace Photography

Food

Your food and beverage choices are where you can really have fun! Set up your bar as a mad scientist lab and serve drinks out of vials and beakers. Don’t be afraid to use dry ice or food coloring—a big punch bowl full of a green alcoholic beverage, labeled biohazard, is sure to draw some attention. Nothing says Halloween like a candy buffet! You can opt out of having a wedding cake and choose to do a candy buffet or creepy crawly cupcake tower, but if you do choose to have a wedding cake, feel free to make your wedding cake a festive and spooky affair as well!

 

Ace Photography

Ace Photography

Flowers

There are so many gorgeous fall colors to choose from when picking your flower arrangements. Think plum, orange, burgundy, gold, and go with lilies, roses, and orchids. Work with your florist on creating some fabulously spooky, yet beautiful, flower arrangements. Sometimes just adding some black branches is all you need to give it that Halloween flair.

Cary Pennington Photography

Cary Pennington Photography

Décor

The last thing you want is for your reception to look like a haunted house, so steer clear of cobwebs, black gauze, and fake skeletons. Victorian wedding photos, plenty of candles, and rich autumnal colors give a general eerie quality while the small details, such as the name card-holders and table trinkets, can have some quirky Halloween appeal: fake vampire teeth, miniature pumpkins, witch’s hats—the possibilities are endless!

 

Ace Photography

Ace Photography

Cary Pennington Photography

Cary Pennington Photography

Favors

Halloween is the season of treats, so edible treats are the way to go! You can opt to make your candy buffet part of your wedding favors by giving your guests personalized candy bags. Masquerade masks, bottles of red wine labeled “Vampire blood,” or miniature pumpkin pies are also festive favors.

 

Ace Photography

Ace Photography

Falling in Love with Five Fall Trends

Fall can be an ideal time to have a wedding—with its rich hues, beautiful changing foliage, and cooler temperatures for outdoor celebrations, many brides are choosing autumnal wedding dates over the more traditional wedding summer months. Fall bridal runway shows gave us a peek into what styles we can expect to see this fall, and with its mix of whimsy, elegance, and quirky sophistication, we can confidently say that you will fall for these fall trends!

Gowns

Fall is ushering in a return to the long, elegant, and intricately embroidered gown. Draping and beautiful backs were huge on the runway for fall—after all, the back of your gown is what the majority of your friends and family will see during the ceremony. Detailed beading, vintage cuts, and capped sleeves give gowns this season a roaring twenties vibe.

 

BHLDN_Ortensia_Gown

www.bhldn.com

www.bhldn.com

Colors

Color palettes are following this trend of elegant sophistication, with ceremonies and wedding receptions sticking to warm neutrals with pops of jewel tones. Pantone predictions for fall colors offer up beautiful examples of these rich hues than can be incorporated into your bridesmaids dresses and décor. If you choose to have an outdoor wedding, keeping to neutral beiges and creams will allow the changing fall foliage to act as the focal point.

pantone-2013-fall-colors

Décor and Food

As previously mentioned, choosing an outdoor wedding allows you to capitalize on the cooler temperatures and gorgeous changing colors of the season. A big trend for fall outdoor weddings will be bringing classic sophistication to the outdoors. Think chandeliers hanging from branches, elegant sit down dinners, and lush furniture pieces and sitting areas under lit trees. Locally grown food is still a dominating trend, so your sit down dinner should feature hearty and filling fall food from the region.

http://michaelandannacosta.com/

http://michaelandannacosta.com/

Flowers

Even though peonies won’t be in season in fall, they seem to be popping up everywhere in terms of fall trends. Wildflowers also make for beautiful fall flower arrangements and bouquets. Decadently decorated tables mimic the style of the embellished wedding gowns we saw on the runway, so don’t be shy with your use of flowers and centerpieces. Your neutral color palette will help these rich and deep hues pop, and the lush flowers will make your reception look like a gorgeous secret garden!

http://www.erickelleyphotography.com/

http://www.erickelleyphotography.com/

Wedding Favors

Going along with the locally sourced food, wedding favors from the region are always an appreciated gift. Autumnal flower seeds wrapped in burlap will ensure that your guests will have a beautifully blooming reminder of your wedding day. Maple syrup, local jam, or individual mini pumpkin and apple pies make yummy treats that your guests can enjoy at home.

wedding favor