Thinking About Fall Weddings

Even though the thermometer reads over 80 degrees, there is a sense that autumn is just around the corner. As people start thinking about coming home more for the holidays and such, to spend more time with their families, it's a romantic time for a wedding. Fall is a time of cool nights and warm days, with brilliant changes in color in many parts of the U.S. It's the time to appreciate the ripeness of the harvest and enjoy the fruits of summer.


Invite your guests to a storybook fall setting such as an inn, meeting house, old mill, or even a barn. A fall wedding can be casual yet elegant when set in a beautiful old barn. You might also look at an apple orchard, a vineyard, or any place that will have a view of fall foliage. If you live in a climate where the leaves don’t change, look for a venue with lots of rich dark wood and warmth such as a gentleman’s club or university club.

Establish the theme for your fall wedding with sheaths of wheat or corn at the entrance. Fall wedding decorations in rich jewel tones or traditional fall color schemes that include reds, oranges, browns, and yellows set the tone beautifully. One modern fall wedding decoration scheme uses only chocolate brown with light-blue accents.

Fill the room with the bounty of the season - pumpkins, cornucopias, acorns, and gourds. Make jack-o-lanterns with decorative patterns rather than scary faces, or use paper bag luminaria for a similar effect.

Remember that weather in the fall can be tricky. In many areas of the country it will be hard to know long in advance whether your wedding day will be warm or chilly. I was at a fall wedding where the bride had counted on a warm day and evening, so had everyone wearing strapless and inappropriate bridesmaids' dresses. She didn't plan for a 30-degree night and everyone ended up wearing the groomsmen's tuxedo jackets - even indoors. If they had boleros, sleeves or wraps, the temperature problems would have been eliminated!

Give your guests a wedding favor in keeping with the season such as a beautiful apple tied with a gold ribbon, or a bottle of maple syrup. If you have a sweet tooth, give guests caramel apples wrapped in cellophane, or give a DIY kit of a caramel apple recipe with all the ingredients they’ll need - a perfect apple, some caramels, a Popsicle stick and recipe card.

Help your guests decorate for the season by giving them mini pumpkins, or an ear of ornamental corn tied with some wheat and a pretty fall ribbon. Marzipan fruit is also a wonderful fall wedding favor.

Fall is a wonderful time of year to have a wedding. You miss the rush of summer and even some of the expense, and can provide your guests with a unique and fun experience.