Fall Wedding Ideas, Tips, and Tricks

Any wedding with an autumn theme has a lot to work with. It can be indoors or outdoors, thanks to the cooling weather. The rich, vibrant colors create a broad palette to choose from, anything from deep jewel tones to subdued earthy shades. There's also two holidays that can be focused on, Halloween and Thanksgiving, or a masquerade and harvest themes.

Harvest: Ceremony
Consider sheaves of wheat, bales of hay, or cornucopias of fruit and squash for decoration instead of flowers. You could have the ceremony in a rustic setting outdoors, like a field with blanket covered hay bales for seats, or an old barn.

Harvest: Bridal Party
Wear a garland of leaves and vines instead of a veil with your white dress to set the tone of a classical goddess of grain and harvest. Mimic the headdresses for your bridal party, and dress them in tones of yellow, gold, and brown

Harvest: Reception
Consider traditional Thanksgiving foods for your reception dinner. Use cornucopias or carved pumpkins as table centerpieces.Carry your color scheme throughout the room.

Masquerade: Ceremony
If your wedding is near Halloween, you may consider having an elegant and sophisticated costume party, or masquerade. This can be incredibly flexible as far as color scheme, so don't feel you should limit yourself to orange and black. The hardest part will be making sure your guests participate, if that is important to you. Consider ordering masques online and having them available for your guests as they come in, or if you are particularly crafty and have lots of time, make them yourself! Watch movies like Labyrinth, Ever After, and Phantom of the Opera for inspiration on traditional masques.

Masquerade: Bridal Party
The masques you order or make can also be worn by the bridal party, in colors matching their clothing. I would suggest replacing your veil with a masque, at the very least. Remember to think of your bridal party's clothing as a costume while still dressing in formal attire; for example, many weddings feature flower girls wearing their formal white dresses with gauzy fairy wings in bright colors. Add an elegant masque covering just the eyes, and this is a perfectly acceptable masquerade costume. A person could dress in a brilliant blue, wear a masque with peacock feathers, and place one or two in her hair, and be a peacock at a masquerade. Consider choosing a theme for your masquerade wedding before you select your masques.

Masquerade: Reception
Consider a mansion or museum for your reception to get a location with a large ballroom. If chandeliers are present, use them to create a romantic evening glow. If a chandelier is not available, line the walls with standing candelabras to get a similar effect.

These ideas should get you started on planning your own unique and romantic autumn themed wedding. Congratulations and best wishes to you on your upcoming nuptials!