Plan a Harvest Themed Wedding

Celebrate the bounty of the seasonal harvest with a harvest themed wedding. This wedding theme mixes formal elegance with casual touches, such as hay bale tables, wildflower bouquets and delectable seasonal foods. Send guests home with homemade harvest wedding favors.

Harvest Themed Wedding Decorations
Make bouquets and floral arrangements by mixing traditional wedding flowers, such a roses and carnations with harvest blooms and wildflowers, such as sunflowers, Queen Anne's lace, dahlias and mums. Place these informal bouquets in glass milk bottles and recycled tin cans for a refreshing country look. Decorate doorways and the head table with swags of ivy and wildflowers. Replace the gift table with hay bales (the rectangular ones, not the round ones!) to bring the outdoors inside.

Cover the dining tables with gingham or calico cloth, reminiscent of old-fashioned picnics. Make place card holders out of mini gourds or pumpkins, outfitted with delicate pieces of parchment paper. Write each guest's name on the parchment with a black calligraphy marker. Finish the tablescape by tie linen napkins with gingham ribbons or raffia for an informal napkin ring. Lastly, create a romantic glow during an evening reception by hanging strings of white lights from the ceiling and along the windows.

Harvest Themed Wedding Foods
Serve traditional harvest foods, such as potatoes, pumpkins and apples. However, dress up these classics with gourmet harvest touches, in keeping with the big day. Offer guests decadent curried pumpkin bisque, or parmesan-garlic smashed potatoes topped with fresh chives. For the main course serve a hearty beef or pork roast, topped with a wild mushroom demi-glace. Roast turkey is an autumn favorite, so why not serve it braised with red wine sauce and wild rice stuffing? In keeping with the season, serve sparkling apple cider in lieu of the traditional champagne toast. Take advantage of the many varieties of apples, and serve apple tartlets, applesauce cake or other apple-flavored desserts.

Harvest Themed Wedding Cake

Offer guests a delicious wedding cake of apple spice, gingerbread, or carrot or pumpkin cake. Compliment the harvest flavors with a sweet cream cheese frosting. Decorate your harvest themed wedding cake and marzipan leaves and acorns, or fresh wildflowers and other greenery.

Harvest Themed Wedding Favors
Share the bounty of the harvest season with your wedding guests by sending them home with harvest themed wedding favors. Make homemade jams, jellies or salsas and give them away in glass jars tied with gingham ribbon or raffia. Decorate each jar with a personalized label that includes the bride and grooms name, wedding date and contents of the jar.

Other harvest themed wedding favors include jars of real maple syrup, fresh clover honey, or boxes of leaf shaped chocolates. For non edible favors, consider seasonal scented candles, such as cinnamon, apple pie or pumpkin spice. Decorate favors with ribbon, raffia and personalized labels.