Winter Weddings – Ideal for a Magical Celebration

What Themes Work for a Winter Wedding?

Some couples choose to have a theme around which to plan their wedding.

A theme helps you avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many choices and lets you choose items that reflect your personality and relationship.

Here are a few themes you could consider for your winter wedding:

• Enchanted Forest – think festive foliage paired with sprigs of berries and pinecones, lit by fairy lights cascading from crystal vases and above for a welcoming, whimsical effect that’ll enchant your guests.
• Vintage Elegance – light up your wedding’s festive jewel tones and gold accents with soft candlelight. If the wedding venue prohibits real candles, alternatives such as LED candles and fairy lights can create a warm and romantic ambience.
• Winter Wonderland – have your guests step into a classic winter scene with silver accents, crystal and glass centrepieces, and frosted foliage. A stunning themed ice sculpture can add an extra touch of elegance and chill to the atmosphere.
  Christmas – capture the spirit of the festive season by bringing everyone together with ribbons, bows, twinkling lights, and brightly coloured candy canes as favours.

Decorating Your Winter Wedding Venue

When decorating for a winter wedding, highlight the season’s natural beauty and add warmth and personal touches to your historic venue.

Even without a specific theme, thoughtful decorations can transform your venue into the winter wedding you’ve always wanted.

You might want to consider several different elements, including colour palettes, wedding stationery, linen, gifts for guests, lighting, seasonal florals, seating and dressing of feature areas.

Learn more about celebrating your wedding at Hatfield House and Park – the perfect Hertfordshire wedding venue.

Colour

Even if you haven’t opted for a theme, you still might want to choose a colour palette that complements the winter season. Popular colours for winter weddings range from deep red to icy blue.

Rich jewel reds evoke a classic, warm feel, while emerald greens bring a touch of nature indoors. Icy blues can add a crisp, wintery quality, mirroring the winter sky.
These hues can be reflected in table settings, floral arrangements and even in the attire of the bridal and groom parties. Mixing metallics like gold or silver can enhance your chosen colour palette, adding a touch of sparkle and sophistication to your decor.

Lighting

Lighting plays a crucial role in setting the mood at any wedding.

For a cosy, more intimate atmosphere, consider using a mix of candles, lanterns and fairy lights. Be sure to check with your venue regarding any restrictions on open flames.

LED candles add a romantic flicker of light, while lanterns positioned along walkways or as table centrepieces can add a rustic touch. Fairy lights are also a popular decoration at winter weddings, adding a twinkling charm that can light up the room with a soft glow. They’re easy to buy and store, making them a great choice, and your chosen venue may also have their own special lighting available.

Seasonal Florals

Seasonal choices like holly, mistletoe, white and red roses, and poinsettias offer a festive touch, perfectly complementing the charm of historic venues.

These traditional winter florals add a splash of colour and resonate with the season’s spirit.
Consider combining these with evergreens like fir or pine branches for a fuller, more textured look. They bring the fresh scent of winter indoors, enhancing your guests’ sensory experience. You could even add a few sprigs of eucalyptus and gypsophila for additional aromas and texture.

Seating

Think about how your guests will be seated to enjoy the celebration.

Traditional round tables encourage new friendships as guests can chat with people on either side. Banquet seating can often accommodate more guests in a given space than round tables, making it a practical choice for larger guest lists. It allows for easy conversation among guests seated next to and across from each other, creating a warm, relaxed, social atmosphere.

Your seating plan will also help you decide how to decorate the space perfectly. Long tables can create a striking visual impact and are often easier to decorate with continuous centrepieces like garlands or table runners, whilst round tables can accommodate tall, eye-catching centrepieces.

Visit our events and wedding gallery for inspiration and ideas for your wedding.

 

How Can I Make my Winter Wedding Extra Seasonal?

Everyone wants their wedding to be memorable, so how do you make yours the one guests talk about for years later? Consider adding unexpected seasonal touches to surprise and delight your guests.

If your venue has an outdoor space, you could provide warm, decorative blankets or capes for your guests to keep them warm as they enjoy some fresh air during the celebrations.

With seasonal temperatures in mind, a winter warmer bar is a special treat for guests.

Warming, scented mulled wine sipped out of personalised cups is a lovely touch, or you could set up a customisable hot chocolate station, where guests can add spices, whipped cream, and toppings for their own personal, indulgent treat.

To keep your guests entertained during cocktail hour or as they wait for the ceremony to begin, a small carol-singing choir or string quartet playing Christmas classics will get everyone into the festive spirit.

You could get creative with your wedding favours as a little thank you for guests to take home. Rather than the traditional sugared almonds, you could choose personalised baubles or small personalised bottles of mulled wine.

Read our guide to getting married in an historic wedding venue such as Hatfield House and Park.

What to Wear for a Winter Wedding

The Wedding Couple

For a winter bride, you have various style options. You could go for a simple and elegant look to give the impression of fresh, clean snow or choose something sparkly or lacy to match the festive party theme. Consider long sleeves, satin dresses, jewelled belts, a pop of festive colour and off-the-shoulder styles with fur stoles or capes to keep warm.

For partners wearing suits, rich colours like burgundy, navy or dark green add a touch of festive luxury, as could a dark-coloured, heritage three-piece suit. Consider matching the festive decor by wearing a boutonnière of holly, a white rose, or mistletoe.

The Wedding Parties

The wedding party members are responsible for keeping the festive spirit alive during your celebrations, so they must look the part.

Dark red, forest green, black, icy blue and dark gold are popular, beautiful colours for wedding attendants such as bridesmaids or groomsmen around this time of year. You could coordinate members of the wedding party with complementary colours, but use fun textures, like velvet, for suit jackets or dress accents.

The Guests

You could ask your guests to dress according to the theme for maximum effect. If you’ve opted for a vintage elegance theme, you could ask your guests to wear black tie, or you could ask them to incorporate a chosen colour into their outfits, like dark green or berry red, if you’ve chosen an enchanted forest theme.

A winter wedding at a historic house offers an unparalleled blend of enchantment and elegance. The venue’s architecture and storied history enhance the celebration, creating a setting where the past, present and future beautifully intertwine.

Embrace the season’s unique charm and give your friends and family something to look forward to with a winter wedding.

Discover how to hold the winter wedding of your dreams at Hatfield House.