PLANNING A FALL WEDDING

Are you planning a Fall wedding? Here are a few points you may want to consider -

- Shorter days, longer evenings. Come September/October the sun goes down earlier than it did just weeks before. Keep this in mind if you’re planning an outdoor ceremony later in the afternoon and when discussing timelines for your pictures with your photographer.

- Fall brings with it cooler weather. Be sure to give your guests the heads up if your ceremony will take place outdoors so they can dress appropriately. Even sunny Fall afternoons can be cool. Placing a basket of inexpensive wraps or lap blankets at the entrance of your ceremony site for your guests to help themselves to is a nice touch.

- Outdoor ceremonies and pictures are amazing this time of year thanks to Mother Nature. The leaves are changing colours creating a beautiful backdrop. The best part about this decor, it’s free!

- Decor for your reception can be inexpensive as well if you’re looking to incorporate the sights and smells of Fall. Pumpkins, corn stalks, wheat, leaves and bushels of apples are all Fall favourites.

- There are many venues in the Ottawa area that are perfect for Fall weddings, providing you with a rustic feel without having to forgo elegance and charm. Strathmere, Bean Town Ranch, Code's Mill, Saunders Farm and Temple's Sugar Camp are just a few.

- Roasted turkey and pumpkin pie are often popular choices for a Fall wedding menu however if your wedding follows the Thanksgiving holiday (when your guests most likely polished off a 20 pound turkey and then endured a week of eating leftovers) you may want to reconsider. If you’d still like to include Fall like food on your menu serve warm apple cider in a glass mug with a cinnamon stick stirrer during your cocktail hour, hearty soup in a hollowed out pumpkin as a starter at dinner and squash or sweet potato as a side with your main meal. Baked apple crumple or pecan pie is a great choice for dessert.

- If you`re doing favours, why not incorporate your Fall theme? Beautifully wrapped candied apples, small bottles of maple syrup with personalized labels, homemade apple jelly or little cellophane bags of apple cider mix tied with pretty Fall ribbon and a cinnamon stick are all great favours your guests are sure to enjoy.

- Save the dates are always a good idea when planning a wedding close to a holiday, Thanksgiving included. Many people who do not live in the same city as the rest of their family plan on travelling home for the holidays so everyone can be together. If they are aware in advance that your wedding will take place shortly before or after the holiday, they may decide to wait until your wedding to travel home. Depending on where they`re coming from, not everyone can afford to make two trips.

- Typical Fall wedding colours are brown, orange, gold, yellow and red but if you’re not crazy about these colours, don`t use them. Just like the decor of a wedding in December doesn`t have to be all about Christmas, January weddings don’t have to have a Winter wonderland theme and flowers for your Spring wedding don’t have to be tulips – a wedding held in the Fall doesn’t have to have anything to do with Fall at all.

Photo Credits: Jennifer Schumacher Photography