How To Create The Perfect Spring Wedding

Spring is a wonderful time of the year for weddings. The season itself provokes feelings of renewal, growth and rebirth – especially as the winter days fade away and the sun is welcomed back with bursts of warm weather, and the earth becomes a carpet of colourful flowers (ideal for wedding photo backgrounds).
Overall, spring is a perfect time of year to plan your wedding for, and with the temperature neither too hot or too cold it provides a happy middle ground for your special day.

If you’re planning a spring wedding, here are the top tips to make the most of the season:

Book Early
Spring is a popular time to get married; many venues and suppliers get booked up early. Don’t be afraid to listen to your instincts and book in advance, you can usually secure a service with a small deposit even if you haven’t decided fully on a theme or colour scheme for your wedding.

Flowers – What to choose?
Spring is one of the best seasons for flower variety and availability; try to stick to seasonal flowers as they will be more budget-friendly and also fresher than others that aren’t in season. Classic flowers for a spring wedding are: lillies, hyacinth, sweet peas, lilacs, tulips, crocus, bluebells, Pleione, puschkinia and daffodils. Sweet peas, lilacs and hyacinths are ideal for the typical pastel scheme of spring weddings, but for more vibrant spring weddings daffodils are a simple and affordable choice that come in multiple varieties.

Menu Options
Much like with the flowers, it is ideal to take advantage of the season and include food that reflects that by using seasonal fruits and vegetables. These will also make a fresh and tasty starter with soup or fruit platters of strawberries, honeydew melons etc. Food can also reflect some of the seasonal holidays such as Easter, with wedding favours such as small Easter eggs acting as a nod to Spring.
When it comes to the drinks, you can reflect the season with some fruity flavours such as mango or watermelon Martinis. You don’t have to leave all the fruity drinks for the adults – the kids and teens at the reception can have virgin versions of the cocktails or you can stick to fruit drinks and squash dressed up to match the adults drinks.

Do I need to follow spring stereotypes?
No, you don’t! While many like to stick to pastel colours, incorporate lots of flowers and to have a daytime wedding, you don’t have to stick to these unwritten spring ‘rules’. Remember, this is your big day and bright bold colours are as viable in spring as they are in any other season. Adding block colours to your wedding helps bring a youthful, fun feel to it – you can achieve block colours in small ways from bouquets of flowers to the bridesmaid’s dresses.
If you want to avoid flowers, many brides are creating unique bouquets made up of model butterflies, collections of buttons and even sweets.  While the words ‘Spring wedding’ tend to make people think of a lunchtime wedding, you don’t have to stick to this informal rule, the days are getting longer as spring arrives and you can wait till sunset or the evening for the ceremony or reception.

But the weather…
April hasn’t gained the name April Showers for no reason. While spring is a lovely time for manageable temperatures, Mother Nature tends to be full of surprises with the odd burst of rain. The best way to navigate this risk is to have a tent or an indoor option (if your wedding is outdoors). However, you will need to have walkways between tents or to the tents as the mud will ruin the guest’s shoes. Umbrellas are a must-have for spring wedding weather emergencies, and you can even colour co-ordinate them with the theme of your wedding.
By Felicity McKee, Excalibur Press

AUTUMN/WINTER 2017 EDITION AVAILABLE TO BUY ONLINE NOW