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Spring Wedding Postponed? How To Rework Your Wedding For Autumn Or Winter.

Advice From The Wedding Experts.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by wedding planning during COVID-19, you’re not alone. The global coronavirus pandemic is affecting us all and couples planning their weddings in 2020 are faced with unique challenges that are totally unprecedented. All of us here at Coombe Lodge want to say that you are not alone and that we are with you every step of the way.

We also couldn’t go without saying a huge thank you to the couples who have chosen Coombe Lodge as their wedding venue, and have been so patient during this time - showing such strength that our whole team have been so proud of.

We know more than anything that planning a wedding can take months, and for some years of dreaming and saving. Choosing your wedding venue and date is a big part of this process as is the season which can then influence the flowers, the colours and everything about your dream wedding day.

So to our couples who have found themselves having to make the heart-breaking decision of postponing their Spring or Summer wedding to the new seasons of Autumn or Winter, we thought it would be helpful to give you some tips on how you can make it work, because it can work. Promise!

We have called upon the experts to help us with serving up a big dose of inspiration and to talk you through what you can do, all the benefits, and to help you fall just as in love with your new season!

Notes From The Little Wedding Helper

A regular visitor to our beautiful countryside wedding venue near Bristol is Kirsten from The Little Wedding Helper. She specialises in wedding styling and provides endless inspiration and support for couples getting married at Coombe Lodge, as well as many other wedding venues in Somerset and beyond.

Kirsten Says...

I can’t quite believe that I’ve only styled one wedding this year! One that only just made it before lockdown was announced and the whole of the wedding industry came to a halt and life as we know it, changed. Thankfully, many couples have postponed rather than cancelled. Many of my couples have been worried about not getting married at the same time of year and in a different season. Summer weddings have now moved to Winter and Spring weddings have moved to Autumn.

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If you are getting married at a different time of the year to your original date, don’t delete that Pinterest board quite yet! Just because the weather might be different outside does not mean you have to change everything inside! There is a reason you loved those colours or seasonal touches so it can be a case of just changing a few details.

Look at your colour palette. It could be a case of incorporating a deeper tone of a colour to bring a warmer feel if you are now getting married at the end of the year. Can you change up the metallic touches by swapping out silver for rose gold for example? It’s about making subtle changes to the ideas you had already chosen and love. Hiring in coloured napkins can add a different look to your tables and candlelight changes the feel. In autumn and winter, the evenings get darker sooner so adding beautiful tapered dinner candles to your tables will create a welcoming glow for your guests. Adding lanterns around your table plan, staircase or entrance also add a warm glow to your celebrations. If the evenings are going to be cooler then adding blankets to your outside areas will keep your guests feeling cosy as well as fire pits or heaters outside.

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Try not to add more stress to the current situation by changing everything. Step back, reassess, talk to your florist for reassurance and ideas, chat to your stylist about what can be changed and also to your wedding venue who may have garden games that you might want to use now you’re marrying in the Summer and not in Autumn. How about creating a hot chocolate station as a treat for guests if your wedding has moved from the Summer to the Winter? Instead of serving ice cream cones as a treat during a Summer drinks reception, how about popcorn or warm mini doughnuts as a treat for those Autumnal and Winter days? Your wedding venue and wedding suppliers are all on hand to ensure you still have the wedding you wanted and we have lots of advice and experience to help with every detail.

Emma Norton - Florist

Emma Says...

To all the couples that have had to postpone their wedding, I truly feel for you. What a stressful time, the build-up is so exciting and then to have to put the breaks on and try to book in a new date that is most likely in a completely different season.

Please do not panic, the changing season may affect a few of your flower choices but this does not mean you have to change everything. To be honest a lot of flowers are now available all year round, you may have to change a few of your seasonal favourites but there are usually beautiful substitutes.

The early Summer favourite is the peony which has a short season, this can be substituted with English garden roses, full, blousy, and heavenly scented, also Café au lait dahlias and Avignon Chrysanthemums are a perfect Autumnal option. Summery hydrangea, delphinium, stocks, and phlox are always available. So, if you have your heart set on your original colour palette there are always seasonal options which will create the same aesthetic.

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If you like the idea of embracing an Autumn or Winter feel you can simply tweak a few things. For example if you had chosen a pale blush and ivory palette for a dreamy Summer feel you can simply add a few warmer tones such as dusky pinks, mauves and berry.

Adding more candlelight immediately makes a wedding venue feel cosy, especially when you lose the light early evening. Lanterns placed at the foot of a staircase, surrounded in foliage and a few flowers is a cost-effective way of adding that winter touch.

You can also add dinner candles to your guest tables, warm twinkling candlelight will instantly give your wedding a welcoming feel.