I love winter weddings – I think they’re beautiful and have an almost magical feel about them. If you’re planning a winter wedding, there are a number of extra things you might want to think about to ensure your day runs smoothly and everyone enjoys themselves. Check out my top 5 tips for planning a winter wedding:

LMW Winter Wedding Inspiration Board

1. Keep your guests warm. There’s nothing worse than feeling cold, and your guests aren’t going enjoy themselves if they’re sitting shivering! If you’re having a winter wedding you will need to ensure your venue is well heated – this is particularly important for churches or older buildings that may be draughty, or barns that don’t have central heating. If necessary, hire stand-alone fan heaters than can be switched on before your arrival to warm the air and create a cosy atmosphere.

2. Don’t leave your guests in the cold. Think carefully about when and where you will have your photographs taken. Your guests won’t want to stand outside in the cold for hours whilst you and your wedding party have lots of group shots taken. I would recommend having the majority of your photographs taken at your reception during the drinks reception, so that guests can relax indoors.

3. Serve warming refreshments. When you come in from the cold the last thing you want to be drinking is ice-cold champagne. Instead, serve warm cocktails, hot toddies or mulled wine to warm your guests and create a more seasonal atmosphere.

4. Plan for the weather. Make sure you have plenty of umbrellas available to keep you and your guests dry. You could leave them in a stand outside the ceremony or give them to your ushers to hand out to guests. If it looks like temperatures will fall below freezing, make sure paths are gritted the night before to avoid any falls or injuries. You might want to wear trainers or wellies to get from the car to your ceremony in order to avoid ruining your wedding shoes.

5. Think about timings. Remember that it will be dark from about 4 pm onwards, so if you want your photographs in daylight you will need to have an earlier ceremony time – I would suggest no later than 2 pm. For a truly wintry feel you could incorporate the earlier evenings into your wedding by having your ceremony at dusk.

Thanks to Helen Carter for these top tips and the lovely Winter Wedding inspiration board that you created for LMW a couple of days ago- check out Helen Carter’s site for more info on her planning services and to find out how you can save 20% off her services.