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Brittany
British Columbia

The Winter Wedding - The New Summer?

Brittany, on July 31, 2018 at 18:44 Posted in Plan a wedding 0 25

As the norms of traditional wedding planning change, the season of Summer starts to become less popular, with off-season weddings starting to be more and more common place.

For those brides who go off the beaten path, some of us find ourselves celebrating one of the biggest days of our lives in the heart of Winter!

There are so many new themes, decor options, venues, photo ops, and more! What is your inspiration for your Winter wedding? What drew you to having an off-season wedding? What colours are you focusing on? Is anyone having a Christmas or New Year's wedding?

We chose January because I though it would be less expensive, and our honeymoon cruise lined up perfectly. Our venue ended up not having seasonal pricing, but we are still able to throw a budget-friendly, formal affair!

Our colours are Navy, Black, White, and Sparkle/Silver. We aren't going overboard with any snow/ice theme, but simply West Coast Glam!

My Winter WeddingThe Winter Wedding - The New Summer? 1


25 Comments

Latest activity by Brittany, on August 19, 2018 at 14:03
  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    Love it! Great reasons, and I like that you're keeping it soft and light with colours! That's definitely unique in February!

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  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    WOOHOO! Come to the dark (and cold) side! Haha.

    Many vendors don't have seasonal pricing anymore (I haven't found a single one)... HOWEVER, rather than being their first of two weddings that weekend (or even three)... you may be there one of two or three weddings that month.... so their attention is more available to you, there's no rush, and even stuff like getting your photos back will be a faster timeline, as they aren't editing 6 weddings, but maybe 2 or 3...

    Our venue is the Alumni event centre on a mountain, on the local university campus. Because they do corporate, school, private and wedding functions, the wedding prices are the same as everything else, and it's SUPER reasonable. We have our ceremony and reception in one building (upstairs/downstairs), and the rental for the full 24 hours of the whole building is $1500. It would have been $750 if we were actually Alumni.

    Good luck planning!!! Once you commit there are SO many perks to a winter wedding! The only bonus to summer I've been able to think of is "better chance of sun"... but Murphy's Law, if we went with summer, it would be the one day it rains during a drought!

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  • Jennifer
    Frequent user February 2024 Ontario
    Jennifer ·
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    We agreed on an August wedding but I always wanted winter and after participating in winter wedding posts here I knew I had to change it. It took a while but I finally convinced FH and my mother that it WILL BE WINTER!! I've come to terms with the weather issue and if people can't make it cause of roads then it's just too bad for them. I always wanted January or February cause our work is seasonal so we're usually off every winter which would be perfect for the honeymoon and wedding anniversary trips every year.

    We're still trying to agree on a date but I just love the idea of winter weddings, pics in the snow, the fur stole with the dress (fake of course), the men can wear black on black without overheating, no sweating under my makeup, not having a super air conditioned room for my reception, fireplaces, winter greenery with white flowers, dark colors, hot chocolate bar, the appeal is endless.

    I'm hoping I can save some money but winter weddings are becoming so popular that none of the vendors/venues I've contacted have any cheaper prices but I will keep digging. I haven't decided on colors yet but I know I want white flowers with winter greenery. I'm trying to decide if I should do gold or pops of dark red with.
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  • Emily
    Devoted February 2020 Ontario
    Emily ·
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    We are getting married on February 22, 2020. We were drawn to a winter wedding for a number of reasons, first, our actual anniversary is February 24th and we will have celebrated that day for six years by the time we get married, so it just made sense to keep it similar. Also, everything is so much cheaper in the winter! We got HUGE discount on our venue, photographer and DJ just because of the month - which is great! Also, by the time we got engaged, looking into any other season, they were either booked, or we'd have to wait over two years, so winter was the perfect time!

    We aren't really going with a wintery theme, besides the fact that it will be taking place in the winter. The colours will be pink and grey and all the decorations will by pink, white, and bright! The only 'wintery' aspect I am planning on having is my dress, which i would like to be long sleeved and covered in lace!

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  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    I love this. But ironically... I love Christmas SO much... I couldn't share it with my wedding... haha. But I love the candy cane idea. Super cute!

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  • Gina
    Super April 2019 Alberta
    Gina ·
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    So cute!!!! I love Christmas so much! It’s by far my favourite time of year! You will have to share pics from your wedding. It will be amazing
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  • E
    Expert December 2018 Ontario
    Emma ·
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    Ahh sucks you aren’t getting exactly what you want. You could do Christmas in July lol.

    I have to say the Christmas trees are one of the things I’m most excited about for our wedding. I also think I’m going to put candy canes at every seat. I can’t wait!
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  • Gina
    Super April 2019 Alberta
    Gina ·
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    I wanted a winter wedding so bad!!!! But roads here are really bad. We go between extreme cold and warm, so it’s so icy. My dad came from BC last year to visit me and ended up writing off his SUV. He decided he’s not going to come here during the winters anymore.
    I do have a friend that got married on New Year’s Eve, but she regrets it now that they have kids, lol. Babysitters are the most expensive that night, so they haven’t celebrated their anniversary since they started a family.
    Your colours are amazing and exactly what a winter wedding should be! My entire wedding was planned out for a winter wedding, then we decided it wasn’t feasible. I was heart broken. Someone posted a pic on here awhile back with Christmas trees as their decor. Amazing!!
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  • Bianca
    Master August 2019 Ontario
    Bianca ·
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    I really hope the weather will be warm enough for you! I'm definitely the kind of person who needs 45 degrees + for a beach lol.

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  • Alexandra
    VIP November 2019 British Columbia
    Alexandra ·
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    I agree, March just doesn’t feel like winter here as it’s not normally wintery cold any more, but November is! I’m just expecting rain for the big day so I’m not disappointed, but a little dusting off snow since we’re on a mountain would be kind of nice!

    The christmas trees our venue puts up are just insanely gorgeous!!
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  • Julie
    Expert March 2019 Ontario
    Julie ·
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    Thank you for the great tips. I've looked at Le chateau on line but can't find blush long with sleeves. I'm going to check out David's Bridal. I am going to a big Bridal show in Oct so I'll be looking for any Winter specials I can find. I have 6 Bridesmaids and some have asked for sleeves where another asked for long which is no problem. I want my Girls to be warm. i hope you have a fabulous Wedding 👰💍👰
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  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    Haha, I also hibernate throughout the winter. Canadian Thanksgiving passes and I slowly build my cocoon of Christmas wonder, and I bundle up and hide. Haha. However I do love fall/winter fashion, the sweaters, scarves, boots, toques...

    My 2 sisters each got one of my grandma's fur stoles, one's white, one's light gray, so I'm going to try them with my dress and use one of those.

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  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    I was going to say the end of March isn't very winter-y, but I'm from BC, haha, so I forget Ontario still has snow then. (We barely get any, even in January).

    That's so wonderful you love your venue so much! We feel the same way about ours. We walked in and we just knew instantly.

    I didn't find a single photographer who changes their price for time of year (generally they won't), but it's great your venue had a discount! DJ companies may offer a discount, or base prices for upgraded packages. Also I was told limo rentals don't have minimum rental times at that time of year too, so if you only need a one hour, one way trip, you don't have to pay a 4 hour minimum.

    Don't be afraid to look online, or in just regular dress stores for bridesmaid dresses! My mom and I went into Le Chateau, and found a beautiful floor-length, navy lace dress... it was just way too soon to be buying bridesmaid dresses.

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  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    I feel like November is more of a Winter wedding than say, March (even though it's technically winter).

    Love your colours! Same as mine, minus blush (we'll be doing quite a bit of black).

    We are juuuust far enough past Christmas that there won't be trees/decorations, so I'm definitely jealous of that!

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  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    Come to the dark side! Literally! Haha.

    I love the fur stoles, the cocoa bars, the fire places (our venue has 2!)... I feel like it's going to be so cozy even though it will be snowing or raining outside!

    We're doing the Southern Caribbean... and I've checked average temperatures for then, and it seems to be in the high 20's (C), that for us, coming from Vancouver winter, will be just right.

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  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    Wonderful! I looooove Christmas (like, I celebrate it for about 2-3 months, haha)...

    We got engaged December 28, 2017... So Summer 2018 was too soon, Summer 2019 was too far.

    I love that you're embracing the Christmas theme with some "non-traditional colours" (aka not green & red), I'm sure it will be beautiful!!!

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  • Jennifer
    Super July 2019 Ontario
    Jennifer ·
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    I think winter weddings are so pretty. and I love the dark colors. but there is NO way I could have done a winter wedding. I am the least winter-y person ever. I hibernate. I don't like wearing sleeves/jackets. or shoes and socks. hahaha

    a family friend did a winter wedding. she did everything in silvers/crystals. so pretty. and she rented a fake fur stole for her photos that was just gorgeous!

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  • Julie
    Expert March 2019 Ontario
    Julie ·
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    Our Wedding is March 23, 2019. We choose a Winter wedding for many reasons. My FH can get the time off for our Honeymoon and we wanted to go somewhere warm during the Winter. The venue we love and booked has a great Winter special on which was a huge factor. I also love Winter. I'm sure most of our Pics will be inside our venue but if we could get even a couple pics in the snow, that would be wonderful! We have guests traveling to Ontario from B.C and 1 of them is my Fav Aunt who is our MC. Easier for our B.C Peps to get time off for our wedding in the Winter. We choose our date after going to a Bridal show in May at our venue where I started to cry because I just knew it was the right place to marry my FH. March 23rd was the last day of the venues Winter special and after March break. Choosing the last date gives me a little more time to plan. I'm hoping we may get better deals on photography because it's the off Season. My colors are blush, silver and glittery silver. Trying to find Bridesmaids dresses with sleeves has turned into quite a challenge. No luck yet. Hopefully by the end of Aug Bridal shops will have their Winter lines out.
    Your colors are wonderful!!!
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  • Alexandra
    VIP November 2019 British Columbia
    Alexandra ·
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    I'm quite excited for my winterish wedding. Like technically it's still fall, but they're going to have Christmas trees up so we're definitely going with wintery themes. Lots of pinecones! Some berries on the cake with some green herbs to look like holly! We're doing Navy, silver and probably blush pink as our colours. I'm very excited!

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  • Brittany
    British Columbia
    Brittany ·
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    Our ceremony and reception are both indoors, and we have covered options for photos. we picked a venue on a main road, so even if there was snow, it would be the first road to be plowed. We also kept it in town so people wouldn't be committing in winter weather.
    Many of my FHs family smoke as well, including him, so I didn't even give it a second thought. They smoke outside year round, whether it's cold or not, so they will manage.
    You can also get some cheap IKEA blankets, or even thrift store blankets, for them to put on if they go outside... then when they reek of smoke you can toss them.
    I love all the things you mentioned about winter weddings... I also have grown to love the puzzled look people give me when I tell them my wedding is in January... it makes me feel unique, and like it will stand out in people's minds!
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  • Jennifer
    Frequent user February 2024 Ontario
    Jennifer ·
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    We are still trying to nail down a date but I absolutely love the winter wedding!! Because our work is seasonal we're off every Jan/Feb so having it in the winter would give me free time to devote myself full time to the wedding and then our honeymoon and anniversaries would be in our off season so easier for travel.

    I also love the options for pics in fresh snow, the fur wrap over the dress, hot chocolate kits to give to guests, darker winter colors. Plus some suppliers are cheaper and people aren't quite so wedding'd out like they are in the summer.

    The only issue standing in my way is bad weather. My mom feels very strongly that it's not a good idea to ask people to drive out to a winter wedding in the snow or if there's a storm. Also FH and his entire family smoke, some quite heavily, so they will be stuck outside in the cold for most of the evening. But I don't know if those are good enough reasons to avoid a winter wedding. I'm gonna keep pushing for Feb and hope I can get FH to agree!
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  • E
    Expert December 2018 Ontario
    Emma ·
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    I shared my first post before I was done.

    We picked a date between Christmas and New years because family members we want there would be in town then anyways. We also didn’t want to wait long to get married (we got engaged this spring). It just seemed like perfect time.

    I’m embracing the holiday season. We will have Christmas trees and lots of candles. We picked a dark purple and silver for our colours, with some sparkle.
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  • E
    Expert December 2018 Ontario
    Emma ·
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    We are having a winter weddding. My first wedding was in the summer. I have to say I’m having a lot of fun planning our Christmas/New Years wedding.
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  • Bianca
    Master August 2019 Ontario
    Bianca ·
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    The more I plan and look at wedding pictures from winter weddings, the more I secretly wish I were having one. For us, we both love the summer and want our honeymoon to be super hot (we've travelled during winter months to tropical places and it's been pretty cold lol).


    I totally think that winter weddings are up and coming and they will definitely be memorable for those who have and attend them!

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  • M
    Devoted August 2018 Ontario
    Megis ·
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    Having a summer wedding but I found winter weddings cool. Seen some brides incorporate fur coats for themselves and their bridesmaids. Also unique snowy landscapes to take wedding photos.
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