...Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. —
Keats
A old, old voice must have whispered when you
set your heart on an autumn wedding.
It all began with the first twinklings
of agriculture in Europe. When the barns and barrels were full for
the winter and the harvest chores ended, only then would you know if
you were rich enough to marry that year! If you were, you passed around the drink and
meat, and piled up branches for all-night bonfires: it was time to celebrate with friends.
Even today, we still seek that unique sensation of
a full belly and fuller pantry in autumn.
It isn't the refined,
ethereal tastes and scents that call us, but the earthier
ingredients: honey and nuts.
Berries, coffees and cheese. A fall wedding gives thanks for this timeless
bounty.
Favors for Autumn Weddings
Imagine the satisfied householder from 100 years ago, tucking away
the last of her currant jams. Picture the side of bacon curing in
the cellar over barrels of mead. Anything homemade and bottled or
canned connects you to her ... and the very heart of autumn.
For a bit of personalized warmth in a bottle, try handing out your sister's kicky salsa, or a creative homemade jam or fruit butter. Or, choose honey, a favor as timeless as weddings themselves. It's a translucent beauty that comes in creative forms like mini jars, honey spoons and flavored straws. Make each favor even sweeter by tying on a little wooden dipper.
Not into bee juice? How about small jars of gourmet mustards, full of tantalizing herbs like terragon or dill? Or try out this indulgent favor: individual bottles of pure vanilla extract. It's simple to make, requiring only vodka, top-quality Madagascar beans, and a few months to brew.
More Tempting Harvest-Time Treats
Fall reminds us of sturdy, slow-ripening fruit and treats from the hearth. Caramel apples, home-baked cookies and nuts are popular candidates for sharing this exquisite face of fall with your guests.
Want a gift for guests that's sure to thrill? Tie off caramel or candied apples with personalized
ribbons. These favors are so beautiful, they double as decor. Arrange them stick-side up to create
attractive wreaths around the base of your centerpieces. Or for a bouquet look, turn them stick-side
down in a mound of fabric-covered foam inside galvanized buckets or mason jars.
Add luxurious Midori ribbon and silk leaves to the sticks for a special finish.
A pro in the kitchen? Serve up a pair of fall cookies in an earthy paper bag, tricked out with a beautiful maple leaf stamp. Glue on a skeletonized leaf and tie with a gold ribbon. Another simple kitchen idea: candied nuts. Glazed walnuts are deceptively simple make, but oh-so-indulgent to snack on. Or add more syrup, and create your own nut brittle.
It's probably true that some edible favors are better left to the pros, given all you've got to do. So chat up a favorite baker, farmer or kitchen whiz to see how they can help. A talented local might be able to whip up gourmet popcorn balls, drizzled with caramel and chocolate, or bake up mini pecan and pumpkin pies. Individually-waxed cheese is a delightful, urbane gift, and marzipan fruits are as elegant as they come.
Of course, you don't have to go traditional to have the perfect favors. A popular choice is a beautiful wedding favor box in chocolate brown or burnt orange, filled with tongue-in-chic treats. Try mellocreme candy pumpkins, or Jelly Bellies in fall flavors like cinnamon or green apple, then finish with a pretty ribbon.
Hand and Heart-Warming Beverages
But as wonderful as it is, food is only a part of the fall wedding favor equation. After all, a warm, soothing
beverage is proof against the grayest day. Consider personalized cider or cocoa cones for a light-hearted treat. And coffee packs or personalized teas could come in handy for late-night revellers ... perhaps even as soon as the morning after the reception!
"Watch Our Love Grow"
What about the seasonal cycles of planting and harvesting? Growing bulbs or seedlings are a classic for autumn weddings, with their promise of hope when the warm months return. From packets of wildflower seeds to perennial bulbs nestled in a box with wood shavings, each plantable favor promises to stretch out those warm feelings from your wedding for another year or more.
This custom's at least as old as Victorian times ... canny Queen Victoria started the trend of taking a sprig of ivy from her bridal bouquet, and planting it to use again at her daughters' weddings.
Whatever your favor, be it humble or elaborate, it's bound to bring your guests a little closer and make those toasty autumn memories last a little longer. Just make sure your choice reveals a hint about those things that make you unique.
You Might Also Like ...
Planning an Autumn Theme? Find Your Unique Fall Wedding Style
A Guide to Fall Wedding Flowers
A Rustic Country Wedding
Pages: [4] 3 2 1 » Show All
I’m planning a wedding in november of 2009, and i don’t know where to start i got a like of ideas but i want it to be perfect for me and my hubby.
tiffany,
do you have any ideas for colors, formality, theme? also yur venue, what does it look like? that is a great place to start
I’m getting married on September 10, 2011 and I’ve been seeing all kinds of favors and decor for the tables but was wondering how to make them
I am still in college and I have 2 more years before I graduate. I really want a fall wedding outside but I am so worried about the weather. I mean it doesn’t rain much here but still. I want our wedding to be wonderful and I know it wont be completely perfect. What do you think?
I am getting married in late october. My bridesmaids dresses are burgundy, and the groomsmen tuxes are black with burgundy vests. I am having a hard time picking out flower colors. I want to incorporate dark green, and cream with burgundy sunflowers, but I can’t seem to picture the look in my head, and I haven’t been able to find any pictures shower those three colors together for fall. Will those colors clash? Also, my fiance is a bit of a cowboy, so he wants to wear black cowboy boots to the wedding, is that inappropriate? I want my wedding to be tasteful, but also to resemble us. Any ideas?
I just married a couple weeks ago. I searched all over for pictures I likes, shaped and size of my flowers and communicated via my blog to my florist what I did and didn’t like and my flowers turned out better than I expected! Pictures do speak a 1000 words. Show picture you like and tell them what you don’t like about the picture. And be sure to tell them what you like and hate in flowers in general - smells and - I hate white and cream roses - I didn’t want any rose in my flowers. That was an odd request. I had burgundy dalias, large white orchids with pink, and white and pink large carnation like flowers and surrounded by lots of greens.
There are many bouquets out there that are green, burgundy, and cream.- so the colors are not the issue.
And remember you can always add colored ribbon or 2 colors to the stems to add some more color or style.
I aslo went to Micheal’s and picked up silk flower before my fitting to see if I like a more white arrangement or a more red. I opted on the more white side and added pink and burgundy. Then returned all the silk and plastic flowers. I took pictures with both options - the all red took away from my details dress.
And on the boots - let him be him. Tell him to get a new pair of shiney black boots to wear - get them before the tux fitting - most people won’t even know and he’ll be happy.
Best WISHES!
Brittany,
my soon to be hubby is a farm and I don’t think the boots are inappropriate at all. Its who he is and everyone attending the wedding should know that, if they don’t they shouldn’t be there. Plus if he wears the boots he wants he will be more comfortable all together, because I am sure is not used to wearing a tux. Like I said my soon to be hubby is a dairy farmer and we wanted to get married on the farm were we met but it just wasn’t gunna work out. Oh course the fiancee is bummed but little does he know that our pastor is going to come out and marry us wearing a nice pair of shit kicken milk boots. It’s just who we are and it represents everything we have shared this far. I mean were are even going as far as incorporating mason jars as candle holders and using those big old rusty milk cans as flower arrangement holders. If its who yu are don’t worry about if its appropriate for everyone else, besides, I hate to break it to you but when its all said and done no one will remember much of the details except you so you might as well make them sentimental.
I want a fall wedding, but most of the pictures I see of fall weddings has the main colors of orange and reds. I want purple, how can I have purple be the main color but still in corporate the reds, yellows, and oranges
Val,
what if you did a plum purple for your main color and then you could incorporate splashes or orange, golden yellow, green, and brown. I was thinking like girls in purple dresses and the new chocalate brown tux vests they have look really sharp. You could then add small orange pumpkins and flowers, golden jewelry and accents(we spray painted thing like gourds and pumpkins gold and they look really elegant, and then for a real pop you could add a brighter green and stick with a fall theme by incorporating granny smith apples randomly throughout the reception. I have seen center pieces where they filler taller glass vases with the bright green apples and then stuck flowers in the top or sat a candle on top you could do both and alternat thenm down the tables. Just some suggestions, hope they are helpful!
Val, purple is such a big color this year and it’s just really getting started. I am thinking along Kassey’s lines here, take a look at purple and chocolate brown weddings, the colors are gorgeous together, and ideal for fall. I really think the brown will ground this combo to make your other colors pop. And agree that apple green would be gorgeous with it.
That said, you could also stick to those traditional fall colors but make them softer by choosing burnt orange, brick red, ivory etc. instead of the brighter versions. The result is very elegant. See pics attached for hints of how all that might look together! Isn’t that lovely?
For more choc/purple/orange, see this mood board on flickr to see chocolate, purple and orange together (not a wedding, but lovely). And this.
Also check out this purple and burnt orange board.
Finally if you really love the purple, and want fall but not red and yellow, take a look at vineyard weddings, which are TOTALLY at home for this season, and so elegant. Try Snippet & Ink’s Purple & Vine and JeanM’s Wine Country Wedding for some beautiful purple/sage combos.
HTH!
I’m thinking of having a fall wedding around Halloween. I was going to do a winter one but fall would be so much cheaper. I’m thinking of doing it outside. Would that work? Or should we just have it inside? I don’t know where to start. I know i’m using pumpkins and my dress it going to have red in it. If any ideas please let me know. I’m starting all over again.
im havin a weddin in november. im on a budget and want to make my own flower arrangments. i was wondering if anyone knew any websites to help me and help also with colors.
Hi Stephanie, there are lots of beautiful fall flowers that are so easy to put together. Sunflowers and mini-sunflowers, mums, hypericum berries. Plus, sturdy accents like wheat or twigs look great and are perfect for that late fall/early winter season.
Take a look at this November wedding page because I think a bit of gold can add a lot to weddings this time of year. You can gild pears, apples, even pumpkins or gourds with gold spray paint for example. Place in a reed basket, raise on a pedestal or combine with some simple flowers … it’s stunning.
Or, you can contrast textures — for example, wrap a cylinder vase in burlap and then tie a gold ribbon around that, and fill with pale ivory flowers like roses. That would look gorgeous for november.
Also when looking at the november page see how some of the centerpiece pics weave in small metallic ornaments in colors like rust and gold, this is a great way to bridge the two seasons.
Yet another idea: you can fill clear glass cylinders or mason jars with natural materials like coffee beans, dried peas, pebbles, or small nuts such as acorns. Simple flowers can be tucked inside, or votives.
I’ll take a look tomorrow for some good pics of more simple, DIY-friendly fall centerpieces to post for you. :D>-
Taleba! I hope you will post some pics and ideas as your planning comes together. You reminded me I was going to do some pumpkin posts.
Comin’ up!
Okay, pumpkins. There is a whole fall-wedding-anti-pumpkin brigade. I even admit that I once MIGHT have belonged, but I’m feeling the charm again.
So, let’s say you are open to the pumpkin’s many marvels. After all, what other wedding building block is so versatile, abundant, CHEAP? You can turn this inexpensive living ‘clay’ into flower pots or centerpiece vases, runner weights and table numbers, bowls and lanterns, guest signs, card boxes and lanterns, or votive and pillar candle holders. Not to mention delicacies like pumpkin soup and cake, ravioli and donuts … you name it.
You can create an instant high-end centerpiece by carving out a pumpkin, filling with some mini-sunflowers, mums and roses, and surrounded the whole thing with some mini-gourds, candy corn and a few silk leaves.
You can hand your flower girl a little pumpkin to carry down the aisle, with a satin ribbon and jingling little bell.
You can take AMAZING e- or wedding pics in a pumpkin field.
You can create a totally chic look by filling big glass trumpet vases with mini white or yellow pumpkins. Try mixing these with small metallic ornaments, green acorns … whatever fits your colors.
So. I have tons of pumpkin pic ideas to share, but first I’m going to throw out some gorgeous ideas on the lighter, non-orange side of the spectrum. I hope this inspires some fall brides with a restrained type of color scheme! Click on the credits below to see more about the weddings/ideas.
Credits, Row 1: 2 gorgeous ideas from Toast & Tables, Alissa & Craig, Brides. Row 2: Silvered pumpkins from Classic Bride, Lace-Patterned Pumpkin craft from Martha, Pale mini-’kin seating cards from Ranasalame. Row 3: White pumpkin centerpiece on silver champagne cooler, BH&G, engagement party glittered pumpkins, A Cottage Industry, carved and painted pumpkins from GardenMomJo.
Okay, let’s say you dig pumpkins pretty much au naturel and your wedding is full of natural colors like reds, golds, browns. Then you’re bound to get some ideas from the pics and resources below. See the credits below for the creators and photographers …
Credits, Row 1: From "Shannon & Patrick, CT", "Jessica & James, NJ", and "Leslie & Brandon, GA", Brides.com. How to Make a Pumpkin Tower, BH&G. Row 2: Pumpkin party cooler from Martha Stewart. Pumpkin-style overhead lanterns and soup served in mini-pumpkins, "A Rustic Romance", InsideWeddings. Pumpkin pillar holder, Vampywitch Fall Bio. Row 3: Mini-pumpkin entrance wreath and mini-pumpkin votives, Mrs. Kiwi’s Fall Bio Ideas. Coral rose and orange tiger lilies in pumpkin vase with mini-gourd accents, pumpkin aisle liners, Vampywitch Fall Bio. Row 4: "Thank You!" card photo, Sarah Beth Wooden. "This Way" pumpkin sign, Queen Esoterica. Table card holder, Liquid Premium. "Vicki Hearts Tom", Youngna.
I’m getting married Nov. 8, 2008. Our theme is “Falling in Love”. Fall is my favorite time of the year. I’m looking forward to decorating with leaves, pumpkins, browns, moss greens, and oranges. My flower girl is going to drop leaves instead of flowers. I’m excited…
my matron of honor picked persimmon for her dress and my wedding will be on august 31,2008-not quite fall
shat colors do i use to match???
Hi Diane -
First, let me congratulate you on being a cool bride letting your matron-of-honor pick the color! Persimmon is a great color that can work in any season - just tweaking how you accent it. Your bridesmaids could be in fuschia, melon, kiwi, or my current fave this year, turquoise. Their sashes would be in persimmon & your matron-of-honor would have the alternate sash color. Let the flowers tie it all together. It’s so much more interesting now to see the combo of colors, instead of a boring palette. Let the guys pick up the color in their ties. These colors are wonderful to accent with at the reception, and gives you a lot more to play with. We are selling lots of organic colors in our favors this year. You will be right on top of the trend! Good Luck!
Brenda,
GraciousBridal
I am thinking of using our engagement session photo and getting copies made of size 2×3’s, and putting the pictures in a two-sided snowglobe. The picture would be on one side and our name and date would be on the other side. The snowglobes would be our special giveaway that we would give to each family, and everyone in the bridal party.
I am getting married Nov 8, 2008, and our budget is on the slim side. We also, like the “Fall in Love” theme, and reading some of the questions and comments on here has really given me great ideas concerning party favors/centerpieces. I saw something that caught my eye, and thought it was very cute, but I am not sure if it was on this site or not. Anyhow, it was little maple leaf shaped bottles filled with syrup and of course, tagged with the bride and grooms name and wedding date on them. I like that idea, but am completely sold on the caramel/candied apple thing. I too, would like for the flower girl to throw leaves instead of flowers. My question is this…..
I have my heart set on getting married at the church that I attend, but I am not sure that a reception at the church is feasible. We have already picked out the song we want to dance to as husband and wife, and who will sing at our wedding, but I have heard that dancing and singing isnt allowed in a church reception. I have not confirmed this with the church that I attend. Has anyone ever run into this problem?
Hi! I’m very recently engaged, and we’re thinking of getting married Oct. ‘08. I’m really stuck on colors, b/c I love fall and the idea of using colors like brown/cinnamon/and gold, but blue is/has always been my favorite color. I found a jewel-tone blue (”marine”) color on David’s Bridal website and really like it also. Does anyone have any ideas on how to incorporate the blue with the fall colors? Will it look bad with fall colors? Thanks for the input!
Sarah,
I was actually having the same problem… I had a hard time figuring out a way to incorporate blue into a range of fall colors, and blue is my fiance’s fave color. We wanted an apple/harvest sort of theme because we are getting married in the Appalachians. So we decided to leave blue out. But we did come up with something we didn’t use: wine colors would be great in the fall, especially as grape harvest is usually that time of year. Use wine inspired colors like deep blue, rich red-purple, and pale greens. You can incorporate beautiful vines in your decor, and serve wine, of course. Good luck!
Hi Sarah,
You’re fortunate to have a year to plan because you can see the fall colors now - what works, what doesn’t. My best advice to you is to go to a fabric store and get swatches of fabrics, ribbons, trims, everything that you like. Tear photos out of magazines, again, anything that you like. As you do this over the course of the next couple of months, you will see a pattern start to emerge. Also, I caution you not to be a slave to the fall colors. Yes, they are gorgeous, but it could be that a shot of turquoise or a dash of cerulean blue could really make those autumn colors POP. Turquoise and copper is a fabulous combination. Or, it may be that you just pick this accent color up in the bouquet, or perhaps the table linens, or even the grooms cake and napkins. Also, I like to have the rehearsal dinner in a totally different color scheme (don’t want the guests to return the next evening to “same-old, same-old”). This could be where you have a cool blue scheme. Best Wishes!
I just saw a pic today that really supports Brenda’s great comments. It’s taken by California’s Tempting Weddings and posted by She Walks in Beauty, and the background really shows how great this could look for fall. Turquoise and brown isn’t the first thing you’d think of for that time of year, but I think this is convincing!
We are getting married 9/6/08, our colors will be deep red, goldish/copper with some deep plum and green in our decor. For favors I’m going to get some inexpensive wine glasses from IKEA (under $1/ea) and order a stencil of the Castle we are getting married at from the above website and some 2 products (activator and cream). Each guest will have get an etched wine glass that can serve as a souvenir also. We will print out little colorful thank you leaves with our names and date and tie them on with a matching ribbon to say thank you. Cost: $1.48 each. And they can use them that day with the wine we will be putting out on the tables. We’re getting married out side under a tent and hired our own outside caterer.
I am having a fall September wedding. My dress is ivory, the bridal party gowns are a mixture of truffle brown and latte brown. My theme is “Falling in Love” and I plan to decorate using browns, reds, yellows, and oranges. Fall colors. I thought of naming my tables after fall flowers, but what else can I possibly name them?
ShaLonda,
Why don’t you name the tables after trees…like maple, oak, aspen, birch, etc… You can use place cards in the shape leaves that correspond to each table’s tree name.
Or, since Fall is known as a time of harvest, you could name the tables after fruits. But flowers isn’t a bad idea!
i am doing a fairytale wedding in black, ivory, and red colors. Does anyone have any ideas?
I am having a sept. 2008 wedding, are the colors burgundy and mauve nice colors to use? I also need advice when it comes to having people in our wedding, we are not to sure who to pick because we just want a small wedding, but yet we do not want to hurt anyones feelings, would it be ok if we just have ourselves in the wedding?
hey..I am getting married November 30th..I am having all the fall colors,My bridemaids dresses are burnt orange with A Ivory Bouquet.I am haveing everything decorated with fall leaves,absoutly beautiful.My flower girl is having a brown pale with oarnge,red and yellow leaves in it..For centre peices i am having tall Ivory candles with chocolate brown ribbon in the center of it with the fall leaaves decorated at the bottom..Anyone got anymore ideas??
Hello I’m getting married November 2008…….
Should I let the bridesmaids pick out their own dresses or should I take charge concerning this matter?
Also, the bridesmaids dresses are a dark brown what color should the tuxes be? My mother suggested brown. But what about black tuxes with brown ties and vests?
Also I’m having 3 flower girls. Is it okay to have colorful dresses like burnt orange or a harvest yellow with dark brown accent?
Hi Sara, just some of my thoughts!
Picking out the gowns or letting them pick … I think that’s really up to you and your comfort level. I think most brides have really been pleased with the overall result either way. You can send your bridesmaids a swatch of fabric to match if you’re using a color that’s pretty particular, such as chocolate brown. You could also ask your bridesmaids what they prefer. If you have some really varying body types they may be truly grateful to pick their own style.
Tuxes: I love, love, love brown tuxes. I am crazy for them! And yet … I wonder if that might not almost be too much brown, with your bridesmaids wearing that as well. I attached a pic here with two brown tuxes, left from Calvin Klein and right from Jean Yves. Just MHO, but brown vests/ties + black tuxes are one of my favorite color combos for the men, and I think it breaks up the color palette a little.
Now, nothing against the major bridal warehouses who make it very easy to match, but I think if you get too matchy-matchy with your bridal party, it looks a bit like a Persimmon or Chocolate Brown bomb went off in the area, KWIM? It’s nicer to coordinate than match, IMHO.
Flower girls: they are basically like walking flowers.
IMHO it looks GREAT to outfit them in the brighter, more saturated colors in your palette, like you’re thinking of. Chances are good those colors will really coordinate beautifully with the brighter florals in your bouquets. I included a beautiful orange flower girl dress here from MyFlowerGirls.net. Next to the brown bridesmaids dresses, I think it’s super-cute. What do you think?
Finally, try this if you want to see more pics of brown and black together on the men:
Help! My Man Won’t Marry in Brown
im getting married Oct. 11 2008 and this website its wonderful i am glad i found it.