Right now September ranks just behind June and August as the most popular month to get married. Fall offers a showcase of rich colors — reds, burgundies, oranges, and plums — that grace dining tables, church altars and the (sometimes trembling) hands of the bride.
What is the toughest part of planning any wedding? You might be surprised.
Peyton Craig, who owns the Columbia, Maryland-based Encounters Events with his wife Karin, explained why more people are forsaking summer ceremonies for the fall.
“Fall lends itself naturally to rustic weddings, which are so hot right now,” he told LifeZette. “People are interested in incorporating nature and a more laid-back vibe into their event.”
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The Craigs have been in business since 1999 and serve clients in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., area.
“Our clients also are generally older than in the past — young 30s and late 20s. They are less interested in the fairy tale wedding now, and more interested in throwing the best party ever. It’s guest-centric, now.”
Fall weddings often feature an outdoor component as the heat of summer gives way to cooler temperatures in much of the country.
“The biggest advantage of a fall wedding is the temperature, at least here in Boston,” said Taylor Klausen, who will be the maid of honor for her best friend’s late-September wedding. Klausen also helped plan the details.
Related: 5 Retro Drinks for Fall
“One worry in the summer is the heat,” she told LifeZette. “If it’s really hot, the guests are miserable, and the bride feels awful. Weddings in barns and also outdoor weddings are big now, and they’re perfect for fall. We are going to have an outdoor fire pits for guests.”
No matter what season, bridal experts are seeing the emergence of the so-called “Pinterest Bride” — someone who cruises virtual bulletin boards with unleashed, yet focused, fervor. She gathers pictures and ideas she likes, and completely personalizes her experience right down to napkin rings and invitation envelopes. She can do this with the help of a professional wedding planner, or act as her own expert.
A successful wedding centers on the personalities of the two people who matter most — bride and groom.
“We used ideas wherever we could find them,” Klausen said of her planning strategy. “Pinterest was actually huge for us.”
What is the toughest part of planning any wedding? You might be surprised.
“Usually, it’s the flowers that bring wedding planners trouble,” Regina D. Brooks, owner of Regine Danielle Events and Design in Chicago, told LifeZette. “If you want a certain flower, especially if it is hard to source, that can be a challenge. Remember to tell your planner if you have any special requests for fall flowers.”
She also said it is typically the men who get involved with planning the music.
“Guys love to have input on music. They are all over that,” Brooks said. “And food. They sometimes like to weigh in on the menu. Otherwise, the bride ends up with the lion’s share of the work.”
“We have our $200,000 weddings that skew the average,” said Brooks, “but most in the Chicago area are around $60,000-$70,000.”
What does a wedding cost these days?
“We have our $200,000 weddings that skew the average,” said Brooks, “but most in the Chicago area are around $60,000-$70,000.”
That’s more than a year’s salary, for most people! But if you have time to save, Brooks recommends booking your wedding about a year and a half before the date.
And what are the best wedding registries? According to RealSimple.com, they include Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Crate and Barrel, JC Penney, Pottery Barn, and Sears, and Williams Sonoma, among others. Make sure the store’s returns policies are simple. Check to see if unpurchased registry items are available to the couple at a discount, and find out how long gift cards are active. Williams Sonoma offers private appointments to open a registry. And at Crate and Barrel, couples can attend a Sunday morning Wedding Party event where couples have the store to themselves.
A successful wedding centers on the personalities of the two people who matter most — bride and groom.
“Our initial consultation is so important – that’s where we really learn who our clients are as individuals,” Craig said. “It’s not our wedding, it’s theirs. Something I might not consider — bunches of pumpkins in a pyramid, for example — might be exactly who those people are.”
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