Winter Wedding vs Summer Wedding

I love the idea of a cosy, romantic winter wedding, but I've gone for a summer wedding because we're hoping to spend alot of time outside. Our venue is a museum of historic buildings, so want to get some awesome photos. They also have a miniature railway that we're hoping all of our guests will take a ride on!

Remember it gets dark early in the winter so timings of your day might differ to a summer wedding. Summer is also peak wedding season so prices may be higher. I think really it all depends on 'the feel' you want for your day.

Possibly! ?

For us it had to be Summer as we wanted it outside as much as possible, with games and sitting around on the grass with Pimms etc. OH's sister got married at Christmas and her wedding was lovely, it was so nice to be warm and cosy and gave a really nice atmosphere, but there were not outside photos as the weather was absolutely foul.

I guess it depends how you see your day!

Do you mind me asking whereabouts in the country you're based? I'm getting married in the Scottish Highlands but everyone will be travelling from central Scotland and my family all talked me out of a winter wedding because of the possibility that the weather could prevent us all getting there. It's less likely to be an issue down south though. At the time I had my heart set on it but as soon as we booked our date for May I began to see all the good sides to a summery wedding.

Thanks guys- I'm pretty jealous you all knew instantly.

The weather has been a big consideration and like you say, at least I will know how to plan around the weather in winter.

I'm based in Leicester. OH was based in Birmingham so his friends are all there but He's American so his Family such as his mum and sister will be travelling. Ideally somewhere in the midlands so its not too far to travel for both sides.

We are going to View Kilworth House this weekend and Coombe Abbey the following which I see as opposite seasonal venues.

who knew id be so picky, it looks to easy in the movies ha!

I would love a winter wedding - log fires, fairy lights, candles, mulled wine. Fab. I think it could be super cosy and romantic in the right venue.

However we both have winter birthdays as do both of our children so we have gone for summer to spread the celebrations out a bit! Also worth thinking about how many children you have coming - a winter wedding is likely to be inside and more than about 5 kids cooped up together all day might not be pretty. ?

We're having a winter wedding, the week before Christmas.

Partly because we wanted to do it asap, partly because we wanted to save money (and dear me, we're saving a fortune doing it in winter), and partly because we both liked the idea of a cosy winter wedding. My partner's from Minnesota, where there'll be about two feet of snow on the ground by then, so a cold, damp wedding day really doesn't bother her at all.

Summer weddings are lovely, but we went for winter for a mixture of practicality and photo opportunities; we're getting married in a lighthouse, and stormy skies make for beautiful photo ops!

My birthday is Dec 1st and it is SUCH a great time to have a party - everyone is feeling really festive and fun and you are sort of carried along by the goodwill of the season. I love December!

I've often had better weather in January than June!

Cost is the biggest swing, but November, Jan and Feb are the biggest savers, December has become a popular time to get married and I've 4 weddings that month this year (same as last year). November though, I'm lucky to get one. January I've had 1 wedding in 4 years, a bit like February.

From a photographic point of view the timing of the ceremony is crucial. Getting married at 2pm onwards presents a real difficulty in getting any daytime shots. Other than that, the temperature is a consideration. Flowers can be too.

It's a hard one because the weather is so unreliable.

I got married in February and if I was to do it again I would probably pick a month like August. Not because I want a glorious day but because it was bitter cold. We might have rubbish weather now but it isn't so cold that you go blue outside.

I am based in Birmingham and know some lovely venues that hold outdoor ceremonies but if the weather turns, you can go inside so if you need any help, just let me know.

Did someone say Leicester, shout and I may hear you as I am in Leicester too, you are spot on with your Coombe abbey vs Kilworth views, but Kilworth will also be good in winter, I have a few of my past Kilworth weddings here

And Kilworth House

I loved the idea of a winter wedding but in reality, I'm a wimp, the cold makes me feel physically sick so the very thought of standing around in a dress without my coat, hat, scarf and gloves was a no-no. I'm a May bride. I specifically picked the bank holiday at the beginning of the month because for the past 5 years (it's the date we met so I've taken note) have been HOT on that day. Now, I'm not so confident and am looking for bridal thermal underwear and a faux fur coat just in case!

I think it depends on the type of wedding you want. I love your thought process, we had a summer wedding last year, and I'm already trying to convinceOH to let me have my winter wedding too! It is all so gorgeous for winter weddings, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't have changed how happy I was in the sunshine having photos and chatting to guests on the lawn.

So it really does come down to the type of day you want. What types of colours are you favouring? That may also suggest a better time of year.

I went for a winter wedding, mainly because of the ridiculous difference in price! We are saving approx £25 a head by having it in December compared with the summer months. I am also looking forward to not becoming obsessed with the weather forecast, my friend got married last August and she looked at the forecast everyday for about 2 months leading up to the Big Day!! We are prepared that it will be raining / snowy / freezing, but who knows, we could get a beautiful crisp clear day. I also love Christmas, we are getting married on the 14th so everyone will be in a good Christmassy mood, and we can have carols!!!

Thanks for all the responses. I have been informed by OH that we will NOT be having two weddings regardless of how many tantrums I throw and tears I cry so guess I'm just going to have to pick. OH is happy with either so its my call in the first instance.

I love the sound of all the weddings mentioned. Its too hard to make choices.

I come from a big irish family so I know it will be lots of laughs. if its summer they will use the excuse of the heat to quench their thirst and the cold to warm up and that is mainly what I want from our day. Our guests laughing and enjoying themselves.

I see the day as traditional with a twist of quirkiness which incorporates both me and my OH sense of style and personality...... New York meets Leicester, two worlds apart!

I must admit I do seem to go doey eyed over pictures of winter weddings so maybe I'm leaning towards that so I can plan accordingly, Umbrellas, Wellies and onesies ha.

PS thanks Bill Haddon Photography those pictures were very helpful.

I love the idea of a winter wedding but I'm a big wuss who gets cold really easily so I imagine I wouldn't look very comfortable in pics - I think if the cold doesn't bother you, winter weddings are so stunning!

We're in the middle of Summer - I like that it should be a bit warmer, but the price differences with everything is phenomenal and it has definitely made me doubt our decision a couple of times. I'd have a look at the price differences in the venue brochures, it'll probably help you make up your mind! Some of the warmest weather in the UK is often in October so that might be a nice in-between alternative?

Coombe Abbey is so gorgeous! I live in Coventry atm and imagine it would look amazing in wedding photos and there's a lot of history to the building ?

My OH is really familiar with coombe Abbey so it helps. it looks like it has the wow factor on the photos.

To be honest I hadn't even considered a winter wedding until I saw a really unusual shawl and thought how amazing it would look over a wedding gown. (I think I've attached a picture) and its made me think outside the box.

Oh my, that is pretty!!

You are welcome, glad I could help.

CLICK HERE for you and anyone else that want some winter and or cold/ rain weddings

And HERE for an Autumn wedding colour scheme

I'm completely in love with it!

OOOOOOH this may be what I need when I'm freezing cold next May! where's it from?

I feel I need it in my life, just because.

Its from Etsy. The seller is denizy03. I can see myself spending a lot of money from that site.

It would be rude not to.

Oh my! This is amazing! And so so me I wanted a winter wedding and now I know why, so I could have this! Haha.

That's so pretty! ... Anyway we went for autumn as a compromise. Still wanted the chance of warm weather but didn't want to pay the peak prices just for it to rain. Also I hate being too hot and sweaty its not glamorous, especially coupled with we both get hayfever so October it was. I love autumn too its so pretty with the leaves and sunset.

I wanted Summer anyway but one reason I love it so much is because you get more light for the day, and therefore your wedding day will feel longer! It's cut short in my opinion when it's dark by 5pm.

I was originally thinking winter until I found a venue that charges the same price regardless of what time of year it is. As were planning for next year we managed to get the middle of July, bonus!

My dad and one of my best mates got married in July and I got sunburnt at both, so hoping the weather does well for us!

Good topic!

I'm having a winter wedding, last weekend of February. I wasn't picky about the date other than it not being in summer, as the prices are so much higher, plus if the weather's crap (which let's be honest, it probably will be) then it would be really disappointing. At least in February, even if it rains all day, it won't be unexpected, and I'm going to get a cute fluffy bolero thing for any outside pics.

I do think us Brits are a bit deluded when it comes to the weather though, when was the last good summer we had, 2006? Even if I was getting married in summer I'd never book a venue based on the outside parts of it. My best friend got married this April thinking it would be nice, as for the last two years April has been gorgeous. And it poured down all day!!! It didn't matter one bit though, just goes to show how unimportant things like the weather really are on the day.

Yes, I think you are right. ultimately the weather will not spoil the day.

However as a guest, do you find attending weddings close to Christmas as an added expenses or a good excuse for another party?

I got married in April (Spring) because I wanted daffodils. And because it is my birthday. I got married on my 40th - the sun came out, it was a glorious day.

We got married on December 1st. We both decided very quickly that we wanted December but not a Christmas themed wedding. We love open fires, candles, white flowers and pine so the overall theme of the wedding was very classic winter which we loved.

Another plus point is the available warm honeymoon destinations are pretty awesome in our winter.

Hello !!!!

I don't think you can rely on the British weather at all so this wasn't even a consideration for me

Having said that I chose spring mainly because - I love the pale pastel spring/summer colours and am hoping for flowers and abit of greenery for my photos , also my bday i in January and its always pretty drab, I do really love xmas time but for some reason i picture a wedding as more summery kind of feel or at least my wedding anyway even in terms of the clothing and everything , i guess you really need to think of the theme / feel you would like for your wedding like mentioned i wanted a flowery, vintage , pastel kind of theme so that just wouldn't match a winter wedding at all

The only set back for me having a spring wedding is that me and my OH really wanted to have fireworks and our venue can only allow fireworks up to 9pm so it wont be dark enough and that's been the only issue , however i think alot of venues can offer fireworks later anyway

Loll xxx